Page 66 of Luna's New Reign
“Nepheline, I will absolutely come again if you keep doing that and this knot will not go down.” He nibbles on my ear, sending another shockwave of pleasure through me. It’s hard to sit still when he’s not playing fair, nipping at my Alphas’ bond marks.
“In answer to Darius’ question, no, I’m not done. I just need a moment.” They all know I’m lying with the way my lids are drooping, Asani resituating again so that we’re laying on our sides. “Just a few minutes,” I purr before sleep takes me.
31
REMI
The world is still cloaked in the gentle quiet of early morning when I slip out of bed. The house is silent except for the occasional creak of wood underfoot and the soft breathing of my mates tangled together in the nest upstairs. Nepheline is passed out, curled between Mateo and Darius, her little bump just barely showing beneath the pile of blankets. She’s beautiful when she’s like that—softand peaceful—and I want to keep her there as long as I can.
I pad downstairs, rubbing a hand through my hair as I head to the kitchen. It’s longer than I usually keep it but I kind of like the rough edge it gives me. I pause in front of the fridge, pulling it open and scanning the shelves to search for sustenance.
There’s eggs, bacon, cheese, sausage—plenty of things to throw together into something lazy. Perfect for a morning like this. A morning where we don’t have to think about dark magic, veils, or the whispering pull of something sinister just beyond our borders.
A morning where I can just…take care of them.
I love providing for them in the quiet moments, letting my hands work while my thoughts settle. It’s something I didn’t always understand about myself, not until I talked to them—to Mateo, Asani, River—about where I fit into all of this. About how leading never felt quite right, butnurturing? That’s where I thrive.
And since then, I’ve beenflourishing.
I smile to myself as I pull everything out, stacking ingredients onto the counter. I move through the motions as I crack eggs into a mixing bowl, beat them lightly, and set the skillet heating on the stove. There’s bacon sizzling within minutes, the smell already filling the room. I hum softly under my breath as I work, flipping pancakes onto a warm plate, tossing sausage links into a pan, throwing together a spread big enough for everyone to pick at when they wake up.
They’ll need this. Weallwill. The days feel heavy lately, thick with tension we can’t shake and I want to hold onto the happiness we still have—these small, stolen moments where it feels like everything isnormal.
The bacon’s just finishing up when I hear footsteps behind me. I glance up, expecting River or maybe Maverick, but instead, it’s Asani.
He stumbles into the kitchen with a sleepy grin on his face, his shirt rumpled, and his hair a mess of waves. He’s not coming from upstairs, though—that much is clear. My brows furrow as he ambles toward me, yawning as if he’s been awake for hours.
“What were you doing in the living room?” I ask, flipping a slice of bacon onto the growing plate.
“Don’t worry about it,biscuit,” he muses around another yawn, his voice still rough with sleep as he drapes himself over me from behind.
The skillet clatters against the stovetop as I freeze, heat rushing to my cheeks as his lips brush against the side of my neck. “Asani—”
“You’re up too early,” he murmurs, nuzzling closer like he’s about to fall asleep standing there. His arms snake loosely around my waist, his lazy smile pressing against my skin as he plants another soft kiss at the edge of my jaw. “Smells good, though.Realgood.”
My face is onfirenow. I swear I feel it creeping all the way down to my chest. I clear my throat, forcing my hands to keep moving as I scrape scrambled eggs onto a plate. Asani hums contentedly, finally pulling back enough to stretch his arms over his head, his shirt riding up just slightly. He grabs a fork from the drawer and snags a piece of bacon right off the plate.
I glare at him, though it’s half-hearted. “That’s not ready yet.”
“It’s bacon, biscuit. It’salwaysready.” He grins as he munches, leaning one hip against the counter as he watches me work. His gaze is steady but thoughtful, something shifting behind his eyes as he studies me. “You know… you’re good at this.”
“At what? Cooking breakfast?”
He shakes his head, plucking another piece of bacon off the plate despite the look I shoot him. “Not just breakfast,” he says. “This.Taking care of everyone. You’ve got this way of making us feel like we can breathe again, even when everything’s going to shit.”
I pause, my hands stilling on the cutting board as I glance up at him. I don’t know what to say to that, not really. It’s true—Iliketaking care of them. I like feeling like I’m needed, like I can give something back to them after everything they’ve done for me. But hearing Asani say it out loud makes my throat feel tight.
“You ever think about being a counselor for the pack?” he asks suddenly like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
My brows shoot up and I blink at him, caught off guard. “A counselor? You really think I could do that?”
Asani’s eyes are steady as he meets my gaze, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “Yeah, I do,” he says without hesitation. “You’ve got something, Remi—something I don’t. People talk to you and youlisten. Not just hear them, but actuallylisten. That’s what a pack needs.”
“I don’t know,” I murmur, shifting awkwardly as I look at the floor. “I’ve never thought about it. I just… I like making people feel better. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Asani steps closer, brushing his knuckles against my jaw as he tilts my face back up to his. “And that’s exactly why you’d be perfect,” he says softly. “Gael used to do it. Unofficially, sure, but he was the one wolves went to when they needed to unload their shit. Ilsa would handle the official side of things, but Gael? He listened. Heunderstood.”
I swallow hard, my chest aching a little at the mention of Gael. We don’t talk about him much, but he’s still a wound that hasn’t healed, a reminder of what we’ve lost.