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“Hi.”
He watched as, when she passed, a tiny preschool girl acknowledged Luna, shoveling bits of pancake into her mouth.
Surprisingly, Luna smiled wide in return. It was the first time he’d seen a genuine smile from Luna.
“Hello! How are you?”
“Good. I’m Jamie, and I like pancakes.”
Luna laughed heartily in response.
“I can see that!”
At the first opportunity, Luna pulled herself away, confronting Adrian, who had found a seat at the head of the table.
“Can I talk to you in private for a second?”
Adrian nodded, rising from the table. “I’ll be right back, kiddos,” Adrian said to the group of preschool-age children seated at the table.
After she had pulled him away, she spoke in nearly a whisper.
“You didn’t tell me your audience was adorable,” Luna said, rather harshly for the message being delivered. “This is completely unfair.”
“How is it unfair?” He maintained a stoic expression.
“I just mean, if this is some weird attempt to win me over, I don’t like it one bit.”
Adrian shook his head. “I eat breakfast with the preschool-aged children because they’re the most honest,” Adrian said. “If anybody has any problem, the kids are usually the first to spill it. So once a month, I get an idea of what these children’s parents have been saying and whether there’s something we need to address as a pack.”
Luna didn’t back down. “This is highly unconventional.”
“You’ve been saying that a lot,” Adrian said in response. “You’ll find a lot about the Crescent Moon Pack is unconventional.”
Luna chortled. “Well, except for the name. That’s about the most conventional thing I’ve heard all week.”
Once they got back to the table, Adrian found that Luna was a lot more cooperative, not even turning icy when one of the girls suggested that Luna might be his girlfriend.
He wondered if he was finally wearing down that cold exterior. Perhaps contrary to what Sasha told him, perhaps the secret was not to push but to let her lower her shields gradually.
But the deeper question of why she stayed still eluded him. She didn’t seem to care about the mating bond, yet she still insisted on remaining in the pack.
It vexed Adrian.
SEVEN
LUNA
“Adrian’s got a girlfriend!”
The bright morning sun beamed down from above, and it was all Luna could do to avoid blushing. She sat at a long table, surrounded on all sides by young pups and Adrian, who looked positively enamored with her despite how frequently she had rejected him. She wished he would get the message, but the truth was that Luna wasn’t sure how she felt.
All around the table, children scarfed down their food, a mess left in their wake. The wooden table was covered with the remnants of scrambled eggs, syrup, and orange juice, spilled without a care on the surface, dripping onto the dirt floor underneath.
“Adrian and Luna sitting in a tree,” the small pigtailed blonde taunted.
Luna wanted to clarify that she wasn’t Adrian’s girlfriend, despite how even fate had told her differently. But then she knew how persistent children were. It was far better to ignore these situations. Let the children think what they want, and don’t add fuel to their fire.
So, as the small blonde girl stuffed bacon into her mouth, Luna let her have the satisfaction. She seemed to revel in the embarrassment she caused Luna, smiling gleefully as she ate.
