Page 24 of Crystal Luna

She blushed under his compliment but before she could answer, both men stood up and left.

He waited until the door had closed behind them before speaking again. “If you wish to stay—which I hope you do—we can meet up tomorrow morning. Or whenever you are ready again.”

“Tomorrow,” she said without meeting his eyes.

“Have you found the little well just south of the village yet?”

“Beta Wayne showed me.”

“How about we meet there?”

“Okay.”

Though it felt wrong, he left without another word.

Back in his office he was surprised to find Wayne with his little girl in his arms.

“Evelyne, wanted to take a shower. So I ran her a hot bath and told her to recharge. Rayline has just fed too so I thought I’d give her an hour of quiet time.”

“Fatherhood suits you.”

Wayne grinned proudly before his eyebrows narrowed. “What happened?”

With Wayne bouncing Rayline on his lap, Heath explained what happened.

Wayne sighed, clearly upset himself. “That’s going to undo all the progress she’s made so far.”

Heath tried to hide how truly upset and angry he was, but Wayne knew him far too well.

“This is personal to you. She is personal to you.”

It was and that was the worst thing about it. He’d wanted to punish Rayan and Marvin far more than he had.

Wayne’s eyes beamed as realisation dawned on him. “You like her.”

Heath shot out of his seat and walked to the floor to ceiling window that watched over his village.

“Why does that upset you?”

“She’s barely of age.”

“Ah, you’re afraid she’ll reject the old man who’s all of thirty-five,” Wayne laughed, tickling Rayline’s stomach to make her smile too. “You are allowed to like someone else, you know that, right?”

Heath could only answer with a sarcastic grunt.

“I know it feels wrong, but Laureen wouldn’t want you to be alone.”

Heath stayed silent simply because seeking out another woman felt wrong. His loyalty was to his luna, his moon on earth. And that would forever be Laureen. She’d died giving him the greatest gift on earth. The mere thought of being with another woman felt like betraying that sacrifice.

“No one expects you to be lonely for the rest of your life.”

“She belongs to someone else.”

“How many have partners before finding their mate? It’s natural to seek out someone to be with. There is nothing wrong with it.”

“She’s a child,” he repeated.

“Oh, please. Come up with a stronger argument and I might believe it.” Wayne joined him at the window, letting Rayline look out. “Look I’m not going to pressure you but know I’m the last one to judge. Even if she’s half your age.”

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