The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

Chapter 36. Tell Me What Happ…

Riannon couldn’t believe her own happiness when she opened her eyes and saw him lying in front of her and watching her.

Amate. She had a mate. A real one. Not a chosen one. A smile curled onto his lips and she reciprocated it. There were no regrets. Whatsoever.

This was very different from what she had with Brayden back in the day. Now that she thought about it, if this was what Brayden felt when he met his own mate, she could

understand why he couldn’t reject Roxanne.

• She would never reject Gideon if she knew.

.

.

This did not cancel all the horrible things that Roxy did to her and to others in their power struggle. But she could understand now.

Partially.

This was not changing her plan. But it gave her some understanding. “Onyx,” she called her wolf, “Are you there?” At first, all she heard was silence. But then the familiar voice sounded in her head.

“I will be soon…”

She tried calling her again, asking what was going on. But Onyx spoke no more.

However, this was better than nothing. This was a promise. And just knowing that her wolf didn’t abandon her made Riannon smile wider.

The motion did not go unnoticed. Gideon pulled her closer. So that her head was now

tucked into his chest, and he was able to dig his face into her hair and breathe in her scent that

he loved so much was able to enjoy for the first time.

“I can’t believe this is real,” he muttered, “From the moment I saw you… I dreamt of this. of holding you like this, of having you as mine.”

She looked up at his handsome face and slid her hand to brush his cheek with a short stubble that prickled her fingers slightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked. “Would you believe me if I simply told you?” He arched his brow at her.

“I guess not,” she admitted honestly. She had too much on her plate to simply believe some lycan who approached her out of the blue insisting that she was his mate: Even if he was a king. Not to mention that Onyx, the little hyena, never told her that they were mates on the rare moments she spoke to her. She couldn’t believe her wolf would waste her strength to tell

everything

On the other hand, Onyx was smarter than regular wolves. Ria always knew that. She proved it to her many times. And to be honest, maybe it was for the best that she did not throw them into a situation where Riannon knew that he was her mate from the very beginning yet

did not feel the connection. In that way, Gideon had to work for it and earn her trust.

Yes, that wolf of hers wasn’t simple at all. She took a bet and look at where it got them…

“Yesterday,” he traced his fingers over her bare hand, “You said the word. You called me Mate. How did you know?”

“Onyx called you that,” Ria decided to confess. Now that they were together, she did not want secrets from him. It was hard starting to trust the new man in her life but what they had was so much different from what she experienced before.

It was bigger. And better. And so special. Everything one could wish for.

“Is Onyx back?” Gideon asked with hope in his voice. They were already together but he would still feel much better if he knew that the wolf was there.

“Partially,” Ria gave him a vague smile, “I feel her presence somewhere there inside of my soul but she is not at full strength yet. I think she is trying to restore after.”

She stopped talking and he suddenly got serious. This was not a joke to him at all. He knew about a few people who had lost their wolves. He started reading about them when he found out about Onyx’s absence. This was rare. But it did happen several times in shifter’s common history.

When the beast was lost, the host was becoming just an empty shell as half of their soul

Ria yet. But a mostly missing wolf was a bad

destiny that he

that bothered him. Those people

in battles. Sometimes against forces much stronger than

was always the same. When on the brink of death, the wolves, foxes, bears or other creatures sacrificed themselves

owner was slowly becoming just a

worse than death.

through your beast’s eyes, to stop sensing what he or she

sense…

as well. Everything was lessened, everything was different… Less vibrant. It was the same as sucking the joy out of life.

not everyone could cope

tell that Riannon was one of those who would be able to cope, though. She was strong. In some sense maybe even

that kind of fate. For her, he was

everything

battles she took a part in. As far as his research on her showed, and his spies were

to her in that pack behind the closed curtains

But this time I want you to be absolutely honest. You can trust me. All that I do from the day I met you is for your protection. You are my Luna even in spite of

smiled at the words even though she knew that she wasn’t going

was about

That husband of yours?” Gideon tried not to show it, but

the way his grasp

she sighed. How could she tell him

to be okay about

he hurt you physically?” the Lycan king asked through

calm him down. Luckily,

palm and made her look at him, “Something that made you want not only divorce but fight for your pack. Something that broke you so much that your

time she spoke. She tried to

rebirth and their chosen

was everything? And more…

how to say it,” she sat up, wrapping the Egyptian cotton sheets around herself, Gideon following her motion not to miss any trace of emotion on her beautiful face.” You will probably think I was

would understand that no matter what was happening, he

himi..

her a soft

lost everything, she still killed me with the help of one of the wolves from my own pack. It was horrible. But then I somehow came back to the very moment it all started. Gideon, I literally opened my eyes when the door opened and the two of them walked in into our packhouse. This was when I lost Onyx. And since that day I had to live again during the most horrible days of my life. Only that I didn’t want for everything to repeat. I wanted

she overdo it? Was

too serious and nervous about that. And now that he

the things did. Their very first conversation.

brought out his mate and mistress for everyone to see. Anyone would be crushed by that. But not Riannon. She held

exactly the opposite.

the way she spoke to him. No one was that bold. Unless… they were on

lip. He could see how worried she was about everything

in the next moment, he grabbed her and

say anything, but she knew that he believed her. And it did not change

hair as he couldn’t reach anything else

Embracing the feeling

could finally afford to let it

it felt

his arms as long as she needed, hurting together with

Luna never ceased

him with puffy eyes, embarrassed by

as he wiped the last tear away

day in his room. Only ordering food in and

always more. It started with the rebirth and then went on

they started to simply plan what

in a team. She was doing it with Brayden for years. But it was so different with Gideon. And not at all what she expected. They weren’t finishing each other’s sentences. He wasn’t agreeing with everything that she told