The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Larissa’s POV

It was my fault that he had a fever. If only I hadn’t been so carried away playing in the rain, he would never had gotten sick. Even when he had me locked up, it was surprising that he wasn’t well taken care of. It looked like no one gave him a hot shower.

I half expected for the alpha to say something mean yet again, but he said nothing. Instead he stood there in his sweats and with both arms folded, watching my every move while Gwen walked out of the room, leaving it to an awkward silence. I turned my attention back to Declan, running my fingers through his hair. Truly, it reminded me of honey. Except that his climbing temperature worried me.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” He finally spoke up, and I could pick up the grogginess in his usually demeaning tone. I looked back at him, shaking my head quickly but he clicked his tongue at me. “Take him to Annalise instead. She would be able to take care of him and give some medication.”

‘You should have thought of that before calling me here.’ I thought to myself, still shaking my head.

“No, I insist. It’s very late, and I can nurse him to good health if you’ll let me.” I countered albeit calmly, struggling not to raise my voice at him. I expected him to yank me up and throw me out at the sudden burst of boldness, but all I could hear was a sigh and my heartbeat racing.

Kaden’s POV

Her eyes held no emotions, yet I could see flickers of concern everytime she turned to glance at Declan. She finally rose to her feet and made her way to his bathroom, stepping out with a small bowl of water and a towel. She bowed awkwardly again before walking back to his bed and set the materials on the hard floor beside the bed.

She dipped the piece of fabric in the water before dunking it completely and squeezing off the excesses. Then she folded the towel and placed it on his forehead. I walked up to the bedside and stood there, partly intrigued and partly annoyed. I didn’t even know what I was pissed about, maybe it was just the sight of her and her disheveled blonde hair touching my son. Or the fact that I couldn’t take care of my son myself.

“I’m going to wipe your body, okay?” She half whispered in his ears before working her slender fingers to undo the buttons of his pajamas. “It isn’t even vanilla scented.” She scoffed again, prying the pajama top off of him. He whimpered at that, but she tapped the towel on his forehead. She knew about the vanilla scent?

In one swift movement, she picked up the towel and dunked it in the bowl of water again before ridding it of the excess water. She folded the towel neatly before wiping his body in slow streaks. She would repeat the whole process again and whisper softly in his ears till he had fallen completely quiet.

“Alpha, you’re making me uncomfortable.”

I was jabbed out of my trance at her sudden comment, and I cocked a brow. I had no idea how long I was standing there, but she had wiped down his entire body and clothed him. Wait, did she just say I was making her uncomfortable?

“In my own house?” I questioned, silently daring her to speak up. She turned to look at me with the same dead eyes I’d seen earlier, then bowed curtly.

“My apologies, but yes.”

“How dare -”

“Please.” Her voice was quiet and her eyes began darting around as if in fear. “Declan is sleeping, and he shouldn’t be woken up.”

I folded my arms, watching her intently. When I didn’t say anything, she settled for staring at the ground and fiddling with the hem of her dress. I noticed some red marks on her skin as she continued to play with her dress, then with her fingers.

“You’ve been staring at me, it’s making it difficult for me to watch over Declan.” She finally pointed out, forcing herself to look at me. I could see the hesitation in her voice, but I was more concerned about my son.

“You’re not off the hook yet.” I ground out harshly, relishing in the feeling of watching her cower although slightly. “Just because I let you take care of him tonight, doesn’t mean you’re out of my blacklist.”

With one last glare, I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me. I strode to my room, pausing briefly at the door before twisting the knob and pushing it open. I could feel my chest beating harshly. Frustrated, I walked to the bathroom instead and doused my head in water. The feeling of the cold liquid running down my head did me some good by helping me cool off, but it didn’t do much to help shift my attention from the woman in my son’s room.

I hadn’t thought of letting her in his room tonight in the first place. And for some reason I was trusting enough to leave my son with the same woman who had taken him to play under the rain. The sight of her wiping down his body and cooing at him was on constant replay in my head even while I stared at my wet headed reflection in the mirror. Declan was Amaya’s son, yet she wouldn’t have done that.

I remembered when Declan was born. Joyous as I was, Amaya was always concerned about how to take care of him. He’d gotten a high fever once at 13 months old, and Amaya had been frantic that night. She could never compare to the relaxedness that Larissa held. She’d complained all night in agitation, ultimately calling for Annalise to take care of him. She had thought he was going to die, for fuck’s sake she couldn’t even control a simple fever. The pearls on her nails getting ruined worried her more than the health of her own child, so why Larissa? Why could she be so put together in the middle of an emergency?

Because you’ve jumped into conclusion.

“Shut the fuck up.” I warned again. I hated the fact that my wolf wouldn’t take my side. Yes, she was my mate and I didn’t want her, what else was there? There was no possible attraction to her. Not when she was a filthy cheat.

You don’t even know that for sure.

“I know what I’m talking about, so save it or I’ll make sure to shut you up for good.” I snarled back without the authority that I’d intended.

Get to know her first.

My wolf spoke up again and I growled in response.

“You do not want to see me kick you out.”

I turned on the tap in the sink and placed my head under the stream of water. I didn’t care about what he thought of her. I was never going to have anything to do with her. Whether or not he liked it, there was no way in hell that I’d set myself up so badly.

I finally turned off the tap after a full minute, picking up a towel in the room to remove the water from my hair. I walked back to my room, shaking off whatever feeling that raided my thoughts and forced myself to bed. I found myself straining to hear something through the walls, but there were no significant sounds. All I could hear were soft snoring.

I let out a sigh at that and wrapped my sheets around my head in hopes of drifting off to a deep slumber.

*

The next morning, I walked out of my room with my hair gelled back and in a form fitting burgundy suit. I was standing in front of Declan’s room, a little conflicted on whether or not to open the door. Hesitantly, I eventually pushed it open to see that the lights were still turned on. By the foot of his bed, the blonde haired woman sat with her back turned to the door and was sleeping. She looked uncomfortable but slept through it, only stirring when there were soft, child-like mumbles.

She finally jolted up from sleep when the mumbles grew. I sprang forward, almost racing into the rrom but she beat me to it. She didn’t even know that I was there, but I was satisfied with watching them from afar. She picked up a towel and placed it in his head, patting him gently until he went to sleep again. The muscles in her back loosened up and relaxed, and she heaved a relieved sigh before nuzzling herself back to sleep.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I felt an odd sense of satisfaction at the scene in front of me. Letting out a sigh, I shut the door and made my way down the stairs where Hunter was waiting patiently for me. Larissa reminded me of a child. Why would she sleep there so uncomfortably?

None of my housekeepers had ever been so sacrificial, I found myself wondering if Declan meant more than half of what he meant to me, to her.