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EMILY
“Ember and I are going away for a few days. I think we’ve overstayed our welcome, and I need to clear my head. I just didn’t want to leave without telling you,” I said softly, and gently placed my hand on his shoulder. “I think you need the time to grieve with your pack and get your head straight.”
Cassian sighed and placed his hand over mine. “Em, wait. Before anything, I need to apologize. I spoke with Sam, and he explained everything that happened with Griffin. Turns out, he was in the wrong, like you said. I should’ve listened to you instead of automatically agreeing with him just because he’s my pack member. And I want you to know that being your mate… it does mean something… to me.”
His smitten expression made my stomach do somersaults. Why was he suddenly so bashful? That wasn’t like Cassian.
He held my gaze, his eyes like pools of silver tainted with blue. “I’m so proud of the way you’ve led my pack in my absence. I know we aren’t a traditional wolf couple—I mean, you have two mates, and you’re not even fully a wolf—but if you ever decided to truly become this pack’s luna, they wouldn’t find anyone more deserving of the title.”
Tears welled in my eyes, pooling at the edge and spilling over, silently dripping down my cheek. Though it had never been a dream I’d imagined, the thought of being Cassian’s Luna made my heart flutter. Knowing he wanted to be with me, despite not being a pure wolf, or having another mate… Maybe it was the bond, but I felt a pleasant tug in my chest that felt like Cassian.
Cassian’s thumb wiped the tear from my cheek, and he smiled sweetly. “So, where are you guys going?”
I sniffed and straightened myself, regaining my composure. “I don’t know, yet. Ember didn’t say, but we’ll be safe. I’ll send you my location as soon as we get there. And if you need me, just call.”
Silence filled the room. With a last squeeze of his shoulder, my hands dropped, and I turned to leave. I still needed to pack, and this talk had grown a bit more emotional than I’d anticipated.
Cassian was up in a flash and a little gasp escaped my lips as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. “I’ll miss you,” he mumbled against my ear, his cheek pressed against my hair, breath tickling my neck.
Although a part of me wished he would’ve asked me to stay, I knew what I was doing was for the best. He needed time to grieve, and I needed to decompress. Then, when we got back, hopefully, we’d both have our minds right.
“Me too,” I whispered before I kissed him on the cheek and left him standing in his den.
* * *
EMILY
The sun was setting by the time we pulled up to a cute wooden cabin nestled between a bunch of tall trees. The windows were dark, and branches scraped against the roof as the cool night breeze picked up. It should have felt a little eerie, an isolated cabin in the woods that was miles from civilization, but when I stepped out of the car, all I felt was peace.
“You ready to blow shit up?” Ember asked and wiggled the house keys in front of me. “And by ‘blow shit up’ I mean bubble bath, swim, drink, and relax.”
I giggled and snatched the keys from her hand, “Hell yes! Let’s do this!”
The gravel crunched under my sneakers as I ran up the three steps leading to a small porch and the front door. I unlocked the door and stepped into darkness, the wooden floors creaking under my weight. The cabin was completely quiet, and the only sounds that could be heard were the trees swaying and the crickets chirping outside.
Ember flicked a switch behind me, and I squinted at the sudden brightness of the overhead lights. A second later, I squealed in excitement. The cabin was small but beautiful.
The front door led to a tiny entrance space with a coat closet and a hook on the wall for keys. I dropped my bag and pulled my sweater off before stepping through the archway that led to the rest of the cabin.
There was a kitchen tucked into one corner, a vintage fridge hummed quietly, and the far counter overlooked the living area. It was simple but cute. An old pink sofa took up most of the space and plants decorated the shelf on the wall, along with a handful of old hardcover books whose titles had faded. The sofa faced wall-to-ceiling glass sliding doors and although I couldn’t see much, Ember said that there was a lake close by.
I continued my exploration and found a bathroom. My heart fluttered at the sight of a claw-foot tub and the promise of a warm bubble bath. I pulled myself away, whispering to the bath that I’d be back soon. A second door next to the bathroom led to the master bedroom. A huge bed stood in the center of the room, fairy lights were entwined in the wrought-iron frame and the softest looking pale pink blanket lay at the foot of the bed. The only other furniture consisted of an old armoire and a desk in front of a window looking out into the woods.
As I made my way back into the living area, Ember stumbled into the kitchen, our bags slung over each shoulder and her arms full of paper bags that held our drinks and food for the next four nights. I rushed over and took them from her and placed them on the kitchen counter.
“So… what do you think?” Ember asked once she’d caught her breath.
I fell onto the sofa dramatically; puffs of dust filled the air. We coughed and laughed, fanning the clouds away. “This place is magical! I don’t ever want to leave,” I sighed happily.
Ember nodded her head in agreement. “Just wait; you haven’t even seen the lake yet.”
“What is this place?” Finally, the well of stress that I had bottled up for far too long started to subside, and I was almost certain that I had died and gone to heaven.
Ember popped a bottle of champagne in the kitchen and handed a glass to me from the counter. “Well, after the drama with my parents and before I met Cassian, there was a brief time where I worked odd jobs to get by. One of them brought me to this village; I did some psychic stuff and ran into the local crazy lady. She wasn’t really crazy, just whimsical and—different. You know how it goes.”
Ember wandered over to the sofa. She watched the bubbles in the champagne as they rose to the surface and continued her tale, “Her name was Rose. Her husband built this cabin before he died of a heart attack, and she lived here alone for years after that.”
“That’s terrible. She must have been really lonely,” I whispered, fully engrossed in the story.
