The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Vivian’s POV

It only took about three minutes of stewing in line before my irritation simmered down into a manageable annoyance. By the time it was my turn at the register, I managed to stretch my lips into a half-hearted, slightly awkward smile for the overly perky cashier whose attitude I did not appreciate today.

"Good afternoon, Luna! I hope your shopping trip went well today?" she chirped brightly as she started scanning the items with the kind of boundless energy only retail workers and early morning birds possessed.

"Yup. Fantastic," I replied dryly, pulling out the sleek black card Zahliver had given me for pack expenses, or what he liked to call "treat yourself" moments.

Right on cue, Johnson appeared beside me and began silently bagging the groceries with smooth, practiced motions.

The cashier’s scanning speed suddenly slowed to a crawl, her attention drifting not-so-subtly away from the clothes and straight toward my bodyguard. I watched as her eyes sparkled with sudden interest, the handheld scan gun hovering mid-air in her grip.

Of course. She was checking out my security detail. Wonderful. Very very wonderful

At least it is not you she is drooling over, my wolf snickered lazily in the back of my mind. Zahliver would literally lose his mind if someone tried flirting with us right now. And look at Johnsonhe is totally single, bonus points for him!

"You are pretty good at packing bags. Do you have professional experience?" she asked, her eyelashes fluttering like she was starring in a shampoo commercial.

"Nope," Johnson replied completely deadpan, his eyes laser-focused on the plastic bags.

"Oh... well..." her voice stoping in her throat

"Pass me that sweater next," he instructed smoothly, still not glancing up at her.

She blushed fiercely, fumbling a small box toward him. I internally resisted a massive urge to roll my eyes and just handed over the black card to complete the payment.

"Please come back and shop with us soon!" she called out brightly as we turned to leave. Yeah. That overly sweet invitation was definitely meant for Johnson and not for your Luna here.

I shot him a teasing grin as we walked away. "Well, look at you, Johnson. Crushing innocent hearts right here in the checkout line."

"Huh?" He blinked at me, looking genuinely confused, which only made the whole situation ten times funnier.

We dropped the bags securely into the trunk of the car, but I realized I was not quite done yet. I still had one more important thing on my mind.

I turned around and headed right back into the store. I needed to find a small gift for Zahliver something thoughtful, simple, and entirely him.

It took me a while of wandering through the aisles, but I finally spotted something that felt just right. When I returned outside to look for Joshula and Luke, it turned out they were already back at the vehicle waiting patiently, unlike me. Honestly, I was starting to think Cort and Mila genuinely got a kick out of watching me spin in circles and shout names like a lost goose.

You kind of panic when you think you have lost your mate’s newly returned brother, my wolf reminded me. Can you really blame yourself?

We were barely ten minutes into the drive back to the packhouse when something hit me like a physical blow.

My stomach suddenly sank into a bottomless pit, and my throat tightened painfully. A thick, unrelenting tidal wave of deep sorrow washed over me out of nowhere. Hot tears burned fiercely behind my eyelids as the intense emotion slammed straight into my chest, heavy and suffocating.

"Luke..." My voice came out cracked, small, and low. "Can you please take us to the nearest hospital right now?"

The moment those frantic words left my mouth, the car jerked forward. Everyone inside exploded into immediate action, acting as though I had just confessed I was bleeding out from a hidden wound.

"Luna, where are you hurt? What is wrong?!" Luke yelled, his eyes snapping up to the rearview mirror every two seconds with sheer panic written all over his face.

"I am not hurt!" I said quickly, frantically batting Mila’s hands away as she tried to check my arms for invisible injuries. "I am okay. I just... I have to go there. Something is terribly wrong. I can physically feel it."

"A hospital?" Johnson asked, his voice pitching higher than usual.

I twisted around in my seat, locking eyes with Joshula in the back. I had made Johnson sit in the middle row this time because Luke had been fiercely adamant about proper protection protocols, which meant I was not allowed to sit up front with the driver anymore. Overprotective wolves, the lot of them.

"Do you want to head back home instead?" I asked Joshula softly, trying to keep my breathing steady. "Luke can drop you off at the packhouse if you would rather not come with us."

My lungs felt tight, and my heart felt like it was trapped in a vice. The closer the car got to our destination, the heavier the strange sorrow became in my bones.

Joshula’s dark brows drew together in deep concern. "Are you sure you are okay, Vivian?"

"I am fine," I lied, even though my entire body was shaking. "Just let me know if you want to go back "

"If it is all right with you," he interrupted gently, his gaze unwavering, "I would rather stay close. Keep an eye on you."

I gave him a small, grateful nod and turned back around to face the front windshield.

I knew I was supposed to be giving him a cheerful, welcoming tour of the town today, maybe pointing out local landmarks and laughing together over silly things. But right now? None of that mattered. Not compared to the heavy warning drums beating inside my chest.

Besides, that is what Google Maps is for when you need to navigate a crisis.