Page 38 of Knight’s Absolution

“Eventually, she’ll reach for you,” Rocco rasped. “Make sure you’re there when she does because, fuck, brother, the reward waiting for you…it’s worth any amount of suffering, any amount of pain, I promise you that.”

With two deep beats of his wings, Roc lifted off and disappeared into the sky.

Gunner stared after him, the things Rocco had said echoing through his mind.

He already knew his brother’s words were true. He felt it deep in his bones, his soul. He’d do anything, suffer anything for Luna.

Somehow, he would get through to her.

CHAPTER 11

Gunner rolled to his back with a groan. He’d returned in the early hours of the morning and had barely slept. After talking to Roc, Chaos had called him into the city to back up Zen and Kryos. Some demons had shown up at a club and things got ugly. There’d been a handful of hellhounds there as well, and they’d jumped in to help since they loved a good fight.

Afterward, a couple of them had asked Gunner to come back to their den and party. He used to do that quite a bit. They loved to fight and fuck, and Gunner had partaken when he hung out with them. He hadn’t been to the den in a long time, and he had no desire to go ever again, not to party, anyway.

There was only one person he wanted, and he couldn’t see that changing for the rest of eternity. Which sucked for him if Luna decided she didn’t want him.

He’d gone by her room when he got back but didn’t want to disturb her, so he’d spent the night tossing and turning until he finally fell asleep around 6 a.m.

Rubbing his hands over his face, he glanced at the clock—and shot up in bed. 4 p.m. Shit, he’d slept most of the day. He’d left Luna alone all this fucking time.

Throwing back the covers, he dressed and rushed out of his apartment.

He took the stairs to the floor below and hustled down the hall, waving, greeting, and nodding to the demi moving about.

They still had more than usual living in the compound after rescuing most of them a few months ago. Eve and Meredith had been working with them, helping them work through the trauma they’d suffered. But many still didn’t feel safe enough to leave. He sidestepped several children as they raced by. And some had moved here just wanting protection for their families.

He reached Luna’s door, knocked, and waited.

Nothing.

“You in there, love?” he called.

Still nothing.

You’re pushing again.

Shit, but he needed to know she was okay.

Jogging back the way he’d come, he rushed up the stairs to Chaos’s apartment. Grace pulled the door open when he knocked.

“You seen Luna today?”

Her brow furrowed. “I mean, I haven’t seen her. She didn’t want to see anyone. I called through the door and she asked to be left alone. I gave her some space. She’ll come out when she’s ready. This is all new to her, and she’s been through so much.”

“Are you sure she’s still there? That she hasn’t left? ’Cause she didn’t answer when I called.”

Grace’s eyes softened. “She’s going to need time, Gunner. She’s not ready for all…” She waved her hands, motioning at him. “This. This mated male, overprotective, obsessive craziness you guys go through when you find your females. As a female who has recently been through this, I can assure you, it’s a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Especially if you’re used to doing for yourself. And with everything Luna’s been through? It’ll be seriously confusing for her. She already has so much to process without all this mate stuff on top of it.”

Grace was right of course. Still, there was no way he could just stay away from her. “I haven’t told her we’re mates, not yet. But I need to…”

“You need to be close to her, I get it. You don’t need to tell me. It’s hard to miss how you feel. Like now, your eyes have gone dark and your demon’s joining the party. He doesn’t like my suggestion of giving Luna time?”

“No.” In fact, his demon was pissed the fuck off, like Gunner was.

“Do you want me to check on her again? I’ll call you if she needs you.”

Gunner growled; he couldn’t help it. And unsurprisingly, Grace was unmoved by his loss of control.