Snarls echoed in the trees as gun shots popped in my ears. I let go of my mind's hold on Jack and ducked away. Having already lost Kota in the midst, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Did I shift and attack? Did I stay human and use my gift? I had such minimal training in both, neither of them sounded useful at all.

I stood still in the mayhem as I took in what was happening and tried to locate someone needing assistance. The enforcers had pushed through, as they were first behind the pack leaders. They lunged at the humans in wolf form, snapping and growling and my stomach dropped to my feet. Jack has actual weapons, we only have our wolves.

The trackers entered the chaos next, and though everyone on my side was in wolf form, I started being able to pick out who was which rank. The enforcers were bigger with broader shoulders and much more muscle under their fur. The trackers were smaller, but their advantage was being lithe and swift. I noticed they could slip past the firing bullets much easier than an enforcer could. Even with the lookouts not present — they were guarding the rest of the pack inside — we outnumbered the hunters. I prayed that could be enough.

"Eirenae!" Jaycee screamed at me. Blinking, I realized she was standing in front of me and I tried to ignore the fact she was without clothes. "Get to safety, we can get take them!"

Like a switch going off in my brain, I shook my head and straightened my shoulders until I stood tall. "Are you crazy?" I snapped, "I'm not going anywhere!"

She didn't even argue; in fact, she smiled almost pridefully. "Then come on!" Turning, she shifted back into her brown wolf and took off into the sea of fur and quickly disappeared. I followed after her, choosing to stay in my human form, where I was much more comfortable. Glancing at my hands, I tried to focus on the gift I knew surged in my veins. How do I bring it to the surface on command? I wondered to myself as my fingertips twitched with anticipation.

Lifting my eyes, I stared hard at a burly man about fifteen feet from me. His frizzy facial hair covered the majority of his face, but I felt a vague sense of familiarity. Had Jack brought him over sometime before? How long has Jack been a hunter. . . my whole life? The burning returned to my chest as I raised my arm in his direction. With narrowed eyes, I concentrated on the energy, directing it from my pounding heart and into my fingertips. Releasing a breath, I let the energy go and watched as he was sprung away from the small, tawny wolf he had cornered. He landed twenty feet farther away with a loud "oomph." Clearly winded, he made no immediate effort to climb back to his feet. Satisfied, I moved on.

Turning my attention back to the grand scale of the fighting, I noticed the majority of it had shifted from the hedge line and into the bare trees. I wasn't sure if that was going to be an advantage or not at this point in the year. There was very little coverage and every part of nature was a blend of them same colors. Every bit of movement stuck out.

It was because of my scanning that I noticed one wolf that had not shifted yet. Picking up my feet in her direction, I hurried closer and it wasn't long before I realized it was Kota's mother.

"Mrs. Anderson?" I called and she barely even glanced at me. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused as she stared at the scene in the trees. Wolves were pouncing at the enemy, only to dart back when the guns pointed to them. Most of them were able to dodge the bullets that wizzed by, the banging echos sounding from every direction. I winced as I saw one wolf limping, another bleeding from the ear, and a few motionless on the forest floor. Yet they didn't give up, even the wolves scoring gashes on their flanks picked themselves back up and fought with strength behind their blows.

"Eden, what's going on? What are you doing here?" I tried again. Shouldn't she be with her daughters?

But she didn't seem to be listening. Gazing back and forth from the fight to the sky, she seemed to be saying something under her breath. I stepped closer to hear.

"I'm ready, my love. Take me to you, where I can be free of my heartbreak." She was repeating it several times over and the more she did, the closer she looked to throwing herself in front of the nearest gun.

Out of instinct to protect Kota's mother, I grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her backwards a few steps. "Eden, no! What are you talking about?"

Her green eyes — Kota got his from her — finally focused on me, though they still held the dazed look. "My wolf is struggling, Eirenae. It can't hold on much longer without him. I can't do this without him!"

I wasn't sure what came over me, but suddenly I was in her face, meeting her eyes with a hard stare. "What about the girls, huh? They need you more than anything! Hold on for them!" Relaxing my posture as her eyes grew wide, I sighed and softened my voice. "They already lost their father, they don't need to lose their mother too."

She swallowed, glancing back to the sky as if trying to communicate with her lost mate. "I know. I know, you're right. The twins need me, Kota needs me." Cracking a small smile, she focused back on me, this time her eyes much clearer. "And you need a proper mother's love."

Tears pricked my eyes when her words fully registered in my brain. "You mean-"

Embracing me in a tight hug that squeezed out my breath, cut me off. "You're my son's mate, Sweetie. Of course I'm your mother now!"

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back just as fiercely. "Thank you," I breathed, knowing with all my heart she would be there for me faster than Anne would if I needed her.

Pulling back, her face lit up, "no, thank you! You probably saved my life today." I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that she wasn't going to throw herself into the fray for the purpose of dying anymore. "You're going to make a wonderful Luna." Blushing, I thanked her and let her walk away without anything else. She headed towards the house, hopefully to go sit with the twins in safety.

Something soft brushed my side suddenly, tickling my arm as it moved. Glancing down in surprise, I smiled when I saw Kota. The black wolf stared straight at me with so much emotion in the green eyes, I had to blink back my own tears. He knew. He knew I just saved his mother from herself and he was thanking me.

His nose was cold and moist when he pressed it against my neck, resting his chin on my shoulder. The commotion died down until it was just me and the wolf, surrounded by the empty trees. His warm breath fanned my earlobe and I giggled, stretching out a hand to run my fingers through the fur on top of his head. He closed his eyes with a heavy breath as I stroked him from his snout to his ears. His tail wagged softly when I put my lips to his fur, just in front of his left eye. His tongue darted out and caught me behind the ear, making me squeal from the sensation.

Not even a second later, the moment was brought short when I hit the ground with a hard thump. Gasping and trying to get air back to my lungs, I lied there flat on my back, winded from the impact. It was dark, yet my eyes were wide as an owl's, and when I finally was able to breath, all I could smell was the forest scent that lingered in a wolf's fur. Was Kota on top of me?

Ringing hit my eardrums as my other senses came back to me. A loud pop hit the air and made me cringe against the dirt as the ringing intensified. Reaching up with my hands, I felt the familiar softness of a wolf pelt and came to the conclusion that Kota was in fact on top of me. Actually, it seemed he had been the one to push me down.

Something sticky hit my wrist and I gripped Kota's fur tighter, praying that it wasn't what it felt like. I shifted my body underneath his until I could peek out and get an idea of what was happening.

It was blotchy through the thick strands of black fur, but I could make out a hunter holding a gun at us. I was wondering why he wasn't firing anymore, until I saw him hit the handle with the palm of his hand in frustration; he was out of ammo. Stepping closer, he chucked the metal weapon at us and Kota ducked away, blocking my view for a few moments.

"Just your luck, eh?" The man curled his lip. "Boss would've been so happy if I had gotten gotten you both with that shot. Two birds, one stone kinda deal. Damn." His gaze turned from annoyance to mockery. "But whatcha gonna do now, you big bad wolf? Can't fight hard with that nasty shot to the side; can't move with your girlfriend protected underneath all that bulk!"

I sucked in a breath. The hunter confirmed my fear: the stickiness was in fact Kota's blood. I understood now what happened when I'd fallen. Kota saw the man and heard the shot before I'd even registered anything outside of the two of us. To protect me, he had knocked me to the ground and covered me with his body, taking the shot in place of me. I squeezed his fur tighter, hoping to Goddess that it wasn't a fatal injury.

The hunter opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by a blur of pale yellow running into him from the side. It wasn't long before his throat was ripped out and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away, not wanting to see anymore of the death.

The darkness lifted behind my eyelids, so I opened my eyes to find Kota limping a few steps away. Scrambling to my feet, I wiped the red smears on my hands onto the pants I had on before looking at either wolf. I quickly thanked Sydney before letting her bounce back into the trees and turned to my mate.

"You're done," I stated matter-of-factly. "You're hurt and I'm not letting you die today!"

His jaws opened in a tired, growling argument, but I held my hand up. "No. Go inside and wait for Holly. Kota, you're bleeding from a gunshot wound laced with who knows what!" I placed my hands on his muzzle and directed him to the house. "Now go."

Giving me one last glance, he begrudgingly shuffled his paws out of the woods and past the hedge until he was out of sight. Relieved, I marched forward through the area, noticing the fight was mostly over. A few hunters still had bullets left, but they were using them more as threats and less as actions against us. The pack had them completely surrounded.

I continued past them, looking for one in particular. When I found him, my eyes hardened and my hand shot up as I channeled my energy from my mind to my my heart and into my veins through to my fingers.

With an exhilarating gasp from me, he was forcefully pushed backwards at an incline several feet before he stumbled over a root and slammed into the base of a fir. Winded, he struggled peeling himself away from the tree to face me as I speed-walked towards him. Forgoing the magic, I vaulted forward and struck his shoulders with my hands, pushing him back into the tree.

He grappled for stability, and his gun, while I wrestled him down to the ground. Silently, I thanked Kota for the last week of physical training and the Moon Goddess for making me a werewolf to build up my natural vigor.

I grunted when he delivered one of his classic blows to my gut, but it wasn't hard enough to knock me down like it would've been ten weeks ago. I had to catch my breath, but that was easily caught and I was quickly prepared to strike him back with a swift knee to the groin.

"I should've fought back all those years!" I growled as we tussled on the dirt. The fallen leaves crunched each time we hit the ground.

He pulled at my hair with one hand and reached for his gun with the other. "I should've killed you when I had the chance all that time!"

With a shriek, I slammed my elbow against his windpipe and his head snapped backwards, his hands fumbling around for his weapon. With my hands, I forced his wrists away from the gun, and when my arms proved too weak to hold him down, I let the power flow out of me. Because of my lack of training, and the feeling of weariness building inside me, I knew even that wouldn't keep him down for long.

Focusing, I stared him down hard. My eyes narrowed and sweat beads formed at my hairline as I tried to let myself end this. His head slowly inched back on my command until it was at an obviously uncomfortable angle. I grunted, willing myself to let it snap all the way back. If I pushed, he would be dead within seconds.

But I couldn't do it. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes when I came to this realization. He may not be my true father, and he may have given me the most awful childhood imaginable, but I couldn't bring myself to go the few inches further it would take to end his life.

Keeping my hold on his head, I glanced back at my pack. None of them paid attention to me and Jack; they stayed in their circles surrounding the remaining hunters. Glancing at the right time, I watched an enforcer take the lunge that ended the enemy's life. The hunter fell in a heap, a last-thought-gunshot ringing in the woods.

Jack's eyes had managed to follow my line of sight. "See what I was protecting you from becoming?" He snarled, "you all are monsters!"

Snapping my attention back to the hunter underneath me, I added pressure to his throat. "No, you've been the monster my entire life! You deserve to die."

"Then what's stopping you?" He sneered, but it was weak as he gasped for breath.

Concentrating again, I tried to push his head back more, willing his neck to just accidentally snap. I winced at my own weakness; why couldn't so just pay him back for everything worse he'd ever done to me?

"I-I-" with a sigh, I let go of the pressure on his head and neck and stood up. I held an arm out to keep him lying still on the ground. "I'm not a killer, I probably never will be. The horror of murdering you — even though you deserve it — would haunt me for life.

"Just go, and never come back or bother me or my family again."

Closing my fist, I released him from his hold and braced myself for the bullet that ought to be piercing me at some point. Jack scrambled to his feet in shock. It quickly ebbed away into a smirk.

"You're going to regret that."

I lowered my hand and lowered my eyes. He was probably right. But something in me could not bring myself to murder my father. Blood or not, I still referred to him that way for a third of my life.

Taking a few steps back in the direction of the house, I added, "if you do decide to be stupid, and come back for me or my pack, I won't hesitate to send Kota, or a bloodthirsty enforcer, your way to put an end to any scheme you might create. I bet it won't even take one look before they literally bite your head off."

Jack narrows his eyes, but to my surprise, and relief, he doesn't grab the gun from his holster. Taking one long look at me with cold eyes, he set off up the rest of the hill, becoming a silhouette against the early setting sun before the woods consumed him entirely.

Spinning on my heel, I walked back towards the house. As I passed the circles of snapping wolves, I called out, "let them go, Jack is gone." I was shocked at myself for how authoritative I sounded, and even more so that the wolves didn't even hesitate to follow the order. They backed up and I knocked the guns from the hunters' hands with the little amount of magical energy I had left. The hunters ran off, calling Jack's name as they followed him West towards the sun.

"Come on," I said softly to my warriors. "Go find your families, make sure everyone is okay."

I held strong through the walk pack, even helping the warriors pick up injured wolves and getting them to others that would take them to Holly's infirmary. The few that hadn't survived the bullets we laid together for a proper pack burial later. I hoped not too many families lost loved ones today.

Holly met me in the yard, clearly on her way to the infirmary. She scanned me over, lightly dabbing at whatever marks were obvious on my skin. She smiled, not seeing anything too serious that needed treatment, before setting off to the right and through the hedge. I walked myself into the house.

The safe room hadn't been opened back up yet, but the lookouts were working on it. Kota was lying on a sofa in the immediate living area that viewed the back patio. He was human again, wearing a pair of black sweatpants but no shirt, leaving the white bandage strapped around his torso on display. Finding me in the doorway, his face lit up like he was seeing the first hint of sun after a rainy day. I rushed over and climbed onto the couch beside him and into his arms, carefully avoiding pressure to his wound.

"How bad is it?" I whispered.

His shoulder lifted beneath my cheek. "It'll heal. The bullet wasn't even silver, and it missed anything vital. My wolf will take care of it within the next week or so."

A grateful smile broke across my face and I nuzzled farther into his neck. "That's good." I paused, fearful of what his reaction would be to me letting Jack go. "Kota, I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to kill him." He didn't even tense a single muscle like I expected. He just let me speak.

"Is that bad?" I asked him. "After everything he put me through, I couldn't make him pay."

Gently, he used the tips of his fingers to lift my head off his chest so he could see my face. "If I had been out there, I would've ripped his throat out for everything he ever did, but it's okay that you're not that kind of person."

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I let him wipe it away with his thumb. "But shouldn't I be? I'm Luna to a wolf pack! Shouldn't that make me more ruthless?"

He grinned, seeming to be struck funny by my anxiety over a kill. "You'll make the best Luna because you want to avoid death! It balances it out, see? Because I won't hesitate to kill anyone that hurts you, our future family, or this pack. But you'll be able to knock some sense into me!" I giggled and he smiled wider. "Besides," he added, "you've payed both your parents back plenty today."

"Yeah?" I sniffed, focusing on the layers of green hues his eyes displayed, inches from my blue ones.

"Look at you!" He marveled dramatically. "You've come so far since the day I first saw you by that tree in the school's yard. You stood up to your mother using a voice I didn't know you had in you — a Luna's voice, might I add — and you fought your father, your childhood perpetrator, physically to drive him away from your newfound family. I'd say that's really something, yeah?"

I nodded, watching his eyes, emerald pools of emotion, wide and bright with pride. Light danced across them during his little speech and I was completely lost in them. I didn't think we had been this close before.

Before I could change my mind about what I wanted in that moment, right then, I closed the gap between us, my heart guiding my mind.

Fireworks went off inside me as our lips met. It was something I had never experienced before, putting the sparks we shared when our hands touched to shame. It was something I never wanted to forget.

I could tell he was taken aback by my boldness, but for everything I had accomplished today, what was one more milestone? It was only half-a-moment before he was kissing me back, his smile prominent against my lips.