Suddenly His Luna

A Thorough Gift

Vivien

My spine straightens at the sound of the car door slamming shut.

And then that stupid, mind altering smell fills my nostrils. Suddenly I’m breathless, suddenly I’m hot all over. And I hate it, I hate every second of what this does to me.

Kieran.

He’s back.

Again.

It’s been about three days since the first time he showed up here. Three days of me living in the tortured walls my mind has become. I told myself pushing him away would be easy, that it would simply be mind over matter.

But it’s a lot harder than I imagined.

I can’t seem to get him out of my head. I can’t forget his face, his eyes, his smell, the sharpness, the utter masculinity of his features. It doesn’t help that Kieran is most likely the most handsome wolf I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

I hear his footsteps, trudging up the dirt path. My wolf rises, excited, prancing on all fours.

I imagine her with her head held high, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.

It makes my heart clench. Feeling her so carefree once again. Hell, feeling her at all. She’s been away from me for so long that her presence has taken quite a bit of getting used to.

I want to go for a run, I know she’d love to stretch her legs, to physically be in the forefront. But with everything going on in the state, I haven’t had a perfect, safe opportunity.

Two knocks sound at the door.

I moisten my chapped lips with my tongue, fisting both of my hands on top my thighs. Sliding my eyes shut, I will him to just go away. Can’t a man take a hint? What about my demeanor the last time he was here would ever make him want to come back?

He knocks again.

Impatient, just like the last time he was here.

I shoot out of my chair, my tongue heavy with destructive vocabulary as I march to the door, yanking it open.

But I stop short, my breath catching in my throat.

He’s so handsome it hurts.

He’s not dressed that much differently from last time he was here. Slacks and a formal dress shirt. The sleeves are pulled back to his elbows, the top two buttons left undone. I drink in every inch of him.

His black hair is tousled, like he’s spent all morning running his fingers through the thick locks. I find myself wondering if his hair is as soft as the fur of his wolf. And unlike said wolf, his eyes are a stark, solid, black.

Bottomless.

It’s like he’s trying to bore a hole into my soul by just pinning me with his calm stare.

He has the palest skin, it does wonders for his features, a stark contrast to the depth of his eyes, the mane on his head. Dark stubble coats the base of his cheeks, lining his hard jaw. And all I can think of is how it’s so masculine, swirling around his full pink mouth.

I swallow.

It’s the second time I’m seeing him up close, yet he still has the exact same effect on me as before. And I almost don’t notice he’s come bearing gifts, again.

This time there’s no store bought appreciation card, instead, it’s a box of chocolates. And he traded out the wild roses for a hibiscus wrap instead.

I bite back a laugh, he must think I don’t like roses. Not that I blame him, I’d barely waited for him to get to his car before chucking them in the trash.

It’s not because I didn’t like the roses though, it’s that I don’t like any of this. And I’m not sure how I can make it any clearer.

And so I scowl, the “What do you want?” slipping from my lips with harsh intensify.

And I’ve got to hand it to him, he doesn’t seem fazed in the least.

“For you,” he says outstretching the gifts to me.

I grind my teeth. Frustration bubbles up in my chest like a tidal wave, threatening to boil over.

“Why are you back?”

He smiles, and it’s a miracle I don’t faint on the spot. It’s wide, unrestrained glee brightening his handsome face. Straight, pearly white teeth on full display. “To see you, of course.”

His response panels me back into reality, “To see me?” I raise my brows, “What part of ‘you’re welcome and be on your way’ ever insinuated that you should be doing this again?”

“The part that left my wolf restless at night, itching to be near his mate at every dying moment.” The grin is wiped off his face, suddenly he’s serious, unsmiling and intense. “Or are we due for another bout of you playing dumb today?”

The abrupt change in his demeanor gives me a whiplash, and I fight to control my raging emotions, hating how he’s called me out for ignoring this bond flashing between us like a blaring neon sign.

“I don’t want this.” I tell him.

His frown deepens, eyes looking down at the items in his hands, “You don’t like flowers then?”

“What? No,” I pause, “Listen, whatever you think is bound to happen between us, sincerely isn’t. I’m not interested in wrapping myself up in this mess. I have a very busy, chaotic schedule and more important things to do than repeat myself to you over and over. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to go on with my day-with the rest of my life-without ever having to have this conversation again.” I move to shut the door, and just like last time, he stops me.

“I wish I could understand,” his voice is somber, void of any emotion, “Exactly what it is that’s going on here.” He shakes his head, like he’s confused, “Why did you save my life then?”

His question hits something deep within me. I’ve been thinking about that for a while myself. Did I do it because the moon goddess told me to? Or was it because I wanted to save him? It would be so easy to pin this all on her, but I know for a fact, that I walked up to his dying wolf before she ever made her presence known.

I breathe out through my nose, whispering the words, “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“You thought?” His eyebrows almost meet his hairline, “So you… so you regret it?”

“No!” I backtrack, stunned, “No, of course I don’t regret it, I just… I’m just confused okay? It’s all so much to handle. I just went to pick up my herbs goddamn it! And then you were there all of a sudden, and then you got shot. I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to run, I was scared, but I didn’t. I saved you, and now… now you're here, and we’re… we’re…”

“You can’t even say it.” his voice is quiet.

My eyes met his. I’m not sure exactly what it is expect to see in his face, but still, I’m not prepared.

Nothing.

His face is completely devoid of any emotion. It nicks at something in my heart, and given the fact that he’s been so expressive, all I want to do is peel back the layers of his mind and know what he’s thinking.

“I’m not cut out for this.” I tell him, “I didn’t make space in my life for all this.”

He’s quiet, for a long moment. And then he says, “Here.” Gesturing, again, for me to accept the large bouquet for flowers, “For you.”

My eyes widen. He’s acting like the last five minutes never happened, and for lack of knowledge of what else to do, tentatively, I reach out, taking the gifts from him.

His hands slide into the pockets of his slacks, “You’re busy,” he says, nodding once, “I’ll leave you alone.”

He turns away, his back to me, and I almost miss the quiet, “For now.” That escapes him before he marches away, getting in his car without a single glance over his shoulder.

I exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding. My eyes drop to the gifts. The flowers are a lot bigger than the set of roses. I chuck the box of chocolates in the trash, but the flowers I keep, they could be useful for one of my potions.

I plant my hands on either side of the table, my shoulders sagging as I realize with a start, that this whole situation might just be beyond my control.

***********

Hi everyone, I’m Vivi. Thank you all soo much for reading my book, thank you for sending me moon tickets, I’m immensely grateful ? . I hope so far, it has met some expectations. I also hope that you know there’s much more in store.

If you’d like to know more about me, I have an sss group, called Vivi’s Lovelies. I’d like to hear your thoughts on there, I’d also love to know what you think about Vivien and Keiran on there.

See you all in the next chapter. Thank you.