Page 62 of Accidentally Wedded To A Werewolf

Oliver glared at it. But it was a tired glare, one born out of habit rather than actual annoyance.

She wiggled her fingers.

He sighed loudly. Then he took her hand, letting her pull him to his feet.

The kids were clustered on the ground, with Darren picking at Leo’s light-up sneakers as Leo and Vida commenced a thumb-war, quickly stopped by the aunts just as Luna and Oliver entered the lobby. Grandmother Musgrove was off in the corner with Uncle Roy, their hushed conversation dying as both of them looked up. Sabine turned toward them, in the middle of crumpling up the empty Pricklesbag. There was no one beside her. Where had Ben gone?

The roof creaked. It was a statement of how anxious Oliver must’ve been that he barely even glanced at it, his hands fisted at his sides.

Luna looked down. No claws out, no blood in his palms. Then she looked back up at the pack. They all looked encouraging. Except for Uncle Roy, who was still glaring at Luna, and Grandmother Musgrove, who was watching Oliver with a sorrowful expression.

For a moment, the only sound was the wind howling outside.

“We really don’t have to make a big deal about—” Oliver stopped, turning to watch Ben push past him with his arms full of towels. “Where are you going?”

“Delivering more towels to room 12,” Ben replied. “The new fluffy ones. Luna wasright, the guests really love ‘em.”

Luna swallowed her nerves and posed, sending him a wink.

Ben winked back. He was terrible at it, but that didn’t stop him from doing it to Sabine at least once a day.

“Somebody’s gotta take care of the guests,” Ben continued. “Since we actually have guests now. That woman who heard about us from Luna’s Instagram story is staying for another three days.”

He swayed sideways and headbutted Oliver fondly in the shoulder, reminding Luna oddly of a cat. “If you’re planning on some grand apology, forget about it. You got conned by a crazy lady. We have a new home now. No score to settle, brother.”

Then he headed off, arms so full of towels he had to shove them down with his chin to see where he was going.

“He’s right,” Sabine said, stepping aside to let Ben down the guest hall. “You don’t need to apologize.”

Oliver growled. “Just let me say it!”

“You said it after the house burned down,” Darren said, going back to toying with Leo’s light-up sneakers.

“Over and over and over,” Leo added, kicking gently at Darren’s fingers. “It was soannoying.”

“Yeah, well…” Oliver’s jaw tightened. “You all kept saying it wasn’t my fault. You didn’t know.”

“Itwasn’tyour fault,” Sabine told him. “It was Alexis. Like Ben said, you got conned. No one got hurt?—”

“But you could’ve! I put the pack in danger just because I was stupid enough?—”

Grandmother Musgrove spoke up. “To fall in love? To trust someone?”

The lobby fell silent once more as she walked up to him, laying a hesitant hand on his arm. He stiffened underneath it, but he didn’t pull away. Not this time.

“Those were brave things to do, Oliver,” Grandmother Musgrove said softly. “Just… the next girl you fall for, get us to vet her first.”

No one looked at Luna, but it was a very pointed avoidance. Luna even caught Vida ducking her head to hide a very un-Vida-like smile.

Luna felt her cheeks heat. She glanced at Oliver to find him already looking at her. She wanted to make some joke—do I have chocolate on my face again?—but her throat was suddenly tight. She couldn’t speak if she wanted to.

The roof creaked louder. Luna frowned. Was that uneven patch of wood from Oliver’s patch job moving, or was that just her?

Ben emerged from the guest hallway. “The guy in room 3 spilled his drink. We still keep the carpet cleaner in the top closet, right? Or did Ollie have another fight with Sabine about where to keep cleaning stuff?”

“It wasn’t a fight,” Sabine argued.

“Um,” Luna said as the uneven patch of roof bulged. “Guys?”

---