A Luna Chained

Chapter 11 - Blessed by the Goddess

It was dark and quiet, with only the crickets chirping and the trees creaking. Livia could hear Ewan snoring in the sleeping bag beside her, but she was too warm to sleep inside hers.

They had tired each other out that night - s*x, rest, s*x, snack, s*x, more sex... He was a gentle lover, always concerned about whether she was alright. She was passionate and unbridled, wanting to drink him in like she was dying of thirst. The young man definitely favoured “making love” over “f*****g” and they each had their fill of both.

I said I loved him, she thought. Now, in the quiet of the wee hours, when the lust and passion had cooled, the doubts crept back. Did she love him? She loved being with him. She loved his earnest nature and kindness. And she loved the feeling of his body against hers. Was that love? She wasn't convinced.

There was a prickly feeling in the back of her mind when she thought about it. And it prevented her from falling asleep, despite the soothing presence of her lover next to her, and the lullaby sounds of the forest.

How long could she handle this indecision? Maybe that's what an adult relationship is, she wondered. Always second-guessing.

Livia leaned over and kissed Ewan's sleeping face, and he stirred at her touch. “I’m just going out to pee” she whispered. He nodded sleepily, not really waking up.

Clad only in a sleeping shirt and a pair of flip flops, she grabbed the roll of biodegradable toilet paper and the hand sanitizer and crawled out of the tent. It was a warm night with a slight breeze, and she breathed it in.

The moon was nearly full, and it lit up the woods with a whitish silver glow. It was eerily close to the dreams she’d had around her birthday. She took the solar-powered lantern in her other hand and wandered into the woods a respectable distance from the tent to do her business.

In the near-silence, she heard the gentle lapping of a nearby lake. At the sound of the fresh natural water, she suddenly felt unbearably sweaty and dirty after the night’s escapades with Ewan. The urge to wash herself off in the cool water was too strong to deny.

The lake was exquisite in the pale moonlight. The gibbous moon reflected on the glassy surface of the still water, marred only by the occasional ripple of a fish catching a night bug. The dark woods rose up behind the lake, creating an artistic silhouette against the starry night sky.

It felt strangely like home to her.

She placed the lantern and toilet supplies carefully down at the edge of the water, pulled off her nightshirt and waded in, gasping a little as the cold water slipped up her warm skin.

Yeah, this is what I need, I thought, to cool down after the hot and heavy activities of the evening.

Has this trip been a mistake? Am I misleading him? Her thoughts wouldn’t settle as she waded out further from shore.

The lake had a steep gradient and she was quickly up to her waist in the water. She kept her eyes on the moon, mesmerized, walking toward it into the lake.

She let the light of the moon wash over her, purifying her. Then, she splashed and rubbed water over her face, arms, chest, and her sticky inner thighs. The cold water was soothing to her chafed skin and restless soul.

With a deep breath, she let herself drop into the cold dark water. The shock jolted through her, but she quickly got used to it.

By the time she resurfaced, Livia felt renewed. Almost like she’d been baptised by Mother Nature herself. All her sins had been washed away. Had she been sinning?

She looked back to check on her lantern, and it was still glowing brightly at the edge of the water, so she closed her eyes and floated onto her back, sighing happily.

“This was a great idea…”, she whispered out loud to nobody but herself.

She let her mind float away, letting the lake gently rock her and drifting into near-sleep.

~~~

There was no such peace for Rhys. He sat in the passenger seat as Dylan drove through the winding roads of the National Park. Thank the Goddess, this part of the park was on their pack lands.

Rhys’ hands gripped the console on one side of him, and the door on the other side. Tears streamed from his face, and every now and then, a wracking sob escaped his lips. The pain that pulsed through him was etched onto his face. This wasn’t regular pain, though. He’d had his share of battles and knew how to handle pain. His wolf, Ragnar, was usually able to help to boost his resilience and heal any wounds.

This pain was different, deeper. It was as if a searing red-hot knife was plunging into both his heart and his soul. Ragnar howled in agony in his mind, pacing and cowering.

“I don’t like this, boss. I don’t like it.” the frantic Beta said over and over. “Why can‘t you tell me what’s wrong? Why are we heading into the woods instead of a hospital?”

“Just drive!” Rhys whimpered. “This way!” He suddenly signalled to a side road marked by a small sign that read “Hanwi Lake.”

They drove until they reached a small parking lot. Surprised by the sudden end of the road, Dylan slammed on the breaks, skidding the car into the grass.

Rhys wrenched the door open, ripped off his clothes and shifted into his formidable wolf form. He let Ragnar take control and they raced into the dark wood.

“f**k” Dylan muttered, also shedding his clothes and shifting. He let Dakota come forward and raced after his Alpha, praying to the goddess that they weren’t heading for trouble.