Page 47 of Luna

She sat down on the couch and looked in the gift bags I’d brought.

“I know you said it was too early, but…” I trailed off as Halos came back with our drinks and she pulled a small stuffed teddy bear out of the bag. The bear wore a sunhat and had a flower in its hand. “Teddy bears aren’t too early, right?”

Luna smiled. “No, it’s adorable. Thank you.” She opened the other present and pulled out three books on gardening. Halos sat next to her, and absently brushed his hand down her arm.

I cleared my throat. “You might have them already, or maybe you already know the methods that are described in them, but the pictures are lovely, and I thought it would be good visual inspiration.”

What a stupid idea. She flipped through the gardening books with a small smile. Of course, she didn’t need another book on gardening.

Colton patted my hand, and Luna beamed at me. “I love it. I don’t have these yet.”

“You should see her bookshelf.” Halos gestured at the ceiling to floor bookshelf near the TV. “She’s never met a book on gardening she didn’t want.”

Some of the tension in the room relaxed as Luna grinned and rolled her eyes.

I shifted in my seat. “So uhh, when is the next baby appointment? Are you okay with us coming?”

“Next week,” Luna said, tucking some dark hair behind her ear. “And yes, that’s okay.”

I nodded, not sure what to say after that. The urge to go and snuggle against her was so strong it was all I could focus on for a moment. She was lovely, lighting up the room she was in.

I wanted her. I wanted her in the pack, curled against me at night. Two nights and three days hadn’t been enough. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough.

Colton nodded. “So, uhhh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you want?”

Luna blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean like…” Colton looked around. “You’re pregnant. What can we do to help you, to make things easier for you?”

I cringed and shot Colton a look. “He’s making this sound transactional. But Colton’s an actions person, and there’s like…nothing for us to actually do.”

“You didn’t have to come,” Luna looked away. “You could have waited and got here closer to the due date or…”

“That’s not what I mean.” Colton shook his head. “You’re upset. I’m trying to figure out if there’s anything I can do. Sitting here doing nothing doesn’t seem like the right answer.”

Halos almost looked smug, and Luna’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh. No, there’s nothing.” She shrugged. “I told my family last night. You can be as much of part of the baby’s life as you want. I know you live in Texas, and my family business is here…”

Colton’s family had an oil business in Texas, and I had my students. But this was Luna. This was our baby.

“We can figure it out.” I smiled. “In the meantime, we’re going to rent a beach house, so we can be close by.”

“Right, yeah.” Colton perked up at the idea of doing something. “And, uhh, we could buy a bigger house?” He glanced around. “Your cottage is lovely, but maybe you want something bigger?”

Luna’s face turned red. “I haven’t thought of that.”

Halos laughed. “I told you he was going to want to fix things.”

Colton frowned. “What?”

“Luna thought you sounded annoyed. I told him you were out of your mind trying to fix things.” The other alpha shrugged. “But there’s nothing to fix. We’re gonna go to doctor’s visits, eat food, and play in the garden.”

I liked this new alpha. He was much more laid back than Colton, and it was a nice shift.

“We can get to know each other more.” I looked at Luna hopefully. “If you want, you could show us around town?”

“I’d like that.” Luna smiled. “You could tell me more about your classes.” She looked at Colton. “And honestly, I have no idea what you do.”

Colton laughed. “It’s alright, sweetheart, most days I don’t know what I do either.”

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