The Luna’s Choice

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Theo

I had slipped out of Kylee’s room after she had fallen asleep. I had gone to see her the morning after Ayla’s accident, bringing the jewelry box I had retrieved from her mother’s house and apologizing for my recent behavior. I was worried she would ask more questions about what happened that night, but luckily, she was so thankful to have the necklace. she was eager to put it behind us.

Relieved to avoid the subject, I promised to have dinner with her and spend the whole evening together tonight. She was so happy I honestly thought it would be easy.

But that didn’t turn out to be the case.

I had thought about when we had first got together and some of the things we did. I wanted to do something that would remind me of when I first started to fall for Kylee. So, I

arranged for us to hike up our favorite trail to the waterfall where I asked her to be exclusive. I had a picnic dinner all arranged.

But when I met with her to leave, she insisted we go out to a restaurant because she hadn’t dressed for a hike. I was disappointed but agreed. I was supposed to be making it up to her, after all. But then our time together kept getting interrupted as pack members kept approaching us, asking about the preparations for our upcoming mating ceremony.

It was a topic Kylee was all too eager to talk about, but I was having a hard time mustering up the interest.

Chapter 12. Theo

“What’s wrong, babe?” she asked on the drive back to the packhouse, resting a hand on my thigh. “Didn’t you enjoy dinner?”

“Yeah, it was good,” I said with a tight smile. “Everything is fine.”

“It doesn’t seem fine. Are you sure you’re not upset with me?”

“Of course not, babe. I’m just having a hard time with Dad being sick and all.”

“I know it’s hard. But soon, you’ll have taken over, and he’ll be able to take the time he needs to start getting better,” she said with a smile.

I knew she was just trying to make me feel better, but it didn’t. Dad wouldn’t get better.

Shifters didn’t get sick often. Their advanced healing capabilities meant they were immune to most diseases and illnesses, particularly human ones. However, there were a few conditions that were exclusive to shifter anatomy. So we were

far from invincible.

My father had been diagnosed with a condition that affected his ability to shift. His body couldn’t produce enough of the necessary fluids to smoothly transition from his human form to his wolf. It made the shift very painful. There were some treatments, but they mostly just made the secondary effects more bearable, so the best thing was to avoid shifting altogether.

However, that was easier said than done for a shifter. Our animals were a part of us. They were another being, a primal being, that needed to be let out. They needed to be cared for.

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Chapter 12: Theo

Not being able to shift had a huge impact on a shifter’s mental health over time. It was even harder when you were an Alpha.

Dad was already struggling with the mental aspect of the disease. I don’t think Kylee really understood what was happening to him. We had kept her and the rest of the pack from seeing him in this condition. I still wanted to protect her from that reality, but at the same time, it would have been nice to talk to her about it.

We pulled up to the packhouse and got out to open her door for her. Taking her hand, I walked us toward her room.

“When do you think we’ll be able to move into a room

together?” Kylee pouted as we approached her door. “I’m tired. of being away from you.”

“After the ceremony. Once my parents officially step down, we’ll move into their wing of the packhouse. It’s really better set up for two people than my current rooms,” I said. Again.

Kylee pulled me into her room and shut the door behind her. “Well, then, I guess we’ll just have to make the best of our living situation until then.”

Tugging my shirt, she pulled me down to kiss her.

My body resisted at first, but I reminded myself I was

supposed to be focusing on her. Focusing on getting us back on track. So I deepened the kiss, following her lead to the bed. We stripped each other down, and I gave in to her

exploration. After all, she knew what I liked and had always been eager to provide it.

I tried to remember the feeling of the first time we had been

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Chapter 12 Theo

together. Kylee had been so eager to please me. It seemed like she had wanted me even more than I wanted her, which I found sexy as hell. We had gone to see one of my favorite bands play at a bar, and she had spent half the night grinding against me, driving me crazy. The band’s set hadn’t even ended, and I was dragging her into a bathroom stall and f***ing her against the wall.

At the time, I had thought it was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced.

But now, as Kylee rode me with abandon, my mind went back to the moment I kissed Ayla. Her soft lips against mine. The feeling of her pulse quickening beneath my hand. How the scent of her arousal hit me, telling me I could turn her on with just a touch.

I flipped Kylee over, changing positions as I plowed into her. I closed my eyes, and my release approached quickly as Ayla’s face flashed in my head. I came on Kylee’s belly, still unable to fill her with my seed.

I sat back on my heels. Steadying my breathing as my head rested back on my shoulders. I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t want to break the illusion just yet. Kieran had left me earlier in the day, refusing to be present while I was with Kylee. So this was the closest thing to a moment of peace I had experienced

in over a week.

But as soon as I opened my eyes – as soon as Ayla’s beautiful face was replaced by Kylee’s – that peace would be over.

With a deep sigh, I removed myself from between her legs and went to the bathroom. I wet a washcloth and cleaned

myself off before returning to Kylee with a second cloth. After

Chapter 12: Theo

.

I wiped the mess from her, she grabbed me and pulled me back into the bed.

“Stay with me tonight, baby,” she said sweetly as she curled up beside me, laying her head on my chest. “I miss feeling you next to me.”

Her words pained me. I tightened my arm around her shoulders, holding her until she fell asleep.

But sleep didn’t come to me.

I couldn’t get comfortable. The feeling of her naked body against mine felt unnatural. I wondered if it had always felt this way, and I was just so smitten with her that I didn’t notice it.

Or was it because I knew it should have been Ayla there? Had she been a different person? Maybe if their dad hadn’t died, she would have been the mate I needed her to be.

The burning in my chest pulsed.

I couldn’t think about that. All that mattered was that she

wasn’t that person now. But Kylee was who I needed by my side. I just had to make it to our mating ceremony. Once I marked her, everything would go back to the way it was between us.