Chapter 60 CONSTELLATION
Adam's POV
It's late into the night but I can't fall asleep.
I wasn't exactly wide awake, just floating in that uncomfortable space where sleep keeps slipping away no matter how still you lie. Kael’s arm was heavy around my waist, his chest warm against my back, his breathing slow and even. He always slept like he trusted the world to stay where he left it. I envied that.
I shifted slightly and hissed under my breath.
Kael stirred immediately. “Baby… what’s wrong?” His voice was rough with sleep, low and gentle at the same time.
“My stomach,” I muttered. “It feels… weird.”
He tightened his hold for a second, like his first instinct was to keep me still. “Pain?”
“No. Just uncomfortable. Like it can’t decide what it wants to do.”
He hummed softly behind me. “You ate too fast.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
I sighed and rolled onto my back, staring at the dark ceiling. “I was hungry.”
“You are always hungry,” he said fondly.
“That’s rude.”
He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “It’s observant.”
I lay there for a moment, then added, quieter, “I don’t think I’m going to fall asleep.”
Kael shifted until he was half over me, propped on one elbow so he could look at my face. Even in the dark, I could feel his attention settle fully on me. “Do you want to walk?”
“At this hour?”
“It helps digestion,” he said seriously. “And overthinking.”
I snorted. “You just made that up.”
“Did not.”
“You did.”
“Even if I did,” he said, smiling into my neck, “it still works.”
I considered it, then nodded. “Fine. But if I get eaten by something, it’s your fault.”
He laughed quietly. “Nothing in this territory is brave enough to touch you.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It should be.”
We dressed slowly, lazily. Kael kept hovering like he thought I might disappear if he didn’t keep a hand on me. When we stepped outside, the night air was cool and clean, carrying the scent of grass and distant trees. The pack house looked different at night… softer somehow, lights glowing low behind windows, shadows stretching long across stone paths.
Guards were posted along the perimeter. They straightened when they saw Kael, fists to their chests, heads bowed.
“Alpha,” one of them greeted.
Kael nodded back. “Quiet night?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Good.”
We walked past them, our fingers brushing. Then Kael laced them together properly, like he’d been waiting for permission.
“See?” he said. “Safe.”
I glanced around. The compound was beautiful in a way I hadn’t noticed during the day. Moonlight caught on climbing vines and carved stone, silvered the leaves of the trees. Flowers I didn’t know the names of were closed tight, saving themselves for morning.
“It’s… nice,” I admitted.
Kael smiled like that meant something important. “It always looks better when it’s quiet.”
We walked for a bit without talking. My stomach slowly eased, the tightness unwinding.
“How’s it now?” he asked.
“Better,” I said. “Don’t let it get to your head.”
“Too late.”
We drifted toward the garden, the one tucked behind the main building. Kael tugged me down onto the grass without asking, lying back like the ground belonged to him. I followed, curling onto my side, my head on his shoulder.
Stars filled the sky. More than I was used to. The kind of sky that made you feel small whether you wanted to or not.
Kael lifted his free hand. “That cluster there, see it?”
I squinted. “All I see are dots.”
“That’s because you’re not looking properly.”
“Rude.”
He laughed. “That’s the Hunter. And that one beside it is the Wolf.”
I turned my head to stare at him. “Are you trying to explain constellations?”
“Yes, I am.”
I shook my head, trying to laugh. “You know constellations?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “My mother taught me.”
I snickered. “You’re an Alpha. You’re supposed to know battle strategies and politics and scary things.”
“I know those too.”
“This is… unexpectedly boring.”
He gasped. “I am fascinating.”
“Debatable.”
He poked my side. “Do not insult the man educating you.”
“Educating me in what? Star gossip?”
He grinned. “That one there is the Crown. It’s supposed to remind leaders that power is temporary.”
I blinked, then looked back at the sky. “That’s… actually kind of nice.”
“I know.”
“You really are strange.”
“I’m aware.”
I laughed softly, the sound slipping out before I could stop it. Kael turned his head and watched me like he’d just been rewarded.
“What?” I asked.
“You laugh more at night,” he said. “I like it.”
I felt warm all over for no good reason. “You’re staring.”
“I’m appreciating.”
I shifted closer. “You’re impossible.”
“And you adore me.”
“I tolerate you.”
He leaned in and kissed me, slow and gentle, like he wasn’t in a hurry to be anywhere else. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine.
“Everything will be okay,” he said quietly.
I hesitated. “You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“You’re just saying it because you’re you.”
“I’m saying it because I believe it.”
I stared at him. “I’m not adjusting well. I'm not trying to be ungrateful or rude, but I don't like your pack.”
“I know.”
“I feel out of place.”
“I know.”
“I think the pack hates me.”
“They don’t hate you.”
“They don’t want me.”
Kael didn’t deny it. He just said, “They will adjust, and learn to love you.”
“And if they don’t?”
He brushed his thumb under my eye. “Then that’s their problem.”
I swallowed. “You really think I can do this?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not like them.”
“No,” he agreed. “You’re better.”
“That’s not—”
“You don’t have to be like them,” he said gently. “You just have to be you.”
I sighed. “That hasn’t worked out great for me so far.”
He smiled sadly. “It will now.”
I stared up at the stars again. “You keep saying I’ll be Luna.”
“You will be.”
“That means being around them. All of them.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re the pack.”
“I am.”
“And I can’t be with you without being with the pack.”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
I was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’ll try to be less difficult.”
Kael sat up slightly. “Baby.”
“What?”
“You are not difficult.”
I frowned. “I complain a lot.”
“You communicate.”
“I snap.”
“You protect yourself.”
“I don’t trust your people.”
“You have reasons.”
I stared at him. “You really don’t think I’m a problem.”
He leaned down and kissed my nose. “You are my mate.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one that matters.”
I laughed quietly. “You’re ridiculously confident.”
“I’m right.”
We lay there, talking about nothing important. About food. About which flo
wer smells better. About whether stars ever got tired of shining.
At some point, Kael said, “You’re feeling better now.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He kissed my temple. “Sleep when you can.”
“I might.”
“I’ll be here.”
“I know you'll be.”