Page 15 of King Luna

She doesn’t even look at him, instead turning to me. “Thank you for your support. I don’t want to intrude on Amy and Kira much longer, and I don’t happen to have a spare change of clothes with me.”

Noah’s brows furrow. “Mom, I can let you borrow some spare clothes we have in the car. You don’t have to—”

“Truly, I hate having to do this to you.”

Gritting his teeth, Noah drops his chin to his chest—giving up before they move into argument territory once again.

I get it.Reallyget it. With Steven I’d give up, over and over again, anticipating greater hurt if I dared stand up for myself—until I no longer stood up for myself at all.

But as I cup our baby in my womb, I can’t bear to look at Noah like this. With how connected I already feel to his pup, how could his mom not see she’s pushing her precious son away? Doesn’t she know they could only have mere years left in life together, if that?

It kills me to watch him reach for her when she won’t reach back.

Doesn’t she take one look at him and feel what he’s thinking in the depths of her bones? She might hate inconveniencing him, but he wants to be inconvenienced. He needs her.

And she’s not there for him.

My eyes overflow before I can stop them, forcing my lungs to hitch. Lilian and Noah whip their focus to me, brightening my flushing cheeks. “Sorry, ignore me.”

Lilian stands, her eyes wide. “Oh, no. Did I say something hurtful again?”

I don’t know what to say. All I can do is look at Noah.

He stares back, his eyebrows lifting as he registers the reflected pain in our bond; I’m mirroring his overflowing emotions, expressing his pain for him whether I want to or not.

Providing me with a steady hand to grasp, Noah guides me to his side. Wrapping his free arm around me, he holds me close to his chest, cuddling a sleeping Lexi between us. His heartbeat throbs beneath my palm as he kisses my forehead, the silence stretching between us as Lilian simply watches.

“Clearly, I have. Maybe I should go,” Lilian whispers.

Noah’s low voice buzzes through me, sweet and soft. “You can stay, Mom. This is just an overwhelming time. A lot to process for all of us with the Summit coming up, and I think seeing you so hurt was a daunting reminder.”

He’s attempting to cover this up. Not for his sake, but in spite of it—sacrificing his feelings for Lilian’s and my comfort.

But I swallow hard, hating how his pacifying words seem to sharpen his pain. Lifting my chin to find his loving eyes staring back, I bite my lips to keep from crying more.Do I have to pretend that’s really all it is?

Noah softly smiles down at me.Of course not, my sweet Luna. But it has to be, with her. It’s okay. I’m okay.

I shake my head, unable to accept this conclusion.I would never want to distance our baby like this. I can’t stomach watching you get hurt like this, Noah.

Shutting his eyes, Noah shakes his head.That’s because you’re not her. This is just how it is.

“No,” I whisper.

Blinking through a sudden rush of my frustrated scent, Noah’s focus flits between my eyes.

Turning to Lilian, I hold out my arm. “Tonight was a lot, like Noah said, but I think we also need you here right now. Will you join our hug, Luna?”

Noah’s chest stiffens against me. But as Lilian turns her head to hide her eyes from us, to my surprise, she steps closer—straight into her son’s side.

He sucks in a shaky breath before holding it tight. When Lilian remains pressed against us, even as our arms settle around her, Noah finally exhales, the weight in our bond loosening just enough for me to breathe slower alongside him.

Maybe this is a step in the right direction, or maybe they will never come around to each other. I don’t know. I just have to hope this is progress. Otherwise, I’m at a loss: as I stare at Lexi snuggled against Noah’s chest beside me, her eyes still swollen with grief, the last thing I’d want to do is cut ties with our baby’s last surviving grandparent.

We settle ourselves back on the couch, cuddling Lexi for a while before putting her to bed. I can only hope that Lilian’slingering glances at Noah’s turned back might mean something—that soon enough, she’ll finally reach for him first.

Chapter 4

Tomorrow, we leave for the Alpha Summit. I grumble in bed, not wanting to let Noah go. We still have way too much to do today besides packing, and carrying this little bean of our pup has exhausted me beyond belief, despite their size.

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