Crave (Crave: 1) (FINISHED)

13 - Poor thing

"Luna," he warned gently.

She spun around, shaking her head and walking backwards as he kept his pace.

But she tripped over a throw pillow, yelping when she collapsed onto the floor, but quickly looked up to Elijah.

He was still making his way toward her.

She only scrambled backwards, tremors spreading through her body as he kept this pace.

But her back met a wall, and he closed in on her.

The moment he reached out to catch her hand, Luna cried out, shielding her face.

Elijah stopped, eyes darkening.

She was sobbing silently, rocking herself while keeping the defensive position, and he just watched her.

But, finally, he knelt down, gaze softening.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Luna," he whispered.

She peaked her eyes out from her arm, tears staining her lashes.

He only shook his head. "I won't."

She just watched him carefully, body rattling with tremors as he remained in his position, smiling gently at her.

He was working on pure instincts now.

"I'm just going to sit here," he told her, settling down in front of her. "And you tell me when you're ready, and we can talk or do whatever you want, okay?"

She just stared, not responding.

But Elijah did as he said, and he sat there, waiting patiently for her to be comfortable enough to move.

Luna watched him for a while, and he only stared back, keeping his smile as she regained her composure.

This lasted over twenty minutes, but he didn't move a muscle.

After the thirty-minute mark, she lowered her arms, staring at him with her tear-stained cheeks.

He only remained.

But Luna gazed around the room curiously, then moved to wipe her cheeks with her sweater, and she gazed back up at Elijah, the hardness in her eyes dissipating.

He didn't move.

But Luna rocked onto her feet, setting her hands on the floor ahead of her before crawling over to him.

His eyes softened when she rested her head on his lap, curling up against him.

Oh... poor thing...

"See?" he whispered, stroking her arm while still acting on instinct. "You're okay. I won't hurt you. There's no one here who wants to hurt you."

Luna sniffled, closing her eyes and letting him help her, and Elijah couldn't help but smile at this, brushing some hair away from her face.

She stared up at him with her dark eyes, but closed them when he tucked some more hair away, parting her lashes when he stroked her arm again.

"Better?" he said.

She nodded; cheeks slightly flushed. "Yes... thank you...."

He only bobbed his head, still stroking her skin.

Why did it feel like he was acting on survival? He wasn't hunting. He'd only have this instinctual feeling when he turned into his wolf. What was this?

But for some reason, his body didn't react to the concern pricking at his mind, and it just slipped its arms under Luna, making her gasp softly as he lifted her to his chest.

She clutched onto his shirt as he carried her over to the bed, staring up at him curiously as he lowered her into the sheets.

But he just crawled in with her and pulled the covers over her chest.

"I'm guessing you don't want to sleep again?" Elijah guessed.

She shook her head.

He only smiled. "Alright. But I am, okay? What do you need before I sleep?"

She only looked down to his shoulder. "Your arm."

He wanted to ask, What? You want me to surgically remove this limb for you? but refrained from asking.

And he didn't know why.

Just held his arm out to her.

Luna's eyes glittered at this, and she scooted over to him, grabbing his arm and hugging it to her like a teddy bear.

He chuckled softly. "Just don't squeeze too tight, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He only let his lashes shut, and he swore he heard a voice echo through his thoughts:

She's your Luna.

But Elijah just let himself sleep, clearly thinking it was saying her name.

He could tell... it was his wolf.