Page 4 of Wolves of the Rising Moon

“No,” I say, voice strong, assured in a way that did not match my wiggling insides. “I won’t put anyone through that. But I won’t have him as a mate either.”

Hakani’qa raises a single brow at me. “Well, that’s an interesting stance to take. What do you suggest, then?”

I don’t hesitate. “Take him with you. I—I can’t stand the sight of him,” I say. And it’s the truth. Despite my body’s reaction to him, my stomach turns at the thought of being with him.

Mate or not, I will never be with that monster.

I wakethe next morning in a knot of tangled limbs. Not just Jonah and Rafe’s. Mari and Vala insisted on staying and we all fell asleep in the communal nest, turning it into a giant platonic puppy pile.

I was in no headspace to argue with them about staying. In fact, it was exactly what I needed.

Today’s headspace, however, isn’t much different. The fear and uncertainty of last night’s encounter underpins a new surface level numbness.

This month has been a lot.

Navigating a new relationship with Jonah, Rafe’s not at all unfounded jealousy of said relationship, while also exploring a relationship with him we previously thought was impossible. Plus, the news about this new big bad coming for us at some point, and the whole Drago fiasco.

And let’s not forget almost losing Mari but ending up losing my healer magic to her instead…

Yeah, it’s been a lot

So I’m not mad about the numb.

Numb is good.

Great, even.

Because I have too much to do to feel my feelings right now.

Mari has to learn the ins and outs of—

Mari’s groaning grumbles pull me right out of my thoughts about her and getting her trained as a healer.

She might have taken the magic from me—and healed herself last night—but she has no idea how she did it. Just like me when the mantle first fell on me. I won’t have her floundering around like I did for months.

“Christ on a cracker, Willa. Do you have to think soloud?” She rolls over into Vala and snuggles deeper into the omega’s arm, shielding her head from my apparently intrusive thoughts.

“Sorry,” I whisper, and detangle myself from the pile as quietly as possible. Once extracted, I stand over the puppy pile, looking at the peaceful faces for a moment. Seeing the four of them all comfy unleashes another onslaught of hyper-speed thoughts.

Because the only way five people, myself included, have ever been comfortable in this cottage is if we piled them in the nest. And that reminds me of something I’ve intentionally not been thinking about. Living arrangements and how any of this is going to work.

We weren’t five, only three, but still. There definitely wasn’t room for all of us here.

Should I move out now that I wasn’t the healer?

Did Mari expect me to live in her cabin? I mean, it has a bit more space considering it’s meant to house two and not a single healer, but mantle or not, I’ve come to think of the healer cottage asmycottage.

But again, there’d never be room for me, Rafe, and Jonah in the cottage, so maybe moving is a good idea.

My gaze darts around the space, taking in everything like it might be the last time. The windows on all sides, and the two wolves patrolling the property since last night, the granite island, the bookshelf by the front door, shelves practically bowing with supplies.

“Ugh! This is exactly why we don’t live together,” Mari grumps before climbing out of the nest. “I forgot just how loud you think before you’ve had your coffee.”

Jonah snorts out a chortling snore before rolling over and cuddling closer to Rafe to close the gap Mari left.

That halts my whirring brain for a moment because I can’t help but wonder how Rafe will react when he discovers he’s been cuddling the competition.

Mari sets about making coffee quickly and quietly, all the while grumbling under her breath. “I swear, it’s like buzzing bees in my head at”—she checks the clock on the stove, then the sky just to be certain—“the literal ass-crack of dawn.”

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