Lost Luna

Kids Camp

Following the broad shouldered hottie through the woods would have been enjoyable if not for the constant bump of her suitcase and screaming muscles in her arms reminding her that this all could have been easier it she could shift. Sweat had started beading at her temples and dampend her tshirt , They had been walking for what seemed like hours , although Zia couldnt be sure just how long since the thick canopy overhead blocked out much of the sky and light. 

Feels like a perpetual dusk here, she thought to herself, and slowed to a stop panting. 

"Hey do you think we could take a little break?" She called ahead to Marius , putting her suitcase down with a moss muffled thump. He stopped and turned around to look at her with impatience. 

"I'd like to get back before nightfall. So, no, keep walking." He answered cooly before returning to walking. Zia frowned and scrambled to lift her suitcase and catch up again before she lost sight of him. 

"But Im exhausted and this suitcase is getting kind of heavy" she stated emphatically, but he kept pressing on. 

"Maybe don't pack an entire stripmall into a bag next time " he grumbled under his breath ahead of her , if it weren't for heightened wolf hearing Zia might have missed it. She blushed indignantly behind him , glad that he couldn't see he pull a face mockingly at him. Asshole. 

The young woman went back to staring at his well muscled and tattooed back covetously , daydreaming about what it would be like to wrap her legs around his waist when her foot caught in a root and she found herself face to face with the ground. 

"Oof" she grunted as the air was knocked out of her from the impact , and she felt the zipper of her suitcase scrape across her forehead as it flew forward out of her grasp. s**t that is embarressing… she thought as she heard Marius' footsteps stop and the rustle of undergrowth as he calmy walked back toward her. 

"Get up." His deep voice sounded above her head, and she looked up to see a hand outstretched in aid. Zia shook her head and pulled herself to her feet , brushing off dirt and plant matter from the front of her clothes and having ignored his hand. She went to take a step forward and grab her suitcase again when a shot of pain went through her ankle and she nearly fell down again. Grabbing a nearby sappling for support she regained her precarious balance. 

" I think Ive sprained my ankle." She grimaced and looked at Marius. His face was unreadable in the quickly darkening forest, night was approaching. 

"You've also cut your head." Marius said reaching out to touch where the zipper had scraped and showing her the little bit of her blood on his finger tips. "You didn't have to hurt yourself to get your way princess." He said condescendingly. 

"I didn't do it on purpose ! " Zia spluttered at the guile of the man. She reached down a hand to gingerly touch the warm swelling at her ankle , that was going to take a couple hours to heal. She touched her forehead where the scrape from the suitcase was already well on its way to being healed like it had never happened. 

"Put your arm over my shoulders, I will help you the rest of the way. Leave the suitcase we can return in the morning to get it." Marius said , he looked worried about the nightfall that was creeping into the forest. 

"Hell no. I can get myself there." Zia said stubbornly, but agreed that she would leave her suitcase until the morning. She started hobbling her own way in the direction he had been heading before she fell. I may be slower but I will get there on my ooooowwnnnnn -  she gasped as she felt herself leave the ground. 

Marius clearly wasn't taking no for an answer and had picked her up into his arms with the sort of ease that would weaken a girls knees and began carrying her. 

"This is faster." He said by way of explanation and indeed it seemed that Zia had been slowing him down , even before she had fallen and injured herself. 

"Put. Me. Down." Zia hissed , her green eyes flashing in annoyance. 

"No."

"Put me down, now!" She yelled , purposely throwing her body weight around trying to get free from his arms. She saw a brief upturn at the edges of Marius' mouth before he readjusted her over his shoulder instead. 

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Zia squealed , now hanging upside down over his shoulder and getting a pleasant view of his behind. He grunted in response and she began kicking her legs uselessly. 

"Ugh!" She finally fell limp and gave in to being carried. "I think I am going to hate you." She grumbled to his ass. She heard a low chuckle and it made her narrow her eyes. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Arriving at the site for the training, he pulled her off his shoulder and set her down on a bench outside a cabin. Looking around Zia surmised that it looked very much like a kids summer camp , except for the sparring pit in the centre, there were multiple cabins and a few main recreation buildings and a washroom building that she idly wondered if it contained showers. 

They were out in the middle of nowhere , with roads that no longer ran here she doubted they had indoor plumbing. Marius had disappeared into the cabin behind her and she pulled her cellphone out of her pocket to see the 'No Service' in the corner. No cell reception. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Marius return holding a bag of ice and a stool. He placed the stool in front of her and grabbed her leg , to which Zia flinched and attempted to jerk her leg back, only to adjust his grip firmly on her calf and take her shoe off with the other hand. 

Placing her foot on the stool he grabbed the bag of ice from the ground and put it over her ankle. "Rest for a bit, Im going to go see whats in the Mess Hall to eat." He said , his grey eyes looking up to hers as if warning her silently to stay put before he stood up and headed for a larger building across the clearing. 

Zia sighed to herself and waited patiently has night took full hold and the clearing turned dark. She wondered what they did for light out here with no electricity , although her vision at night was far greater than a humans she still felt the primal comfort for having a light source in the darkness. 

A few minutes later Marius reappeared from the other building carring a lantern in one hand and two plates in the other. Reaching her he put the lantern on the ground and grabbed her leg again. 

"Hey ! What are you doing?" Zia exclaimed , as he sat on the stool and put her foot on his thigh. He held a plate out to her , a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich sat on it reaffirming to Zia that this whole setup seemed to scream kids summer camp. 

"Well Im not eating on the ground like a dog." Marius said haughtily by way of explanation. Zia took the offered plate and bit into the sandwhich. The temperature was quickly dropping in the spring night , and Zia felt it start to creep into her clothes and tired muscles. 

She was almost done her sandwhich before an involuntary shiver passed through her. The man in front of her watched her for a moment before finishing the last bite of his sandwhich. 

"We will be staying in the same cabin for now, you can have the bed near the back wall." He said, and Zia pulled her foot back toward her from where it had been comfortably resting on his lap. He stood up and took her plate from her , heading back to put them in the Mess Hall. 

"There are extra blankets in the wardrobe if you are cold." He said over his shoulder. Zia tenderly got to her feet and hobbled into the cabin behind her. It was tidy inside , homely almost, and smelled of vanilla and sandalwood. It took her a moment to realize that the smell wasnt from the cabin but was Marius' scent.  She breathed in a little deeper through her nose and realized she found the smell strangely exhilerating. 

Well he is gorgeous , even if a little infuriating and odd.

Shaking her head , her red curls bouncing along her shoulders, she limped to the wardrobe and pulled out a quilt. Settling into her bed , curled up under the quilt it didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep. She had fallen asleep so quickly she hadn't noticed that Marius had returned and the steady gaze of grey eyes watching her from across the cabin in the other bed.