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Colby and I made sure we woke up before anyone else and left the house in the early evening. It was just late enough that a strong vampire like him wouldn't get effected much by the dwindling sun, and since I'd done all the research needed last night, I already knew where we were going.
Private air strips could be found in every state — at least one, depending on how big it was — where one of Mama Luna's pack members could be found. They would fly in-need werewolves over to the secluded island and come back in case anyone else visited the strip. Once they received guidance from the Goddess, they'd return to the island to pick the werewolves back up and bring them home.
Our nearest airstrip was a two-hour-long drive away from home, but the Goddess assured me someone would be waiting to pick us up and take us over to the island. So, I convinced Colby to let me drive and we were headed straight to it. I'd eaten, packed and was somewhat mentally prepared to meet the legend that was Mama Luna. I'd only ever heard stories of her but she apparently knew everything about me, particularly about my will power and strength. The Goddess told me once that Luna had actually asked me to meet her, but I'd only just left my pack so the wound of other werewolves was too fresh. A part of me had been scared that she would try to convince me to return, and I knew I would end up doing so after a stern talking to.
Driving alone with Colby for so long was new, but I kind of liked it. He sat comfortably beside me staring out the window without any obvious emotion on his face. I thought I saw him staring at the sunset when we had a clear view of it, though I could have just been projecting as I wanted so badly to do the same thing. By the time the stars were out and the streets were quieter, we turned off of a main road onto a private path with trespassing warnings dug into the ground.
I reached over to turn down Colby's immaculate playlist, and said, "We're not far now. Do you think they'll have a problem with you?"
Colby glanced at me. "You said they wouldn't."
"Well, no, they shouldn't but most of the vamps who make this trip are nobodys. You're infamous."
"Am I?" A hint of smugness was in his tone, drawing my gaze to him with a brow raised. He gave me a small, amused smile and shrugged. "If they don't let me go with you, I'll just make sure you get there safely."
"You wouldn't fight to come with me?" I questioned in disbelief. "I'll be going to an island you can't get to completely on my own."
"You've told me that it's safe, so no, I wouldn't argue over it. I don't see why I would."
I was frowning heavily.
"I trust you aren't just telling me that to convince me you should go, Ames. Besides... I have actually heard of Luna before. I may be infamous, but she's so legendary among werewolves that even some vampires have heard of her."
My jaw set. "That's not a good thing."
"I know."
Silence returned as I pulled up to the side of a small dark house. The moment my engine infiltrated the area, though, a light flicked on and Colby's head turned toward the building. He could hear the werewolf coming down to greet us, no doubt, so I slid out of the car and pressed myself against the door.
After a few moments, once Colby was securely beside me with his arms crossed, the front door to the house opened, and a woman stepped onto the porch. Her eyes instantly landed on Colby, before they shifted to me. No judgement or prejudice was present, just an absent stare. She was used to this.
"Hi," I called, feeling more than awkward. "I'm-"
"Amira Andrews. I was warned of your arrival," the woman interrupted. She closed the door behind her, fearlessly walking down to the concrete despite the fanged creature beside me. "I was also warned that you would have guests. I see one..."
I nodded. "The rest of the clan aren't coming. How much do you know about me?"
Her stoic expression finally shifted into something friendlier, as a smile overtook her features. "Enough to know I like you. I don't normally let vampires come on the journey unless the Goddess specifically requests it, so your mate is lucky."
"He... apparently wouldn't mind if I went alone, but I appreciate you making exceptions for us."
"I understand," she said simply. "Get your things and load them in. We'll set off as soon as you're ready."
Colby only had to zip back and forth once to have our two small bags in the plane, so before I knew it, we were sitting with headsets on listening to the werewolf going through a checklist in her head. I couldn't recall ever really flying anywhere before. My hand slid subtly over to Colby's in the hopes he had and knew this wasn't a big deal. He hadn't said much or reacted, not even when we eventually left the ground, so I assumed he'd most definitely gone through this at least once.
"There's a button on the side of your headset," the werewolf called back to us. "If you press it, I won't be able to hear you but you'll still hear me, in case there's an emergency."
"Thanks," I told her as I reached up to find the button. Colby and I clicked it at the same time, and just the test the water, I muttered, "Can you hear us, mysterious pilot wolf?"
Colby smiled — just barely. "She can't. I've had these on before."
I breathed a sigh of relief. There were so many worries and questions going through my head at that moment, I didn't want her to hear them and think less of me. I didn't know where this anxious side of me had come from but I supposed her status as someone so important was effecting me.
Looking over at Colby, I asked, "How many planes have you been on before?"
"A couple," he answered briefly, then sighed. "I'm not from LA, so I guess the most important one was my ride here."
"Where are you from?" I asked in disbelief. I'd never even thought about that. He seemed to fit in so well with all the attractive people in LA, whether they were attractive by genes or cosmetics. He met the stardom image you pictured when you imagined LA and California as a whole. But he wasn't from here?
"I'm from Kansas."
The look on my face must have been comical, because Colby practically snorted, leaving a soft smile on his face that stunned me. "Kansas?!" I exclaimed. "Since when?"
"Since I was born?"
"Smart ass." My eyes trailed around his features, questioning what went wrong back in Kansas to make him dress the way he did. People dressed in all sorts of ways no matter where they were from, but Kansas didn't really feel like an emo state. Not that he was emo... necessarily.
He gently squeezed my hand and shifted closer to me in our seats, a softness to his voice I didn't expect. "You're from here, right?"
I nodded. "Never flown anywhere before..."
"Scared?"
"It's a little late now if I am."
His fingers slid between mine and he raised my hand to his lips, pressing a swift kiss to my knuckles. "The only reason this plane could go down is if I killed the pilot... but I have a lot of respect for her and her alpha, so I'd never do such a thing."
He only said the last big because he saw the mildly concerned and annoyed look on my face at the suggestion. A deep-set instinct inside urged me to lean over and kiss him no matter how awkward it would be with the headset, but I just barely refrained from it. I settled for kissing the back of his hand in return instead, and the way he smiled afterward made that little bit of self-restraint worth it.
I turned my attention to the small windows we could barely see out of — something I quickly regretted. For the rest of the car ride, my head was firmly facing down so I could see nothing but my own lap.
By the time the ground was beneath us once more, I was exhausted from sitting in the same place for so long, and simultaneously energetic. Meeting Mama Luna was no small event, especially for someone who'd idolised her for my entire life.
Despite the slight sickness in my stomach, I flung myself out of the plane onto the hard ground, thanked the Goddess briefly that she allowed me to walk again, and instantly turned toward our pilot. She was checking something on the plane, paying no mind to us. Just as I started to think she had forgotten she needed to direct us, a voice spoke up from across the small air strip.
"You two have arrived incredibly late compared to our usual tourists."
An old-looking man with a white beard and knotted but strong matching hair slowly trudged his way toward us. He was dressed like an old-fashioned mobster, with a hat and everything. I started to wonder how far behind this island was, being so far from most of civilisation. His accent probably didn't help my picture of him sitting in a chair, menacingly stroking a cat.
"Just my usual, eh?" called our pilot, sending me a wink when he was too busy staring at us. "Don't worry, they're not trouble-makers like the last few. They're good ones."
"Here to see the attraction, I assume?"
"Of course." Our pilot turned to us with a subtle expression that told us to listen to exactly what she said. "The Monolith of the Unknown is on the far side of the island. Since you guys were invited, someone should be in town ready to take you there. That is... if Jerry here is willing to get you there safely?"
Jerry, the old man, scoffed. "Don't underestimate my kindness. Run along. I'm sure you have plenty of other tourists to pick up."
Our pilot chuckled and sent us a wave before climbing back into her plan, no questions asked. 'The Monolith of the Unknown' could only be one thing: a shrine to the Goddess. Humans wouldn't know who it worshipped but just it's existence likely evoked some questions and intrigue. It didn't take much these days.
Jerry motioned for us to follow him, so Colby took my hand and pulled me along. Everything was quickly coming together.
As I suspected, there were two towns — one for locals, one for tourists. Jerry explained to us that the folks here weren't a fan of the people who came to visit the shrine, especially as not even he knew what it was for despite living here his whole life, so it was easier to separate the two groups of people. However, our pilot — Amelia — and a few other pilots' 'good' tourists were allowed to stay in the local side. It was closer to the shrine so it made more sense.
Knowing the full story, it was easy to figure out that these pilots were Mama Luna's pack, and that the tourists they brought were werewolves. Each pilot had a designated little house where the wolves would stay.
This was where Colby and I had been for the past half an hour. I was procrastinating. This was more of a big deal than he would be able to understand, not believing in the Goddess. Or, at least, not worshipping her. We had to speak to Mama Luna at some point, I was just scared that when we did, she'd have some things to say about the last time I was requested and I rejected her invite.
I stood at the upstairs window in the bedroom, which was the size of the entire ground floor, and stared out into the dark. None of the locals were even awake, despite it not being very late yet. It looked peaceful out there. On a slight hill, the ocean beyond the island was in view, a couple of gentle ripples glowing under the sunlight. It was quite beautiful — and a fantastic distraction from the thoughts plaguing my mind. As I pressing my hands together, cracking my knuckles, I felt arms slither round my waist and lips at my neck. I automatically tilted my head to one side for better access, closing my eyes to shut out everything but the sensation.
"Stop stalling."
Not even the pleasant vibrations of Colby's voice against my skin was enough to keep my mind at bay, though.
"I'm not stalling, I'm rehearsing," I lied, twisting my head to see his face. He didn't look very convinced. "She's a big deal. I have to know what I'm saying to her."
He rolled his eyes. "She already know what you're coming here for. That's how this whole Goddess thing works, isn't it?"
"Maybe..."
"Then let's go, Ames. No point in drawing it out, you're just getting more anxious. I can feel it." He raised one hand to my chest and pressed just above my heart, his eyes boring into mine so intensely I didn't have the choice of looking away. The more I sunk into the blue, the quicker my heart became. "Do I need to make you relax?" he murmured, glancing down at my lips.
I gently caressed beneath his jaw, barely grazing my fingertips along the hard bone. "Wouldn't that be drawing it out? It's not like it only takes a few minutes..."
"It could. I know how you work, everything you like, what tiles you up the fastest." He pulled my bottom lip down as he added, "As far as your body goes, there's nothing left for me to discover."
My mind — for a reason I couldn't quite comprehend — immediately knew that was a lie. There was one thing he'd get to discover about me, one thing that was supposed to be expected between vampire and non vampire pairings. But I still couldn't see that ever happening between us, and yet he didn't seem to mind at all. He acted like he hadn't thought about it even once.
"Stop thinking. It's annoying."
I blinked out of my trance to find Colby's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Not knowing what's going on in there is frustrating. You make it so obvious you're thinking about something that bothers you, but you keep it to yourself." He huffed slightly. "Every time."
I smiled sheepishly as I twisted in his arms and placed my hands on his chest. "Sorry. It wasn't important, just... more procrastination."
"More? Haven't you done enough?"
"Not even close."
A big self-deprecating smile took over my features, before Colby suddenly grabbed me by the hips, hoisting me effortlessly over his shoulder, and threw me down. I landed on the bed, which I didn't even know was there. Naturally, I bounced upright, but he shoved me down and wrapped his arms under my thighs to drag me to the edge. Kneeling on the floor, he stared across at me with a little smirk.
"I'm surprised you didn't fight me."
"You took me off guard," I admittedly sheepishly, attempting to raise to my elbows but getting pushed down yet again. "Why?" I complained, no choice but to stare at the ceiling now.
"Once you're distracted, we're going to go see Luna," he answered swiftly.
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filth
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I was about to ask what he was plotting, when he yanked my black jeans down so fast I didn't even hear him undoing the button or zip. I moved my hips to help, listening to them hit the floor with a soft thump. Colby pulled my underwear to the side and pulled me even further to the edge, so I could feel the curve of the blanket falling down the side.
"Relax, Ames," he ordered softly. Once more, I didn't get a chance to reply, something wet and warm swiping up my folds. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and my back arched slightly. I couldn't help my body's natural reaction to anything he did in this context.
His tongue flicked around my bud rapidly, exactly the way I liked, while I grasped at his hair for anything to keep me stable. Noises were slipping out of my throat that I didn't even know were humanly possible.
As he just barely brushed me with his finger, I lost my patience. I sat up without resistance this time and dragged him from his position. Almost ripping off my shirt, I pulled him on top of me as I shuffled back and he obliged without argument. His shirt and jeans joined mine on the floor somewhere, while his lips worked at my neck. Just the thought of what was happening was enough to keep me riled up.
I forced him into his back, sliding easily on his lap. My hips were so used to grinding down on him that I hardly had to think about it, my head tilted back and my hands on his chest to keep myself stable. He grumbled something I didn't hear below me. Probably something incoherent, anyway.
"You're so annoying for this," I groaned, shifting up to pull his underwear down. "Mama Luna's waiting for us, you know."
He smirked up at me. "It's not like you were going to see her any time soon."
"Low blow."
"Speaking of which..."
I scoffed and snorted at the same time, a smile twisting up my lips as he continued to watch me with soft blue eyes. I leaned forward to place a swift kiss. "For asking, you're not getting that."
He sighed. "What happened to getting nothing if I don't ask?"
"Have I ever said that phrase? Didn't think so." I swiped my finger under his jaw slowly. "I have a problem with authority and commands — you couldn't tell?"
"Just a little," he murmured back with a softer smile now.
That was when he decided to raise my hips forcefully, and since our bodies were so used to one another, he slipped straight in without any guidance. I clenched up and hesitated waiting for it to pass, before gently wiggling my hips.
"What makes you so adverse to authority?"
"Do we have to do this now?" I complained. "I can barely think when you look at me, let alone when you're fucking in me, Colby."
He laughed but didn't let up, flipping us so quickly I had no choice but to lie beneath him. A hard, deep thrust filled my head with air and I completely forgot his question, whining into the air for more. But he whispered in my ear, "Answer my question."
Another thrust really wasn't helping. "I'm gonna make you go fuck yourself instead in a minute."
"I'll get this out of you," he replied.
"Your dick? Cus if you wanna have a conversation, that's what you're gonna need to do."
"Alright, alright," he laughed, blessing my ears with the sound. I was momentarily distracted by it, but his instincts when literally inside his One kicked in and I almost screamed from how unprepared I was for the next thrust. I reached up to clutch the hair at the back of his head, rewarding him with a harsh tug.
His hips snapped against mine as he practically pounded me into the mattress, and maybe it was just in my head, but with the moonlight shining through the wide window, I felt like I was more energised than usual. I needed him more and by the look of his red eyes, he was struggling to control himself more, too. The Goddess's influence here was wildly increased, not to mention I couldn't remember ever doing it with him under her luminescence for start with.
My mind was going blank from all the pleasure and Colby's arms were visibly wobbly from restraint. But I had to do one thing to test my theory.
So just as I felt him twitching, I dragged his head as far down as I could and clamped my teeth into his neck. He let out a surprisingly loud groan — that could easily have been mistaken for a moan instead — as he completely collapsed on top of me and something warm filled me. I gasped at the surge of power that rattled my entire body, rivalled only by the incomprehensible satisfaction of my finish just seconds after his.
Releasing him from my jaws, I panted, desperate for air I couldn't get with a much bigger guy on my chest. I let go of his hair and tried to relax, but I was so full of energy...
"Holy shit," a quite voice whispered. Colby's lips were moving against my neck but his tone was hardly recognisable. "Ames..." He managed to raise himself back onto his palms, allowing me to breathe properly for the first time in a short while. Those gorgeous blue eyes much like the ocean surrounding this little island bore into mine with such intensity I got lost instantly. It was nothing compared to the way my heart hammered, though, when he continued, "If you ever do that in moonlight again, I'm gonna fall in love with you."
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