Luna On The Run!

Alpha Gorgio’s POV still

Damn it!

Who saddled me with this slow aircraft? We’ve been flying for ten minutes now and Arkansas isn’t that far away. As if sensing my impatience, the pilot tosses me a pair of binoculars, which I gratefully use to scan all the forests we fly over.

Never before had my heart beaten so fast with anticipation. My chest hurts from all the vibrations. My mate, in a few moments I will hold her in my arms again. Goddess, it has been a long, long week, I almost went mad from missing her. I knew she would come back to me, but I didn’t want to wait. With the new twist in Midnight Moon, she needs my protection more than ever.

And then I saw her. By a lake, under a tree.

She takes off her trainers and begins to pull the dress over her head. “Eyes off!” I growl at Jace and the pilot, who immediately turn away. “And land this damn thing quickly.” I can feel Xander getting agitated, banging against our wall to take over. I don’t know how long I can hold him back, he’s using all the strength he has left, which is more than I have.

Finally, we’re on solid ground and as soon as the door slides up, I shift and Xander goes full speed for his mate. Dexter follows at a reasonable distance, and of course, my Beta is looking forward to seeing his Luna again. Not that his company would be much wanted at our reunion right now.

And then I smell her, that wonderful scent of wildflowers and Lilies that always makes me drunk and like wax in her hands. A scent that I can’t live without for long, I could kill for. Era moves in my direction, she must have smelled Xander too. Our wolves love each other as much as we do in human form.

They collapse against each other, licking each other’s snouts and making all sorts of sounds of joy. It is a wild dance of a white-silvery wolf and a deep black one, who both know that their existence is intertwined.

‘Ariel, my love,’ I whisper as she slowly lowers her mind wall.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

‘Why do you hide from me? Do you know how long I craved to hear you, to see you, to touch you, my mate? All these days without you have been torture. Come back to me where you belong.’ For a moment I hear a sob, then a sigh of pain.

‘Gorgio! Forgive me! It was all so sudden, it took me by surprise. I didn’t mean to hurt you,’ she cries in despair. ‘Please, baby, I love you, there can be no one else but you. But this mate bond… I had no control over it, it came out of nowhere,’ she continues pleadingly. I can hear the tears in her voice now.

Era goes down on her belly, her head on her front paws. She, too, makes a few cautious noises and no longer dares to look Xander in the eye.

‘Hey, baby. I can never blame you. We’ve experienced the mate bond ourselves and know how it works, don’t we? But you should have trusted me and come back to me so we could find an answer to this. We cannot do without each other, and we solve all our problems together. That was our promise, remember?’

There is silence for a few seconds, as Xander begins to lick Era’s head consolingly.

‘Yes. I would come back, maybe even tomorrow. But I wanted to come to terms with myself first, I don’t want to burden you with my insecurities. But now I’m ready to face this challenge with you.’

Delighted with her answer, I run my hand over my face. She still wants me, that’s the only thing that’s going through my mind. And it’s the best I’ve heard in days.

‘Are you ready to shift now so I can finally hold you, my love? Only the Moon Goddess knows how much I need to feel you in my arms, to have your arms around me again. I missed you so much, Princess, not having you beside me was hell. Every night alone in bed, the desire for your hands on my body was too much. Let me hold you.’

Another silence.

I take over from Xander and within seconds I am in front of her. Now all I have to do is wait for her to muster the courage to shift as well. And all the luck is on my side. Era gets on her feet hesitantly as if she’s trying to persuade Ariel to face me. But then I hear bones cracking and there she stands, my Luna.

Her head is bowed, and I feel a thick layer of guilt around her. This silly girl, does she really think I will let her go in the first storm of our relationship? Not now and never.

“Ariel, look at your mate. The same one you swore to keep forever and never leave. Who remains madly in love with you no matter what comes our way,” I whisper, taking a step closer to her. I cup her chin gently and lift her face to mine.

I read fear, desperation and insecurity in her silver eyes. She shivers slightly at the touch of my hand. Yes, I can feel it too, those hot sparks that are the core of my existence. “You feel it too, it’s still there. And will never go away as long as I live. You are mine, Ariel. I won’t let anyone else have you. I’ll keep you forever, just for me.”

Her eyes come alive and I see the glittering love that was always there when she looked at me. Her trembling lips also stretch into a broad smile. And when her small hands move over my naked body, circling my waist, I know that everything will be all right.

“Forever yours, Gorgio. And I won’t share you with others, just as you won’t have to share me with anyone. I swear to you”.

When our lips meet, there is an explosion in my body. My energy skyrockets and I return to my old strength. Xander and Era let out a vibrant roar of victory at the same time as our lips locked. My hand is in her hair while my mate clutches my shoulder.

Goddess, this is home.

“Welcome back, Luna,” I hear Jace, the butt pain, behind me. “As much as I love seeing you like this right now, we need to get out of here. Dexter senses werewolves in the area. And given the circumstances, we’ll have to keep your return to Eclipse Moon a secret for a while.” I take Ariel’s hand and prepare to lead her to the helicopter.

“Wait, my friend is waiting for me to go back. My personal belongings are with her. We should take her too,” she calls out.

“Is she a werewolf? You know we can’t take humans…” I reminded her.

“She’s human, but she knows about us.” She turns to Jace. “She’s not afraid of wolves. Go quickly with Dexter and get her. Tell her she saw Era for the first time today. Then she’ll know it’s okay.” Jace follows his Luna’s orders while I walk with my love to the waiting helicopter…