Page 37 of Lunar's Ruined Alpha

Noah shakes his head. “No, seriously. Every time she has to help me with my math homework, she ends up more confused than me!”

I tut. “In my defense, the way they teach you kids these days is very different than how we learned things.”

“That’s true,” Rowan says, coming to my defense. He could very easily make me the butt of the joke for the sake of amusing his son, but that’s not his style.

Noah keeps chattering, more talkative and energetic than I’ve seen him be in a while. “Mom once told me that her best subject in school was language arts. Like, writing and grammar and stuff. Ugh!”

Rowan smiles softly. “I remember.”

I balk. “You do?”

His eyes lock with mine. “Of course I do.”

But I hardly noticed you at all when we were kids, I almost say. Instead, I shrug off the gentleness in his gaze and focus back on Noah.

“Being good at communication skills like writing and reading is important,” I tell him.

“Yeah, yeah. You always say that.”

“A good communicator makes for a good leader,” Rowan adds.

I try not to flinch. He didn’t mean for that to come across as a slight, but I can’t help translating it that way. Because I’ll never be a leader. I was born to be his Mate, and therefore born to stand by his side at the helm of the pack, but that is a destiny that will never come to fruition. It doesn’t matter if I can give a good speech or analyze complex documents.

Rowan shifts on the other side of the booth. “Is your shift over?”

“Just about.”

“Aw, man,” Noah mumbles, sinking low. “Does that mean we have to leave now?”

I gaze at him, noting the twinkle in his eyes and the glow in his cheeks. He barely knows his father, but he loves him, anyway. I can seeit written plainly on his face—he wants to spend as much time with Rowan as possible.

And I can’t be selfish about this. I can’t drag him away again, even if I’m not exactly eager to spend more time in Rowan’s presence. Especially after last night.

“I guess we can stay a little while longer,” I tell him.

Across from us, Rowan smiles. I try not to let that smile affect me, and instead force myself to turn my attention to Noah, but there’s a light heat spreading up my neck from the intensity of his stare.

I need to stop overthinking things. Whatever happened between us last night was nothing more than lust. As soon as I accept that as truth, the easier this entire situation will be.

Utter fool, growls the wolf within me.

Chapter 14

Rowan

The next night, I have to force myself to go through the motions of my responsibilities with the Greenbriars, when all I really want to do is focus on doing what I can to protect Alina and my son. I meet with my father to confirm all is well on our own borders, confirm with various Betas that patrols have been running smoothly, and meet briefly with the elders to make sure that no community complaints have arisen in the past couple of days.

It’s the bare minimum of what I should be doing as their future Alpha, but for now, I have bigger priorities.

When I’m free from my duties, I hop in my truck and drive north to the shared border between my land and Whiterose territory. Leaving my vehicle parked inconspicuously on the side of a dirt road that skirts the boundary between our packs, I slip out into the cool night, shuck off my clothing, and shift into wolf form.

As my body morphs and my senses sharpen, it becomes even more apparent that spring is dawning on this region with all the subtlety of a battering ram. There is so much moisture in the air, and the tickling presence of pollen is already dense, suggesting that we’ll have early blooms this year.

Automatically, I think of Alina and her lilac scent. Alina and her little garden in front of the house. Alina and her flowery perfume, her springtime freshness.

Right now, however, I can’t afford to be distracted.

Digging my paws into the damp soil, I shake out my fur and breathe in deeply. There isn’t much wind tonight—nothing more than a gentle breeze rustling the shadowy leaves, but that will work in my favor. It will make my targets a little more difficult to locate, but it will also help to mask my own scent.

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