From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Nathan’s POV

I crouched low on the ridge overlooking Spring Valley territory, my

muscles burning from holding this position for hours. Below me,

Matthew Collins and his Beta James Parker coordinated their security

teams with military precision, covering the northern perimeter like

ants defending their hill.

“Eight warriors just along this stretch alone,” I muttered under my

breath, watching another patrol pass through the trees.

Too many for a direct attack, Shadow, my wolf, growled in my mind.

His presence had grown stronger daily since I’d fled my pack, his

voice more distinct, his influence harder to resist.

We need another way.

“I know,” I whispered, my voice raspy from days of silence and

exposure. The northern boundary was too well protected now. A

frontal assault would be suicide, even with my growing Alpha

strength.

More power, Shadow pushed against the boundaries of my

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Chapter 88

consciousness. We need help. We need her.

I nodded, feeling the familiar surge of obsession at the thought of

Julia. What had begun as resentment toward an unworthy mate had

become something else entirely–a desperate hunger that consumed

my thoughts.

dothers like us

ength.

low pressed. Abandoned. Hungry. They’ll follow

I slipped a

vantage point. I needed soldiers–disposable

ones.

ys of careful searching through the wilderness to find

1. d. The first rogue I encountered was a wiry, scarred man

who’d been expelled from a pack for challenging his

ell like power,‘ Dex said, circling me with wary interest,

flaring. “But also like prey running from something.”

and twitched, instinct urging me to tear out his throat for the

blence.

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Chapter 88

Patience, Shadow counseled. He knows others. Use him.

Through Dex, I gained access to a loose coalition of seven rogues-

wolves who’d either left their packs voluntarily or been expelled.

Their camp was an abandoned hunting cabin twenty miles from

Spring Valley’s border, reeking of unwashed bodies and desperation.

“What’s in it for us?” a female rogue with matted blonde hair

challenged when I proposed they help me.

I smiled, channeling the charisma that had once made me my pack’s

golden boy. “Food. Territory. Position. You help me take what’s mine,

and I’ll give you places in my pack.”

I watched hunger flare in their eyes–not just for food, but for

belonging. They were pathetic, these outcasts, but useful for now. I

had no intention of actually bringing these filthy creatures into my

pack, but the lie served my purpose.

They’re desperate enough to believe anything, Shadow observed with

satisfaction.

On the third night, I unfolded a crude map I’d drawn of Spring

Valley’s patrol patterns. The seven rogues gathered around me, their

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Chapter 88

eyes reflecting the firelight like animals.

“The Alpha and Beta have concentrated their forces here,” I

explained, pointing to the northern boundary. “They’re expecting

trouble from this direction.”

“So we attack from somewhere else,” Dex concluded, scratching his

stubbled jaw.

“The southwest boundary,” I confirmed. “It’s their blind spot. My observations show minimal patrols there, especially during shift

changes at dusk.”

I assigned roles to each rogue, keeping my true objective–finding

Julia–to myself. These disposable pawns didn’t need to know I

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