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.
“You’ll be okay, big guy. Hang in there.” She patted his shoulder. “Does Luna eat and drink? Or is it just blood?”
“I don’t know.” Fucking hell. He should know that. Why didn’t he ask her?
“Okay, well, I’ll head down with some food at mealtime and ask. It’ll give me an excuse to check on her without her thinking I’m ignoring her wishes. Can you hold out until then?”
“No,” he said honestly. “I can’t.”
Grace nodded in understanding. “Do what you need to stay solid, just give her the rest of the day, okay?”
Gunner jerked up his chin and strode off. He wouldn’t usually care what anyone else thought. The only person’s orders he followed were Chaos’s. But Grace had been through this recently, and she was right, even if he hated that she was. It would be so easy to make the wrong move and send Luna running.
Instead of breaking down her door and dragging her back to his apartment like he wanted to, and never letting her out of his sight ever again, he sat on the floor by her door, leaned his head against the wall, and stretched his legs out in front of him.
Yeah, he seriously needed to calm his shit down. Closing his eyes, he attempted something he hadn’t since he found her, something that had never worked before—he reached out to her with his mind.
Well, fuck.
He felt her.
She was there, still inside. Relief pounded through him. She was close, just inside the door. Could she feel him, too? He focused harder, trying his best to wrap his senses around her, to comfort her the only way he could.