Page 108 of Unveil
Pressured speech. Check.
No sleep but tons of energy. Check. Check.
Impulsivity. Triple check for my reckless girl.
Irritability, frustration, mental acuity, and even pain or temperature toleration that can all either be blunted or heightened. Quadruple fucking check.
“And then,” Scarlett hesitates. “Sol, do you mind?”
“Scarlett… no. You can’t think they’d?—”
“Just go, Sol, please?”
“I’ll kill him,” he grumbles, ending the rest of the threat in French.
But a door slams and Scarlett sighs.
“Orion?”
“I’m here,” I answer, my pulse racing as I hold my breath.
Her gentle voice drops low. “Another symptom is sexual impulsivity. She may be more…forwardthan usual. Or act on feelings that—to be clear—are stillherfeelings, but whether she would’ve acted on them otherwise is a different question.”
My heart stutters to a stop, aching. I stumble backward, landing against a tree.
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I don’t want to go there, slapping my hand over my eyes and desperately trying to push the image away, but my mind pictures Luna open and begging,needingme to claim her.
My dick shrivels, my heart along with it. What if I twisted a moment meant to be sacred? What if I tooksomething she didn’t really want to give?
I’m lightheaded, so I try to breathe past the agonizing guilt ripping through my chest, but there’s no use. And honestly, Idon’t deserve the relief. All I want to do is rush back to the cabin and beg Luna to tell me that the best moment of my life wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever done.
But I can’t even look at her.
Scarlett blows out a harsh exhale. “I sense you and my daughter need to talk.”
I slide down the tree, landing in a crouch, my shame so heavy I can’t hold myself up under the weight.
“We do.”
She sighs. “Since we were prepared because of my own condition, Luna’s managed hers quite well from the beginning. She takes her medicine, practices good sleep hygiene, and the girl couldn’t be serious or stressed if she tried.” She chuckles lightly. “Luna’s a free spirit in every sense. Some of that comes naturally. But some of it’s on purpose.”
All the pieces I’ve missed snap together into the gorgeous, intricate puzzle that is my Luna. The way she’s the life of the party and carefree, even when she doesn’t want to be. She’s always included others, no doubt because she knows what it’s like to be different. How she tried so hard to avoid talking about her emotions with me the other night…
“Sometimes hypomanic episodes can be exhilarating, and Luna’s been known to ‘ride the high,’ as she calls it. But that rollercoaster isnotsafe. Her decisions could accidentally hurt her or other people, and long-lasting hypomania is bad for our brains.”
“What do I need to do?” I ask quickly.
“Episodes are different for everyone, but for Luna, she comes out of them fastest with the help of sleep, mood stabilizers, and exercise. Interestingly enough, though, nature grounds her more than anything. Running the Garden District has helped, but I always wished we could take her hiking again. She loved it. We used to go up to the mountains all the time, until…”
“Until the Furys called on the pact,” I finish, another awful pang of guilt splitting me in two.
She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t have to. We both know the second King called Sol on his debt, Luna’s life changed forever.
“You got anything else for me, ma’am?”
