Luna On The Run!

Luna Ariel’s POINT OF VIEW still

The past weeks were great.

Zane is such a great host, he knows how to distract me from the circumstances that brought me to Midnight Moon in the first place. I was able to persuade him to postpone the Luna ceremony until Gorgio had come to terms with the situation. It seems unjust that he has no say in matters concerning me while we are still officially mates.

I have decided to give my relationship with Zane a fair chance. His claim that Gorgio has complete control over me to the extent that I dare not make decisions for myself still sticks with me. Zane is less possessive, though he cares about my well-being. He always asks my opinion before making a decision that affects me, takes several hours out of his day to be with me, and we often have long conversations about the Council and pack matters.

I notice that he does not tread on the ground about our future together. He did tell me that he had suggested to Gorgio that we build a new packhouse on the border of the two packs, where the three of us would live together. Gorgio had rejected the idea out of hand and even made threats of war.

To devote my full attention to Zane, I closed the wall with Gorgio. We communicate only through the bond, groping our feelings with signals. My first mate is distraught, longing for me and worried about not being able to talk to me while I had promised to call him every day. But I keep sending him positive vibes, which calms him somewhat. He knows that Zane and I are not intimate, or he would have felt it in the mate bond.

As far as that goes, Zane and I have not progressed beyond holding hands. Yesterday, he dared to kiss me on the forehead. I allow it all, but I don’t really feel comfortable with it. Zane’s touches feel wrong, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m committing adultery. He feels it too, every time I flinch his face pulls into a pained grimace.

My phone rings and when I look at the screen I see Alexis’ name. She turned eighteen a couple of weeks ago and has probably found her mate. She’s been calling me for some time, but I didn’t pick up the phone. Alexis must know by now that I am in Midnight Moon and probably wants to pester me with all sorts of questions. And tell me about her mate, probably some alpha of a pack.

I avoid contact with my family, not ready to explain my feelings or my plans for the future. Sir Walter must have informed my father of what had been decided by now. Besides, I have no good reason to ask Zane to let me go to Blue Blood on my own for my sister’s birthday. I am sure Gorgio will be there and I want to avoid the drama. Also, I don’t want to be seen in public with Zane just yet.

However, in the last few days, I have noticed that Zane is very restless. He is getting impatient, standing too close to me and yesterday afternoon he tried to get me to sit on his lap at the table.

His parents were there too, and I saw his mother looking at me worriedly. The Luna and I aren’t really close, we’re polite to each other but we don’t get on very well. There is definitely no animosity between us, we just lack the urge to bond. And I fail to make friends in this pack either.

“Hey, I don’t want any wrinkles on your pretty face. Just your happy smile fills me up”. Zane’s voice jolts me out of my thoughts. I am sitting with wobbly legs on a stone bench in the Packhouse garden, enjoying the sea of colorful flowers. This is my most loved place, where I find true peace. Again Zane sits too close to me and this time he even slaps his hand over the back of my seat. I take a deep breath to inhale his deliciously masculine scent. It doesn’t have the same effect as Gorgio’s, but it does keep Era calm.

Era and Claw are good friends, but I can feel that she misses Hunter very much. Her relationship with them is not the same. With Claw, she has a lot of fun running around, but with Xander, she is more intimate, cuddling up to him because he can lick her face endlessly. I think her mates complement each other.

“I thought back to the weeks here in this pack. I have a good time here, you are so considerate. But I don’t really fit in. It’s like I’m on holiday, in a bubble, and reality can come back at any time. ”

I see his jaw clench, anger rising inside him. “Just say it. You want to go back to Gorgio. You want to tell me you miss Eclipse Howl and the man.” His voice sounds harsh, making me stiffen. Never before has a man spoken to me like that.

“I’m being honest with you, Zane. You know how hard I am trying to keep our agreement. I have no contact with Gorgio or my family, my mind wall is sealed. I’m focusing on our relationship, but it doesn’t feel real.”

“We have only been together three weeks. We still have a lot of time. Time can bring us closer. But if you startle every time I’m near you if you never take the initiative to even touch me, we won’t make any progress, Ariel,” he explained harshly. “The mate bond is active. It is the pull that we must give in to.”

And now he moves closer, his breathtaking scent no longer able to soothe me. I have to fight the urge to push him away. He gently takes my face and lifts it towards him.

I know what is coming, my stomach begins to churn. The little I’d ate this morning is about to come out. When he finally presses his lips to mine, I remain still. No longer experiencing rejection, he boldly continues, licking over my lips before asking for access to my mouth.

This is too much. I push him off me with a hard shove.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

At first, he looked surprised, he probably didn’t think I had that much strength.

But then an intense anger appears on his face.

“I am your mate! And you even deny me a kiss. Do you know that I can pick you up and take you to my bed without anyone raising a hand to stop me? Because that’s my right,” he shouts in fury. “How long must I wait for you? I crave you, but you won’t even kiss me. What’s wrong with you that you can’t be like any other mate, Ariel?”

My eyes bulged after his outburst. This disrespect is unacceptable. I have to fight the urge to punch him in the face. As the daughter of the Alpha King, I am far stronger than he is. He may be my mate, but I still outrank him. Only if we were to mate would he be my equal, and perhaps even stronger, because he would be my protector.

But only Gorgio, the man who holds my heart in his hand, has that privilege.

A sob slips from my lips as I get up and run into the packhouse, straight to my bedroom…