Elijah was half-way through an episode of Criminal Minds before Luna turned onto her side, groaning in her sleep.
He glanced down at her to make sure she was okay, and when he found her eyes still closed, he focused back on the show.
But something inside him tightened when he heard her cry out silently, and he immediately paused the show, gazing down at her as she fisted the covers in her hand, turning her face into them as her eyes squeezed shut tighter.
Nightmare.
Elijah sighed, shaking his head before he turned off the TV and lay down in front of her.
He stared for a moment.
How would you calm someone down from nightmare...? Well... when he kidnapped Ember, Max was using soothing methods to calm her when she was afraid... like... cuddling and stuff.
But would Luna like that?
She suddenly turned further into the sheets, eyes squeezing shut tighter as whimpers escaped her mouth.
What was she dreaming about...?
But she tensed more, legs pulling up higher as Elijah wondered what the hell he was supposed to do.
Her whimpers grew louder, and tears started welling up under her lashes.
Oh... it must've been scary.
He decided to try Max's methods out.
Elijah lightly touched her forehead to brush her hair away.
Luna shot awake, screaming.
He immediately pulled back, wincing as her screech burned his eardrums.
When he looked to her, she was sitting up, staring off into space, clearly disoriented.
He sat up, too.
"Hey," he said then.
Her head snapped up to him, and her pupils shrank.
Luna shot off the bed across from him and scrambled to the wall, whimpering.
What the... hell?
She needed Max's methods... That's what she needed.
"Hey," Elijah said calmly, crawling over to her side of the bed and lightly slipping off. "You're okay."
Her breathing strained when he stepped over to her, and she pressed herself to the wall, shaking her head.
"It's okay," he whispered, walking slowly. "You're not dreaming anymore."
She gazed around the room nervously before looking back at him.
"You're not," he promised. "This is real. I'm Elijah, do you remember me?"
She blinked slowly; eyes hardened as if she recognized his name but couldn't place it.
"Your mind's running fast," he noted aloud as he made it closer. "You're panicking."
She just watched him carefully.
But as he got a couple feet away, she pressed herself harder to the wall and shook her head again.
He only continued.
Right as he got a foot away, her eyes darted to the right, and she broke off into a sprint.
But Elijah knew what she was doing.
His eyes glowed a dark orange, and the bedroom door slammed in her face, making her cry out.
He kept stepping to her when she rattled the handle, pounding on the door and pleading to be let out.
"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.