Moonbound Mates

Chapter Eight

"This one is yours." Rowan stared at the door. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Evelyn smiled. "The room is usually reserved for important guests." The words were perfectly polite. Perfectly reasonable. And somehow Rowan still felt like she'd been insulted. "Usually?" she asked. Evelyn's smile never wavered. "If you aren't comfortable here, we can have you moved." There it was. Not enough for anyone else to notice. Just enough. Rowan nodded once. "I'm sure it'll be fine." "Good." Evelyn stepped back. "Dinner is in about an hour. Someone will come get you." Then she smiled again. Warm. Graceful. Perfect. "Get settled." Before Rowan could think of a response, Evelyn turned and walked away. Jace immediately followed. Lyra lingered. Of course she did. She looked between Rowan and the retreating pair. Then back again. Finally she sighed dramatically. "I hate being right." Rowan raised an eyebrow. "About what?" "Everything." "That's not helpful." "It's rarely helpful." A grin tugged at Lyra's mouth. Then, unexpectedly, it softened. "If you need anything, my room is three doors down." The sincerity caught Rowan off guard. Lyra pointed down the corridor. "Unless I get lost again." "You got lost in your own bedroom wing." "I was exploring." "You live here." "Details." For the first time, Rowan laughed. Lyra looked absurdly pleased with herself. "There it is again." "What?" "The smile." "You're obsessed with that." "Yes." At least she was honest. The grin returned. Lyra looked toward the floor for a moment. The grin faded slightly. Not completely. Just enough. "I know this situation isn't ideal." Rowan blinked. The sudden seriousness caught her off guard. Lyra shrugged one shoulder. "Not every mate bond is." Something unreadable flickered across her expression. Gone almost immediately. "Just don't let everyone else decide how you feel about it." Rowan studied her. "What does that mean?" Lyra smiled faintly. "It means everybody is going to have an opinion." A pause. "Kael. Evelyn. The elders. Half the pack." The smile softened. "But you're the one who has to live with whatever happens." For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Lyra pointed down the corridor. "See you at dinner." And just like that, she was gone. ─── The room was enormous. That was Rowan's first thought. Her second was that nobody should need this much space. A sitting area occupied one corner. A fireplace occupied another. The bed looked large enough to sleep an entire patrol team. Her belongings sat neatly arranged beside a wardrobe bigger than her bedroom back home. Rowan stared at the small collection of bags. Then at the room. Then back at the bags. It looked ridiculous. Like someone had accidentally misplaced her life. The realization hurt more than she expected. Slowly, Rowan sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress sank beneath her. Everything smelled unfamiliar. Everything looked unfamiliar. Nothing felt like hers. For the first time since arriving at Silver Moon, the loneliness finally caught up with her. "I miss home." Nyra was quiet for a moment. Then— "So do I." Rowan swallowed hard. That somehow made it worse. "I miss Dad." The wolf's presence pressed gently against her thoughts. "I know." A long silence followed. Neither of them had anything else to say. Because there wasn't anything else to say. Home was gone. At least for now. ─── The bathroom was somehow even more absurd than the bedroom. Rowan stood in the doorway. Staring. There was a bathtub large enough to drown in. A walk-in shower bigger than her old bedroom closet. Polished stone. Glass. Silver fixtures. Everything gleamed. "Who needs this much bathing room?" Nyra seemed impressed. "I do." Rowan rolled her eyes. Despite herself, a smile tugged at her mouth. Maybe a shower would help. ─── It didn't. Not really. The hot water relaxed her muscles. But it didn't quiet her thoughts. By the time she stepped back into the bedroom wrapped in a towel, she felt exactly as overwhelmed as before. Maybe more. A knock sounded at the door. Rowan froze. Dinner already? That had been fast. She tightened the towel and crossed the room. The moment she opened the door— She regretted it. Kael stood on the other side. Both of them froze. For one long second, neither moved. Neither spoke. Kael's eyes widened. Rowan felt heat rush instantly into her face. "Oh." Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. That was the best she could do. "Oh." Kael looked away so fast it almost would have been funny. Almost. "I can come back." "Good idea." "Right." Silence. Neither moved. The bond hummed. Entirely too amused. Rowan groaned. "I'll get dressed." "Good idea." "Very good idea." Kael stepped inside immediately. As though remaining in the hallway was somehow worse. Rowan didn't wait to find out. She turned and practically fled into the bathroom. The door clicked shut behind her. For several seconds she simply stood there. Mortified. Nyra was absolutely no help. "You opened the door." "I know." "In a towel." "I KNOW." The wolf sounded delighted. Rowan considered drowning herself in the bathtub. ─── When she emerged several minutes later, fully dressed and significantly less embarrassed, Kael was sitting on the edge of her bed. Waiting. The room suddenly felt much smaller. Which was ridiculous. It was the largest bedroom Rowan had ever seen. Neither spoke at first. Kael looked tired. Not physically. Something deeper. The kind of exhaustion that came from carrying too much responsibility for too long. Finally Rowan sat across from him. "What did you want?" Kael was quiet. Long enough that she almost thought he wouldn't answer. Then— "I wanted to see how you were settling in." Rowan laughed. The sound came out brittle. "I'm not." His expression tightened. "I figured." Silence settled between them. Not hostile. Just heavy. Rowan stared down at her hands. "This place is huge." Kael nodded. "It is." "I don't belong here." Something flickered across his face. Gone too quickly to identify. Rowan continued anyway. "Everything is different." Her voice softened. "I keep expecting to wake up back home." The confession hung between them. Raw. Honest. "I miss my father." Kael looked away. Just briefly. As though that particular wound felt familiar. "I know." For some reason, that made her want to cry. Instead she laughed. A sad sound. "I feel like I'm walking through somebody else's life." Kael's jaw tightened. Rowan noticed. Of course she noticed. "Yours." Silence. "Evelyn's." More silence. "I don't think I'm supposed to be here." The words hurt. Because she believed them. Kael sat motionless for several seconds. Then finally spoke. "I've been thinking the same thing." Rowan looked up. His gaze met hers. Steady. Direct. Painfully honest. "I already built a life here." His voice was quiet. "Evelyn is part of that life." The bond twisted sharply. Rowan ignored it. Or tried to. Kael exhaled slowly. "You belong at Cedar Ridge." The words landed like a blow. Not because she didn't agree. Because she did. "I think..." He paused. Then continued. "I think tomorrow we should ask the Council to allow us to sever the bond." Everything inside Rowan went still. For one terrible second— It hurt. Stupid. Completely stupid. She had spent days wishing for exactly that. Hadn't she? Then anger arrived. Not explosive. Not loud. Just enough to protect the part of her that suddenly felt exposed. "I agree." Kael froze. Just slightly. Rowan continued before she could stop herself. "I never wanted this." The words came easier now. "I never wanted to leave my home." Her voice sharpened. "I never wanted your pack." Or your life. Or you. She didn't say the last part. Somehow that felt like a lie. Kael looked away first. The movement was small. But Rowan noticed it. "I know." The room fell silent. The bond pulsed. Unhappy. Ignored. Finally Kael stood. Slowly. Carefully. As though one wrong movement might break something. "Then it's settled." Rowan hated how much those words hurt. "We'll ask the Council to sever the bond." His gaze found hers one final time. "And then we can return to our lives." Return. As though either of them could go back to who they'd been before. Kael moved toward the door. Then stopped. "Dinner is in thirty minutes." The normality of the statement felt absurd. Rowan almost laughed. Almost. "I'll see you there." Then he was gone. The door clicked shut behind him. Silence filled the room. Rowan sat motionless on the edge of the bed. She had gotten exactly what she wanted. So why did it feel like something was breaking?