Two Sides of The Moon (Book 2)

11. Intrigued

“Here you go,” Ellaire said, placing a silver tray with four mugs and a steaming hot pot. She poured the black liquid into each cup and offered one to each of us.

“That’s the best coffee I've drank in a long time.” I said, closing my eyes after every sip.

“Thank you, my love.” Ellaire said and turned back to her seat.

Everyone was waiting impatiently for the long-awaited story; well, Matias and I, as Timothy already knew it, and he was looking pretty bored but nervous at the same time.

“So…” Ellaire said, placing her hands together on the table while looking in the distance.

“I…” She started but stopped and cleared her throat.

“I woke up with this darkness surrounding me. I didn’t understand it at first, but then I felt it. The cold wind was biting at my bruised body, covered in mud, leaves, and who knows what else. Above me, a silver ball shone as I had never seen before - the Moon. It was different, or so I thought. I was too focused on it to hear or see anything else around me. My eyes were foggy, and my ears were full of mud anyway, but then the rain started, and with the rain, a foul odour knocked me out. I woke up sometime later and noticed that everything was moving in short phases. It was weird and hard to understand what was happening to me; till my body was thrown into a tree trunk, and I saw it - a dark monstrosity feeding from my flesh. My body was numb, and I could not feel the pain, but I could see the red, warm liquid spilt everywhere, covering the ground, the leaves, my body and my attacker’s snout. I could never forget those eyes - green eyes; so green that they seemed to be made from pure jade.” She stopped for a second and looked at me. I could see tears in her eyes, and my b***d was boiling with rage. Who could have done this? After taking a deep breath, she continued.

“Then, in that darkness that was melting in the quietness, a light appeared. I watch it till my eyes shut down completely. When I woke up next, I was met by a warm and smiley face.” She said, looking at Timothy.

“My Mate.” He said, with a tear running down his cheek.

Ellaire nodded and smiled softly, placing her hand over Timothy’s shaking one.

I watched them for a moment, acknowledging the connection that formed between them. They were like a family.

“I’m so sorry, Ellaire!” I said, looking at her for a second, feeling guilty for everything she had been through.

“No, my love. Don’t blame yourself for any of this.” She said, in that kind voice that I hadn’t heard for so long.

“But if I only….” I continued, but she interrupted me again.

“No, Levi. This was meant to happen. It’s not your fault. We should thank the Goddess for letting us meet again. Think only about this; we are together now, my love.” Ellaire said and placed her free hand over mine.

“Can we go to bed now?” Matias asked with a loud yawn, making me chuckle.

“Oh! So the great hunter can laugh.” He said, getting up.

“Don’t try your luck, Matias! You might be surprised to find that your bag is empty.” I said in a half-serious, half-amusing voice.

A big smile appeared on his face.

“Finally! The bad, big man acknowledged my name.” He said and left after excusing himself.

“Well, now that you know the truth, we can get to more serious business and plan the Ceremony. As you know now, I see Ellaire as my daughter. So I will personally get involved in ensuring everything runs smoothly.” Timothy said in a proud voice and left.

It was now only the two of us. After looking into each other's eyes for a minute or so, Ellaire was the first one to speak.

“We should get some sleep as well, my love. It has been a long day.”

“Are you sure that you want to sleep?” I asked with mischief.

Ellaire must have been right about our bond getting stronger. I could feel the pull, the attraction towards her becoming unbearable.

“I am sure about that, my love. We have enough time. As some might say, there is a time for everything. Now, it is time for us to get some rest. I, for one, am exhausted. So good night, Mate!” She said and bent down to kiss my cheek.

I let her come close enough, and grabbed her by the back of her neck, pulling her slightly towards me, so she fell right into my lap.

“Not that fast.” I said and kissed her with hunger.

“Good Goddess! I missed these lips so much!” I added when I let her take a short breath; then I continued kissing her until our lips turned red and puffy.

I was sitting in my bed, thinking about how different things could have been if I had stayed with her a bit longer that day when I abandoned her body. There are still a few questions that I have, but I will keep them to myself for now. I could see how affected by those events Ellaire is.

But I can’t stop thinking about the fact that she was buried. I buried her with my own hands. How did she get out of there? Is it only the fact that she can’t remember, or does someone or something else do that? And if that beast that she was talking about was the one that attacked her, why didn't it finish the job? Because from Ellaire’s story, I got that she was found unconscious by Timothy. He didn’t see or fight the beast.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by my bedroom door being open slowly. My excitement got in my neck, thinking that my Mate had changed her mind, but my hopes soon fell to the ground when I saw Lira coming in.

I was about to ask her to leave as this wasn't appropriate. For her to be in my bedroom when she knew I had a Mate was wrong. But the look in her eyes stopped me from saying anything to her. So I just waited for her to close the door and see what she wanted from me.

She stepped closer with unsure steps and, shaking hands, kept looking behind her like someone was following her.

After making the signs for apologies, she handed me a crumpled note. I could not notice the nice black sparkling bracelet with a small green stone in the form of a moon. I hadn't seen her wearing it before. I opened my mouth to say something, but she covered it with her tiny hand and looked me in my eyes with the same fear and worries from earlier.

My senses got messed up when I felt the same intoxicating scent and my eyes closed on their own. I knew then that it wasn’t hers, but she definitely was in close contact with the owner of it - Aleera. But how?

When I opened my eyes again, she was long gone, like she never was there.

I watched the messy note from my hand and sniffed it from instinct while walking towards the window.

“Aleera.” I said in such a low voice that I couldn't even hear it.

“Is everything alright, my love?” I heard my Mate’s voice from behind me, and my heart stopped.