Page 62 of His Fated Luna

“It gives me hope,” Ezra admitted sheepishly. “I know how territorial males can be about their mates—I still remember how furious I was when Estelle’s mother once yelled at her.” Ezra shared a smile with Hilda.

I sighed. He understood exactly why Aiden had spoken to him that way.

“Still,” Ezra added. “I have doubts. Aiden is an angry young man. And Rose…she’s a resentful young woman.”

“Both are being forced into roles they aren’t prepared for,” I conceded with an incline of my head.

Ezra brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know how this is going to end, but I think your presence might help guide them.”

I nodded, chewing on a meatball before swallowing. “I was thinking about moving into a home designated for retired pack alphas. It’s also used by widowed lunas.”

“I’d appreciate it if you stuck around,” Ezra said quietly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave them alone in this house together.”

I gave him a rueful smile. “I don’t mind, Ezra. I was planning to stay for a while anyway—at least until Rose gets the hang of things and their relationship improves.”

“You say that like it’s inevitable,” Hilda said hesitantly.

“It is,” I assured her.

“How can you be so sure?” Hilda pressed.

I hummed, letting the moment stretch. “Hilda, do you know what book Rose has been reading lately?”

Hilda’s eyes widened as she tried to recall but came up empty.

“I can’t remember. She always has her nose in a book, but I don’t know the title,” she admitted sheepishly.

“It’sGame of Thrones. Apparently, it’s also a wildly popular TV series. I haven’t read it or watched it,” I said casually.

Hilda still didn’t see the connection. I turned to Dylan.

“I know you watch it, but I don’t let the younger kids stay in the room. If Tony’s over, he watches it too. And ever since Aiden came back from studying abroad, he’s been watching it with you. Dylan, can you tell us why Aiden suddenly became interested in the show?” I asked, satisfied with where this was going.

Dylan scratched the back of his head, confused. “Uh… he said he always saw the book with Rose. Said something about studying in the library with her and noticing it in her bag. He saw her reading it on campus too.”

Hilda frowned. “Just because he saw the book with Rose—”

“He noticed,” I cut in smoothly. “Aiden can’t even remember what he wore yesterday, but he sure as hell remembers all those excruciatingly short skirts Rose wears.”

My grin widened.

Hilda scoffed. “He’s a young alpha. Of course, he’s going to notice a girl in short skirts.”

My grin only grew.

“Ezra, when you announced at the council meeting that you were stepping down and taking Rose with you, what did Aiden do?”

Ezra glanced at Hilda, clearly wondering where I was going with this.

“He said we couldn’t take Rose away from the pack,” Ezra admitted. “That she loves this pack and would be devastated if we forced her to leave. He said he’d step up and make her his luna if that’s what it took to keep her here. He says it’s his fault she was kidnapped and that he’ll make sure it never happens again.”

His mouth was set in a grim line, as if discussing Aiden and Rose left a bad taste.

“So he feels guilty,” Hilda supplied.

“That’s what he keeps telling himself,” I agreed. “But there are a hundred and one ways to compensate for guilt. Even Rose pointed it out—she could have stayed home with guards. But Aiden didn’t want to take anything else from her. He wanted her to be free. No guards, no curfews, no extra rules. He didn’t want to suffocate her. The only way to do that was to make their relationship look real. He knew she’d never agree to this, so instead of asking, he went out of his way to make things perfect for her.”

I paused and everyone looked at me in confusion. I sighed in exasperation.