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As they cleared the room, Bellamy was relieved that Oscar had offered them a reprieve. He had indeed changed—matured—these past few months.
“Thank you for not betraying my trust.”
Oscar rolled his eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t. But I had to give them something titillating.”
“Yes, I can see that.” Bellamy shook his head in mirth. Especially with the twins being fated themselves, according to Madam Langley, and loving anything romantic. They were very much together in every sense of the word, and anyone who saw them interact couldn’t deny their deep affection. Though Bellamy did wonder what Ashwood might think. Perhaps he would feel just as strongly about the twin’s connection as he did about theirs.
“It’s nice to see you’re no longer at each other’s throats,” Oscar said with a trace of wariness despite his amusement. Bellamy couldn’t deny he’d been a bit harsh the last time they’d been in each other’s company. “So you’re friendly again?”
Ashwood looked at Bellamy, clearly waiting for him to respond first.
“For the most part. We’ve…come to an understanding,” Bellamy replied, cautious not to say the wrong thing or confess too much. “In fact, I owe him. He’s healed me, and taught me many things about my true nature.”
Oscar’s eyes lit up. “Does this mean you’ve embraced your wolf side?”
“Shh…lower your voice,” he chastised.
Ashwood snickered, and it was catching.
“Well, yes…” Bellamy said. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll decide to—”
“What’s there to decide? This is part of you. Why would you stifle it?”
“It seems the most logical solution, unfortunately.”
“Which is the unfortunate part?” Oscar asked quizzically. “That you can run and howl and bare your teeth, or that you have a strikingly handsome man as your mate?”
Ashwood’s cheeks flushed, and Bellamy felt that possessive streak arise in him again. He certainly didn’t want to entertain that feeling.
“I…honestly don’t know if it’s the right life for me.”
“And entertaining gentlemen is?” Oscar arched an eyebrow, and Ashwood looked away, a slight tic in his jaw. “Though obviously we all enjoy it, or we wouldn’t partake so freely.”
“You especially,” Bellamy teased, finally able to draw the attention away from himself. Oscar was always going on about the most well-endowed gentlemen—and Mr. Walters, in particular.
Ashwood was listening quietly to their exchange, and Bellamy wondered what he was thinking.
“Who doesn’t like a good fucking?” Oscar said, waving his hand, and Bellamy refused to make eye contact with Ashwood, who shifted uncomfortably beside him. “But haven’t we all considered what we’d do with our futures?”
“You’re right, of course,” Bellamy said. Perhaps the sickness and all the suffering in Lunar’s Reach had made Oscar consider his own mortality. “I have some decisions to make. We both do. But for now, we need to speak to Madam Langley about a bit of danger—”
“Is it regarding Ashwood’s former pack?” Oscar asked, surprising him.
But then Bellamy remembered all the suspicious inquiries and accusations he’d made of Oscar from his deathbed. “Yes, it is,” he replied, stepping toward Oscar. “And I’m sorry I doubted you. I know you were only trying to help.”
Oscar’s neck splotched pink. “I’m only glad you’re well.”
“Gentlemen,” Madam Langley said, appearing in the sitting room, “how about we enjoy a meal together, and afterward have a private moment in the sitting room?”
Bellamy glanced at Ashwood. It was true they hadn’t eaten in hours.
“That would be lovely,” Ashwood said.
He could see the strain around Ashwood’s eyes, and he hoped he wasn’t regretting his decision to join him and seek the madam’s advice.
They met the others at the dinner table for a hearty feast. Miss Celestine looked delighted to see him. She blushed when she was introduced to Ashwood, no doubt because of his natural beauty. In fact, the others continued stealing glances at him, and if Bellamy didn’t know better—that they were merely curious about him—he might’ve staked his claim on Ashwood like the beast that he was. And how confused Ashwood would likely be after he’d made his rejection so thoroughly clear.
“So, what of Galen and Azriel?” Bellamy inquired.
“They are apparently doing very well in Solar’s Edge,” Madam Langley replied.
“It’s an utterly charming village in the country,” Wren said. “Their cottage is rather remote, surrounded by woods…”
Wren glanced at Sparrow, who’d flushed a pretty pink, and he linked their hands together on his lap, something the madam discouraged in front of the others, though she could be quite lenient when it came to the twins.
“Anyway,” Wren went on, “they seem blissfully happy.”
“Sounds positively dreamy,” Ashwood said, to Bellamy’s surprise, and Sparrow beamed at him.
“They were worried about you,” Wren said to Bellamy. “We told them how you were stolen away in the night by your beloved.”
“So romantic, Ashwood.” Sparrow sighed.
“Hey, I helped,” Oscar said. “That means I’m romantic too.”
Ashwood laughed, which caused a chain reaction, and even the madam chuckled before she tsked at them. Later, she would likely warn them that what Oscar did by alerting Ashwood was dangerous. She was always reminding them to use extreme caution. That the Moon Flower could be shut down at any moment. Such a place and its activities were forbidden in society, and they would still be under threat even with the constable gone. Besides, his replacement might turn out to be even more menacing.
