Rise of the Wild Moon (New World Shifters Book 3)

I’d finally taken control of my life when my future was stolen from me. Now I’m in the wilds and on the run, my lycan bite a festering reminder of everything I’ve lost.

Knox and I don’t know what we’re doing out here, and survival seems impossible. When a group of fearsome lycans capture us, they force us apart and demand I embrace the monster within.

They have big plans: Kill the alpha wolf and start a war. And they’ll use every weapon in their arsenal, including me. After all, who better to destroy Prince Ryne than his true love?

Prologue

Elle

The carnage is the
worst I’ve ever seen. The lycan are gone, disappeared into the night. They’ve
taken out a good number of Ryne’s pack. On the stage, most of the girls are
huddled near the edge. Several of them are crying and others just looked
shocked. As house mother, my duty is to go to them and comfort them, but I
can’t.

I
scan the scene for certain people. My eyes first find Madame Delphine’s and I
sigh a breath of relief. Her hair a mess and her skirts torn, but she’s there,
talking to the girls in a soft whisper. She’ll take care of them.

Amongst
the dead and the injured, I spot my parents, checking for pulses and wrapping
wounds. I have no idea what the next few hours or days will bring, but if Thorn
figures out that I was in on the plot for Poppy to marry Ryne, their lives will
be in danger. As if my father could hear my thoughts, his eyes meet mine.

“Go,”
I mouth and he gives a stiff nod, taking my mother by the forearm and dragging
her away. It looks rough, but that’s always been a show for Ryne. My father is
one the most gentle men I’ve ever met. But he also probably knows that my
mother won’t leave me here and so hopefully they’ll be far enough away when she
realizes it that they can’t turn back.

The
stench of blood is thick in my nostrils. I don’t know how we’ll recover from
this. Ryne has disappeared--most likely with Poppy, but he needs to come back
and take care of his pack otherwise, his father will take it from him.

For
now, the best I can do is damage control. I turn my head to the other side of
the stage. The place that I don’t want to look. Because there are our enemies
and I have to be the one to face them since all of my allies are gone.

Thorn
stands there, alive and well unfortunately, arguing with Anders. It’s then that
I finally take in the noise. It was as if until this moment, that my ears had
gone deaf. Wolves howl all around us. Snarls and fights are still going on, but
they are among themselves, not the lycan. The noise is deafening.

I
put on my best smile and smooth my skirts. My heels are broken, so I kick them
off and pad softly across the stage, my wedding dress in tatters. I hold my
head high and approach the two men.

“You
were supposed to kill him,” Thorn hisses.

“I
already told you, the men won’t follow them if I do that.”

“Then
make them. You know what, I was wrong about you. You don’t have the strength to
lead this pack. I’ll find another man.”

I
clear my throat. “I thought that man was Ryne.”

Thorn
meets my eyes and an oily grin forms on his lips. “Elle, love, why don’t you go
make sure our girls are okay. This must’ve been terribly traumatic for them. Go
back to the house with them and we’ll come visit when we’re done here.”

I
straighten and meet his eyes. “No. I am Luna, not some silly human girl. I want
to help. I’m just as capable, if not more, than Anders here.”

Anders
snorts and I ignore him. If Thorn forces Ryne and I to marry, the first thing I
will do is banish Anders. Human wives don’t have any say in what goes on in the
pack. They are just pretty babymakers, but I’ve done some reading. The last
luna wife was over three hundred years ago--before the wars--and she ruled
alongside her husband as his equal, making decisions without him at times and
he supported her. In some ways she became the Alpha.

Thorn
probably didn’t realize that or he would’ve killed her years ago. He just
wanted a show of force, and he believed that Ryne and I together could be that.
But what he doesn’t realize is that we’ll have enough power to overthrow him.

Course
that would only work if we actually got married. But there was no way I was
standing between Ryne and his fated. Maybe someday I’ll meet mine.

For
now, though, appearances must be kept up.

Thorn
chuckled, sliding closer to me. “You are likely right there, but why don’t you
leave the tough stuff to the men. You need rest. When Ryne returns, the wedding
will be performed and you’ll be in for a long night.”

He
winks and I have to resist the urge to punch him in the nose.

“Actually
that might be a good job for you. Find Ryne and bring him back here.”

I
scoff. “You mean to tell me that you don’t have dozens of wolves already out
there looking for him.”

“I
do. But according to yourself, you’re better than they are.”

“You’re
right, I am,” I growl and move to the edge of the stage, ready to shift.

“Wait,”
Thorn calls and I spin. He studies me with curious eyes and approaches me. He
stands way to close, his nostrils flaring with every breath. He brings a hand
up to my face and forces me to look him in the eye. I stare at him defiantly.

“You
are right. You are the most powerful wolf here. You will make Ryne a very
strong Alpha.”

I
nod stiffly, his fingers still digging into my chin.

He
purses his lips. “Perhaps I do not want him to be a strong Alpha.”

“If
you pass me onto Anders…” I let the unsaid threat hang in the air. I don’t know
what I would do, but Anders would die before he touched me.

Thorn
chuckles. “I’m not going to pass you onto Anders. He’s proven he’s a weak wolf
as well. No. I’ve realized that if you want something done right, you have to
do it yourself.”

Dread
fills my stomach and I hope he’s not saying what I think he’s saying. “I don’t
understand.”

“Oh
I think you do. You will be married tonight, but I will be your new husband,
not Ryne.”