"I did miss this, but I also know how much it hurts, so now you're taking back your human form; hurry." Alphard ordered. Luna nuzzled against him to make him change his mind. "Not gonna work, no means no, understood? Shift now," She retreated and he knew he'd convinced her.
Don't know what took over her, but the otherwise smart Luna had now forgotten to take cover before she let the transformation begin. Alphard rushed to their bags. Rummaging through his, he found a blanket and turned to Luna, but was rooted to the spot because of the sight in front of him.
She'd transformed and was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and hands around them. What Alphard was seeing now was her back with her long hair covering most of it till the ground, yet he was this worse.
Why're you this beautiful? He thought. Now is not the time, Alphard!
He walked up to her and backed away immediately after tucking the blanket over her shoulders. She brought two corners of it from under both of her arms and crossed them over her shoulders with a knot on the back of her neck, the only skin visible now was from her neck to down till her shoulder blades and hands of course.
She stood up and turned to face him. His eyes fixed on her, desire visible in them. She felt it even before having to look him in the eyes.
"Thank you," She breathed. He didn't utter a word and continued to stare.
"I'll start the fire," He said, but didn't move an inch.
"Okay," She wasn't any different than him.
They continued to stare at each other for a while, then Luna took a step forward, but stopped contemplating whether to take another, or not. Her doubts vanished when Alphard strode towards her.
"I think I already did..." He whispered, now standing close to her, gaze wavering up and down.
"And there's only one way to put it out." She tucked her chin up.
He grabbed her face then suddenly forced himself to pull away from her and tried reading her expression which masked his own.
"We can't mate," He sighed raking his right hand through his hair.
"We don't have to," She replied, Alphard grinned at that.
Luna knew he was going to stop at nothing now, her gaze shifted from him to the lions sitting not far from them, Alphard noticed it. He lifted her up in his arms and got to the altar.
The both of them took their time admiring each other. At one point Luna gulped.
What did you expect? He's a man! She thought.
Alphard was taken back to the time he was tending to her wounds and compared then to now.
"Beautiful..." His voice brought her back to earth. "...you're ___"
"All yours," She looked him in the eyes. "As I always say, I'm all yours, Alphard."
"Not that I thought the otherwise before, but yeah, you're mine. Only mine,"
"Only yours." She repeated.
She closed the gap between them. Soon the both of them found themselves lying beside each other on their backs.
"Never imagined it to be this good," Alphard said.
"Just good?" She smirked remembering how he'd responded.
"It was beautiful," He whispered turning to face her. "We weren't even close, yet it felt this beautiful."
"I can't wait for all this to end so that we can consummate our bond." She stared up at the cave roof.
Alphard slipped his left hand in hers which was resting over her belly and stroked the back of it.
"It's gonna work out, Luna. We've got our hands on the weapon, our next stop is the villian's door. It'll work out," He took her hand and kissed the knuckles.
She tilted her head and nodded in response. They just stayed put in silence looking at each other, until Luna broke it.
"It's medicine," She said.
"What is?"
"The thing I graduated in, apart from the required one for a field agent, of course. Didn't do a master's though,"
"For real?" Alphard frowned. "Why?" The question wasn't about master's, but about why she chose medicine.
"I don't know. They said we need to have a degree to use for while going on missions, you know the whole 'undercover' fuss and I chose this, maybe because I admired them for being able to save lives." She smiled. "You know, as a child I used to think that because god cannot come down to save everybody who's ill he's appointed doctors." He chuckled.
"And now?"
"Of course life and death is in his hands, he just saves one through doctors and also I learnt that becoming one comes with having to study for 5 to 7 years actually." They laughed. "And my knowledge about chemicals and wolves, which you think is extraordinary; they're only limited to werewolves."
"Ohh. Where'd you learn to provide pressure point treatment?" He asked.
"Online. Just a certificate course with having to attend some practical classes, who knew it'd come in handy with my job?" She let out a small laugh remembering the time on the cruise.
"You use it on your targets?"
"Sometimes on the one who I've to protect too,"
"I see," He answered then realisation dawned on him. "Wait, on me?" He asked.
"Yeah," She told him about how she'd had him passed out.
"Good thing they were there, or else my first kiss would've been stolen,"
Of course he'd to catch that from all that I just said, idiot! She thought.
"I was suffering, okay?" She backed herself up. He sat up. "What?" She asked, confused.
He stole a peck from her lips and came back again to her side.
"That's to keep me from suffering," He said.
"You are impossible, Alphard, really."
"I don't mind as long as it's in a good way," He said and draped an arm over her.
"It is for sure," She shifted close to him and they drifted off.
**********
Luna woke up to find the space beside her empty and the warmth of his body, long gone. She was just about to get out of there in search of him when she felt herself getting lifted up from the surface. She yelped in surprise till she felt the familiar warmth radiating from his body.
"Good morning," He laughed lightly at her expression.
She inhaled deeply and shifted a bit in his arms, kissing to where his heart was.
"Where am I being taken?" She mumbled against the thin fabric of the shirt he'd on.
"For a shower with your dear husband."
"Shower? In this cave?"
"More like to bathe in the pool," He said.
"How romantic," She laughed. He got down the altar with her in his arms and descended into the water. "Wait, this isn't the pool." She frowned.
"Yeah, it isn't the one we drank water from." He pointed at her back.
She looked over and found that pool to be some 10 feet away from the one they were in now.
"We missed it?"
"Yup, the lions were roaming around it and I got down to find a lever like thing, I pulled it and this was in sight." He pulled her close by her waist.
"It's nice and warm."
"Me, or the water?" He smirked. She hit him on his back.
"Dirty minded doctor," He laughed at her comment.
"Tell me this, all those I've met since I moved back here are werewolves, no?"
"All, but Darcy. She's a complete human mated to a werewolf named Kelvin," She rolled her eyes.
"What's with that?" He asked.
"He's 'overly' overprotective, Alphard. They found each other at sixteen and you know when the bond was consummated."
"9 long years?" He asked all surprised.
"Yeah, Kelvin was always worried that he might bring harm to Darcy as she's just a human and so kept delaying the consummation, until now when she managed to calm his wolf down as he lost control and got himself almost killed."
"That's scary even to hear. What's the cause to lose control, anyway?"
"It generally happens when one is going through intense emotions, that's why we prefer calming ourselves down before shifting, but during full moon nights, shifting isn't in our control and so it can happen if an individual wasn't able settle their emotions before transformation."
"That's why you were scared when you got to know your mate was a human? She didn't answer him, but looked away. "Hey," He pulled her to his chest and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You transform only when you wish for it, why were you afraid?"
"Even I didn't know how I was capable of it till we figured it out a week ago. I've always been prepared for it to happen on every full moon night, but it never did. At some point I started believing that some change might take place when I find my mate..."
"And to find a human as one, you chose to die alone," He stroked her hair. "If a beast does lose control, how is its mate being a human a problem?" He let go of her.
"If it loses control it means that the beast isn't able to sense what's happening around it, or even who are with it at the moment. It can mistake an innocent for threat and attack, even if it's its own mate. But if the mate is capable of shifting, they can take their wolf form which can be sensed by the one losing control."
"So you're saying that even werewolves in their human form cannot be sensed by their mates if they're losing control?"
"Yeah and it depends on the intensity of the beast's rage, you remember you sensed me, but not anyone else when you transformed? I was in my human form then. Since your rage wasn't intense and the last you were talking with was me, you felt me."
"I wonder how Darcy managed to do it all alone," He shrugged. "Is it normal? I mean, to mistake someone for a threat, okay, but to kill our own self?"
"Completely. It's an extreme level, in this case, forget about the others the beast considers its own self to be a threat. Its own energy feels foreign to it. It might take days even for shifter mates to calm such an individual. Thank god it was a full moon night and the effect ceased after midnight, else Darcy would've had to hold Kel against her for god knows how long,"
"God knows," He sighed.
"So many questions from you, can I ask you one?"
"For sure,"
"Why do you always carry me to bed?"
"I do...what!?"
"Why do you carry me to bed?" She repeated. "Since the night you found your beast within, you carry me to bed, why?"
"Out of all the questions I thought you'd ask, this wasn't even in my far possible thoughts." He rolled his eyes.
"Just answer." She splashed water on him playfully.
"I like how it feels when I carry you, how perfectly you fit in my arms, I like the feeling..." He pecked her. "...of being able to feel you and love you."
"You're such an..." She grinned and pulled him under the water with her. They stuck their heads out to catch their breaths after a while and giggled like giddy teenagers. "... adorable bear."
"Bear?" Alphard frowned.
"Big fluffy bears, you know like the ones girls hug while sleeping?" Luna said, they laughed.
"Remembering us before a month, look at us now." She smiled at that.
"Yesterday was good, all together." She rested her head over his chest.
"The day? I'd talk more about the night," He laughed when she pinched his arm at the comment.
They stayed in the pool for a few more minutes, splashed water over each other, laughing and giggling. The both of them then came out and changed into dry clothes.
"Another day, another stop to go visit." Luna sighed.
"Hopefully the last one," Alphard said, she nodded while trying to get her things in the bag along with the sheild. Her shirt from yesterday fell out of it. "You saved it?" He asked smiling.
"Of course I did. Coming to think of it, it reminds me of marshmallows. White, fluffy and soft." She squished the fabric, smiling.
"Marshmallow. Singular, not plural." Alphard narrowed his eyes.
"You green-eyed beast," They laughed at it.
"Where to?" He asked swinging his bag over his left shoulder and the sword perfectly hidden inside.
"Home. We'll take hiding at yours, or mine for a couple of days."
"Why? Let's end this once and for all and as soon as possible."
"We need to find their place of hiding, Alphard. They might've left the white continent after finding out we were there, which I'm sure they did."
"Sensible enough," He nodded.
They began walking out of the warren and soon found themselves at the mouth of the cave. The lions took their place at the entrance as Luna and Alphard parted from them after a good few minutes of patting their heads and stroking their manes.
"Yours, or mine?" Luna asked.
"You say,"
"Yours then; through the back door." A bright smile broke out on Alphard's face.
"That back door has quite its story when it comes to us. All happy memories," He said, still smiling, but her answer made chills run down his spine.
"Yeah, but I'm afraid that soon it'd have to add thick blood and fresh wounds to its pages."
__________
Author's Note:
Hi all!
How was this chapter? Lemme know by commenting! To be honest, what Luna said gives me chills too. Why do you think she said what she did?
You all know what I'm gonna say, don't you? Yeah, stay tuned ;-)
Oh yeah, I won't be able to upload new chapters for a week, or so. Next Saturday that is, on 15th it's my university graduation, on 16th I've a friend's wedding to attend and I've got roughly only ten days to prepare!!! And by preparation, yes I mean shopping!! (✷‿✷) *more excited to meet my old pals (from high school, through the wedding and university through the convocation ceremony) than to attend the events on the whole, lol*
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