Page 18
CONNOR
Her door was open—a good sign. Luna stood in the doorway, gazing out past the fence into the forest, her back to us. For a moment, I watched her, unsure of what she was thinking. Her posture was relaxed but distant, almost like she was lost in thought, her mind wandering somewhere far away.
She was dressed in tights and a singlet that fell loosely to her thighs, and though I was trying to keep my attention on her face, it was hard not to notice the way the fabric clung to her, outlining the graceful curve of her legs and the subtle rise of her breasts.
She had no idea how much of a pull she had on me, not because of a bond, but because of who she was.
Her hair was loose, hanging past her shoulders like a dark veil. It framed her face in a way that made her look almost ethereal, like a dream I wasn’t quite ready to wake from.
She turned when she heard us. The knot in my chest didn’t quite loosen, because even that tentative smile hit me like a punch. The wolf in me surged forward, recognizing her, craving her. I shoved him back down. Not now. Not when she was still deciding if this was safe.
“We were just talking through a plan,” I started, trying to sound calm, even though my mind was racing.
Ash’s presence beside me, steady and unbothered, grounded me somewhat.
He had a way of staying quiet in moments like these.
Luna looked up at us, her expression open and trusting, trusting us to handle this right, not to screw up.
Then she spoke, which threw me off guard, yanking me out of my thoughts. “Were you the dog that slept with me? Well, wolf, not dog.”
I blinked. That was an unexpected question.
“Yes,” I said after a pause, my voice a little hoarse. “Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head, her lips curving in a reassuring smile. “It soothed me.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding.
There was a subtle relief in her words, but it didn’t erase the underlying tension that still hung between us.
She smoothed her singlet down over her thighs, and I tried not to focus too much on how the fabric tightened across her skin and how her body moved with such grace.
“I love animals,” she said, her voice softening, almost wistful. “I’ve just never been able to have one…because I moved so much.”
Her words landed heavier than I expected.
There was a kind of longing in her tone, a hint of something deeper that I wasn’t sure how to respond to.
I thought about my childhood, when we were animals, running wild in the woods without supervision.
My mother raised me after my father passed away, and I remember the dog we had growing up.
She’d been the definition of family to me, my mum.
Ash’s parents were like second and third parents, too, and I knew that Luna had never had that kind of stability.
“That sucks,” I said, and the words felt too simple for the weight of what she was saying, but it was all I could offer.
Ash spoke then, breaking the quiet moment. “The plan is to go to your place and check things out.” His voice was steady, like he had already decided it was time to move forward. I could feel my gaze shift toward him, but my mind was still caught on Luna’s words.
Luna nodded, her eyes lighting up a little. “Oh, good. I’d like to get my clothes and some other things.”
She was coming. No hesitation. No second thoughts. But I knew it wasn’t that simple. She was still holding back, unsure of what this meant.
“So you’ll stay here?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended. I barely dared to breathe as I waited for her answer. This felt like the moment where everything could shift. The door was open. She could walk away if she wanted.
“Yes,” she said, and for a heartbeat, I swore I could hear the unspoken “for now” in her words, though she didn’t say it. It hung between us anyway, a delicate reminder that this was temporary, that she was still figuring it all out.
I nodded, trying to hide the knot of anxiety in my stomach. I wanted her to stay, more than I cared to admit. But I also knew it wasn’t that simple. We were still strangers. How could she possibly feel the same when she didn’t fully understand what she was stepping into?
Ash cleared his throat, as though pulling me back from my spiraling thoughts. “Shall we head out to your place in 10?”
I glanced at him, then back at Luna. I could tell she wasn’t as focused on the logistics as she was on the uncertainty of everything between us. “Yeah,” I said. “We’ll take care of things.”
Luna nodded, smiled again, a little warmer this time, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was still something unreadable there. She was still processing and trying to find her place amidst all this.
As Ash and I moved to leave, I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder at her. She was standing in the doorway, her silhouette framed by the room’s dim light. Again, it struck me how fragile this felt and how everything could break if we weren’t careful.
Why couldn’t it just be simple? Dinners and soft touches, her laughter in the kitchen, the warmth of a body beside mine at night.
The bond was here, forcing them—forcing her—to move faster, to make choices before she was ready.
I’d always known my place—strong arms, steady presence, decisions made quickly and cleanly.
But maybe Luna didn’t need that. Perhaps she needed something else. Something quieter.
I sighed, pushing the thought away. For now, all I could do was be there, try to protect her, and hope we could figure out the rest along the way.
Table of Contents
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- Page 18 (Reading here)
- Page 19
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- Page 39