Chapter 55 I need you
Kane dialed Luna’s number when he got to her door. He heard the phone ringing inside.
“Luna?” He knocked. Nothing.
Something was wrong.
“Luna?” He knocked harder. Still nothing.
Using his master key, he entered her apartment. “Luna, it’s Kane. I need to…”
She was on the floor beside her bed, unconscious, blood dried beneath her nose.
“Shit.” He dropped to his knees, checking her pulse. Weak but steady. “Luna, can you hear me?”
He gently lifted her head, cradling it in his lap. Her skin was cold. “Come on, Luna. Wake up.”
Her eyelids fluttered.
“That’s it,” he encouraged. “Open your eyes.”
She blinked slowly, focusing on his face. “Kane? What happened?”
“You weren’t answering your phone. I came to check on you and found you unconscious on the floor.” He scanned her face, noting the dark circles under her eyes. “I’m calling medical…”
“No,” She grabbed his wrist with surprising strength. “No doctors. Please.”
“Luna, you were unconscious. There’s blood…”
“Elder Morgana warned me about overtraining. If she finds out, she’ll stop teaching me.” Her eyes were desperate. “I just need rest. ”
“You need medical attention.”
“I need…” She paused, something shifting in her expression. “Take me to your penthouse. Please. I don’t want my kids or Elder Morgan’s to see me like this.”
Kane studied her face. Every instinct screamed that something was very wrong. That Luna was in more danger than she was admitting. But he also saw the fear in her eyes. The desperation.
“Alright,” he said finally. “But you’re going to tell me everything.”
He lifted her carefully, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back. She weighed almost nothing, her body trembling against his chest.
In his penthouse, Kane settled Luna on his sofa, the soft leather cradling her battered body. He brought water and a warm blanket, along with a first aid kit he'd never had cause to use before. Color was slowly returning to her face, but she still looked fragile, breakable in a way that made his chest tight.
He cleaned the blood from her face with careful strokes, noting how she flinched even in her semi-conscious state.
"What happened?" he asked softly. "And don't tell me you just overworked yourself. I've seen people who are overworked. This isn’t it."
Luna took a shaky sip of water. "I've been training with Elder Morgana. Pushing myself to be ready for... for what's coming. I went too far today, tried to do too much too fast."
Kane's jaw tightened. "If this is going to be too much for you, you don't need to do this. We'll find another way."
"No." The word came out sharper than she intended. Luna softened her tone. "I'm fine, Kane. I just need to rest and not overwork myself. I know my limits now."
"Do you?"
She managed a weak smile. "I'm tougher than I look."
"That's what worries me." He moved closer, unable to stop himself from touching her face, checking her temperature.
Luna's breath caught. When he touched her, she could feel the partial bond humming to life, strength seeping back into her bones. Just his proximity was helping.
"I need to be strong enough to protect the people I care about," she said carefully.
"You don't have to do it alone."
Kane pulled her against him, and Luna didn't resist. She needed this. The contact, the connection. She could feel her body responding, drawing strength from him through the partial bond he didn't even know existed. Her headache was already easing, the tremors in her hands settling.
"Stay here tonight," he said against her hair. "Let me take care of you."
"Kane..."
"No arguments. You scared me, Luna. When I found you..." His arms tightened around her. "Just stay."
She nodded, too tired to fight both him and her need for him. The partial bond pulsed between them, growing stronger with every moment of contact. She knew Kane would notice changes. Her scent becoming sweeter, more appealing; the way his instincts would sharpen around her, becoming more protective; how her skin seemed to warm under his touch. But he'd attribute it to attraction, to worry, to the intimacy of the moment.
He wouldn't know that she was literally drawing life from him, that his presence was medicine her body craved.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For not pushing. For just... being here."
Kane pressed a kiss to her temple, right where the bruise was already fading thanks to the bond's influence. "Always."
The word hung between them, a promise he didn't fully understand the weight of. Because 'always' meant something different when you were bonded. It meant forever, whether they wanted it or not.
Luna closed her eyes and let herself sink into his warmth, feeling her strength return with each heartbeat they shared.
Luna didn’t know when she fell asleep but when she woke up, she was in his bed. Alone. She was already feeling much better but she knew if she wanted to keep going, she would need to be stronger. Being close to him wasn’t going to be enough. She slowly got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.
“You’re up” Kane says, looking up at her from the sofa.
“Yeah,” she looked at the clock on the wall. 9pm. “How long have I been sleeping?”
“Not too long.” Kane says but continues when she saw the panic in her eyes, “Don’t worry, the twins are fine. I called Elder Morgana to check in not long ago. Told her we were pulling an all nighter, brainstorming on ways to deal with Alexander and the moon fever.”
Relief flooded her eyes. “Thank you.”
She walked to his side after grabbing the bottle of water.
“Want something to eat?” Kane asked, “I had them bring some food up in case you were hungry.”
“No, I’m fine.” She sat close to him, “Why were you looking for me?”
“No, work talk tonight,” He stopped her. “ You need to get your rest. Relax.”
“Thank you,” she leaned into him. She could smell his cologne. He kissed her forehead affectionately.
“You know,” she started, “The last time we were this close was at the inn,”
She felt him freeze.
“Yeah,” his voice was barely a whisper, “I still think about it.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes moving to his lips. The air between them shifted, charged with something electric. Luna could feel the bond reaching out, desperate for more connection, more strength.
"Kane," she breathed, and that was all it took.
His lips found hers, gentle at first, as if afraid she might break. But Luna wasn't fragile now. She was hungry, desperate for the life force that flowed through their connection. She deepened the kiss, her hands moving to his chest, feeling his heartbeat accelerate under her palm.
"Luna," he groaned against her mouth, his hands tangling in her hair. "Are you sure you're strong enough…"
"I need this," she whispered, the truth of it resonating through every cell in her body. "I need you."