The Luna They Used Chapter 02

The Luna They Used Chapter 02

Noah was already home when I walked in. Dinner was already set out, still steaming. He took my coat and scarf, hung them up like it was second nature, and led me to my chair by the hand — smiling the entire time.

“I made you beef stew — dig in before it gets cold.”

I watched his face and thought — if this man ever stepped down as Alpha, he’d win an Oscar for this performance.

I pushed down my disgust, sat down, and forced myself to eat. His wolf let out a low, mocking laugh.

[Not even a little picky, is she? The same stew Clara won’t touch because it’s too heavy — this one scarfs it down like a starving stray. Omega through and through.]

My fingers locked around the spoon. My stomach turned.

Noah caught the change in my face instantly and started to ask me what was wrong. He barely got the words out. I’d already dropped the spoon and bolted for the bathroom, doubled over the toilet, heaving until there was nothing left.

His anxiety flooded the mating bond — I could feel it pouring out of him. He crouched beside me and rubbed slow circles over my back.

“Talk to me — what’s going on? Are you sick?”

His voice, his scent — both were so perfectly tender that something inside me snapped. I shoved him away.

“Don’t touch me. Sleep in the guest room tonight.”

Noah’s face went still.

[Did she find out?] his wolf asked.

Noah held my gaze for a beat, then answered his wolf.

[No. She’s just picking a fight — like always.]

But the face he gave me was all concern and devotion.

“Babe, I can’t leave you alone like this. And honestly? I won’t get a wink of sleep tonight if I can’t hold you.”

I let him perform, then gave him the look I always used when I wanted him to back off. He threw his hands up in surrender.

“Fine, fine, fine — you win. But promise me it’s just tonight.”

I nodded. “Promise.”

Not a chance.

His presence faded into sleep through our bond faster than I expected. By morning, he was gone.

I went to the pack hospital alone. The potion had done its job overnight, and a low, dull ache had settled beneath my navel. The witch had told me the hospital pharmacy would have something to take the edge off the pain.

I had the medicine in hand and was crossing the lobby when someone walked straight into me. It wasn’t hard — barely more than a bump — but the potion had drained my wolf, and my legs buckled. I went down.

My forehead clipped the marble edge of the bottom step, and the world flashed black. I pushed myself up, blinking through the pain, and the face above me came into focus.

Clara.

Two figures came running almost at the same time. Julian reached her first, grabbing Clara by the shoulders, his voice pulled tight.

Noah was half a step behind, an ultrasound scan in one hand and a bag of fruit in the other — strawberries and kiwis, Clara’s favorites.

“Julian — it hurts —” Clara crumpled into his arms, her eyes red and brimming.

Julian swept her up without a word and ran for the trauma wing.

Noah was one beat too slow. His hand hung in the air where Clara had been, reaching for nothing.

[Damn it. He beat me to her again.]

The cramps hit in waves, each one worse than the last. Cold sweat rolled down my forehead.

I tried to push myself up. Something dark dropped over my head — a heavy hood, cinched around my body before I could get my hands free. I opened my mouth to scream, and a boot slammed into my stomach.

The pain swallowed my scream whole. I folded in on myself, and through the fabric, I heard Noah’s voice — cold as ice, nothing like the man who’d made me dinner the night before.

“Take her out back and teach her a lesson. Nobody touches Clara.”