The Lost Luna

Chapter 17

I shake my head, the image of my babies and Ryder dead flashing in my mind.

"It's okay baby, it's okay.." he coos to me, continuing to rock my body, trying to calm me down. "How about we go back to sleep huh?" he asks, laying both of us down, with my head on top of his chest.

I nod, holding his body close to mine as my breathing starts to calm down. He rubs my back and whispers sweet nothings into my ear as I slowly fall back into a dark, dreamless sleep.

~~~

By the time I wake up again, the sun still hasn't risen yet. I attempt to sit up and stretch, but an arm holds me in place. What the-

The events of last night come running back. The dead bodies, my babies, Ryder. Ryder came in to comfort me and oh my god, RYDER IS SLEEPING IN MY BED! Really! That's two nights in a row that Ryder has slept next to me.

I try to get out of Ryder's grasp by moving his hand, but his grip tightens, pulling us closer together.

"No, just a few more minutes." He grumbles, he must've woken up while I was trying to escape.

"Sorry to disrupt you, your highness. But I can't be laying in bed all day!" I say, grabbing his arm and pulling it off me before I get up and stretch.

He turns over to his stomach to look at the clock; 6:30.

"6:30? You've got to be kidding me!" He groans, before standing up himself and doing a quick stretch.

I walk into the bathroom and grab my toothbrush and brush my teeth. I notice Ryder staring at me in the doorway, but I just ignore it as I finish my morning routine.

Just as I finish washing my face, Ryder is in the bathroom doorway, smirking, "let's go running."

"You want to exercise?" I look up at him with an unimpressed look.

"No silly. I mean shift. I haven't let my wolf run these past few days and he's anxious." Ryder replies, practically dragging me out of my room. "And besides, Carter won't be up for at least another hour."

"Oh, um, okay" I stumble, looking at my feet. I haven't shifted in years. At first, I couldn't shift because I was pregnant with Carter. But once I had him I just never found the time or the right place that I could shift without being caught.

Ryder hears my apprehension and he stops, turning around and tilting my chin up to look at him, "What's wrong?" He asks, looking at me with worry.

"Nothing, I just...I haven't shifted since I left.." I reply honestly, and he pulls me in for a hug.

"It's okay, we don't have to if you don't want to...." he starts, but I interrupt him.

"No, I want to. It's just been a while." I reply with a smile. He gives me a reassuring smile back as he leads me outside to the treeline.

He lets go of my hand as he walks behind a tree. I stand there frozen, unsure if this is what I really want to do. However, the quick sound of bones snapping takes me out of my trance and gives me a shiver down my spine just as Ryder's black wolf appears.

I watch as he walks over to me, rubbing his nose on my thigh. I sigh, patting my hand on his head, "I don't know if I can do this..." I tell him honestly.

I hear him whine, gently pushing me to a nearby tree.

"Fine, Fine," I reply, going behind a tree to take off my clothes. C'mon Kara, you can do this. Shift! I tell myself. At first, nothing happens, but then I feel my bones snap and fur sprout from my skin. It was a little sour, considering I haven't shifted in 6 years, but it felt so good! I howl in delight before starting to jump around, I'm a wolf!

There's my beautiful brown wolf, I knew you could do it! I hear Ryder call out to me through our mind-link. I watch as he trots over, brushing his body against mine.

I forgot how good it feels to shift! I reply says as I jump and run around.

I hear him laugh at me, You look like someone who just had their first shift.

It is my first change in over 6 years! I fire back, sprinting around the tree.

Okay, okay. Are we going to take our run, or are you just going to jump around? He asks me teasingly.

Shut up and let's go, I reply before darting into the brush.

Ugh, it felt so good to shift. My wolf jumped and ran with glee through the forest. Ryder stayed behind me mostly, taking playful nips at my heels. We run for about an hour, before heading back to where our clothes are. I trot behind my tree, and Ryder behind his, as we both shift back. I quickly slide into my clothes, I never liked being naked in the forest. I step out into sight once I'm fully clothed, to see Ryder, already fully dressed, leaning on a tree.

"You still take really long to get your clothes on," he says, smirking at me.

"Shut up and let's go" I reply, scrunching my nose at him, "You are cooking breakfast this morning"

"Anything you want, beautiful"