Page 115 of Vicious Luna

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“This way,” Avery directs, turning around a corner and waving for me to follow.

I’m slowly getting more familiar with the layout of the squad complex since I’ve accompanied her here for the past few days, but this is my first time in the dorms. I swing my head back and forth, glancing at the doors lining either side of the brightly-lit hallway until Avery stops in front of one marked with the number twenty-four.

“This is it,” she announces, and I step forward and raise a fist to knock.

“Just a second!” Matty calls out in response from the other side, and I hear the sound of his footsteps scrambling across the room before he flips the lock and pulls it open.

“Knox!” he exclaims, blue eyes widening and face splitting into a bright grin. He steps forward to clap an arm around me in a half-hug, then immediately pulls back awkwardly, a blush rising to his cheeks. “Sorry, is that...?”

“All good,” I chuckle, moving into the doorway and slinging an arm around his shoulders. “I’m not your commanding officer anymore, we’re friends, right?”

“Yeah,” he breathes, nodding enthusiastically. “Right.”

I slide my arm off his shoulders, glancing past him into the room. “Just came by to check out your new digs, see how you’re settling in.”

“Come on in, then,” he urges, stumbling away from the doorway and gesturing for me and Avery to enter. “Luna, good to see you again,” he says politely as she files in behind me, tipping his head to her in deference.

She bats her long eyelashes his way, smiling. “I told you to call me Avery,” she admonishes, swatting his arm with the back of a hand as she steps past him.

His blush deepens. “Sorry. Force of habit, I guess.”

Avery waves him off with a chuckle as she glances around the interior of his room. “Yikes, this place needs a little love,” she comments.

“What do you mean?” Matty asks, brow furrowing as he joins her in glancing around the barren space of his dorm room.

“It doesn’t even look lived in,” she points out. “At least put up some posters or something.”

The crease between his brows deepens. “Posters?”

“Or art, or whatever,” she amends, shrugging. “Justsomething.” She advances further into the room, her perplexed gaze pinging between the neatly made bed and the empty surfaces of the dresser and desk. “You had that big backpack with you, where’s all your stuff?” she asks, wrinkling her nose as she turns back to face him.

“Well I put everything away,” he replies hesitantly.

I can’t help but chuckle at their exchange, moving toward Matty and clapping a hand down on his shoulder. “I think what she’s trying to say is that you don’t need to abide by The Guild’s minimalistic ideals anymore,” I explain. “There isn’t anyone here to check up on whether you’re keeping things neat and organized.”

Matty nods slowly. “I guess I could get a poster or something,” he mumbles, swiping a hand over his chin as he glances from one blank wall to the next.

“Whatever you want, man, it’s your space,” I say, giving his shoulder a squeeze before dropping my arm back down to my side and shuffling backwards to lean against the dresser. “So how’s it been going?”

“Good,” Matty breathes, nodding. “I mean, I’m still kinda settling in, getting to know people and figuring things out. How about you?”

“Same,” I admit, shooting Avery a side-eyed glance. “Well, some things are figured out,” I add, a smirk pulling at the corner of my mouth.

“Ready for the big run tonight?” Matty questions.

I turn back to him with a nod. “Definitely. And speaking of, I heard you got recruited to man the security systems during the run.”

“I offered to,” he replies, shrugging. “I mean, since I’m the only one who can’t shift and run with a pack on the full moon, it makes sense for me to do it. I’m just glad there’s somewhere for me to help out.”

“You sure you’re not a secret shifter too?” Avery teases, coming over to lean against the dresser beside me.

Matty snorts a laugh. “Positive. You have no idea how much I wish I was, then I’d at least fit in around here a little more.”

“We’ve never had a human in our ranks before, it’ll take some getting used to,” Avery comments.

“Yeah, but even then, there’s not a whole lot for a human to actually do around here to contribute,” he replies, stabbing his fingers through his hair as he blows out a frustrated breath. “I appreciate you guys putting me up, but I wanna earn my keep in some way, ya know? More than just manning the security systems once a month.”