The Banished Luna

Chapter 9

Avi led Georgia to a small wooden hut on the edge of the village. Smoke rose from a small steel chimney on its roof, and the side was decorated with a number of metalwork hooks. A few were already occupied.

"Wait here."Avi said, stroking her cheek and vanishing into the hut.

A moment later, he and a few people exited the hut. They were fully nude, but seemed unfazed. They smiled at Georgia as they passed and whispered excitedly to each other as they gathered their clothes from the hooks and headed for a nearby stream.

So all it took was mating their future Alpha to get them to notice us? Geneva murmured in Georgia's mind. She was still sour, but the bliss of the mate bond had softened her demeanor significantly.

"Thank you!" Avi called to his packmates as they walked away. They waved in response, before dropping their clothes and splashing into the stream, squealing and laughing.

"They're...proud, aren't they?" said Georgia, adjusting the half-bloody t-shirt that she had been using to cover herself.

"Proud?"

"Just walking around naked like that?"

"Is it not like that in your pack?" Avi tipped his head quizzically as he pulled down his own trousers and hung them up, then reached out for the t-shirt. "Here, let me hang that up."

Georgia handed him the t-shirt, but suddenly felt very shy and used her hands to cover herself. In her pack, they weren't ashamed of nudity of course, in certain circumstances; but it wasn't like people walked around naked day-to-day.

"I mean, after a pack run or for ceremonies, sure...or when you're alone with your mate or yule friend." She stammered.

She tried not to stare at his body. He was like a Greek statue carved from marble - pale and well-defined. With fair red-tinged hair on his chest and trailing downward to a sizable endowment.

"You should not be shy." Avi whispered. "The Goddess blessed us with strong beautiful bodies." He stepped up to her and ran his hands down her arms, then up her back, pulling her close. "Yours is particularly beautiful."

Georgia blushed, unable to speak. She was not usually nervous around men - in fact, she was used to using her confidence to her advantage to lure them in and lead them along. But Avi was different. He wasn't just a man. He was her destined mate!

"You were ready to fight my sister only moments ago, and now, nothing?" He chuckled and lifted her chin so that their eyes met. Aarni purred in the back of Avi's mind, relishing the closeness of his mate, feeling her warmth against his body. It stirred a feeling deep in his loins that he'd never felt, not with his any of teenage flings or casual girlfriends.

I feel like those other girls were just children...like we were just a child. But this is a she-wolf that will make us a man. You are the son of the Luna, and future Alpha. With your mate at your side, you will move mountains! Kara will not be pleased... Avi loved his twin, but resented that she bossed him around, and his wolf knew it.

Geneva was equally taken by surprise. I can feel his strength, but it's like he only needs to whisper to command a whole army. He makes Rhys seem like a barbarian.

"Avi, I..." Georgia tried to start, but a familiar hardness twitched against her body, distracting her flustered mind from whatever it was she planned on saying.

"Come." He said, and led her into the sauna. On one wall was a small, curtained window, and a raised platform of glowing coals sat in the middle. Avi ladled a splash of water onto the coals, which hissed and steamed, and tossed in a handful of herbs. He checked the fire, and sat on one of the benches, letting out a heavy satisfied sigh.

Through the steam and dimmed light, Georgia could still see the silhouette of his half-hard c**k in his lap. She wanted him, but she also didn't want to rush in, like she'd always done. And for once, Geneva wasn't compelling her to rush either.

She sat, as demurely as she could, next to him on the bench; back straight, hands folded in her lap, and knees squeezed together. Taking her awkwardness for discomfort, Avi planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and pulled a towel from a small cupboard under the bench.

"How are you feeling now? Better?" He dipped a corner of the towel in the water bucket and started wiping the blood from her neck and chest. The bite and claw wounds had already healed into angry red welts.

Georgia smiled and nodded, but remained stiff and nervous.

Have you suddenly forgotten how to seduce a man? Geneva chided. Her tone was so soft and indulgent that it threw Georgia off. Who was this wolf, and what had she done with the cruel and spiteful Geneva?

Aided by beads of sweat that had begun to form all over her body, the blood from the fight was soon wiped away. Georgia had relaxed somewhat, softened by the warm humid air of the sauna and the gentle ministrations of her new mate.

"Did the fox take your tongue?" Avi joked. "Maybe I can find it..." He leaned in and kissed her. Gently at first, but when he felt her body relax further, he deepened the kiss, slipping an agile tongue between her lips.

Georgia moaned, and he quickly pulled away.

"Georgia? Did I hurt you?" His gray eyes were filled with concern.

"Kiss me again." She replied plainly, smiling so blissfully that there was no mistaking her desires.

"Oh, my love..." Was all Avi could murmur as he pressed his lips against hers once more. Once he had his fill, he moved to her neck and shoulder, gently kissing the semi-healed wounds, then switched to the other side, nipping at her dewy skin. He inhaled deeply, letting her scent mingle with the smoking herbs from the sauna. The scent drove him wild, and he could sense his wolf jumping and yipping happily in the back of his mind.

Georgia let him explore her. Hands stoking her skin, cupping her breast. Lips roaming the curves of her neck. Burying his nose in her hair. At his touch, her fears started to fade, and she welcomed the caresses of her mate. Finally, someone who loved her entirely, genuinely, and unconditionally.

By the time he knelt in front of her and slowly parted her thighs, her scruples were all but gone. All but one thing.

"What about your family? Your sister? Will they accept me? I'm nothing - an Omega traitor." She whispered.

"They would not defy the will of the Goddess, Love. If you are good enough for our Great Mother, you are good enough for them."

"Even Kara?"

"Especially Kara. Now, enough about my sister. Just relax..."