The Ugly Luna He Never Saw novel · Chapter 14 of 24
Chapter 14: Ninety Names
The dark in the hall was complete, and Niko walked into it.
I kept my hand on his right sleeve.
The first row of tables lay ahead, and he stopped in front of the first hooded wolf.
He did not touch her.
"Lilac hand cream," he said. "A cough you've had since August. You hold your breath when you're nervous."
He said her whole name.
In the black a girl's voice made a small, startled noise.
"Yes, Alpha."
"Welcome to the Frost Moon," he said, and moved on.
I heard it go down the hall behind us, a ripple of whispers.
He did the next one by the diesel on his jacket.
He did the next by a heartbeat that thudded.
He did one by a boot heel and one by the wet-wool smell of a coat dried by the stove.
He did not hurry.
He did not hesitate once.
A name, a small true fact, a welcome, and each wolf answered in a voice that cracked.
Every wolf he reached had been afraid of this.
Every wolf he left was breathing differently.
The old man from the kitchen table said, "Morning, Alpha," in the dark, and then he said, "I mean afternoon."
Niko's laugh was a low rumble beside my ear.
When he reached the she-wolf who had set out my coffee, he stopped.
"You're afraid I'll say something about the cup."
"I am," she whispered.
"I'm going to say thank you."
He said her name.
She started to cry quietly under her hood.
I held his sleeve, and I understood what the rest of the hall was hearing.
It wasn't a trick.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Ugly Luna He Never Saw are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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