The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Vivian’s POV

And then, there was his apology from earlier. That moment. The way he spoke it had caught me completely off guard. Smooth, sincere, and with a voice rich and deep, like honey-drenched thunder. If he ever sang lullabies, our future kids would probably fall asleep within seconds.

Wait. Kids? Oh no. My eyes popped wide open as panic surged through me.

What if he wanted kids right now? What if he didn’t want any at all? I wasn’t ready for either answer!

This was the kind of conversation mates were supposed to have, right? Most wolves didn’t wait too long to start families, and that was perfectly fine... for them. But this was me. I loved kids cute, bubbly little things but I’d never had to actually raise one. I didn’t know how to discipline them or deal with temper tantrums. What if I failed completely as a mom?

Still... a small part of me imagined cradling something tiny and warm, with little tufts of dark hair and stormy blue eyes, and my chest ached in a way I hadn’t expected.

But first... mating. Which Mother Nature seemed hell-bent on fast-tracking. I hadn’t even heard of a male triggering a female’s heat cycle before. Maybe it was a Lycan thing? Because it sure as hell wasn’t normal.

I felt her stir inside me my inner wolf and I immediately shut that line of thought down. Nope. Not opening that door right now.

See what I mean? It was like my whole life had been shoved into a blender and someone hit ’purée.’ All I wanted was one simple, normal problem to deal with. Like... running out of toilet paper. That’d be an absolute dream.

Except I didn’t have a job. Or any money. And living off of Zaliver still made me feel weirdly, stubbornly guilty.

Fantastic. I couldn’t even buy toilet paper if I needed it. A hopeless groan ripped from my throat and I buried my face deeper into the mattress.

"Wow, that looks like a blast," a familiar voice said from the doorway amused, smooth, and unmistakable.

I froze dead in my tracks.

Oh no.

Even without looking, I knew exactly who it was.

I turned my head just slightly, letting my hair fall like a dark shield across my face. I peeked at him from under the curtain of strands before immediately facing the bed again.

He saw me naked.

And now, he saw me screaming into a pillow. Could this day possibly get any worse?

The thought hit me out of nowhere, and mortification flushed through me like wildfire. I wanted the bed to swallow me whole just open up and drag me straight into the earth like in those ridiculous horror movies.

I heard movement. He was moving closer. Too close.

"Vivian?" Zaliver’s voice was low and gentle, cautious like he didn’t want to startle me. "What’s wrong?"

Everything. Everything was wrong. But all I managed was an indistinct grunt into the comforter.

The bed dipped heavily under his weight, and I tensed immediately when I felt his large, warm hand press gently against my back.

"Talk to me," he murmured softly.

I turned my head to the side, the pillow creasing my cheek. Stars, who even lies face-flat on a bed like this? It was horribly uncomfortable.

"You saw me naked," I mumbled, my voice muffled and completely humiliated, "and I’m not even sure how I feel about this whole mating thing... if I even want to mate at all. And... I don’t know if you want kids, or what would happen if we did mate because I’m pretty sure you haven’t exactly been... celibate."

I rushed the words out so fast they barely felt real, like maybe if I said it fast enough, it wouldn’t count.

"I’m sorry, what was that?" Zaliver asked, his tone polite and entirely composed, like I hadn’t just babbled something completely insane.

I groaned and took a deep breath. "I said," I repeated slower this time, "you saw me naked, and I’m not sure how I feel about the mating yet, or if I want to mate at all. Plus, I don’t know if you want kids, or what would happen if we do mate, because I’m pretty sure you didn’t exactly keep your dick in your pants."

My last words came out in a breathless, high-pitched squeak more than anything else.

He went dead silent for a beat.

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully.

I frowned and shifted slightly to look up at him. He wasn’t looking at me. His expression was completely unreadable, blank even. His gaze was fixed off somewhere distant in the room.

"What?" I asked, suddenly anxious about what was spinning behind those pale, intense eyes of his. Zaliver was never predictable he always reacted in ways that threw me completely off balance.

Finally, he inhaled deeply.

"I won’t lie. I looked when the towel dropped," he said with zero shame. "I’m not going to pretend I didn’t. I can’t take back what happened today, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to. I love your body the way it is, Vivian. That’s all I’ll say on that."

My breath hitched in my throat.

"As for the mating thing... I’m not surprised."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped, a sudden mix of flattery and annoyance curling in my chest.

He gave a quiet, bitter chuckle. "It’s no secret that I’ve been a terrible mate. I’d be shocked if you weren’t second-guessing everything if you didn’t question mating with a monster."

That hit me square in the chest. I wanted to say something to ease the bitterness in his tone, but he shook his head before I could even open my mouth.

"Don’t," he said gently. "Don’t try to fix this. I’m not going to pressure you to choose me. That’s why I’ve been pulling back, especially in the mornings trying not to... cross any lines. You’ve shown me something I never considered before: choices. You’ve taught me I never really gave you any. So this one is yours to make. If you decide not to mate with me... I’ll accept it. Begrudgingly, yes, but I’ll respect it."

He leaned closer then, his voice dropping low with that familiar, natural dominance that always made my heart flutter despite my irritation.

"But don’t get it twisted, Vivian. You’re still mine."

A strangled, breathless laugh burst out of me.

The ridiculous phrase "a thousand-year-old virgin" crossed my mind, and I almost choked on my own air. Zaliver saying "baby" and "mine" in the same breath? Yeah, we were definitely crossing into uncharted territory.

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