by Nana Adu
"You've been good at catching me off guard today." She pulls back, stacking my plate on top of hers and getting up. She's running away.
"I like seeing you surprised." I lay my head on the table, watching her sideways as she picks the plates up.
"Put the dishes in the sink and hurry back," I say, sitting back up.
"Why?" She sends me a loop-sided smile.
"I told you I'm taking you somewhere."
Eliana POV
Crows caw as we trudge through the forest.
"Where are we going?" I ask Noah for the fifth time.
"Just a couple more minutes and we'll be there." He repeats.
I knew I shouldn't have followed a man I met a week ago, into this forest.
No, I would probably follow Noah in a lot of places if he let me.
Roots from the forest ground threaten to trip me like scenes from the day I escaped come back to mind.
The longer we stay here, the harder my heart pounds.
What if they're still in the forest? What if they catch us? It's only me and Noah here.
These 'what if' thoughts are going to kill me, but I can't shut them off.
"Noah, I-" My words are cut off as the trees clear out in front of us, revealing a lake.
The noon sun shines down of it, the water glistening as I stare wide-eyed at it.
"It's so beautifu,." I state, reaching Noah's side.
He smiles at me.
"This is where I come to think most of the time. I just wanted you to see it, if you aren't comfortable we can-"
"No, let's go sit. I can see from here you already have stumps you sit on." I walk past him, jumping over the tree root with my eyes on the area.
Rich brown mulch sits at the shore of the golden lake, along with Noah's sitting arrangement.
My foot lags behind a branch and my body tilts downward, heading to the ground.
I stop midair and I look back to see Noah holding me up and close to his chest.
He's done that a lot today.
"Thanks." I breathe out.
Noah's eyes look between my lips and my eyes, as he leans in. My heart jumps to my throat. My gaze matches his.
Time slows down as every breath within our space is the only thing I can focus on.
"No problem." He whispers, inches away from my lips.
Is he...?
A crow caws and I jump back, breaking out of the trace.
Noah clears his throat and I swallow, the noise of the forest drowned out by the beating of my heart.
"Let's go, shall we?" He reaches out his hand towards me and I put mine in it.
He helps me as we continue to make our way to the shore of the lake.
I jump onto the mulch of the shore, spinning around while inhaling the fresh forest air.
This is so much better than that dusty basement. I would've never dreamed a week ago my reality would be so different.
"Are you surprised?" Noah asks, swinging his arms next to me.
"You should've asked me that when I saw this place, five minutes ago." I chuckle, moving towards the drifting shore.
"Come sit with me." I turn and see Noah, on one of his stumps as he motions to the one across from him. I hurry over and settle in front of him.
"So why'd you bring me here?" I ask, crossing my arms. Noah rubs his nape, as his curly hair moves with him.
"This is the place I come to think clearly, so I thought talking to you here would come out as precise and clear as I want it as well." He puts his hands by either of his side and stares at me intensely.
My leg bounces.
"Yeah, so talk to me." He nods and takes a deep breath.
"I have a duty to my pack to give all my attention and care towards them, and to be completely blunt, you are the biggest distraction to that."
CHAPTER 15
Eliana POV
He's rejecting me.
I knew it. I disappointed him and his pack already and now they want me gone.
Why did I think I would ever find a place I belong?
"I get it, Noah. I'll just go. I'm sorry I was-"
"No, no I said that really wrong. It's more like I think you about so much, I don't think about them." He rubs his nape.
Is that any better?
"Where is this going?"
He's going to get rid of me so he can focus on his pack.
"I'm busy but I want you to know it's not cause I don't want to grow our bond, it's that my pack needs me as much as you do." He stares at me intensely.
"I know. I'm not going to force you to be around, I'm happy with just being like this. See me when you can."
I'm grateful he allowed me in his pack to begin with.
He nods and slaps his thighs, getting up.
"Come on." He gestures me to follow him as he walks closer to the shore. I comply.
He's been having to decide which of us is more important to him.
He kneels next to the drifting water, as I follow his lead.
I don't have as much responsibility over the pack but-
A wave of cold lake water douses the side of shoulder and I freeze. Noah smirks at me as wrings out his wet hand.
Did he just-?
"That brought you back." He still beams with a grin on his lips.
It's on.
My arm dives into the water, swiping up a handful and splashing it at him.
He laughs, backing away from me and sending me another wave.
"Are you sure you want to start this? I'll win." He says, standing up but keeps close to the lake shore.
I take another swing of the water at him, getting up as he exchanges the blow for one of his. Water coats my hair and springs it to life, as his hair melts across his forehead.
He throws one last swipe of water my way before I take off into the forest.
My clothes stick to my skin as the cool air hits me. My limbs propel forward gaining momentum as my wolf begins to take over, using her instincts to move my human body around the forest floor.
Grinning, it stretches ear to ear as I glance behind me. My eyes widen as Noah runs a few feet from me.
He speeds up a bit and I watch as his figure moves to my side.
What the-
"I told you not to play a game you wouldn't win." He lunges for me and I yelp, ducking out the way as Noah rolls across the ground.
Loud laughs escape me as wind seeps through the thin fabric, as I seem to run into an icy breeze.
I never got to truly run as my old pack. Not as wild and free as this.
My wolf slips into control from my lack of concentration, ripping the cloth around me and bursting in full speed.
I guess she was itching to be let out as well.
My first shift happened from a fit of rage I didn't know I could express at age 8. It was abrupt and painful, but it brought me my first friend. I was grateful for the companion.
She dives under branches and the pack house comes in to view, white with windows littered all over it, standing in all it's glory.
"Two can play that game!" Noah calls out from behind me. A tearing sound cuts into the noise of life in the area and a wolf with fur as the night sky, runs up beside me.
I take in the sight of his rippling fur and large frame. My wolf is like a medium to his large.
My wolf whines to stop running so she can pounce on our mate.
No, stupid. This is a race! Our dignity is on the line here.
Noah nods towards the house, confirming my thoughts as he passes me.
We speed up as well, staying neck to neck with him as the house nears.
The last final 100 feet, we sprint both pushing at each other until I jump, clashing into the side wall of the building, seconds before Noah does.
I guess being little isn't so bad after all.
I turn to him, ready to bark he lost and notice a girl standing next to the spot with two sets of clothing.
"Here, next time you decide to play around don't make me in charge of yo
ur attire." She throws the clothes to the ground and sends me a look, rolling her eyes.
My eyebrows furrow.
Her voice remind me of the two in the bathroom last night.
Oh yeah, the two that hate me.
Noah shakes his scout and nudges the items to me. I nod.
We're not in the same pack yet so we can't communicate as wolves.
I nip the clothes with my two fangs and head back towards a tree to change. My wolf fights me every step I take away from Noah.
We can't just shift back in front of him. She pouts.
I roll my eyes as my bones rearrange themselves and the cold breeze from before bites a little harder.
"You didn't even ask me if I wanted to come watch." I scream as Noah's voice comes from the other side of the tree.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to look. Unless you want me to." He says. I quickly put on the underwear and bra.
"How did you get changed so fast?" I ask, stepping into the dress, as my skin dries.
"I'm not done, I just followed you over here. You were so in head, you didn't even notice me. That and we're soaked." The steady stream of lake water trailing down from my hair to my back and beyond tickle all of a sudden.
"Why'd you follow me?" The dress hangs loose from my body as the zipper on my back mocks me.
Do I really have to...?
"My wolf told me to and I was going to say no, but why should I fight my instincts? They're natural." His tone darkens as his sentence concludes.
Goosebumps spread up and down my arms for more than just the cold.
"Can you zip up my dress for me?" A voice sounding just like mine says.
Silence begins as I walk out from my side of the tree. Noah stares at me as I swallow and turn my back to him.
"Please?"
CHAPTER 16
Noah POV
A man who resists temptation is a man who has won a victory. But I'm a wolf.
Her nape glistens as water drips from her hair, moving deliciously slow down her back and under the dress. I just want to see where the drop is headed, that's all.
My fingernails bite my palm as I swallow and let my fingertips wrap around the zipper.
I take a couple of steps closer to her, as her damp skin grazes my forearm. I pull the zipper up, slowly, as my body closes the distance between us.
Her shoulders tense up as my chin rest in the crook of her neck. I finish tugging the zipper up the curve of her back.
"T-Thank you." She stutters.
"You're still playing with me, aren't you?" I whisper against her ear. She shakes her head.
My hands settle on either side of her hips as I push them back, gently towards me. I wait for her resistance but none comes.
"Eliana..." I breathe out, watching goosebumps rise across the skin of her shoulder.
"Noah, I-" She begins.
"Eliana!" She flinches from me, as her name is called, avoiding my gaze. We stand across from each other.
"Eliana!" Alyssa voice echoes through compound.
Great timing.
"I should go." She glances up at me as I lean back against the tree trunk.
"Your wolf is beautiful. I've never seen one as silver as the moon. You're beautiful." I whisper.
I wanted to tell her from the moment I saw her shift. Everything in me wanted to say these words.
She looks up at me wide-eyed, maintaining eye contact as I grin at her.
"Thank you, I have to go." She smiles at me and runs off.
I exhale as my knees give out below me.
She's dangerous. So shyly dangerous.
Eliana POV
Alyssa holds my wrist, checking my pulse.
"Your heart seems to beating really fast but I can guess why that's happening." She puts my hand back in my lap as she scribbles something else down.
He was so close and I wanted him to be. I needed him to be.
Nothing in me told my body to move from against him and a whisper on his breath still lingers on my shoulder.
You should've let him mark us.
No, everything was happening too fast.
"Did you see us?" I ask her. She chuckles shaking her head, pointing to my backside.
"With all that water you guys were playing in, how can I still smell a trace of our Alpha on your back?" She puts back down the clipboard and goes into a drawer in her counter.
My face heats up.
"Maybe you just have a really good nose." I say, looking down at my ankles.
So he really was that close.
"Yeah, yeah. You look completely fine so I think you don't need my check ups anymore." She smiles at me and helps me up from the bed I had slept in a couple days before.
"Thank you so much, Alyssa you've made being here so much easier." I say, getting up from the edge of the mattress.
"You're a sister and friend to me now Eliana. Of course." She grabs my forearms, helping me up.
A sister and a friend.
I beam at her, nodding.
"Now go change and take a shower. You're going to get sick if you don't warm up soon." She taps me on my back as I leave her office. I wave to her, closing the door behind me.
I start down the hallway.
I never thought another wolf would call me their friend, let alone sister. I smile to myself.
My heart warms at the thought of Alyssa's words again. She's so sweet. If the rest of the pack were that easy to get along with, I would've found my home.
...a distraction.
I slow down.
Noah said I was a distraction from his pack. I'm not a part of that family in his life and with the mate bond, I do see how I a distraction.
I'm supposed to be Luna though, by his side helping him with his problems regarding the pack, not taking his mind off them.
I sigh. How do I prepare for something like that?
How do I measure up to Noah's side?
"There she is." A familiar voice says.
Glancing up, the girl who threw us the clothes from before stands in the hallway against the wall with another female wolf.
I avoid eye-contact as I walk by them. They already don't like me, no need to blow the situation up.
"She's a weakling. I know she can hear me and she won't do a thing about it, bitch." She says, as the wolf beside her chuckles and shushes her.
I tense, continuing to walk by them.
Just keep your eyes down and you'll be fine.
"See." She spits, as my feet keep me going towards my room.
She's right. She's completely right.
I couldn't do anything because I've dealt with people like her before. Insults like that are better ignored, so I ignored them.
I twist open the knob of my room door.
I am a bitch.
The room stands still as it was this morning. Moping on to the bed, tears gather in my eyes.
I didn't know escaping would only be something physical.
My mind is in that basement, waking up early to cook and clean. I'm that pack slave I was last week.
A bitch.
Freedom is supposed to fix this. It's supposed to get rid of this feeling that everything is going to go wrong.
I'm in control of my actions now. I have Noah and Alyssa.
But everything is pulling me back to the past.
That girl is right to call my a weakling. As the future Luna, I'm a horrible choice.
Noah doesn't need someone so negative crowding his sunny aura.
I'm trying to try. I'm trying so hard to try but small things tear me down.
Silent tears fall out my eyes and drip along the sides of my face, onto my ear as I stare up to the ceiling.
I got out. I built up all my courage and left that reality behind, so why does it seem to keep following me around? When will I let this burden go?
And how do I warm up others with this fear?
CHAPTER 17
Eliana POV
The dinning room buzzes with life a
nd laughter as my eyes look for Noah.
I've never really noticed that a space can be brighter with smiles, especially when you're not excluded from it.
A hand wraps around my wrist as I turn and see Alyssa. She pulls me towards the table, as I watch long blonde locks crowd my vision.
"Alyssa, your hair is getting in my mouth," I say, swatting it back on her shoulders.
She stops and cheeses at me.
"Sorry, I let it down and it goes everywhere." She laughs.
"Yeah, I can tell." Someone shoves my shoulder as I stumble back a few inches.
The girl from before stands beside me, scowling, as her friend stays close behind her.
"Bethany, excuse you." Alyssa scolds, as Bethany scoffs. I avoid her gaze.
"How are you going to be our Luna if you can't even stand up for yourself?' She asks, walking away. Her friend follows.
She's right, but does she have to shit on me like that every time she sees me?
Alyssa sighs, sitting me down at the seat next to her usual one. She rubs my shoulder, as she looks at me with pity.
"Don't mind Beth, she's just hurt. She only wants the best for the pack and that makes her act out in ways she wouldn't." I nod.
"I know," I whisper.
Anyone with eyes can tell I'm not the right fit for Luna but I can change. I will change.
"Eliana..." Alyssa watches me while I turn my eyes to my plate.
"I'm fine. She has the right to hate me. Let's forget about it." I plaster a smile on and flash it at her. She sends me a weak one back.
Noah walks in late as he did yesterday, making eye contact with me. Butterflies flutter in my stomach. His curly brown hair falls on to his face and his eyes brighten as he smirks.
My mood lightens as he stares at me from his seat across the table.
His beta elbows him in the ribs and he flinches, turning and scolding him. I chuckle.
Noah's made everything in my life better for me. I have to get rid of this cloud over my head. If he can live in the spotlight every day, I should be able to as well.
Chicken breast and rice are served as bowls of salad are passing around.
Thank the Moon Goddess for taste buds.
Scents of spices from the rice and chicken along with ranch from the salad drift in the air taunting me.
I greedily hoard up my food and pass the bowl to Alyssa. She stares at me wide-eyed.