Make Me a Match

*Hezzlie*

I awake to the sounds of footsteps outside of my door and look around my room. My head feels so much better, though it’s still a little fuzzy. I glance at the clock and note I’ve been asleep for a couple of hours.
There’s a light knock, and I call, “Come in,” though my voice is a little raspy. The door swings open, and Natalie pops her head in. I can’t help but smile. I haven’t had a chance to see her since I’ve been back.
I throw my blankets off and jump to my feet, lose my balance, and sway a little, but catch myself.
“Oh, be careful!” Natalie says. She’s carrying a tray with my lunch on it, but Abby is with her, and she rushes over to steady me.
“Are you okay?” my friend from Darksky asks, wrapping her arm around my middle.
“I’m okay,” I assure them both. “Just a little woozy.”
“Probably because you haven’t eaten,” Natalie surmises. I suppose there are a lot of reasons why I might feel this way, including having not eaten, but it’s only been a few hours since breakfast, so that’s probably not it. She sets the tray down and turns to me, and I hurry to her the best I can with Abby still holding onto me.
Wrapping Natalie in a hug, I whisper, “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she says back, but I can tell she’s hesitant to hug me. I step back and look at her. She does a little bow/curtsy thing. “Sorry. It’s just… you’ll be our Luna Queen eventually. It seems odd that I should hug you.”
“Why is that?” I ask, placing my hands on my hips. “I might be Rowan’s mate, but I’m still me. I’m still your friend.”
I can see the questions dancing behind her eyes as she tries to sort through that. Abby intervenes. “She’s not one of those fussy royals like we’re used to. Here, Hezzlie, sit down.” She goes to the table and pulls out the chair in front of the tray. “We’ll keep you company while you eat.”
“Are you hungry?” I ask both of them, looking from one face to the other.
Abby shakes her head. “We ate already. It’s almost 2:00.”
She’s not wrong. I noted that when I looked at the clock. “I hate to eat in front of you.”
Abby pulls off the lid and reveals one of my favorite warm sandwiches the chef here makes and a delicious looking bowl of soup. My stomach rumbles. I see there’s a can of my favorite soda as well with a glass of ice–and a few chocolate chip cookies that look to be homemade.
“We aren’t hungry,” Natalie assures me. Abby sits right down next to me, but Natalie continues to hesitate.
“Sit.” I kick the chair out from under the table, and she reluctantly sits down. “How did you two meet?” I take a bite of my sandwich, refusing to be jealous that my two good friends now appear to also be friends with one another. That seems like something a petty high school girl would do, and I’m months past that.
“At lunch,” Abby tells me. “We started chatting. I was the only one in the dining room. Wilma–she’s very nice too, by the way–brought me down after I woke up, and they made me the same dish. It’s so good, isn’t it?”
“It is. You wanna bite?” I’m still chewing when I offer my sandwich.
“No, I’m full,” she says. “But thank you. I haven’t seen Tony.”
“Me neither.” I look at Natalie.
She shrugs. “I think he’s still in his room. Wilma went to check on him earlier. There’s been so much going on.”
“Poor guy. I guess he wants to go home. I hope his family is okay.” Abby lets out a sigh. “It was so nice of him to help us, but I bet he didn’t know what he was getting into.”
“I thought Aiden mentioned at one point he didn’t have a family.” My head still feels fuzzy, so I’m not sure. “If he wants to stay here, he can. We’ll take care of him.” It seems odd that I even feel like I have the power to make a statement like that, but I feel like Moonstryker Mansion is my home now, and I can’t imagine Rowan being anything less than hospitable to the man who helped me get out of my father’s kingdom safely.
“Maybe we should pay him a visit later,” Abby suggests. “I’m not sure what Aiden’s up to, but it seems like he’s been busy.”
“He was in with Mara earlier,” I say, finishing the first half of my sandwich. “Not sure now. Is she awake?”
Abby shrugs, so I look at Natalie. The maid nods. “Alpha King Rowan spoke to her earlier. She was very upset to hear that her mother had died, I believe.” She clears her throat. “I wasn’t eavesdropping, but the walls do have ears.”
I snicker and pick up the second half of my sandwich, dipping it into the soup. “I can’t imagine that’s true.” I wonder if it was Wilma. Makes sense that it would be.
We chat for a few more minutes, and I learn Rowan is in his office working while my mother is in her room. Natalie surmises that she might be practicing her magic, though she won’t say why she knows that. We talk a little about the rumors they heard about the noise earlier, and I tell them all about the moonstones and how I used their energy to free us.
“I can’t believe you’re also a witch,” Natalie murmurs.
“Isn’t it cool?” Abby giggles. “The first time she used her powers, she blasted that asshole Zeb right across the yard.”
I was proud of myself for having the power to fight off Zeb, but I don’t say anything, only finish my sandwich and pick up a spoon to finish off my soup. Natalie notices I haven’t even opened the can of soda yet, so she pops the top and pours into the glass.
“I do have a question.” Abby’s tone conveys that she’s about to ask me something girly. “You know all of Rowan’s men, right?”
I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or Natalie, so we both look at the maid. She nods. “I know everyone.”
Abby clears her throat. “Well, there’s one that’s caught my eye. I don’t know if it’s a mate bond or what, not yet anyway, but he sure is dreamy.”
I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips. Abby is old enough to shift, so she should feel the mate bond, too, I guess. Unless… she has to have known about the guy when there’s a full moon. I don’t know all the rules yet. I wait for her to tell us who it is, thinking about the conversation I had with Dean earlier. The two of them are going to be so cute together!
“Who is it?” Natalie asks as I pop a bite of chocolate chip cookie into my mouth.
Abby takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly, looking up at the sky. “Goddess. He’s just so muscular and handsome, and so sweet. And kind.” I’m checking all the boxes in my head. Sounds just like Dean. She lowers her eyes and says, “His name is… James.”
I choke on my cookie.