The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 420

I let myself out and stood on the porch for a moment to catch my breath.

“You’re leaving already?”

I jumped, whirling around to see Nico sitting on a swinging bench off to the side. He was only wearing a sweater, no coat or hat or mittens, his cheeks flushed from the cold. He didn’t seem bothered by the cold at all.

“Nica,” I said. “Yeah, I… I was just heading out.”

“I was hoping to run into you.” He stood. “You took off after Dad’s announcement last night. Bastian said you probably went home, but I wasn’t sure.”

“It was a lot of people,” I said. “I don’t do well in crowds lately.”

“Me neither.” He fell into step beside me as I started down the path, like it was already settled that he was coming with me. “Bastian likes all that. He practices his Alpha face in the mirror. I’ve watched him do it.”

I huffed a laugh before I could stop it.

“Don’t tell him I said that,” he added quickly.

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

We walked for a while, Nico filling the quiet with pleasant chatter. He was actually really nice to talk to; I’d expected some hostility after last night’s debacle, but to my surprise, Nico didn’t seem to mind at all, and talked about other things rather than bringing it up constantly.

Halfway to town, I pulled my phone out, checking to see if Dominic had gotten any of the texts I’d sent. They all had red exclamation points next to them.

“You tyring to call someone?” Nico asked. “There’s hardly any service here, you know. Except in the ruins.”

I stopped. “Where in the ruins?”

He shrugged. “You’d have to walk around for a bit to find it. It changes. But I guess the higher eleation makes it a little easier.”

I nodded, filing that away. The ruins were all dark now, the sun having gone down, and snow was building along the mountain passes. If I wanted to call Dominic, I would probably have to go tomorrow morning.

At the door of the clinic, Nico stopped and turned to me, suddenly looking a little shy.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “I know last night was weird, and Mom’s being… Mom. But I always wanted a sister.” His ears went red. Then, before I could get a word out, he stepped in and hugged me, quick and fierce, his chin knocking against my shoulder.

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