Bound by the Moon

Erik~6

There was something about the ten seconds of proximity we shared. I couldn’t place my finger on it. My sixth sense picked up a familiar feeling from the way her hand grappled for her release. The scent of lavender and fresh dew that hung in the air, her hitched breaths and pleading eyes, all of it were no good for me.

But there was nothing I knew better than running away from a situation that could make me even more vulnerable than I already was.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I heard her croaked voice spit back.

By the time I turned around, she had one hand massaging her throat and the other providing support for that one. Her demeanor remained as sassy as ever.

This girl is going to make me lose my mind.

I ignored her venomous tongue and continued walking away. I wasn’t going to let her provoke me any further. Goddess knew what I would do next.

Or feel next.

“Why don’t you prove me wrong?” A more composed and daunting voice echoed.

I had gotten into the comfort of a secluded tunnel and honestly thought I was now alone. My mind had been filled with too many raging thoughts, my senses had been too occupied to pick up on the footsteps, the presence or her scent. “And why the f**k won’t you stop following me,” I cursed out. “I wouldn’t be responsible for whatever happens next.”

“Stop threatening me and wear your big boy pants.”

I felt her presence as she inched closer to me. I clenched my fist, fighting the urge to turn around and pin her down. There was no reason for her to approach a lycan so boldly.

Was she that confident? Or was she just insane?

“What the hell do you want…” My voice trailed off into a growl as I spun around. I jumped when I faced her and she was barely standing an inch from me.

When did she get so close?

What’s wrong with me? Where are my heightened senses?

I tried not to choke on the words I had left to utter as I stared into her brown eyes. “There are far too many other werewolves here you can terrorize. In fact, there is another person right around the corner. Just stay away from me.”

“What do you want from me?” My whispered, my voice husky and nearly pleading.

“Fight! I want you to fight! Fight for the people you care so much about. For the people you come back home to every day. For your people who the government has decided to purge off the face of the earth. Fight for the lycanthropes. So you can have a home amongst other members of the society.

The passion was evident in her eyes but to what extent. She was fighting for a lost cause. Why did she think whatever plan she had up her sleeves would work over all ancestral wolves had tried?

We had accepted our fate, made a world of our own, shielded ourselves from the world since we had become the plague the world so desperately wanted to eradicate.

“And what next? What happens when it fails? Why do you want to raise anyone’s hope just to kill it completely? Hell…why do you even care?” I scoffed at last.

Her face changed from anger to disgust and I suddenly wished I could swallow my words back down my throat.

“You know what, you’re despicable. I can’t believe I thought after your encounter last night, you’ll be a reasonable candidate…”

“Is everything good here?” Lucian called out, startling Elena and I.

Lucian was one of the oldest lycans I knew. Because of that, people placed him on the highest pedestal. Especially for living through the moments of war that led to our outcast. He had fought for our rights and gave us hope.

Just like Elena was supposedly trying to do now. I had been only a child then, yet I remember the movement vividly.

If Lucian had heard the reason for the altercation between Elena and I, he would laugh in my face and express his disappointment.

“Yes, Lucian,” I nodded, bowing curtly as a sign of respect.

“Hmm” This was all he offered before he continued passing us, his brows raised in suspicion. By this time, two other members of the governing body had walked down the same pathway, trailing carefully behind Lucian. Their activities were suspicious, so I ditched the human and shuffled around until I found myself back at the central space of the warehouse.

“What’s going on, Jacob?” I asked a younger wolf who I halted from scurrying past me.

“The heads are here. They say a secret meeting starts soon. I shouldn’t be here, my mom is calling.”

I nodded before I let him go. Younger wolves weren’t allowed to wander about when a major deliberation was about to take place. I saw the others clear the space and organize everyone into circles for interaction as per usual. Activities were always created for the rest of us while we awaited minutes of the meeting to avoid unease and anxiety that would threaten our wolves. I was still interested when suddenly, I met a familiar pair of eyes. Not you again, Elena.

Shit.

“For a moment, I thought you were going to abscond and leave me standing here.” She had a scowl plastered on her face and I couldn’t deny I found it a bit cute.

“I can’t deny that I did not consider the enticing option,” A smug smile found habitat on my face.

“If I didn’t come back, would you have remained there?”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you come back, we were in the middle of a conversation.”

“Correction. You were attacking me, not conversing.”

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes at me.

My wolf leaped. Calm down, silly. I thought as I restrained myself. That was supposed to be a challenge not something…

Sexy?

My wolf was currently forming a mind of its own at that moment because I certainly wasn’t thinking straight.

Involuntarily, I reached out and pulled her out of the way just in time for the next set of wolves to pass behind. She leaned into my touch, melting in my arms for a second before she bristled quickly.

She stepped away from my embrace, pink splotches dotting her cheek.

“We should get out of here and settle ourselves in one of the groups until word gets around that we're free to move about.”

She nodded without hesitation, and I was damn near dumbfounded. Wasn’t this the woman who nearly had my head on a platter moments ago?