Page 103 of His Fated Luna

We drove to lunch in silence, the tension so thick it was almost suffocating.

The next day, Aiden left for Washington D.C. He’d be back in August, when our mating ceremony was supposed to happen. I wandered through the house like I’d lost something vital. Like part of me was gone.

Whenever I went to campus to process transcripts and paperwork for my full-time internship with Dr. Danvers that would be in the fall, the emptiness hit harder. I missed thelittle things—the way he opened car doors, made sure I’d eaten, brought me coffee, waited outside class just to walk with me.

He was gone.

And I missed him.

Chapter 32

“What’s wrong is that every morning and every night, I lie in bed wondering why you’re not beside me.” ? K.A. Tucker, Ten Tiny Breaths

Aiden's POV

“I’m sorry to call you back so soon. You weren’t due back for another week,” Mom said apologetically as she wiped her eyes with a tissue while sitting in the passenger seat of her car.

I shook my head and sighed as I turned onto the driveway of our home.

“It’s OK Mom. I know the situation with Dylan has you worried.”

“All the doctors say the same thing Aiden!” Mom sobbed, blowing her nose.

I turned to look at her after parking her car.

She’d been so distraught when she picked me up from the airport. I’d rushed home when she called me earlier today, barely holding it together. I knew she needed me right now. I was the alpha, and she was turning to me to help her solve the problem with Dylan. But I had no idea where to even start. Dad would have known what to do…

“I saw five doctors today…FIVE. And they all say we need to either find Dylan a pack to lead or he needs to become a rogue. Not all wolves can be rogues. Your aunt married a rogue but some wolves can go feral if they aren’t tethered to a pack. What if something like that happens to Dylan? There has to be a way Aiden!” My lips pressed into a thin line. Mom was convinced that there was a way to repress Dylan’s alpha instincts to challenge me. For now, he was controlling himself but it was taking a toll on him mentally and physically.

It was making Mom frantic. And without Dad here, she felt even more lost.

I pulled her into a hug.

“Mom, we’re going to get through this,” I vowed. “I promise, I’m going to find a way to fix it all.”

Mom took a deep breath, hugging me back before pulling away to get out of the car.

We both walked into the house in silence.

As I entered the TV room, I was surprised to see Rose and Tanya snuggled together on the couch, both fast asleep. My eyes strayed and caught the sight of a book resting limply in Rose's lap. I knew she must have been reading it out loud to Tanya and at some point, both of them must’ve fallen asleep.

While I was staring at Rose, Mom appeared behind me.

“That can’t be comfortable for either of them,” Mom said looking at the way Rose's head lolled to the side while Tanya clutched at her shirt and her head resting on Rose's arm.

Mom walked over and gently started to extract Tanya from Rose's grasp.

“I had asked Rose to take care of Tanya today while I went with Dylan to visit some doctors,” Mom explained.

Rose's eyes fluttered open groggily at the sound of Mom's voice, barely registering Mom carrying Tanya away before her gaze snapped to me, widening in surprise.

“You… you’re back early,” she croaked in surprise.

And the first thing I came home to was Rose taking care of my little sister. She did so much for us…

“Yeah, uh… we’ll talk about it more tomorrow. There’s a… situation I have to take care of,” I said in a strained tone, answering her question.

“What happened?” Rose asked urgently, trying to stand despite the grogginess clinging to her.