Page 66 of Accidentally Wedded To A Werewolf

“I never should’ve! And I never should’ve agreed to that bond—it’s poison. Worming its way into your bones, making you think you have something with thatstranger!”

Oliver had to fight to keep his teeth blunt. He could feel his wolf inside him, stalking in agitated circles. Threatening to come out and grab Uncle Roy by the scruff of his neck, give him a well-deserved shake for saying these things about Luna, let alone about his ownalpha.

A growl ripped out of his throat, loud enough to make Uncle Roy twitch.

“It didn’t make me think shit,” he snarled. “It made me want to be close to her, sure. But it didn’t make me LIKE her. She did that all on her own. I know it won’t last, alright? I’m not an idiot. I just think?—”

He stopped, the words sticking in his throat.

Uncle Roy stared at Oliver, his eyeswet and wounded. He reallyhadbeen excited to have someone in the family who agreed with him, even if he was more enthusiastic about it than Oliver was comfortable with. He tried to bring it up with Oliver, only for Oliver to make the first excuse he could think of and leave him to his ranting. But he couldn’t leave this. Not without sticking up for Luna.

Oliver swallowed thickly. “Maybe she’s good for us, Uncle Roy. Maybe we’re good for her. Is that so bad?”

Uncle Roy sucked in a wet gasp. The burn mark on his cheek was white and faded with age. And yet, standing there under the harsh lobby lights, it had never looked brighter.

The lobby door creaked open.

Oliver turned to watch Jackson step in, smoke trailing from his nostrils. He often kept a fire in his mouth while he was walking, keeping himself warm. He stopped as he took in the two men, who were standing as tight as clenched fists.

“Ah,” Jackson said. “Is this a bad time?”

“No,” Uncle Roy snarled. “Come right in. Have your run of the place, why don’t you?”

“Uncle Roy,” Oliver said. “That’senough.”

Uncle Roy snarled at him, teeth sharpening into fangs. For a second, Oliver’s hackles went up, and he thought he might have to actually fight his uncle right here in the lobby.

Then Uncle Roy’s face fell. He stared over Oliver’s shoulder with such slack shock that Oliver whirled immediately.

Grandmother stood in the hall, swaying on the spot. She had three shawls wrapped tightly around her body. Her only exposed skin was her face, which was slick with sweat. She looked dazed.

Oliver rushed forward, taking her gently by the arms. “Grandmother! What’s wrong? Does something hurt?”

It took her a moment to focus on him. It filled him with fear to see those eyes, usually so keen, clouded over.

Her lips came unstuck with a wet noise.

“I think…” she began weakly.

Then she collapsed into his arms.

Nineteen

Luna was pretty sure they were over the limit for visitors.

She leaned over to Sabine, who had graciously given Luna one of the few seats available in the tiny hospital room. “Should I… go?”

Sabine looked down at her, surprised. “What? Why?”

Luna gestured helplessly at the room. Only she and Darren were sitting on chairs. Everybody else was standing around Grandmother Musgrove’s bed. Or in Leo’s case, sprawled over her legs. Grandmother Musgrove was pretending her foot was a snake under the sheets, and Leo giggled as he pounced on it over and over.

“It just seems kind of crowded. I kinda feel like I’m intruding,” Luna whispered. In a room full of humans, that would’ve been private. But she was in a room full of Musgroves, so everyone immediately chimed in with a chorus of denials from around Grandmother Musgrove’s bed.

Uncle Roy glared at her silently. He was leaning against the wall, one eye on the door.

“Anyway, the furthest you can go is the parking lot,” Ben added once the denials died down. “If you’re lucky. How far did you get last time you tried?”

Luna looked over at Oliver questioningly. The last time they tested it, they stopped when Oliver started stumbling from pain. She’d wanted to stop before that, but he had been stubborn.

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