Page 68 of His Fated Luna

Things were okay between us.

“Good morning everyone!”

Anthony’s voice boomed through the kitchen, and I turned, surprised to see him.

“Tony!” I squealed, running into his arms. He lifted me in a huge hug that nearly pulled me off my feet.

Aiden let out a low growl. Immediately, Tony set me down. I caught Aiden’s eyes on Tony’s hands still resting around my waist. For a second, it looked like he wanted to tear his brother apart.

“Rosie, I was so worried when I heard what happened,” Tony said, pulling his hands away as Aiden continued glaring.

“I heard you were out of town,” I said.

“Yeah, Aiden decided to send me on a mission at the worst possible time.” Tony scowled, crossing his arms. “I wanted to come back when Mom told me what happened, but by then you’d already been found, and Aiden wanted me to finish the assignment. You doing OK, Rosie?”

Tony looked at me closely, searching my face.

I nodded cheerfully. “I’m good.” I threw my arms out dramatically. “How could I not be? Everyone’s going above and beyond to take care of me. Making sure I don’t step a foot out of bounds.”

I hadn’t meant to sound so bitter, but it slipped out anyway.

“Don’t worry, Rosie. You just have to wait until you turn. I know the rules are kind of… suffocating. Just hang in there until September,” Tony said reassuringly.

“That’s still almost four months away!” I groaned.

It was mid-May now—almost the end of the semester.

“Well, what’s four more months in the grander scheme of things?” Tony asked with a grin as he reached for a plate of pancakes.

He winked at Auntie Hilda in thanks and took a seat next to Aiden. Meanwhile, Aiden looked like he was seriously debating murder.

“Jealous you don’t get hugs from Rosie like I do?” Tony waggled his eyebrows at Aiden. Aiden muttered something about pummelling him on the training field.

I turned back to Auntie Hilda, who was already preparing a plate of hot pancakes for me.

“Oh, do you have strawberries?” I asked, glancing at Lorraine.

She shook her head. “I’ll be sure to buy some when I go grocery shopping this week,” she offered.

“Oh, you don’t… don’t—I can—” I stammered, trying to find the right words. “I have money. I can buy the things I like and stock the pantry myself.”

“Nonsense,” Josie chimed in breezily.

She had just walked in, keys still in hand. I figured she’d just gotten back from dropping the kids off at school.

“Lorraine, if you need more money for groceries, you can get it from me. I have all this pension money as the alpha's widow andnothing to spend it on.” She shot a smirk toward Aiden. “Aiden’s alpha funds cover most of the house expenses.”

“Doesn’t he have college fees and books he needs to pay for?” I asked, sitting down on a stool next to Tony and digging into my pancakes. “I can help out. I’m living here. It’s only fair I contribute to the house.”

I had money from my mother’s inheritance, but I didn’t have direct access to it yet since I was still under twenty-one. Usually, my dad deposited money into my account each month.

Aiden finally spoke. “Keep your money, Rose. Save it for a rainy day. We were covering the expenses before you got here. I’m pretty sure I can handle one extra person in the house.” His eyes flicked to Tony, who was sneakily reaching for another stack of pancakes. “Tony, on the other hand, needs to stop being a freeloader. Hey, don’t you cook at your own place? You’re always here for meals.”

Tony grinned.

“You’ve got me running around on so many assignments, I don’t have time to cook. Maybe I should hire a cook!” He looked excited by the idea. “The pack funds could afford one cook for the beta,” he added with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, do you have eight people living under one roof?” Aiden asked, clearly exasperated.