The Second Hand Luna

5. Day 7

RONAN

The guest room bed was anything but soft. I lay on top of the covers staring at the ceiling hoping some answers might jump out.

This wasn't my room. It wasn't my bed. But the master bedroom, the one I had shared with Elara, was not an option either.

Her scent still clung to the pillows and the bedsheets and I couldn't breathe there. I had been sleeping on the couch downstairs but after last night I had moved to the guest room. The one next to her.

My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin. Mate is close.

I had barely slept the night before and my eyes burned from exhaustion. Every time I had drifted off, he would wake me up agitated.

Mate outside. Alone.

“I couldn’t drag her inside.” I would retort.

Should have tried harder.

Maybe, but I had underestimated Iris.

"Iris is the most stubborn person I know. Once she decides on something, you can't move her even with a tractor," Elara had told me once, years ago, laughing about some childhood story.

Back then I had smiled politely and filed the information away as irrelevant. She was just the scarred twin. The one who had abandoned the pack. Why would I ever need to know about her?

But the moon goddess had a cruel sense of humor. Now I knew better.

Stubborn didn’t begin to cover it.

I had asked for seven days and the number now felt desperate. I was a man grasping at anything to avoid drowning. What exactly could I do with seven days?

“I have no idea how to make her stay,” I admitted quietly.

My wolf stilled for a moment.

We will. He had a confidence I didn’t share.

The bathroom door opened down the hall and my wolf became alert. Slowly her scent drifted into the room. It was the smell of vanilla and a hint of sunflowers.

So completely different from Elara's lavender. I breathed it in anyway, greedy for it, hating myself for how much I wanted it and how it eased me.

I heard her shuffle in her room and I pictured her standing there, looking at the pile of clothes I had given her. Mine or Elara's.

Take mine, my wolf urged silently. Please. Take ours.

Minutes passed before the house settled into silence. Then I heard the faint sound of snores through the walls. She was asleep.

I couldn't help myself. I rose, moving silently and walked to her door. It was cracked open and I told myself I was checking on her. Ensuring she was comfortable. I pushed the door gently, just enough to see.

She was curled on her side, one hand tucked under the pillow, the other resting near her face. My hoodie, the one I had left her, swallowed her whole. My wolf perked up with a pride so fierce it nearly brought me to my knees.

I stood there frozen in her doorway, drinking in the sight of her. Without the anger and the suspicion, her face was... peaceful. And she was beautiful. The old scar that had once cut across her face was gone. I had already noticed at the funeral. She had erased it and in its place was a face I had never really looked at.

Full pink lips, slightly parted. Long lashes fanned against cheeks still flushed from the shower. Dark hair, spilling across the pillow.

She looked nothing like her sister.

I had expected... I don't know what I had expected. A dimmer version of Elara maybe, but she was different.

And I was standing at her doorway, grieving for my mate while my wolf howled that she was our future.

I was still grieving and the ache from Elara's absence was like a hollow space in my chest that nothing could fill.

But in the middle of it, was this new thing. This desperate, clawing need for the woman in that bed, wearing my clothes.

It was wrong. It felt like betrayal to Elara and what we shared, but I also could not let her leave. My wolf and the pack needed her.

I backed away from the door and returned to my borrowed room. I didn't sleep but lay there, listening to her breath, my wolf finally quiet with the knowledge that our mate was near and safe.

A knock from downstairs was what interrupted the calm. I was already annoyed even as I caught the familiar scent of Darius. My Beta and my best friend.

I padded downstairs and opened the door before he could knock again. "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow, taking the shadows under my eyes. "You look like shi.t, Alpha."

"Noted. Answer the question. I told the pack I didn’t want anyone near the house.”

“I know.” Darius had the decency to look sheepish.

"The pack is worried. After you sent a message through the link saying you didn't want anyone near the house, and then you went dark, people are concerned."

My jaw tightened. “They shouldn’t be.”

“They want to help.” He winced.

“I didn’t ask for help.”

He paused. "Some of the younger wolves have… some ideas."

"Ideas?" I leaned against the door frame, already exhausted.

"Ridiculous ideas." He continued, trying not to smile. "Kel suggested doing a traditional mating dance. Omegas like that, especially those from the countryside, like those here.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No." That felt a little bit too much, especially since Iris and I were practically strangers.

"I figured. Sera thinks you should leave her a trail of flowers from her door to the breakfast table or serenade her. Like how they do it in human movies."

"Also no." I was not trying to seduce her either. That would send the wrong message.

Darius crossed his arms, grin widening. "The point is, everyone wants to help. They see the bond as a gift, Ronan. A second chance for you and for the pack. They're excited about their new Luna."

“She is not Luna,” I snapped. “Not yet.”

Silence fell between us. I needed to calm down before I woke her up from my shouting.

I pushed off the door frame, running a hand through my hair. "I appreciate that. Truly. But she is not ready for any of it. She is scared and angry and she will bolt if a single wolf looks at her wrong. I need you to make sure no one comes near this house."

Darius studied me with that look he had perfected over decades of friendship. The look that stripped me bare. "You really want her to stay?"

It wasn't a question, but I answered anyway. "The pack needs her."

"The pack can manage." He cut me off, something he had never dared do in public.

"This isn't about the pack. This is about you. You need to be sure about what you want Ronan. For everyone's sake."

I didn't answer. What could I say? That he was right? That I had no idea of what I was doing. I was terrified, hopeful, grieving and desperate, all tangled into one useless knot of an Alpha?

Darius sighed, some of the teasing fading from his expression. "Look, I get it. This is complicated. If you are serious about this then you need a plan. Something that actually works on a woman who wants nothing to do with you or your pack."

"I know."

"So what's the first move?"

I blinked at him. "The first move?"

"To make her stay." He sighed.

"How do you intend to achieve that?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it. For the first time in my life, I had no answer.

Darius laughed, clapping my shoulder. "You're hopeless. Fine. I'll handle the pack. You figure out how to romance your own mate and for the love of the moon goddess, don’t talk to her about pack disputes. Women love flowers and gifts."

He was gone before I could throw something at him.

I stood there for a long moment. I had a problem on my hands. I didn't know how to treat Iris at all. Elara and I had been fated. We had fallen into each other easily. I never had to try.

With Iris, everything was complicated. She looked at me like I was the enemy, which I was. I had seen the ring on her finger.

But my wolf didn't care. My wolf just wanted his mate. I turned back toward the stairs. Toward her room.

She was still sleeping. I checked on her four times before nightfall. Each time, I told myself it was to ensure she was comfortable. With each visit I stood a little longer and breathed a little deeper, letting myself pretend for a moment that it was normal. That my mate was home and that she wanted to be here.

When I was not staring at her like a creep, I was releasing calming pheromones hoping they would reach her. Hoping they would tell her, on some level she couldn't consciously access, that she was safe here. That I would never hurt her.

Even though I knew I had already done that.

First things first, I would make her breakfast the following morning. Not something from the pack kitchen but something I made myself. Elara always said I couldn't cook, but I was kind of confident that I could make some decent pancakes.

Maybe I could then take her to the ridge at sunset. The sunset was beautiful.

Maybe none of it would work. Maybe she would leave in six days and never look back.

But I had to try.