The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Chapter 48: My Alpha

I sat curled up on the couch, quietly watching Zaliver as he moved back and forth between the closet and the bed, packing his things into a sleek black suitcase. My arms were folded tightly across my chest, trying to keep in whatever mix of feelings I didn’t want to admit out loud.

"I can smell your irritation," he said casually, not even turning around.

I stayed silent. What was I supposed to say? That yes, I was irritated? That the thought of him leaving gnawed at me? That I didn’t like how easily he just decided to go without even talking to me about it?

He paused, whatever shirt or pair of pants he’d been holding now forgotten as he turned to face me. His brows were pulled together, that intense gaze of his searching my face.

"You’re upset because I’m leaving."

His voice wasn’t firm or teasing like usual, it was hesitant. Like he wasn’t used to being called out on this kind of thing. I tilted my head slightly, silently asking him to go on.

He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, eyes narrowing in that way they did when he was really thinking about something. Then, out of nowhere, he chuckled.

"You know, I haven’t had to explain myself to anyone in over three hundred years. I think I owe you an apology for not being more considerate about how you’d feel about this trip. I can’t back out of it, but in the future, I promise to let you in on things like this."

I blinked at him, caught completely off guard. Damn. He really knew how to cut through the noise.

"Apology accepted," I replied quickly, maybe too quickly, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

He took a deep breath, twice actually, and let them both out with this cocky smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You look satisfied now. Good," he said with a soft laugh, and went back to packing like that little heart-to-heart hadn’t just happened.

I rolled my eyes. "Weirdo," I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that."

"No, you didn’t."

He hummed knowingly, and I added, "Must be your age catching up to you."

That earned me a playful growl over his shoulder, and I quickly threw my hands up like I was surrendering. "Kidding! Don’t bite!"