The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon (Celine and Bastian) novel Chapter 63

Chapter 63

When the kiss ends, our foreheads remain pressed together for long seconds as we both try to catch our breath. My eyes remain closed, but his arms are still wrapped around me, and I can feel the smile curving his lips as they barely brush against mine. The sensation is so soft and warm that it makes me smile as well.

“I love you too, Celine Miller.” He answers the question I never managed to ask, but had kept buried inside me for far too long. “Don’t be afraid to feel things for me, because I won’t hurt you the way others did.”

Something tightens inside my chest when I hear him. The bond between us grows stronger, like a warm current spreading beneath my skin and wrapping around every corner of my body. Without thinking, I hug him tighter, hiding my face against his chest.

“Now I know.”

Bastian turns off the water with one hand and kisses me one last time before sliding open the fogged glass door. The/steam slowly disperses around us, and that is when I truly become aware of our situation.

Until now, I hadn’t realized it. We’re naked, but it isn’t just the absence of clothing. It’s something much deeper than that, another kind of nakedness that has nothing to do with our bodies or the skin we have just exposed to each other.

One that has left us standing before each other without barriers, without fears, and with nothing left to hide behind. For the first time since we met, I feel that we can both see exactly what the other feels, what they are, and everything we are still learning to become together.

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We dress in workout clothes because I haven’t forgotten that, after our late dinner with Thomas, we’ll be training together. The mere thought brings a small smile to my lips.

Just a few days ago, I couldn’t have imagined sharing something so ordinary with another person, and now the idea of spending time with Bastian has become one of my favorite parts of the day.

Neither of us says anything while we finish getting ready. We have just taken an important step, one that cannot be undone, and for the first time I don’t feel that urge pushing me to hide or retreat.

What happened in the shower was more than a kiss. First it was our wolves, then the bond, and finally us.

Just us.

I don’t know what will happen next. I don’t know what will happen tonight, tomorrow, or a week from now. There are still too many things I’m learning about this world, about my wolf, and about the man who has just given me a piece of his heart without asking for anything in return.

Now uncertainty no longer frightens me. I’ll figure it out little by little, one day at a time.

In the living room, Jack, Bastian’s head of security, and Thomas are sitting on the sofas talking. Open folders, loose documents, and several sheets covered in notes are spread across the glass coffee table.

Jack is the first to stand as soon as he sees us, and there is no trace left of the man who had seemed to be testing his prince’s patience barely an hour ago. Thomas does the same. He rises quickly and adopts a respectful posture. Hands behind his back, shoulders straight, and his gaze focused solely on my mate.

Great, I became invisible again.

“I’m sorry for making you wait.” He lies shamelessly in his usual neutral tone because, if it weren’t for the fact that he himself had invited them to dinner, we never would have left our bedroom.

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The Second Chance Of The Rejected Moon

“No apology is necessary. Your Highness. Beta Thomas and I were discussing his duties.”

A voucher

Bastian says nothing and, before we even stop in front of them, places a hand in the middle of my back to guide me toward the dining room.

He may be sweet in private, but in front of others he becomes Prince Bastian Thorn again, the man the entire kingdom and its packs know.

As always, the doors are opened for us by the guards, and we take our seats at the table.

Bastian pulls out the chair he usually occupies when his father is present so that I can sit down, and then takes Magnus’s seat. Thomas and Jack silently wait for my mate to give them permission to sit near us. Once he does, the servants begin entering the dining room carrying silver trays. Within minutes, the table is covered with enough food to feed an entire family instead of four people.

Sometimes I think royalty has an unhealthy need to display their wealth through absurd quantities of food.

Thomas, has my head of security informed you about the schedules and protocols you’ll be following whenever you’re outside the castle with Celine?”

Thomas nods.

“Yes. Your Highness.” His gray eyes, cold as steel, settle on mine. “I hope you feel comfortable now that I’ll be responsible for your security, Luna Celine. I’ll do my best to protect you and keep you safe.”

I blink once.

And then I understand.

It is at this very moment that I discover the role Thomas will play in the castle. When we left the hospital in my former pack. I had asked Bastian to bring him here because I would feel more comfortable with someone I trusted being close to me.

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