Page 68 of A Luna’s Dynasty (Celestial #1)

“ W HAT THE HELL, MAN?!” The man, who was now lying on the ground, reached up and touched the blood oozing from his nose. He looked up to see another co-worker standing in front of the girls he had been trying to pick up.

“Enough already! They aren’t interested. Why do you have to keep pushing yourself at them?” The man turned and looked at Kristen and Lita. “I’m really sorry about him. He’s spoiled and isn’t used to being told no. Sorry if he made you feel uncomfortable.”

“He didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. He should be happy that you were the one that hit him. I would have broken one of his bones.” Lita smiled sweetly, causing their protector to laugh.

“I’m sure you would have.” He winked at her, obviously not taking the tiny-looking girl seriously. He walked over to his co-worker lying on the floor and lifted him up. “We still have work. Let’s go.”

Lita and Kristen watched the two men walk away. Lita shrugged it off. No harm done, but she was bummed she didn’t get to hurt the guy herself. Wow, she really was bloodthirsty. She turned and looked at Kristen. Her bright eyes seemed a bit dull, and there was a small frown on her lips.

“Kristen, you okay? You’re not going to let a goon like that bother you, are you?” Lita nudged Kristen, who gave her a weak smile in return.

“I’ve been with Garrett for so long. I’ve never had to deal with advances from other men.

He was just creepy. At first, I thought I’d like having other men’s attention.

I don’t. I don’t like it at all. In fact, I feel dirty.

The way he looked at me … like I was a piece of meat.

And then—” Kristen looked at Lita with round, glistening eyes.

“He whispered that he would be seeing me later. It was creepy.”

“Kristen, you’re a strong, tough werewolf.

Don’t let him rattle you. I understand that feeling, though.

That dirty feeling … yeah, I understand that all too well.

” Lita rubbed her neck as she remembered the night of the banquet.

“Don’t worry, Kristen. I’m here. Mira and I have no problems fighting, though it wouldn’t have been much of a fight. ”

Kristen and Lita sat at the table. “I think it’s best not to tell the guys, especially Garrett,” Kristen whispered.

“I agree. All they need is a reason to flex their muscles.” Lita let out an exaggerated eye roll at the hot-tempered men they were with.

She really didn’t think the situation was a big deal, but Mira was still agitated.

She had stayed fairly quiet since Lita’s fairy powers were released, but she was bringing herself more to the surface.

She never realized how much her head ached when Mira was angry until now.

After going without it and feeling it again, she felt the strain.

Mira, what’s wrong? Lita asked.

It’s not over, so be careful. Mira’s voice was gruff and intense. Lita couldn’t understand how a human had her wolf so worked up.

“There are the guys.” Kristen looked up to see the guys walking over.

She felt relieved seeing Garrett and couldn’t stop herself from hopping up from her seat and jumping into his arms, where everything felt right, warm, and safe.

He spun her around and smiled at her curiously before leading her back to the table with the rest of the guys.

“So, who won?” Lita tried to force Mira back as she focused on something else.

Asher sat next to Lita and reached under her chair, hooking his fingers under the bottom of the seat and pulling it as close to him as physically possible. He slid his arm around her and frowned. Grayson sat down, grabbed a corn dog, and started eating with a grimace.

“I take it that means neither of you won.” Lita watched both men closely as a proud Caspian sat next to her, followed by the rest of the group.

“They were no match for fairy power.” Caspian grinned, grabbing a basket of fries.

Lita giggled. She traced her finger over Asher’s jaw line. “Aww baby, are you upset?” Lita teased in a cooing voice.

He smiled and leaned his head into her neck, teasing her with his lips before planting a kiss on the side of her forehead. “There. All better.”

“My turn to feel better.” Grayson smiled as he looked over at Lita, while Asher shot daggers at him.

“Find your own. This one is mine.” Asher gazed at Lita in adoration, proud that she was indeed his.

Lita studied Kristen for a minute and noticed she was acting like herself again. She wanted to rip that guy’s throat out for spoiling a good moment. She had never seen Kristen’s vulnerable side. Even though she understood, it hurt her heart.

Lita picked at her fries while the rest of the men devoured the food like it was their last meal. She watched the midday sun flicker shadows from the umbrella across the table, staring at them as her mind wandered.

What’s bugging you, Leet? You look fine, but I can sense your mood. You seem … off. Grayson’s voice rang in Lita’s head.

Lita continued to eat her fries, trying not to alert everyone that he was speaking to her. It’s fine, Grayson. Nothing to worry about.

Come on, Lita. Or I’ll tell Caspian to unblock the mate link, Grayson teased in her head.

Don’t you dare. Just let it go. I don’t want to make a big deal out of anything. IT ISN’T a big deal. Mira’s just being overprotective. That’s all. Lita wanted to continue to enjoy her day. This didn’t need to become a thing.

Mira is upset … What’s she upset about? Grayson’s voice was no longer teasing but serious and full of concern.

Grayson. Please. Everything is fine. Okay? Lita begged him to drop it. This was her fun day. She wasn’t about to let some moronic guy ruin it.

Grayson snorted angrily, stuffing another corn dog into his mouth. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. The group exchanged glances, noticing Grayson’s grumpy demeanor.

“You still sour about losing?” Asher raised a brow, looking at Grayson.

He glanced at Lita out of the corner of his eye and noticed she was still concentrating on her food.

That was Asher’s first hint that something else was amiss.

“Lita?” Asher squeezed her side, watching her look up at him. “Is everything alright?”

Lita smiled and kissed his lips gently. “Yes, everything is fine. I can’t decide if we should visit the arcade now or wait until the end.

I want to go on some of the roller coasters too, but maybe we should wait until we digest a bit.

Okay, that settles it. The arcade is next.

” Lita stuffed a few more fries into her mouth and looked around at everyone curiously.

“What?” She was trying to look oblivious, like she was so deep in thought that she couldn’t focus on the world around her.

“Grayson seems a bit grumpy.” Caspian eyed Grayson, who was staring at Lita.

“Did I not get enough corn dogs? I mean, you ate four already!” Lita met his eyes calmly and he read her thoughts loud and clear. Don’t you dare ruin today.

Fine. He would play along. For now. But he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. “These aren’t just corn dogs. These are amusement park corn dogs. They’re in a league of their own.”

“Well, go get more, then. I think you might be a bear who identifies as a pig.” Caden cracked a joke as he side-eyed Grayson.

“I want another one too!” Garrett pouted. “Krissy baby, will you get us a few more?”

Lita watched Kristen tense up. Her gaze flew to Lita as she shifted in her seat. She didn’t want to go back up to that concession stand, nor did she want to explain why she didn’t. She looked to Lita for help here.

“How about we do the arcade first? You can get more food later.” Lita looked at both Garrett and Grayson, doing her best to casually convince them.

Grayson looked at her for a moment and then directed his gaze toward the refreshment stand.

He noticed a couple of guys had their eyes on their table and figured they did something or had something to do with what was going on.

He felt the lava begin to boil in his chest. If they did something to his princess—he felt his anger rising.

He looked back at Lita, their eyes clashing in an unspoken battle.

As much as he wanted to throw his hammer down, he also wanted to make Lita happy.

It was a good thing Asher’s mate link was blocked right now.

“Fine, but I’m ordering a couple dozen corn dogs for the ride home.

” Grayson submitted but left a hidden promise for Lita, basically telling her that he was going to take his time over at the concession stand before leaving by ordering a large amount of food and spending some extra time with the gentlemen who had taken an interest in their table …

more importantly, with the princess at the table.

A dark glaze washed over his eyes as he thought about what must have happened.

“Okay glutton, no need to get that serious over it.” Caden patted Grayson on the back and stood up. “So, competition round two? Let’s see who can win the biggest stuffed animal at the arcade.” Fire lit in the men’s eyes at the promise of a new competition. It was time for redemption.