The Alpha's Mafia Luna novel Chapter 87

One moment I was curled up on Naia’s couch with a bowl of popcorn

half–empty in my lap, and the next I was being pulled out of sleep by

someone hovering over me.

“Do you always sleep like this?” Naia’s voice came through, amused.

“Flat on your back, mouth open, arm dangling off the couch like a

ghost?”

I groaned, slowly blinking up at her. Light poured in through the

curtains, soft and golden. I squinted and pulled the blanket over my

head. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to stop pretending you’re pregnant,” she teased,

already dressed in her work uniform – black jeans, a diner shirt with

a red logo, and a worn–out denim jacket hanging off one shoulder.

“I’m exhausted,” I mumbled.

“You’ve been doing nothing but sleeping and eating for two days straight.”

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I peeked at her with one eye. “That’s healing, Naia.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled as she shoved her phone into her

pocket. “Sure, sleeping beauty. If you start snoring again, I’m

recording it this time.”

I yawned and stretched, the blanket falling off my shoulder. “You’re

leaving for work?”

“Yeah,” she sighed dramatically. “Wish I wasn’t, but bills exist.

Vampires want oat milk in their blood smoothies and fae still don’t

tip.”

I watched her grab her bag and twist her curls up into a loose puff.

“Want me to walk you out?”

“Please. You’d trip over my doormat.”

I laughed softly. “Fair.”

Naia paused at the door, turning around to face me. “Oh, and while 1

was on break yesterday, I applied to a few jobs for you.”

My eyes snapped open. “Wait, what?”

“Yup. Three coffee shops, one bookstore, and a hybrid–run florist

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place that’s desperate. I used that decent picture of you from our

forest escape days.”

“You didn’t even ask me!” I sat up, fully awake now.

“I didn’t need to. You said you wanted a fresh start, right? That starts

with a paycheck. Also, my rent is due soon, so–chop chop, bestie.”

“You’re crazy.”

Naia winked. “And you’re hired. Probably.”

She slipped out the door with that familiar lightness in her steps,

leaving the apartment quiet again.

I looked around at her space and exhaled. It was small but warm –

two bedrooms, a tiny living room filled with sun, a bookshelf leaning slightly to one side, and an open kitchen with chipped tiles and hand-

painted mugs. Her second room had been made up for me before I

even arrived. Just a mattress on the floor, fresh sheets, and a little

sticky note on the mirror that read “No crying after 10 p.m.” in pink

ink.

It felt like a safe place. Something I hadn’t had in a long time,

I got up and wandered into the kitchen, grabbed a glass of juice, then

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flopped back onto the couch and clicked on the TV. Trashy romance

dramas. Werewolf reality shows. Cooking competitions with dramatic

music. I watched it all with a blanket around my shoulders and my

feet tucked under me like a child.

This wasn’t forever, but for now, it was everything I needed.

Hours passed in a blur of soft nothingness. I napped. I woke up. I ate

leftover noodles. I paused a show just to stare at the ceiling. The

quiet was healing in its own way. No blood. No screaming. No chaos.

Just the steady hum of peace.

Naia came back around six, kicking the door shut with her foot and

sighing like she’d just returned from war.

“I swear, someone at work today asked me if unicorns are vegan,

Vegan, Serene. I didn’t even have the energy to explain.”

I laughed as she dropped her bag and pulled off her jacket. “How was

your shift?”

“Painful. No tips, long orders, and I spilled syrup on my shoes.” She collapsed onto the couch beside me and grabbed the popcorn bowl I

hadn’t touched in hours. “This is stale.”

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“You’re stale.”

Naia gave me a side–eye. “So, what did you do all day, lazy goddess?”

“Watched an entire season of Mate Island and ate your emergency

cookies.”

“You went through my emergency cookies?!”

“They were calling my name.”

Naia groaned dramatically, tossing her head back against the couch.

“You are the worst houseguest.”

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