Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Back at the castle, Hale quickly excused himself to go to his office, doubtless to send the orders to recall Shawn. I felt a bit bereft by the loss of his solid presence. Maybe it was the mate bond playing with us, but the more often I was close to Hale, the closer I wanted to get.

It wasn’t a childhood fantasy anymore.

“Oh, Koral” Eileen all but shouted when she saw me in my shredded dress. “Oh, oh, oh!”

“Sorry,” I said as 1 preceded her into my bedroom. “I think I ripped the most beautiful gown I’ve ever seen.”

“You did!” Eileen agreed. “Oh, Goddess! Oh, oh, oh! What are we going to do? Oh, the seamstress is going to be beside

herself!”

I winced as I pulled what was left of the dress over my head. “Please tell her I’m sorry.”

Eileen took the shredded dress and fluffed it, laying it out on the bed. She tugged here and folded there, but there was no rescuing it. It was not only shredded but covered with dirt and underbrush.

“Oh…” Eileen lamented, at last, folding the remnants up as best she could and setting them on a spindly little chair in the

comer.

“Maybe I should just put on my warrior’s clothes. I might not be able to be trusted with anything else,” I half–joked. Eileen seemed to be considering that “No, I don’t think Alpha Hale would approve–oh, you’re joking.

“I’m trying.” I went to the vanity and undid my braid, starting to brush sticks and dirt out of my hair.

“No, no, no,” Eileen said, snatching the brush from me. “You MUST have a bath”

I gave myself a good look in the mirror. I looked like a hermit who had just abandoned the forest for civilization after twenty years in a cave. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“I know I’m right, Eileen replied. She went to the adjoining bathroom and quickly drew me a bath, over my protests that I could do it myself.

Then she plonked me in it as though I were a tree–climbing child and began scrubbing me vigorously, taking under her breath. “You’ve got mud absolutely EVERYWHERE!”

“It felt that way, yeah,” I chuckled.

She booped me on the nose with a loofah. “Not funny. It’s unbecoming for a Luna to be this d*rty!”

I sobered. “I’m not Luna yet. Maybe I never will be.”

“Oh, of course, you will,” Eileen said. “Tve seen the way Alpha Hale looks at you I saw it at the–er–well, I guess it was SUPPOSED to be a rejection ceremony… It doesn’t matter. What matters is you ARE going to be Luna, and you’re going to have to look the part.”

“Yes, Mother,” I sighed.

I got another boop with the loofah. “Your mother would tell you exactly the same thing

Unable to remember my mother, I decided I’d just have to take Eileen’s word for it. I’m going to glow by the time you’re done with me.” I was almost sure she was taking some of my skin off

“You’d better believe it,” Eileen affirmed. Then she stopped scrubbing and washed my hair, tsking over that as well.

As I saw a small stick float by in the water, I guessed I couldn’t blame her.

After my

hair was finished, Eileen helped me out of the tub and into a bathrobe. She was just combing the knots out of my hair when there was a knock at my door.

“Who is it?” she called before I could.

There was a pause. “Alpha Hale.

Eileen’s entire demeanor changed. “Oh! Oh, Alpha Hale, I’m so sorry. But… Kora–I mean Ms. Monroe–she isn’t decent-” “I’m decent enough. At least I’m a lot more decent than the last time he saw me,” I said, patting Eileen’s arm. “You can go ahead and let him in.”

“Hmm.” Eileen didn’t seem to approve, but she let Hale in just the same.

“Leave us.” Hale said to Eileen as I rose from the vanity in my bathrobe.

“Oh! Oh, of course, Alpha,” Eileen replied with a bow. She gave me a wink behind his back, then trotted out of my room.

I looked at Hale now, his hair still disheveled, and it reminded me of the boy who’d defended me in the woods. This led to other memories–not just of Hale, but of my father as well. Alpha James and my father had found us and brought us home.

My father had hugged me tightly.

We were a family once. The very definition of it.

And then Alpha James was killed, my father disappeared, and I’d been abandoned to the Traitors‘ Cave.

“What?” I asked after Hale just looked at me silently for a long time.

“Your.. um.. robe…” Hale said, pointing.

I looked down and blushed, snatching the lapels in my hands and pushing them together. I’d left the robe gapped open without even noticing.

“Sorry. That was an accident.”

“Mmmm Happy accident for me,” Hale said, his l*ps twitching. He looked at my face then instead of my breasts. “What are you thinking about up there?” he asked, tapping my temple. He smoothed a lock of wet hair behind my ear and then let his hand settle on my shoulder.

With Hale this close, still smelling strongly of sweat and the unique woodsy scent that was entirely his own, much of anything anymore. My mind had gone completely blank

“I was thinking about the Traitors‘ Cave, I finally admitted.

Hale sighed. “I told you, you’re never going back there. Why, did you leave some of your things?

I wasn’t thinking

“No. I was just thinking about how I ended up there, and how others ended up there. It really isn’t fair, Mason,” I said softly.

“It is what it is, Kora. I can’t change everything at once or the pack is going to tear itself apart. It’s not like I came up with the concept myself,” Hale snapped.

I frowned. “I was just saying. There’s no need to get snippy with me.”

“Agh. Sometimes, Kora, you’re just maddening!” Hale went on.

“So? So are you!” I shot back.

Hale yanked me forward, and our l*ps somehow crashed together.

Every desire I’d ever had as a girl was suddenly bursting through my b*dy and pouring into that k*ss.

Hale groaned and slid his hand inside my robe to press against my bare hack, holding me to him. There was more than little pent–up desire in him, too, if the k*ss was anything to go by.

It was intense. My head reeled, and 1–gasped against his l*ps. Hale took this as an open invitation to lick his way inside, doing wicked things with his tongue that promised more.

I’d never thought it was something that happened outside of books, but my knees actually went weak. I clung to Hale’s shirt, and his grip tightened, holding me up.

“Mason…” I whispered when he finally let me up for air.

Hale sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. “I want to throw you down on that bed and have you until you can’t think about anything but screaming my name, do you know that?”

I swallowed. It didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Then I gave myself a mental slap. “Now’s probably not the time.”

“No.” Hale stroked my cheek. “But soon.”

My insides melted.

Hale helped me sit down on the bed, then backed up a few steps to put some distance between us. “I just came to tell you that I’ve sent the order to have Shawn recalled.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hale came over and cupped my chin, running his thumb over my lower l*p before k*ssing me on the forehead. “Don’t get too lost in bad memories, okay?”

“They weren’t all bad,” I said, wondering how he knew.

“We’ll make some new ones. Better ones. Okay?” Hale responded.

I swallowed. “Okay.”