The Perfect Luna novel Chapter 44

Ash let out a heavy sigh and went all the way into the center of the room, sitting in the exact chair where the mystery guest was sitting just a few seconds ago. He sniffed the air around him and his head snapped in Riannon’s direction. She simply nodded confirming his suspicions and then sat back into the opposite armchair.

“So?” she looked at him hopefully. It had to be something important if he decided to put away catching the intruder personally and stayed to talk to her instead.

“Do you remember how my mate died?” he asked, and she clenched her lips, giving him a nod again.

“How can I forget?” Ria lifted her knees all the way to her chest and hugged them, “Chloe was one of my best friends at school.”

“I remember,” he smiled, “She used to call you and Maya her sisters.” “That’s what she was for me,” Riannon admitted, “Family.”

“After she died,” he gulped and looked at her, but meeting her gaze chose to look away and out of the open balcony door, “I was shattered. Broken…”

“I remember that too,” his Luna said quietly.

“She was my light,” he rested his head on the back of the chair, “My everything. And after her death, nothing mattered anymore. I was in the darkness. The darkness that nobody could understand. Nobody but you.”

He looked at her again and she nodded silently. Ash lost his mate a few years after she lost her siblings. She did know very well what he was going through. Although they said that losing a mate was worse than anything. But still, the experience was similar.

She remembered that after giving him some space to grieve, she saw that he was slipping away. And she remembered how she fought to make him stay and live the life he was supposed to live. As the new Beta of their pack.

Brayden was angry at times because he couldn’t personally get any of this and had to commence his Alpha training alone, without his Beta. At some point, he even wanted to choose a different Beta, but Riannon talked him out of this. Luckily, back then her opinion mattered to him. He gave them time to “fix” his friend while he covered for him.

Slowly, day by day, Ash was getting stronger. He was never the cheerful guy they used to know back at school again, but he remained reliable and loyal, which was way more important.

But when a tragedy happened and her and Brayden’s parents were killed, Ash suddenly stepped in for the sake of them both. They could trust him in their hard time and he performed

Ria always thought that he found a new purpose in life when Brayden finally became the Alpha and named him his Beta. This was Ash’s turning point according to her.

“You brought me back to life, Riannon,” Ash told her and this time he pierced her with his hazel eyes, “If not you…”

“Chloe would have wanted that,” she shrugged her shoulders, “I know we never were close friends before that, but…”

“I never wanted to be your friend in the first place,” he stopped her before she could finish that sentence,“This is not how I see you, Riannon. You are not my friend.”

That hurt her to some extent, but she chose not to show it.

However, when he kneels before her and took her hands, locking his eyes with hers, she opened her mouth in shock.

“You are mean more to me. Even before Chloe, I saw you more than a friend,” he said, “ When Brayden introduced you to me, I was only sorry that I didn’t get to meet you first. No offense, but Bray never saw you for who you were. He cared for your looks, your strength and your skills. But not for the person that you were.”

“And when you met Chloe?” she tried to walk away from the uncomfortable subject.

“She was my mate,” he sighed, “She filled my heart and soul, made me believe that what I felt for you was just a childhood crush. But she was gone, Riannon. And I knew that she would never come back. I fell into despair after her death, thinking that everything was over and there would be nothing good in my life ever again. This was when you entered my life again. Do you remember how I tried to push you away at first?”

She nodded, not even trying to say anything anymore. This was a new side of Ash she had no idea even existed.

“This was because I felt that by liking you I betray my Chloe,” he smiled with sadness in his eyes, “She was gone and although I remembered our bond, you were the one helping me heal. Even my wolf wanted to be close to you for some reason. As if he accepted you.”

She furrowed her brows.

“But that’s…”

“Impossible,” he chuckled dryly, “I know. But this is exactly what happened to me. The more time I spent with you, the more my old feelings were coming back. Chloe was letting go of me and… To be honest, sometimes I think that she blessed us. As if she knew that you were

“Oh, Ash,” she didn’t know how to get out of this. His confession was a bit too much.

“Ria,” he squeezed her palms in his, “Just think about it, okay? I know that you didn’t see that coming. I tried to keep my distance when I could, you were happy with Brayden. But…”