Lita's our Luna?

“CAREFUL!” Stace hissed at Alex, “Put her down there, on the couch...” She brushed Lita’s hair out of her face, “She’s burning up where the hell is the doctor?! I told him we were on the way fifteen minutes ago.”

Alex’s mind was still swirling with what the hell was even going on. He replayed the last five minutes again. Stace had called and asked for his help downstairs, but he hadn’t expected what he saw. Cole was pacing outside the car, in a full wolf’s rage, and he couldn’t seem to come back down. The man had been halfway shifted, eyes completely red, claws extended, teeth elongated into a snarl. What the hell could have made their Alpha that angry? Stace was doing everything she could to stop him from approaching Lita.

And that’s when Alex saw Lita slumped against the passenger side door, beaten and unconscious. And though he couldn’t understand what he was seeing, Alex knew the girl needed help, and that there was no way the pack wouldn’t get sucked into her mess. He rolled his wrists, feeling that I-told-you-so brimming in his throat. As Stace pushed Cole towards the packgrounds, Alex snatched up the injured girl and headed inside. He glanced down, taking in the full extent of bruising everywhere he could see. Who did this to her?

For a moment, he flashed his eyes up to Cole, who’d taken off toward the woods. Would he...? If Cole had listened, and stayed away, they might not have gotten involved, but there was no way any of them could leave her like this anymore. They weren’t animals and once he saw something like that, he couldn’t unsee it. And if Cole had been the one to do it...

Alex shook his head. He didn’t want to challenge his friend. He normally respected his Alpha in both a personal and professional way. His arms shifted and Lita made a pained sound. Alex swallowed. But if Cole had done this, he would take action. He wouldn’t pretend that it was okay or that being their Alpha would save him. Packs revolted for less all the time. And he knew his pack mates. He knew his sister. If that man had put his hands on Lita, he would regret it.

A few moments later, Stace rushed into the packhouse and Alex stumbled, trying his best to lay the battered woman down gently without pushing Stace out of the way.

“Stace you’ve got to move it, I almost dropped her!” When he finally had room, he slid Lita down onto the soft couch and covered her with a blanket. Standing over top of her like that, Alex got a good view of the black eye and the finger-shaped bruises over her throat. His blood felt hotter than usual as he backed away to give her room to breathe. Cole was already pushing through the door, calmer but just barely. He was hot on Alex’s heels, practically breathing down his neck, “How is she? Has she woken up? Where is the doctor?”

He had finally calmed down enough to return fully human, no claws or canines in sight. Alex hadn’t seen that kind of emotion on his face in a long time. The man wore a permanent scowl as an accessory, but looking at his unconscious mate on the couch, he appeared genuinely worried. Was he worried he had gone too far?

“What the hell happened? You were supposed to go apologize, and leave, asshole!” Alex grabbed Cole and pushed him hard across the room, “You’re beating women who reject you now?!” He didn’t believe there would be anything else Lita could have done to make Cole mad enough to put his hands on her. He *knew* his best friend. His Alpha. And yet his brain couldn’t wrap around what he was seeing.

Sure, Alex hadn’t been Lita’s biggest fan in the beginning, but it was mostly because he suspected there was more to her than it seemed. She looked like a woman on the run and the last thing the pack needed was more drama. Especially not after James. And, of course, he truly respected his Alpha’s authority, but this was too far. How could he hurt a woman? Especially his mate, even if she rejected him. He didn’t want to think his friend was capable of such a thing, but what other kind of conclusion was he supposed to draw? That girl looked like she’d been through the ringer, and the only fighter she’d come in contact with was the man standing in front of him.

“You think it was me?! ME??” Cole lunged, completely outraged at the accusation, and the two fell into the coffee table, shattering it beneath their swinging limbs, “I would never! How could you think such a fucking thing!”

“I don’t know what to think—*oomph*—Alpha,” Alex growled between punches before flipping Cole to land his own punches, “you come back with a beat up mate! What am I supposed to think! We both know your temper!! You were damn near shifted just ten minutes ago!”

“Jesus, it was not Cole, you fucking idiot!” Stace put Alex in a choke hold, dragging him backwards until Cole could get up. She was ready to kill the pair of them. Lita needed help and those two idiots were fighting over nothing. Then she glared at Cole, “MATE?! She’s your mate and you’ve been treating her like that?! You should have fucking said something! I introduced her to the pack as a ring bunny, for fuck’s sake, Alpha...”

“Who’s got a mate?” Mark asked as he entered the room, “It’s Alex, isn’t it?” He laughed, the others trailing in behind him joking as well, until they read the seriousness of the room. As they all walked in on the tail end of the fight, it surprised them to find the Alpha and Beta genuinely angry. Alex nursed a cut on his forehead and Cole’s nose leaked fresh blood onto his white undershirt.

“What the hell’s up? Another pack?” Brody asked, always ready to do whatever was asked of him. Then they inhaled another scent, and their eyes shifted to Lita on the couch.

“Who did that?” Andres asked, eyes flashing green. All the tension in the room hit the roof. None of the men could abide someone beating up a woman. There was never an excuse outside of a battle.

“How could you keep that information to yourself?” Stace folded her arms at Cole, ignoring the rest of the pack. She blamed him for her friend’s condition, “More importantly, why haven’t you taken her in at any point over the last month? She could have at least lived here, with us. Did you ever consider this might not have happened if you had?”

“Lived here? With a bunch of unmated wolves that aren’t supposed to EXIST?” Alex chimed in, his mood improving as he now understood the situation better, “I side with Alpha on that one. It was safer to leave her where she was. I vetoed the idea of her getting closer to the pack.”

“Then why let her train with us at all?” Stace let out an exasperated breath. “You’re telling me you knew she might be in some trouble and did *nothing*?! Two grown men... the primary and secondary *leaders* of our pack?! Please. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I didn’t know it would be like this,” Cole sighed, “Or I would have stepped in. I thought—I don’t know... I don’t have a good excuse. My wolf wanted her so badly it was driving me crazy. Alex was just trying to keep the peace. Neither of us expected—”

“And now, look at her!” Stace’s voice broke a little. “I would think *you*, of all people, Alpha, would understand what it’s like to be abused. You would leave your mate to that fate?”

Cole huffed, wiping his bleeding nose as he leaned against the far wall. What could he say back to that? Subordinate or not, Stacey was right. He’d been selfish and cruel for absolutely no reason. Because she was human? God, he sounded like his father. Because she wanted to be a ring bunny? It wasn’t because she purposely wanted to hurt him. Cole knew that. And still he’d ignored what he’d seen because... he had no excuse.

Stace stared a hole in head, calmed at least by the fact that Cole looked as miserable as Stace thought he should.

“I didn’t plan on claiming her. I still don’t. We all know Alpha’s don’t claim a human mate. It weakens the bloodline...” Cole cringed at his own words. His *father’s* words. “But you’re right, I should have helped her if I suspected she was in trouble. Claiming her shouldn’t have had anything to do with stopping violence against women.” He knew he was doing something most Alphas didn’t, admitting to a lapse in judgement in front of his whole pack. And yet, the remorse he felt demanded he do it. He’d disappointed himself and set a terrible example for the others.

Looking at Lita’s face, his chest tightened. He knew in his heart that he should have helped her.

“Wait, she’s YOUR mate?” Mark asked, mouth suddenly hanging wide open. “That’s...wow... I did not see that coming...”

“WHO did that to her, though?” Andres asked again, still staring at the girl. Her injuries were darkening with the passing of each minute. Her skin even seemed pale compared to the deep browns and purples. She could have internal bleeding, and it made his pulse kick up. His Luna had been hurt, and it rubbed against every protection instinct he had as a Delta.

“I called the doctor over. You think there’s internal bleeding?” Stace addressed Alex but looked back at Lita’s unconscious body, “She was fine, I mean flustered and bruised, but fine, ya know. And then, boom, she was passing out. Nothing we did would wake her up...”

“WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHO DID THIS TO HER?!”

Cole’s eyes shifted deep red as he glared at Andres’ tone. It was irrational. His wolf’s reaction was completely off base and yet, it didn’t stop from growling, “It’s not your fucking concern! Is she YOUR mate now?!”

“See, that’s what I mean, if she’d had THAT man protecting her, maybe this wouldn’t have happened,” Stace yelled, tossing her arms into the air.

“Stacey Ramos, you will address your Alpha with his due respect, are we clear?” Alex growled, icy blue eyes glaring at her like she’d lost her mind. Stace could feel the mental claws scratching against her, twisting her insides until she remembered her place.

She nodded begrudgingly, glaring at her brother even as she canted her head lower in submission. Andres also lowered his head slightly, showing his own acknowledgment, “Of course she’s not my mate Alpha, however...”

“However, what, *Delta*?!” Cole spat the name through the space between them like a physical force. Andres straightened his back and forced himself to continue.

“At the moment, you haven’t rejected her, and you’re saying she’s your mate. That would make her our Luna... and—”

“AND?!”

“And we protect our Luna with our life,” Andres returned his stare to Cole’s eyes in a silent challenge. Would he deny it? Would he go against everything they all believed about protecting women and children?

Cole said nothing, so Andres carefully took a step forward. “So we should plan to rain hell down on whoever dishonored our Luna.” Cole’s eyes returned to their normal shade, and he nodded stiffly, as if he hadn’t really wanted to concede.

His Delta was the most pack-oriented of them all. He was always working on ways to strengthen them as a unit. Of course, he would have found the attack on his Luna to be particularly infuriating. It was behavior Cole should have felt grateful for and want to foster. But he’d only snapped at him and debased him. How had one woman turned his calm exterior into this overnight?

Cole rubbed the back of his neck. “I appreciate your desire to avenge your Luna, Andres. It is admirable, and it honors this pack. But I plan to reject her as soon as she wakes up, so she won’t be your Luna much longer. And as far as who it was—”

“It was her abusive ex-boyfriend, some asshole named Brian!” Stace huffed, again, then went back to staring at the floor, “Cole caught his scent in the apartment building. He’s a fucking wolf. Lives right down the hall from her. I can’t even imagine...” The growls from around the room were almost immediate.

“But we can’t kill him,” Cole cut in, looking at Lita again before he amended his statement. “Not until I have more information about him. This pack doesn’t need unnecessary enemies, alright? We stay out of wolf politics for a reason. We stay on the outskirts of wolf life for a *reason*.” He stressed the last word, so they might all remember that none of them wanted to get mixed back up in that vicious world.

“What fucking sack of shit wolf beats up a human woman?!” Alex growled.

“Well, a few minutes ago, you thought it was me,” Cole grumbled.

“And if you HAD done it, you would’ve been a sack of shit too...” They smirked at each other, the silent words *and I would have deposed you for it*, passed between them.

“Now you see why I was so upset earlier, he’s a fraction of a real man, let alone a real wolf. But we can’t settle this score until we know what we’re dealing with, understood?” Cole made eye contact with everyone. They all nodded just as the doctor burst through the door in a hurry. He threw a gruff greeting out and then immediately went to Lita and began taking her vitals.

“You’re all excused except for Alex,” Cole said with a hard edge to his voice, “And one last thing before you go, none of you will tell Lita she’s my mate.”