Moonbound Mates

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

The rest of the day passed far too quickly.

Rowan spent most of it trying—and failing—not to think about the conversation with Nyra.

Or Kael.

Or the envelope.

Or the fact that she now knew exactly how blue his eyes were.

Unfortunately, her wolf found all of those topics endlessly entertaining.

By the time evening arrived, Rowan had accomplished absolutely nothing.

Then morning came.

Far earlier than it had any right to.

Rowan dragged herself downstairs and followed the smell of coffee toward the dining room.

Everyone was already there.

Kael sat at the head of the table.

Evelyn sat beside him.

Lyra and Jace occupied their usual seats.

For a moment, everything felt almost normal.

Then Kael looked toward Jace.

"I'm going to need you to handle pack affairs for the next eight days."

Jace frowned.

His fork paused halfway to his mouth.

"What?"

Kael reached for his coffee.

"We received another trial activity."

Understanding immediately crossed Jace's face.

Across the table, Lyra's head snapped toward Rowan.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

Rowan immediately looked away.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Lyra pointed at her.

"You knew."

Rowan took a sip of coffee.

"I did."

"You didn't tell me."

"I didn't."

Lyra looked personally betrayed.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"That's fair."

"Rowan."

"Lyra."

Before the conversation could devolve any further—

"Lyra."

Jace didn't even look up from his breakfast.

The single word was enough.

Lyra huffed.

Then pointed a warning finger at Rowan.

"We will be discussing this later."

That sounded suspiciously like a threat.

Rowan wasn't particularly concerned.

Across the table, Kael looked like this entire exchange was exactly what he had expected.

Then he set down his cup.

"The Council wants me to complete two separate trips."

The room quieted.

Even Lyra.

Mostly.

Kael continued.

"One with Evelyn."

His gaze shifted briefly toward her.

Then back to the table.

"And one with Rowan."

Evelyn's expression didn't change.

Not even slightly.

Which somehow made Rowan feel worse.

"We each get one day to plan before departing."

Jace sighed.

Already sounding tired.

"I hate the Council."

"Join the club, we have jackets."

That came from Lyra.

Nobody questioned it.

Kael ignored her.

As usual.

"The trip with Evelyn comes first."

A strange silence settled over the table.

Not uncomfortable.

Just... aware.

Everyone seemed to understand what that meant.

Today, Kael and Evelyn would spend the day together.

Tomorrow, they would leave.

Across the table, Evelyn folded her hands neatly in front of her.

Calm.

Composed.

Perfectly poised.

Only the slight tightening of her fingers gave anything away.

Kael continued.

"Today's planning day."

Jace nodded.

"Where?"

"The library."

For the first time, Evelyn spoke.

"The library?"

Kael glanced toward her.

"It's quiet."

A faint smile touched her lips.

Small.

Real.

Brief.

"I suppose it is."

Something about that exchange twisted unexpectedly in Rowan's chest.

Before she could examine why, Lyra kicked her lightly under the table.

Rowan nearly choked on her coffee.

Lyra didn't even look at her.

Which somehow made it worse.

The warning had been delivered.

Their conversation later was no longer optional.

Kael arrived at the library first.

Not because he was eager.

Not because he was avoiding paperwork.

Definitely not because Jace had informed him that if he didn't leave immediately, he was going to spend the next hour being interrogated by Lyra.

The library was quiet.

Peaceful.

Rows of shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, filled with books collected over generations.

Normally, Kael enjoyed being here.

Today, he was simply grateful for the silence.

A few minutes later, the door opened.

He looked up.

Evelyn stepped inside.

For a moment, everything felt familiar.

Comfortable.

The way it always had.

A small smile touched her lips.

"You're early."

"So are you."

"That's different."

A laugh escaped her.

Soft.

Warm.

The sound eased something in his chest.

"Of course it is."

The door clicked shut behind her.

For a few moments neither moved.

Then Evelyn glanced toward the stack of maps waiting on the table.

"The Council really commits to their nonsense."

Kael snorted.

"They've had centuries of practice."

"There should be a trial activity where they mind their own business."

"I'd win."

"You'd be disqualified immediately."

"Probably."

The smile she gave him felt familiar.

The kind she'd given him hundreds of times before.

The kind that had always come easily.

For some reason, Kael found himself grateful for it.

Together they crossed the room.

Neither of them commented when Evelyn sat beside him instead of across from him.

That was how they'd always worked.

Side by side.

The first few minutes passed surprisingly easily.

They spread maps across the table.

Discussed routes.

Compared travel times.

Argued briefly over whether a particular mountain path was worth the effort.

It felt normal.

Almost.

Evelyn tapped a location near the northern border.

"What about this?"

Kael leaned closer.

A small lake sat tucked between the mountains.

A cabin marked nearby.

Recognition came immediately.

"The fishing trip."

Evelyn smiled.

"The fishing disaster."

Kael shook his head.

"That rod was defective."

"You cast it directly into a tree."

"The tree attacked first."

Evelyn laughed.

Actually laughed.

The sound echoed softly through the room.

For a moment, Kael found himself smiling too.

The memory came back easily.

Rain.

Cold mornings.

The cabin.

Evelyn laughing so hard she'd nearly fallen off the dock.

The feeling that they had nowhere else to be.

No responsibilities.

No Council.

No expectations.

Just each other.

The smile faded slightly.

Not because the memory was bad.

Because it wasn't.

It was a good memory.

One of many.

Across the table, Evelyn's fingers brushed lightly against the edge of the map.

"You were terrible at fishing."

"I still am."

"At least you're consistent."

"One of my better qualities."

Another smile.

Another laugh.

Easy.

Familiar.

Comfortable.

And yet...

Something felt different.

Not wrong.

Just...

Different.

Kael frowned slightly.

The feeling vanished before he could examine it.

Across from him, Evelyn was still studying the map.

Unaware.

Or pretending to be.

After a few moments she pointed toward another location.

"This one might be easier."

Kael looked down.

Tried to focus.

Actually focus.

The route.

The terrain.

The travel time.

Instead, for a brief and entirely unwelcome moment—

Brown eyes flashed through his mind.

Gone almost immediately.

But there.

Kael stiffened.

His wolf said absolutely nothing.

Which was somehow worse.

"Kael?"

He blinked.

Looked up.

Evelyn was watching him.

Concern flickering briefly across her features.

"You disappeared for a second."

"Oh."

The response felt inadequate.

"Sorry."

The concern vanished almost immediately.

Replaced by a reassuring smile.

"It's fine."

And maybe it was.

Maybe it really was.

But something tightened unexpectedly in his chest.

Because he couldn't remember the last time Evelyn had needed to repeat herself.

The conversation resumed.

Locations.

Supplies.

Travel routes.

The details were familiar.

The company was familiar.

Everything should have felt exactly the same.

Yet every now and then, Kael found himself drifting.

Only for a second.

Then he would pull himself back.

Refocus.

Continue.

Across the table, Evelyn never mentioned it.

Not once.

But she noticed.

The pauses.

The moments where his attention slipped away.

The way his smile seemed slower to appear than it used to.

Tiny things.

Meaningless things.

Things she was probably imagining.

After all, the trial had been stressful.

The Council was exhausting.

Everything had changed.

Of course he seemed distracted.

Of course.

Evelyn folded her hands in her lap.

And forced herself not to think about it.

Outside the library windows, the afternoon sun continued its slow journey across the sky.

Inside, Kael and Evelyn continued planning a trip.

Like they had planned countless things before.

Side by side.

Comfortable.

Familiar.

And for the first time in years, neither of them was entirely certain what came after.

That evening, Rowan made the mistake of entering the kitchen alone.

She made it three steps before—

"Aha."

Rowan closed her eyes.

"No."

Lyra looked delighted.

"Oh yes."

"No."

"Oh yes."

"I don't know why you're acting like I committed a crime."

"You hid trial information from me."

"I learned it approximately five minutes before you did."

"Details."

Rowan grabbed an apple.

Lyra stole it.

Immediately.

"Hey."

"You owe me information."

"I do not."

"You absolutely do."

Rowan sighed.

"You're impossible."

"I've been told."

"By everyone?"

"Frequently."

Lyra took a bite of the stolen apple.

Then her smile softened slightly.

"So."

Rowan narrowed her eyes.

"What now?"

Lyra shrugged.

"Nothing."

Immediately suspicious.

"Nothing?"

"I was just wondering how you're doing."

The question caught Rowan off guard.

The teasing remained.

But something else sat underneath it.

Concern.

Real concern.

Rowan looked away.

Toward the window.

Toward the darkening sky beyond it.

Tomorrow Kael would leave.

With Evelyn.

For three days.

The thought settled strangely in her chest.

Not painful.

Not exactly.

Just...

Strange.

"I don't know."

For once, Lyra didn't joke.

Didn't push.

She simply nodded.

Then—

"Well."

Rowan groaned.

"There she is."

Lyra grinned.

"While they're gone, we're having a girls' day."

"No."

"That's adorable."

"No."

"You think you have a choice."

Rowan sighed.

"You're impossible."

"I've been told."

Then Lyra walked away.

Leaving Rowan alone in the kitchen.

Staring out the window.

Tomorrow Kael would leave.

And somehow, she had a feeling the next three days were going to be longer than they should be.