Page 34 of King Luna

I giggle, leaning across the armrest to kiss his cheek. “You just care, my love. I’m glad it turned out to be nothing.”

He shakes his head, closing his eyes. “Same.”

Another plane races down the runway, engines roaring loud enough to shake the floor beneath our feet. I’m surprised how calm I feel about our upcoming journey today, dare I say excited. Part of it’s from how powerful Noah’s wolf seems today—refreshed and renewed as he struts around in our bond. He might’ve been stressed a moment ago, but his ever-present wolf has settled—and so has his human form, melting into his flimsy vinyl seat no matter how uncomfortable it is.

I sweep my gaze down Noah’s slackened chest, picturing how hard he panted in desperation beneath me, a mere twelve hoursago. If this loosening effect is the result, maybe I should treat him in bed like that more often.

Noah’s eyes zip to mine. I straighten, whipping my focus back to the massive glass windows in front of us. But Noah giggles, drawing my hand into his lap to spin my ring.Don’t entice my wolf, little Alpha. We have to get through this flight first, at least.

I laugh, snuggling into his arm.You said that about security, earlier.

True.He sighs. “This has already been a long day. But I’m glad it’s been with you.”

A strand of hair slips past his brow. I ease it out of his eyes for him, my smile rising as I stare at the most loving person I’ve ever met. “I feel the absolute same, my love.”

Handing me my food, Noah doesn’t say another word. He doesn’t need to: his emotions flood our bond with a giddy shyness, all while his wolf zooms around mine before playfully nipping at my neck. I giggle, stretching to kiss his cheek, but he steals the kiss from me, pressing hard into my lips. I blink back at him with a pleased hum before we close our eyes, smiling through our kiss.

With Noah’s palm settling over my thigh, we dig into our meals, preparing for the long journey ahead.

Chapter 9

With our stomachs refilled, we shuffle onto the plane, today’s tiredness already taking hold of my dragging limbs. Our plane is wider than any flight I’ve been on—as I expected with a longer, international trip. But instead of the roomy seats I’ve usually walked past in first class, this plane has expansive rows of reclined chairs. They look much more like individual, spacious beds.

When Noah stops us here, plopping our backpacks into the wide cubbies beneath the seats, my jaw drops. “Wait, really? This is us?”

Noah grins over his shoulder with a soft giggle. “Mhm.”

I double-check that the numbers above our heads match our boarding passes, my eyes widening by the second. Two aisles stretch down the plane, giving enough room for multiple passengers in each row of economy seating. In this luxury section, however, there’s so much space dedicated to each of us that only three passengers fit in each row. Tall screen dividers line the aisles, allowing for total privacy.

But the seats Greenfield Pack purchased for us are special: our row has two seats smushed together in the middle, clearly designed for a pair of travelers who intend to fly together without the big dividers between us. As I lean closer, relief wells in my chest; there’s an armrest between us in case we need it, but the squishy seats stretch all the way across our section without dividing, creating a proper bed with our own personal screen.

I bounce on my heels. “Noah, this isunreal!”

Helping me into my seat, Noah laughs. “That’s right, you’ve never been on a flight like this, huh?”

“Are you kidding? No way. We’re absolutely being spoiled.”

“Yeah. Greenfield likes to spoil the hell out of me with overseas flight tickets every year for the Summit, no matter how much I argue with them that I don’t need it.” Noah rolls his eyes. “But now that you're here, I'm glad they did. My mom said they wanted you to be comfortable, in particular, so I didn’t have any complaints this time. It was nice of them to find us a pair of joined seats too. Normally, I’m sectioned off by myself.”

My heart clenches. “Noah, that’s so sweet of them. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be able to fully lay down and relax. This will be way easier on my body.”

To my delight, Noah’s entire torso loosens. “Good. I’m happy to see you happy.”

I beam at him, taking his hand in mine. “You’re sweet. Even if we didn’t have these seats, I’ve already been thinking about how grateful I am that I’m getting to go on this trip with you.”

Noah’s cheeks flush hot, and I giggle. He’s gushing with affection as he lifts the armrest between us, pulling me to his edge of my wide seat. With full access to me, my mate promptly nuzzles into my cheek with more soft kisses than I can count, but I don’t feel smothered. Gentle caresses over my arms, abdomen, and sides lull me into a meditative state.

Breathing in Noah’s scent, I allow myself to doze against him as the rest of the passengers board. But by the time the plane roars to life and the safety instructions begin, I’m left with no choice but to inhale jet fumes. My nausea returns full-force, aggravated by my anxiety around flying.

As the muffled safety protocol drones over the plane’s speakers, I try to lay perfectly still, not wanting to aggravate my stomach further.

Noah rubs my hand with a gentle whisper. “Are you feeling sick?”

“Yes, but it’s fine. It’s the jet fuel smell that’s—” I swallow thickly, and Noah winces.

“Can I see your scarf?”

Using the last drop of my limited energy to shakily bend over, I fetch my scarf from my backpack in my personal cubby. When I hand the plaid red fleece to Noah, he eyes the passengers across the aisle, ensuring our tall dividers cover us.

---