Page 63 of His Fated Luna

“I mean, seriously. What young alpha willingly subjects himself to the torture of redecorating a bedroom? He picked out everything himself. We wanted to talk to Rose about it, but Aiden refused. He said she’d just feel like a burden and try to leave—and that would make her miserable. He told me…” I let my voice rise, letting the moment settle before I declared, “She deserves to be happy. Isn’t that right, Ezra? You were there forthis entire conversation, and you still doubt that he cares about her?”

Ezra crossed his arms, nodding begrudgingly. “I’m still not convinced he’ll be able to keep her happy.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” I chided, smiling. “They’ll be fine once they get over their egos. Aiden is just in denial. Even if Rose didn’t have the luna mark, it’s obvious they’re meant for each other.”

“Josie, I just don’t want to see Rose get hurt,” Ezra warned. “If she’s miserable or in danger, I will take her away.”

I smirked. “You’ll be eating humble pie by the end of next year.”

“We’ll see,” Ezra retorted. He stood, leaving his half-eaten plate on the table. “I seem to have lost my appetite as well,” he grumbled before leaving the dining room.

“More for us,” I jeered after him, earning no response. I huffed.

“Has everyone gone on the no dinner diet or something?” I asked, finally noticing the near-empty dining room.

“I don’t think this conversation is appropriate for underage children,” Hilda finally said, realizing Dylan had been hanging on every word.

I raised an eyebrow at my son. He was almost eighteen—an adult by werewolf law.

“You don’t repeat this conversation to anyone,” I warned him.

Dylan nodded fervently before turning his attention back to his plate, twirling his spaghetti around his fork.

For a moment, I just watched him. I’d been so caught up in Aiden and Rose that I hadn’t even thought about my own son. He was about to have his first shift, and I hadn’t been paying attention.

“You know I’m here if you ever need to talk about anything, right?” I said softly.

Dylan mumbled his agreement, nodding. But he still seemed lost in thought.

I couldn’t help but wonder… What exactly was going on in that boy’s head?

Chapter 23

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.” – Sarah Dessen

Rose's POV

I sat in what was now supposed to be my room, my knees hugged tightly to my chest. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, I kept getting pushed closer to Aiden. And one day, he was going to resent me for forcing my way into his life.

A knock sounded at the door, and Josie stepped inside, holding a plate of spaghetti.

“I thought you might be hungry,” she said gently.

Not wanting to seem rude, I accepted the plate.

“You know,” Josie began, “when I first moved in, it took me a while to get used to the fact that this was my room.”

I paused, twirling the spaghetti around my fork.

“You didn’t share a room with your mate?” I asked curiously.

Josie shook her head tightly. “Not until much later. The mate bond is strange that way. It creates a physical attraction whether or not you’re comfortable with each other. Even though we mated… almost immediately, I wasn’t ready to share a room with someone I barely knew.” She giggled a little. “Aiden’s father was someone I knew since childhood, but he left the pack for five years. When he came back to take over at twenty-three, I was nineteen. He made me his luna, but we still needed space. It took time before we finally shared a room.” Josie gave a dreamy sigh. “I still remember the first night he asked me to stay in his bed. He said he loved falling asleep with his arms around me.”

I gave a small, almost wistful smile. “Sounds like you really loved each other.”

“We did,” she agreed. “But it took time for that love to grow.”

I ignored the meaningful look she gave me.