Moonlight After Goodbye Chapter 06

Moonlight After Goodbye Chapter 06

I canceled all remaining hotel reservations for the rest of the planned trip.

I was not obligated to be considerate. They could sort out their own lodging for the rest of their journey.

I thought back to my first day of freshman year. Laura had looked timidly up at me, her mother standing beside her, grasping my hand to explain that Laura was born with a weak wolf spirit and had caught silver fever before, begging me to look after her.

From that moment on, I’d taken caring for her as my personal responsibility, and I’d also told Declan to keep an eye on her too. I never knew my care for her would end up winning his heart for her.

My phone pinged with several refund confirmation alerts. Looking at the refunded money, I regretted booking such pricey hotels. Total waste.

I transferred a portion of the refunded money to my mother, adding the note: Household expenses.

Mom called out from the living room. “Why are you sending me money?”

I yelled back from behind my bedroom door. “It’s a little something for you!”

I heard her mumble something, probably teasing about her silly daughter.

My phone rang then, displaying an unfamiliar number. I answered the call.

“Celeste Voss.”

It was Declan. His voice carried across thousands of miles and a time zone difference, slightly crackling through the receiver, but I recognized his tone instantly—the familiar edge of frustration, as if I were once again being an inconvenience.

“What’s going on with the hotels? When Laura and I got back, the front desk said you canceled our bookings for the next seven days. What exactly are you trying to do?”

“I canceled them, that’s all. What’s the problem?”

He fell silent on the other end, caught off guard by my blunt attitude. In every fight before, I’d always rush to explain and wait for him to cool off. This time, I offered no explanation at all.

“Why didn’t you run this by me first?” His voice rose slightly. “We’re stuck here in Iceland with nowhere to crash tonight thanks to you.”

“You’ve always been so good at looking after people, haven’t you? It can’t be that hard for an Alpha heir.”

Three full seconds of silence hung on the line. I heard him draw a deep breath, clearly struggling to hold back his irritation.

“Celeste.” His tone softened a little, like he was soothing a misbehaving child.

“I get you’re mad, and I’ll admit I messed up while we were in Iceland. But you’re being totally reckless doing something like this. What are Laura and I supposed to do without those rooms? I haven’t told Laura about this yet. She’ll stress herself out if she finds out. Can you cut her some slack here?”

“Think about her?” I leaned back against my cozy duvet. “I’ve bent over backward looking out for her for ages. She’s basically taken my spot as your intended mate. What more do you expect me to do for her?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” His voice turned cold again.

“I mean exactly what I said. You’re in Iceland, I’m back home in Moonridge. I’m done sorting out your messes, so don’t come running to me for help. I booked those rooms on my own card, so I’m fully within my rights to cancel them. You need a place to stay? Book it yourselves.”

“Where is this even coming from?”

“I’ve always been this way,” I said flatly. “I’m hanging up now—international calls aren’t cheap.”

I ended the call. A new entry from an Icelandic number sat in my recent calls list; I tapped it and added the number to my block list.

I then opened my bedroom door and called toward the kitchen.

“Dad, don’t put so much butter when you fry the steak!”

Dad’s booming reply echoed out. “I’ve been cooking steak for decades. I don’t need your lessons!”

Mom teased him from beside the stove. “That bacon you made last week had so much grease, a wolf could’ve slipped flat on its back in that pan.”

I tossed my phone onto my bed and headed to the kitchen to set out plates, knives, and forks for dinner.