Luna. Chapter 114

(Lyra's POV)

I woke up the next morning feeling different. Sore in places that reminded me exactly why I was sore.

Kael had kept his promise. He'd come back.

And we'd talked. About everything. About our future, about Asher, about the mistakes we'd both made and the chances we wanted to take.

Then we'd done a lot more than talk.

I rolled over, expecting to find him still sleeping beside me, but the bed was empty again.

This time, though, I could hear voices from downstairs. Kael's low rumble and Asher's excited chatter.

I stretched, feeling muscles protest the movement. Every ache was a reminder of how thoroughly Kael had claimed me last night. How thoroughly I'd let him.

I got up and padded to the ensuite bathroom, catching sight of myself in the mirror.

And froze.

Purple marks dotted my throat. Not bruises from rough handling, but deliberate marks. Love bites. Claims of possession placed exactly where everyone would see them.

"Oh my God," I breathed, touching the darkest mark right below my left ear.

I had hickeys. Multiple hickeys. Very obvious, very visible hickeys.

My phone buzzed with a text.

Good morning, beautiful. Hope you slept well. - K

I took a photo of my reflection and sent it back with the message: Really? REALLY?

He responded immediately: Problem?

Everyone is going to see these!

Good.

GOOD?

You're mine, Lyra. I want everyone to know it.

Heat flooded through me despite my embarrassment. The possessiveness in his words shouldn't have been arousing, but it absolutely was.

You're evil.

You didn't complain last night when I was leaving them.

He was right. I'd been too lost in sensation to care about the morning-after consequences.

Cover them up or I'm never sleeping with you again.

Liar.

Try me.

I'd rather try you again tonight. Same time, same place.

I was still staring at my phone, face burning with embarrassment and arousal, when Elena knocked on the bedroom door.

"Ms. Lyra? Breakfast is ready when you are."

"Coming!" I called back, then frantically searched through my dresser for something with a high neckline.

Everything I owned seemed to have been designed to show off collarbones and throat. Sundresses, blouses, even my casual t-shirts had scooped necks.

Finally, I found a silk scarf and wrapped it around my neck, trying to make it look fashionable rather than desperate.

I made it halfway down the stairs before Elena spotted me.

"Oh," she said, eyes twinkling. "Interesting fashion choice for such a warm morning."

"I felt like... accessorizing."

"Of course. Very stylish."

But she was smiling in that knowing way that suggested she wasn't fooled for a second.

I entered the dining room to find Kael and Asher deep in conversation over pancakes shaped like dinosaurs.

"Mama!" Asher called happily. "Daddy made breakfast! Look, this one's a T-Rex!"

Daddy. The word still sent a thrill through me every time Asher said it.

Kael looked up and his gaze immediately went to the scarf around my neck. His mouth curved in a smile that was pure male satisfaction.

"Morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?"

"Fine, thank you."

"You look lovely. I especially like the scarf."

"It's new," I said through gritted teeth, sitting down across from him.

"Very becoming. Though I have to say, I prefer you without accessories."

Asher looked back and forth between us, clearly sensing undercurrents he didn't understand.

"Why are you wearing a scarf inside, Mama? It's not cold."

"Fashion statement," I said weakly.

"What's a fashion statement?"

"When grown-ups make choices that don't make sense," Kael said helpfully.

I glared at him. He grinned back, completely unrepentant.

Elena entered with fresh coffee, took one look at my scarf, and started coughing suspiciously.

"Are you alright, Elena?" Kael asked with fake concern.

"Fine, fine. Just something in my throat."

More coughing that sounded distinctly like suppressed laughter.

I was definitely going to die of embarrassment before the morning was over.

"Daddy, are you staying for lunch too?" Asher asked around a mouthful of dinosaur pancake.

"If your mother doesn't mind."

"Of course I don't mind."

What I minded was the way he was looking at me. Like he was remembering exactly what we'd done last night and planning what he wanted to do tonight.

My face was probably the same shade as the strawberries on my plate.

"Lyra, are you feeling alright?" Kael asked innocently. "You look flushed."

"I'm fine."

"Maybe you should remove the scarf. You might be overheating."

"I'm perfect exactly as I am, thank you."

"Perfect," he agreed, and the way he said it made my stomach flutter.

After breakfast, Asher dragged Kael outside to see his elaborate sandbox city while I helped Elena clear the dishes.

"You know," Elena said casually, "there are excellent concealers available at the pharmacy in town."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course not. But hypothetically, if someone needed to cover temporary marks on their throat, green-tinted concealer works best for purple tones."

"Hypothetically."

"Hypothetically. And high-coverage foundation over that."

I looked at her gratefully. "You're a lifesaver."

"I'm a woman who's been married for thirty-five years. Trust me, I understand the morning-after panic."

I was still laughing when Sage knocked on the front door.

"Oh no," I breathed, instinctively adjusting my scarf.

Sage had supernatural senses. There was no way she wouldn't notice something was different.

"Lyra!" she called as Elena let her in. "I brought those files you wanted to review."

She bounded into the kitchen, then stopped dead when she saw me.

"Why are you wearing a scarf? It's eighty degrees outside."

"Fashion choice."

Sage's eyes narrowed. She walked closer, studying my face with the intensity of a detective.

"You look different."

"Different how?"

"Relaxed. Glowing. Like..." Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. "Oh my God, you slept with him!"

"Shh!" I glanced toward the garden where Kael and Asher were building something with sticks and leaves.

"You absolutely slept with him! That's why you're wearing the scarf!" Sage reached for the silk around my neck.

I slapped her hands away. "Don't."

"Let me see!"

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, how bad could it be?"

"Bad enough that I'm considering moving to another state."

Sage was practically bouncing with excitement. "This is wonderful! You're back together!"

"We're figuring things out."

"You're figuring things out naked, apparently."

"Sage!"

"What? I'm happy for you! You've been miserable for four years, and now you're glowing like a woman who's been thoroughly satisfied by the love of her life."

The accuracy of that statement made me blush even harder.

"It's complicated."

"The best things usually are. Now let me see the damage."

"No."

"Please? I promise I won't tease you. Much."

Against my better judgment, I loosened the scarf slightly, just enough for her to see the marks below my ear.

Sage whistled low. "Damn, girl. He marked his territory but good."

"It's embarrassing."

"It's hot. Very possessive alpha behavior. I'm impressed."

"You're not helping."

"I'm not trying to help. I'm trying to celebrate the fact that my best friend finally got some action from her mate."

"He's not technically my mate anymore."

"Honey, look in the mirror. You've got the post-mating glow going strong. Whatever happened last night, your wolves definitely remembered they belonged together."

I touched the scarf self-consciously. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me? Yes. To humans? They'll just think you look happy. Which you do."

"I am happy. Terrified, but happy."

"Good. Fear means it matters."

We were interrupted by laughter from the garden. Through the window, I could see Kael swinging Asher around while our son shrieked with delight.

"He's good with him," Sage observed.

"Surprisingly, yes. I was worried about how Asher would react to having a father suddenly."

"And?"

"Asher already knew. Has known for a while, apparently."

"Smart kid. Takes after his mother."

"That's what Kael said."

"Great minds think alike."

I watched Kael set Asher down and ruffle his hair, the gesture so natural and affectionate it made my chest tight.

"What if this doesn't work out?" I asked quietly.

"What if it does?"

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer that matters. You can't live your life preparing for failure, Lyra. Sometimes you have to take the leap and trust that love will catch you."

"What if it doesn't?"

"Then at least you'll know you tried. And that's better than spending the rest of your life wondering what could have been."

Through the window, I saw Kael teaching Asher some kind of hand game. Our son was concentrating hard, trying to copy the complex pattern of movements.

"He's already calling him Daddy," I said.

"Of course he is. That's what Kael is."

"But what if—"

"Stop." Sage put her hands on my shoulders. "Stop catastrophizing. Look at them. Really look."

I did. I saw Kael's patience as he demonstrated the hand game again. I saw Asher's determination to get it right. I saw the easy affection between them, like they'd known each other forever instead of just a few days.

"They're bonding."

"They're family. Just like you and Kael are family. Just like you've always been family, even when you were apart."

"It's scary."

"Love is always scary. That's what makes it worth it."

As if sensing our attention, Kael looked up and caught my eye through the window. He smiled, and I felt that familiar flutter in my stomach.

"He loves you," Sage said softly.

"I know."

"And you love him."

"I know that too."

"Then the rest is just details."

If only it were that simple.

But as I watched Kael lift Asher onto his shoulders and carry him around the garden like a horse, I thought maybe Sage was right.

Maybe love really was enough to overcome everything else.

Maybe it was time to stop being afraid and start believing in the possibility of happiness.

Even if it meant everyone would see Kael's marks on my throat and know exactly what we'd been doing.

Some claims, I was beginning to realize, were worth the embarrassment.