Page 67 of Hunter Moon

Shiloh shrugged. “He’s an alpha, he’ll survive.” She wandered over and looked at the tub of butter speculatively. “You think they’re right?”

And for some reason, at that, they all turned to me.

I swallowed the muffin in my mouth, trying not to imagine that it was poisonous, and frowned at all of them, my hands out, palms up. “Seriously? You think Lin would jump into this without a clue? If he’s saying it’s them, I’d bet every penny I have on it being them.”

I took another second to consider. “But Harmony’s right. I know you haven’t ever gotten sick before, but there’s no reason to take any chances with something like this. We’ve gotta make sure you guys are around for a long time to come, yeah?” I picked up the tub of butter and tossed it across the room, straight into the trash can, then threw my hands up in victory. “Three points!”

Rhonda scrubbed her hand through my hair, smiling indulgently and shaking her head as she went to grab one of the sticks of butter in the fridge, looking it over for a brand logo before nodding and setting it on a plate. “I guess this’ll do for now, and we’ll have to go through the cupboards later.”

“I’ll do it,” Harmony grumbled, swiping her phone open with irritation.

Shiloh sat down at the table across from me, ignoring Harmony as she pulled out a trash bag and started rooting through the fridge, throwing things away.

“If you make a list of what you get rid of, I can grab replacements and pack mule them over later, when Brook’s feeling better,” I offered. I expected that like most of the other olive branches I’d offered, it would be smacked away with an implication that surely I was too irresponsible for such a thing, but instead, Harmony turned and stared at me for a long while.

Then she nodded. “I will. And we’ll see if you can actually follow through on something.”

Behind her, Rhonda made a face like she wanted to comment, biting her lip and frowning at her daughter. Shiloh rolled her eyes without turning around, and continued buttering a muffin.

Me, I smiled at her. “You will.”

42

Brook

My head felt like it was full of nothing but pudding by the time I was ready to come out into the real world again. Every muscle in my body had been pulverized, every attempt at clear thinking scattered to the wind. Hell, Aspen had had to hold me up in the shower, doing his best to make me presentable while I pressed my cheek against his chest, shut my eyes, and tried not to fall asleep standing.

But I felt better than I had in weeks. All that tension and dread I’d been carrying around from before my heat—Aspen had taken that and promised me it was going to be okay, not so much with words as with his lips and his tongue and his hands and... other significant parts of his terribly impressive anatomy.

I’d survived the Reids, and what’d happened with Maxim Reid hadn’t changed my heat or made me too brittle to be the badass omega I’d always been. And maybe it was okay for me to be unsure about all that, to worry, so long as Aspen was there to remind me that I was more resilient than I gave myself credit for.

But walking out into the main house with Aspen? That was another story.

There in the living room, Harmony was scowling down into her phone. Shiloh had a book propped open on her knee and was chewing her lip. Mom looked up at me with a warm, sympathetic smile and asked, “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

All the sudden, it was like I was too old to have a guy over, to have heat at home. Sure, my mother and sisters understood better than anyone what it was like to go through it.

And still, they had their own thoughts and feelings and opinions about Aspen, about me and what I needed, and as much as I loved all the support they’d given me, as soon as we walked into the living room, Aspen’s arm around my shoulders and mine around his lower back, it hit me—I needed space of my own.

Yes, yes, I was pushing forty and that was hardly a revelation to someone my age. But give me a break. I’d been caught in some kind of stasis, first taking care of my family, then seeing no point in stepping out of that role when Aspen left, because independence for my own sake just seemed selfish. Right?

Wrong! Totally wrong. Because that was exactly the step I’d encouraged Harmony to take when she wanted to go away to school. It was okay to leave the nest—didn’t mean you loved your family any less, or wouldn’t be there when they needed you.

Heck, Harmony had ditched the rest of fall semester just because she thought I needed her. She’d worked it out with the administration, sure, but commitments could change, and if I had a space of my own—or a space with Aspen—that didn’t mean I was abandoning anybody.

“I’m good, Mom. Way clearer,” I said, grinning. I glanced at Aspen out of the corner of my eyes, weighing just how likely it was that he’d want a place together.

He’d just gotten back to town, was living out at the old motel, and it was way too early to go talking about moving in after everything. And yet, there he was, and he’d stayed for my whole heat, and he was everything I’d ever wanted.

“There’s lemonade in the fridge,” Shiloh said, licking her finger and turning a page of her book.

Aspen cocked a brow at me and I nodded. “That sounds great.”

Nobody made a fuss as we retreated to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass for each of us and leaned back against the counter. One big sip of citrusy sweetness, and that cold sensation spread wide in my chest like I’d been parched for days. It was late in the morning—not quite noon, but I could’ve eaten a whole buck by myself right then.

“Want to go out for lunch?” I asked.

At once, that prickle of unease returned. Aspen had already given me days of his energy and attention. He was every bit as exhausted and strung out as I was, and maybe he’d think the best thing for him would be to go back to his motel and get some sleep.

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