Land of the Moon

Chapter 13

Once we had our fill, I was able to regain control again. We were finally one once more. Since I was a unique shifter, my inner beast has always been changing. We are always of one mind. Unless I am weakened, then it takes over to ensure that we survive. Though I have always done my best to not let myself get this far gone. Though our survival is important, my beast still knows that Ema is important as well.

I was still in my snow leopard form that we had shifted to and had run off in earlier. I was resting on a small rock ledge looking down at the easy-going river that was now reflecting the shimmering rays of the early morning sun. A twig snapped a little way off in the distance. I opened my eyes and looked to the left at the small tree line. Zane slowly emerged from the shadows; it did not take him long to spot me. His eyes looked inviting and fierce all at the same time as we watched each other.

As I leaped down, I shifted back to my human form. I realized as I got closer to him the left corner of his mouth was slightly raised in a smirk. Why was it that something about Zane just got under my skin. A small breeze started up surrounding me with his scent as I was a couple of steps away from him now. His scent was earth-shattering to me. I had never experienced anything like it before. Before I let myself get carried away by it, I covered my nose and as I passed him whispered: “you smell”.

“Vladimir and Ema are back waiting at the end of the ravine. We will meet up with the others afterward. Kitten.” Zane's eyes danced with amusement.

The smirk he wore did not seem like it would be leaving his face anytime soon. An overwhelming urge to punch him in the face was rising quickly in me. My hand clenched into a fist ready and itching to feel it connecting to his flesh.

“Cecily, oh I am so glad you are alright.” Ema’s sweet voice came from behind me as she jumped on my back, hugging me from behind.

“Ema? I thought you were waiting back at the ravine. What are you doing here?” I questioned as Ema squeezed me tighter to her.

“I could not wait to see you. Vladimir was fine with coming to meet up with you. We can meet up with everyone after this. Thank you, Zane, for looking out for her.” Ema smiled at Zane before turning her attention back towards me.

“Ema ...we cannot stay any longer with the Hunters. What happened to me has delayed us greatly and last night was a very close call. I am indebted to the Hunters for all their help so far.” I explained to her, though Ema's expression was pained, she understood why I had decided to do this now.

“You do not need to make a hasty decision right now. Let us all discuss this.” Vladimir stepped up beside Ema now. Letting go of me, she stepped back as I turned and they glanced at each other. They did not want to be separated so soon.

Their feelings were growing stronger with each passing day. It was going to be even more painful than when their feelings first took root for each other. I was going to have to crush their budding romance before it grew and fully bloomed. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts about these two's relationship that I didn’t even notice that Zane had moved right behind me. It felt as if fire and electricity were trying to ignite in the limited space between Zane and I. “Ema, we cannot take any more chances than we already have. We..”

“Ema, Cecily. Oh, I am so glad you both are alright.” Louisa had cut me off with her happy greeting to us both. As she and the rest of the Hunters made their way towards us. It seemed they were not going to make anything easy for me.

“Louisa, Mira, Cairo, and Nikolaj. Oh how are you doing?” Ema was truly happy to see them. I think she believed they would agree with her on sticking together.

“Zane told us what happened. Are you both alright?” Cairo’s face was kind yet held some anger like a parent would if their kids had gotten into trouble. No matter what age I was, there was always someone to scold me.

“We are safe thanks to Zane and Vladimir’s help. Cecily and I were just discussing what we should do next.” Ema’s voice dropped a bit when she mentioned what I had told her.

“Well, what do you think about all this Cairo?” Zane’s voice carried a smile in it. He already knew what I had planned and it seemed like he knew they were all going to agree with Ema. We would all still be traveling together.

I have been through different situations and dealt with many different males, but he by far is the worst. I can not read him. I do not know what he will say or do next. He gets under my skin. When I looked at Ema again, she was staring at me in bewilderment. I glanced at everyone else’s faces and they all seemed to be wearing a shocked expression.

“Cecily, do you not like Zane?” Mira was the first to snap out of whatever had gotten ahold of them.

“Why do you ask that?” I looked straight at Mira.

“You do not show much emotion with your face, though you seem to not be aware of the expression, you are making now.”

I looked at them all as I played Mira’s words over in my mind. With Zane, it seemed like he was making more than just my mind react to him, but my body as well. Will he break through all the walls that I have built up over these many years. If so, I am going to have to be even more cautious of him. “He just rubs me the wrong way is all.” I waved off this moment that was happening as if it wasn’t getting to me.

They all seemed to accept that easily enough. Thankful for that, the subject was dropped and we moved on to the next topic of where we were headed. It seemed as though we were all going to still be traveling together for a time. The pain will be even more excruciating for them later on. I just sighed as I accepted that this was the decision she had already chosen.