Their End

Chapter 6 | Dances with Lunas

CULLEN

Maya and Remi stood chatting with one of the twin Lunas. Cori, if I wasn’t mistaken. The other one was dancing with Remington. After four days of boring politics, we were finally done.

Except this stupid party.

The hall was decorated elegantly. My mother and mate saw to every detail, and there were very few problems throughout the Summit. Our guests seemed impressed and satisfied overall. But I’d barely gotten to see Remi for days now between all of our Summit dealings. Each night when we were able to get away and retire to our room, she was usually with the pups. Calder and I thought it best not to drag her away with how guilty she felt for only spending a short time before bed with them.

I tuned out the conversation around me. It really didn’t matter to me anymore with everyone leaving in the morning. There was relative peace among the packs across the realm with Serenity Moon now led by Maya and Thorin. I just wanted my packhouse empty so life could return to normal. We had enough to worry about with our resident dragonborn.

I watched Remi as she laughed along with Cori and Maya. To anyone else, she would have looked at ease, in her element even, but something was causing tension in her shoulders. Still, she was the most captivating thing in the room. Her chestnut hair was wrapped up high on her head in an elegant ponytail. I couldn’t resist slowly following the generous curve of her waist with my eyes.

After carrying our pups, her body changed. Whenever I caught her fussing about it, I made sure to kiss whatever part of her body was making her insecure. Even with the twins not always sleeping through the night and giving us new challenges as the days passed, I wanted to get her pregnant again.

“Cullen?” someone interrupted me.

I didn’t bother looking at them. It was rude, but everyone was more or less accustomed to my cold manners. “You’ll have to excuse me,” I said, taking off toward my mate across the room. The space between us needed to end.

“I told him that’s not how you spice things up,” Maya laughed as I approached them.

“Thank goodness I never walked in on that,” Remi said, taking a drink from her glass.

“I can’t imagine!” Cori blushed.

“Good evening, Lunas,” I greeted them. I immediately slid my arm around Remi’s waist. She gravitated into my hold. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I must steal my mate away. I’m afraid I haven’t danced with her yet.”

“Cullen,” she gasped. Cori and Maya both cooed at us as if we were some young couple rather than fated mates.

I didn’t give Remi a choice. I took her glass, passed it to Maya, and pulled her with me toward the dance floor. Admittedly, my brother was better at this, but he could have her after me. We stepped out onto the dance floor, and I moved toward the center. We were the hosts of the event; it only made sense.

“Cullen, we don’t have to dance,” Remi sighed. She teetered on her heels. I knew she hated them, and she’d been wearing one pair or another for days.

“Yes, we do,” I said. I kneeled in front of her and lifted her dress. “Give me your foot, love.” When she didn’t move, I looked up at her. There would be no argument. Her cheeks reddened, and slowly, she lifted one foot into my hand. I slipped her heel off and set it on the ground. I rubbed my thumbs into her arch before setting her foot down and motioning for the other. Once the process was repeated, I grabbed her shoes and stood.

“That’s better,” I smiled at her, now three inches closer to the ground.

“Cullen, I can’t dance without shoes on,” she whispered. One of the staff appeared and took Remi’s shoes from me. I nodded to them, already knowing they would be returned to our room shortly.

“Yes, you can,” I told her, grabbing her hand. She resignedly rested her other hand on my shoulder, and we began to move.

“It’s almost over,” she said idly. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“I wouldn’t mind spending a few days in bed with you curled against me,” I agreed.

Remi rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth flicked up. “Did you forget we’re parents now? We can’t do that.”

“Yes, but those pups have Uncle Carson and their grandparents,” I reminded her. I pushed her away, letting her spin out from my body before tugging her back in. This time, I wrapped my arms all the way around her, making her stay flush against me.

My body warmed all over, acutely aware of having her so close finally. My hands slid easily over her silver evening gown. I had to resist the urge to dip them beneath the drapey fabric that swooped down to her waistline, exposing her back. I wanted to feel her skin against mine, but could settle for holding her in my arms.

Remi’s body slowly relaxed into me. She laid her head on my chest, letting me move us back and forth. The world closed in around us until it was just me and her. “Have I thanked you yet?” I wondered out loud.

“Thanked me? For what?” she said softly.

“For being such an amazing mother and Luna, despite everything thrown our way. For once, I am thankful that I couldn’t overcome my own nature.”

She chuckled. “I’m pretty happy about that, too.”

I was vaguely aware of the song changing. Remi tried to hide a yawn by turning her face into my chest. “I think that’s our cue to end our night,” I told her.

“No, we should stay until our guests are finished,” she argued.

“Hmmm,” I hummed. She looked up at me curiously. “Your compliance isn’t entirely necessary.”

“Cullen,” she warned. It was cute that she thought she could change my mind. As if he could hear our conversation, Calder appeared.

“I’m not the only one thinking it,” I smiled.

“I think Cullen is right. It is time for us to retire,” he agreed with me. I reluctantly let her go. Calder scooped her up before she protested.

Side by side, we left our party with our Luna. She was asleep by the time we reached our room.