Luna. Chapter 84

(Lyra's POV)

After breakfast, Kael made an unexpected proposal.

"I have an idea," he said, clearing the dishes. "A bet."

"What kind of bet?"

"If we can find the book about celestial wolves today, we go on a real date. Just the two of us."

I nearly choked on my coffee. "A date?"

"Dinner, maybe a movie. Normal couple things." His smile was tentative. "What do you think?"

"I think you're trying to distract me from being nervous about tonight."

"Is it working?"

"Maybe."

Asher clapped his hands. "I want Mama and Daddy to go on a date!"

"Then you better help us find this book," Kael told him.

An hour later, we were walking through the pack library, Asher between us, all of us scanning the shelves for anything about celestial wolves.

"This is hopeless," I said after twenty minutes of searching. "There are thousands of books in here."

"We've barely started," Kael said. "Besides, I'm motivated now."

"By what?"

"The thought of taking you somewhere nice and pretending we're normal people for a few hours."

Despite everything, I smiled. "We've never been normal people."

"All the more reason to pretend."

We split up to cover more ground. I found books on werewolf history, pack dynamics, lunar cycles, but nothing specifically about celestial wolf abilities.

"Any luck?" I called to Kael.

"Nope. But I found a whole section on mating bonds that's very educational."

"Kael."

"What? I'm doing research."

I rolled my eyes, but I was fighting a smile.

"Mama," Asher said from the children's section. "The nice book is hiding."

"What nice book?"

"The one about the moon lady and the special wolves. It's hiding because the mean man made it hide."

"What mean man?"

"The one who doesn't want you to learn the magic words."

My blood ran cold. "Asher, what mean man?"

But before he could answer, Victor appeared in the doorway.

"The book you're looking for isn't here," he said quietly. "I moved it somewhere safe."

I stared at him. "You hid it?"

"To protect you."

"From what?"

"From making the same mistakes your grandmother made."

The disappointment hit me like a physical blow. After everything, my own father was working against me.