264 The Last Recruit
264 The Last Recruit
Mara.
Martha and I had reached out to dozens of women. I hadn’t expected much-but Mooncrest surprised me. Beneath the surface, there were entire networks of female warriors, mostly academy dropouts, living in the shadows but burning with fire. And they all knew Martha. Not just knew-loved her.
Watching her among them was like seeing her in another life. She was vibrant, relaxed, genuinely happy. She laughed without restraint. She hugged easily. She belonged.
And for a moment, I envied her.
It was strange. I’d never really had a problem with Martha-until I found out she’d been the one pulling strings behind the scenes. She was the reason Alpha Vander had forced Lucian and me into this marriage.
But… as bitter as that truth was, it had brought unexpected peace. Lucian and I had found something real
in the chaos.
So no-I didn’t hate Martha. Not really. She was just… the kind of person who rubbed everyone the wrong way at home. Loud. Pushy. Annoying, honestly. But here, in her element, she was someone else entirely.
“This’ll be our last stop for today,” she said, knocking on the door of a small house nestled in a quiet downtown neighborhood.
The door swung open and a middle-aged woman let out a squeal of delight.
“Olivia!” Martha beamed, rushing into a hug. They kissed each other’s cheeks, like old friends who had survived something together.
Then Olivia’s eyes landed on me, and her whole posture shifted into something softer.
“Luna Mara,” she said with a small bow. “Welcome to my home.” She stepped aside and gestured warmly for us to come in.
I nodded and thanked her, stepping into a home that was small, modest-but pristine. It felt lived in. Loved.
As we settled into our seats, Olivia looked to Martha with kind eyes. “How have you been?”
Martha glanced at me with a sly smile. “Luna Mara, this is Olivia. My friend from Goldenpeak. She came here with me, when I started working for Alpha Vander-back when I was Lucian’s caregiver.”
Olivia’s expression flickered with surprise.
“She knows,” Martha added quickly. “All of it.”
Olivia let out a sigh, as if a weight had slid off her shoulders. “Even about Alaric?”
Martha nodded. “And Lacy too.”
264 The last Recrist
Olivia turned to me, her smile laced with emotion. “Oh, bless you, Luna. Martha and I have carried those secrets for so long. It’s a gift that she finally has someone to talk to.”
I returned her smile, though it felt a little hollow. Martha hadn’t really opened up to me. Not willingly, anyway. The truth had just… unraveled. But I didn’t say that.
“They all know now,” Martha said, almost too casually. “Lacy told them.”
Olivia’s expression dimmed. Her shoulders sagged.
“It’s for the best,” I said quietly, lifting the warm teacup to my lips. “Martha won’t have to deal with Alaric
alone anymore.”
Olivia looked at me again, this time with gratitude. “I hope the tea’s alright, Luna. I don’t have much to offer, but it’s good for you and the baby. Chamomile-good for the nerves.”
I nodded, letting the steam warm my face. “It’s perfect.”
Martha cleared her throat, then glanced at Olivia with a private smile.
Something unspoken passed between them. A shared memory. A silent understanding I wasn’t part of.
But I could feel it-these two had been through hell together. And somehow, they’d come out still
standing.
“Olivia, we need warriors,” Martha said, skipping the pleasantries. Her voice was steady but urgent.
Olivia’s expression tightened. Her fingers curled around her teacup.
“I’ve already brought in Raya, Gene, and Tabitha’s crew,” Martha continued. “You’re the last leader left. The last underground women’s fight club still holding out.”
Olivia didn’t respond right away. She looked at me instead-wary, maybe even distrustful.
Martha, sensing it, placed a gentle hand on my lap and smiled. “Luna Mara is a warrior too. Top of her class. She graduated as Gamma in Darian’s year.”
Olivia blinked in surprise. And I didn’t blame her. Women almost never made it through the academy, let alone ranked. The system was stacked against us from day one-rules designed to break us, instructors trained to push us out. The few of us who lasted did so through pure stubbornness and pain.
“That’s… incredible,” Olivia said softly. “You broke the glass roof. You’ll be the first woman in the ranks.”
“I was,” I said. “But now I’m Luna.”
“That doesn’t change what you did. You beat them.” Her voice held pride. Real pride. I smiled at her- because she was right. I had beaten them all.
Well… all but Rowan. His strength had tipped the scales. But no one else had come close.
“So what do you want from us?” she asked finally.
I met her gaze.
<264 The Last Recruit
“We need defense. Most of the allied pack military has defected to Chase Nighthorn. He’s building a force, and we’re losing ours. We need fighters-skilled ones. I’ve secured weapons, but weapons are useless without people who know how to wield them.”
She studied me with a look that said she was turning over every angle in her mind. This wasn’t going to be like convincing the others. Most of the underground women were easy to sway-all it took was a promise of open combat, a stage to unleash the skill they’d been forced to bury. But Olivia… Olivia was thinking about more than just a fight.
And then she dropped it.
“Why should I help Alpha Vander?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “After what he did to my
I looked at Martha. This wasn’t my fight to answer.
“We’ve made peace,” Martha said quietly.
Olivia scoffed. “You what?”
“I’ve let it go.”
friend?”
Olivia’s voice rose, sharp and cutting. “You forgave him? After everything? He may not have been like Alaric with his fists, but words can destroy a person too. I remember. I was there, Martha. When he threw you out-pregnant-screaming at you like you were nothing. Again and again. You don’t just forgive that.”
“I wasn’t perfect either, Olivia,” Martha said softly. “I gave him reasons to be angry. I pushed buttons I shouldn’t have.”
“That doesn’t make what he did right.”
“No. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have a bigger enemy to deal with now.”
The room fell quiet.
Then Martha leaned forward, eyes locked on Olivia’s. “Chase Nighthorn is worse than Alaric.”
That hit. Olivia flinched like she’d been slapped.
“If we bring Chase down,” Martha said slowly, “we might finally get Alaric too.”
Olivia’s expression darkened. Something shifted in her gaze-but I couldn’t tell if it was toward vengeance or fear. Martha hadn’t told her Chase was Alaric, and I was sure it was for a good reason, so I held my
peace.
She didn’t speak. Not yet.
But I could feel it: a war was brewing inside her-and the outcome would decide whether she fought with us… or walked away.
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