The Moonlit Path

Chapter 6: Take Me Home

I laid in my bed, still dressed for the ball, except the exceedingly painful shoes I had discarded. I repeated over and over again in my head: Titus Eques is my mate. I am going to be his Luna. I don't have to marry Phil.

Amara chimed in before I could stop her, And he's a sweet, hunky piece of man isn't he?

I sighed and rolled off the bed deciding to ignore her wildly dirty mind as she flashed images of him in my bedroom and of the kiss that we had shared together, privately. As I unzipped and discarded my dress onto the floor Amara shouted, take me for a run to the rock wall!

I don't trust that you won't go looking for Titus, I countered back.

What if I promise? 

What if you're a liar? 

Plllleeeeaassse, she whined. 

Promise first. 

I promise I won't go looking for our mate. I just want to be at the rock wall one last time before we leave.

I couldn't argue with that. The rock wall had always been a very special place for me. I had always been able to go out there and think, be alone, at peace with the forest around me. It was where I dreamed of the life I truly wanted. It's also where I had first heard Amara speak to me.

Okay. To the rock wall and then home. No. Stops. I finally caved and my wolf excitedly bounced inside of me. 

I wouldn't bother with getting dressed again. Instead, I opted to fold a pair of track pants and a t-shirt to leave on the front porch and change immediately outside of the front door. I was an adult now and my father could not stop me from making my way out into the forest. 

As I quietly made my way down the stairs, I realized my father and brother had not yet returned home from the party. Perhaps they were tending to Phil or speaking with his father. Most importantly, they weren't in the house and so there was no one and nothing to stop me from making a trip out to my spot. I placed the clothes by the front door in case they returned and worried that I had been taken off by Titus without their permission. Then I let Amara take control and shifted into my beautiful wolf. 

Amara has my features but they were bigger and seemed to fit her better than they fit my human form. Her deep eyes and long, dark brown fur were perfect together. We ran through the forest, passing by few others from the pack. The run was short and we ran so hard and with such excitement it only took a few minutes to reach the familiar boulder. 

I didn't want to shift back quite yet so I stretched out in my wolf form across the familiar rock. From here I could look out over the small lake that was just over the territory line. At night the stars and the moon gleamed off the surface in the most beautiful ways. I always imagined that if my mother were alive, her presence would feel like the nights I spent at the rock wall; comforting, sweet, beautiful. But I could barely remember her now. She died when I was five. It always seemed like we didn't get enough time together. 

I was pulled from my heartbreaking thoughts by a loud snap nearby. I jumped up and into defensive position, looking and listening for the culprit. 

A tense moment passed. I had to decide whether I was going to make a run for it or if I was going to wait until whoever or whatever it was passed me by. 

After a few minutes I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and relaxed. I turned to look out over the lake one last time when suddenly I felt someone directly behind me. I turned to find a blonde wolf with sad eyes staring at me from just a few feet away.

Phil? I asked through the mindlink we had established. 

There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere. What are you doing out here by yourself?  He replied. 

I'm just out for a run. What are you doing out here looking for me? 

Shift? He sighed. I didn't want to change back but I knew from experience that Phil wasn't one to hang around in wolf form if he didn't need to. I nodded and shifted.

Turning to face him I could see he was bruised from his altercation with Titus. His chin was blue and black.

"Are you alright?" I asked shivering slightly. 

"It should heal by morning." He said reaching into a bag he had been carrying and pulling out some jeans and a shirt which he threw to me. I happily threw it on to cover my nudity. 

"Thanks. I'm relieved you're okay."

"Are you?" He snapped. 

"Of course I am Phil. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You didn't seem all that invested in ensuring that I was alright when that fucking lunatic attacked me." 

"He's not a lunatic and you started it," I growled.

Phil ran his hands through his hair and started to pace. "Please Liana..." There was a long pause and I could tell that Phil was getting more frustrated. 

"Please what?"

"Don't go with him. Reject him. Take your place by my side, in my pack, where you belong."

"What?" It came out as a whisper.

"I know that we aren't mates but we love each other. I have always cared for you. I have always protected you when you needed it. I have always been respectful and tried my hardest to make you happy. I don't understand what went wrong." 

"Phil..."

"No!" He shouted and in the blink of an eye he had pinned me up against a tree, knocking the wind out of me. "If you have chosen someone else you can call me Alpha. If you are going to load me up with some bullshit about mates and the chosen ones and the moon goddess, spare me. This isn't right Liana! I love you, you love me! We have been set to be married for ages and our packs will become one. I won't hear anything more about it." I had finally caught my wind when he smashed his mouth into mine. I growled and punched at his chest but Phil kissed me hard. He held my head in place while he moved his lips down my neck. I could feel him approaching my marking spot. I realized what he was about to do and I felt sick to my stomach. 

"Phil... Please." 

"Say you'll reject him," he whispered threateningly. 

Suddenly there was a loud crash and Phil was off of me, on the ground several feet away. I fell to the ground, wrapping my arms around myself but before I could start to panic, I heard him. 

"Liana," I could feel the heat on my skin as Titus approached me. He wrapped his arms around me sending pleasant fireworks across my skin as he picked me up off the ground. "Liana, are you hurt? What happened?" 

I felt tears prickling at the edges of my eyes but I refused to let them fall.

"I'm not hurt Titus."

"What happened?" He snarled, turning toward Phil. 

"You ruined everything," was all Phil said before he sped off into the darkness toward his own territory. 

I could tell that Titus wanted to follow him, kill him if he could catch him. But I didn't want him to go. "Titus?" He whipped back around toward me and took me back into his arms. The tears I had been holding onto started to fall down my cheeks. "Titus, please take me home."

That was all I had to say before he lifted me up and carried me back to the house.