Of Runt (Redone)

Chapter Twenty-One

The entire pack was buzzing with excitement. Not only was it a full moon celebration today but a new alpha has risen for a nearby pack. Shell has me tell her the details of what happened three or four times trying to make sense of the events. Vic stays oddly quiet the entire time but his gaze flickers between us.

"Why would he challenge Manny? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would want to be an Alpha," she asks flopping back on Vic bed.

  Vic rolls his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Obviously not," she retorts.

"My father has been letting it slip that there's a runt here who is a true Luna."

"How would you know that?"

  He just makes a face at us. "But Isaac was flirting with me since he met me. He-"

"Manny would. He's no better than my father."

  The venom in his tone is one I don't like hearing. "Vic."

"It's true. If it weren't for my father you and I would have had a much better life. Hell, Max would probably still he here."

  Shell and I look to one another afraid to speak. It's been years since Vic brought up Max. He doesn't like speaking about him because the circumstances surrounding his triplet brother were seemingly wrong. "Vic," I whisper reach out and grabbing his hand. I pull him to me wrapping my arms around him.

  Vic has always been a place of comfort, his smell, his hold. It's been a barrier of safety for me since we were children. I may have protected him but he was also protecting me. "Besides if Alpha Isaac was protecting you it doesn't change his intentions. He will try and persuade you into a mating, you said so yourself. He's claimed you as a good beta female but he now knows you're supposed to be Luna. Perhaps he challenged his Alpha to protect you and deem himself worthy enough to ask you to be a mate."

"I don't want to be a Luna," I whisper as he holds me tighter against him. Shell joins our huddle sniffling. "You acting as if this is a set path. Neither of us had made any decisions as to whether or not we want to pursue a relationship. How do can I even know? There's so many things going on right now-"

"Pushing off your feelings isn't going to make them go away. David has said many times that your emotions can help fuel your ability to do magic. That rage and helplessness from both attacks are why we won," Shell adds taking a step back. "One day and probably soon he will want to take that step to form a relationship with you. Unless there's someone else who has been occupying your heart I dont see why you shouldn't try. You like him, it's pretty obvious you do."

"Shell-"

"You'll move away from all this shit and we'll come visit you."

"That's the problem, I don't think Archer would let me move!" I finally say stepping back from both of him.

Vic scoff as Shell looks at me clearly confused. "What did the Alpha tell you?"

"He threatened to stab him if he asked me to go back with him."

"Why would he do that?" She muses before looking at Vic. I follow her gaze seeing him looking at the ground.

"It could be strategic."

"Strategically making it harder for him to find us a Luna. No one wants a mate who is keeping a wolf in their pack for no reason."

"Archer has his reasons okay? So what? It makes sense to keep you here. A true Luna, a prodigious tracker and a witch. We don't have a pack witch and a hybrid one that serves the alpha is one many alphas want," he explains still looking at his feet.