Page 141 of Moonlit Fate

He nodded slowly, not looking at me. “The same one where... where he comes after me.”

His heartache trickled through our bond. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make it better.”

“Your being here does more than you know,” he said, slipping his fingers between mine.

We lay in silence for a few beats until the dim light turned brighter. “Gods, we slept all through the afternoon into the morning.”

“Seems like it,” he said, sitting up and running a hand through his unkempt hair.

“Yesterday scared me,” I confessed, pulling the sheets closer around me. “When I let go of my power, when I lost control... I actually enjoyed it before I realized what it was doing. That terrifies me.”

He looked at me, his ice-blue eyes sharp with understanding. “Considering everything you’re dealing with, it’s normal to feel that way. It doesn’t make you weak or wrong.”

I bit my lip. “It feels like it does.”

“Let me help,” he said gently. “It would be a privilege to ease some of that burden. It’s not just yours to carry.”

I shook my head, even though I desperately wanted to take him up on that offer. “You’ve already done so much.”

“Never enough for you,” he said.

My fingers itched to thread through his jet-black hair. I wanted to lose myself in him, to let his touch erase the tumultuous past weeks. But I held back, steeling myself against the craving.

A loud, insistent grumble in my stomach broke the quiet between us. Atticus burst out laughing, the sound deep and infectious.

“Guess that’s our cue.” He took my hand and tugged me to my feet.

“Seems like it,” I said, allowing a small smile to play on my lips despite my rising anxiety. I had less time than I’d thought to prepare for my meeting with Philesia. I wished I could stay hidden here in the peaceful silence of Atticus’s bedroom, safe in his arms. But that would be an act of cowardice, and I was no coward.

He stretched to his full height, the muscles across his back shifting under his skin as he tilted his head from side to side. When he turned, I braced myself for the evidence of the injury that had nearly cost him his life. There was nothing there but an expanse of smooth skin.

“I know Mia and Ilaric healed you yesterday, but there’s not a single mark on you, Atticus.” I touched him there, his skin soft and warm under my fingertips.

He took hold of my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “Come on. Let’s get you fed.”

“Thank you,” I said. There was comfort in this simple act of care that felt both foreign and achingly familiar.

He pointed to a pile of neatly folded clothes. From the size and style, it clearly belonged to Lyza. “Those must be for you. I’ll give you some privacy.”

He pulled clean clothing out of his closet, then headed to the bathroom. I missed the intimacy of the morning as soon as the door closed. All the worries came rushing back, crowding my mind.

I slipped into the loose pants and managed to button up the shirt just before he came back. He smiled, and we followed the scent of coffee and something sweet to the kitchen.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing to a stool. I took the seat, watching as he set plates on the table and filled two stoneware mugs with coffee. Someone had cooked up a feast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

The first bite of pancake was fluffy and warm and deliciously sweet from the syrup. We ate in comfortable silence until the door creaked open. Atticus’s family trickled in, their voices low, respectful of the morning calm.

“Morning, Aria,” Lyza mumbled, grabbing an apple from the bowl.

“Atticus, these are amazing,” Joren, Lyza’s mate, praised between mouthfuls of blueberry muffin.

“Thanks,” he said. “But I didn’t make them. I suspect Mia did.”

As we finished eating, the all too familiar feeling of responsibility settled on my shoulders. “I need to head back to Silver Claw territory and meet with the pack,” I said, pushing the plate away.

“Need a lift?” Atticus asked. “I can shadow walk you there.”

I shook my head. “The walk will help me clear my head, but thank you.”

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