Wolf's Bane

Chapter 7 Pt. 2

After listening to his words, Luna took a deep breath before doing what she was told to do. The instructions afterward were also pretty easy, though she was doing most of it while hanging on to him. Luna didn't want to risk letting go. She could only think about how her sister somehow learned so quickly. Luna finally decided to take the next step in learning. She knew she needed to let go to know for sure she could do it. When Luna finally let go, she realized she was staying afloat. Kicking and using her arms, she finally opened her eyes and smiled. "Look, Sam!"

He kept his arms near her just in case she needed to grab onto him. "You're doing it, my Moon." He smiled warmly at her. "Remember, slow, fluid kicks. Don't overexert yourself, or you will tire quickly."

"I think I got it now." She smiled again before looking around at the other people who had now begun swimming around. Her sister was still playing around with the other kids but soon made her way out of the water. Luna shook her head. She had no idea how she would carry the wet kid home. Some of the other wolves had become curious about what the two were doing. "I suppose seeing you swimming around like this is weird to them, huh?"

Sam shook his head. "Being a lone wolf for so long, none of them are used to me hanging around one another."

After seeing some people, she felt something weird brush past her leg. This caused her to jump slightly and lose the pace she had going to keep her afloat. She tried to remove her leg from what it was before falling under the water. Accidently breathing in some of the water, she froze in shock. Even though she was underwater, she could have sworn she heard someone else talking. "This is what you get, Luna!" She recognized the voice but the face never came to mind. She looked up a bit only to see someone looming over her. Another male human was trying to keep her under. It wasn't long before Luna began to freak out again, only inhaling more water than she meant to.

He saw her jump. The tension she felt was brought to his attention as she went under. "Luna!" He called out before he dove under. Swimming to her, he grabbed her arm and brought her to him. Quickly, he brought her to the surface and put her back on the shallow shelf. "Stand, Luna. You're safe now." His words meant nothing to her. Luna seemed to have forgotten where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing.

The wolves in the area looked at the two. The tension was apparent, and Sam looked at a dark gray wolf, "Greg, I need my clothes. Susan, hide the children." The wolves moved out of the water and did as Sam commanded.

With solid ground under his feet, he put Luna down and took his boxers. Once on land, Luna had managed to curl herself upon the earth. Her hands were now over her ears, and her head lay on her knees. She had never been so scared before. “I’m sorry, dad.” Luna’s voice was silent. Her shaking only seemed to get worse the longer she sat there. Dressing now, he knelt beside Luna. "I'm sorry, my Moon. I should've just stayed on land with you."

It didn't take long for Gage to start running near her sister. It was almost as if the child had a sixth sense for her sister. Gage slid on her knees as she hugged her sister. What was happening made it seem like she had done this before. She picked up her sister's clothes before looking at Sam. "Sam, she needs to go home." This was Sam's first time seeing Gage be serious about something. "She's tired."

Sam looked at Gage before looking at the pack. "Remember, pack, be free, but never enter the town as a wolf." The pack nodded as a whole, and Sam was met by Vironica with the rest of his clothing. He thanked her with a pat on her head before getting fully dressed. "Gage, grab her clothing. We'll walk her through the woods." Lifting Luna into his arms, he held her close and whined. "I'm so sorry, Luna."

Gage stood up, holding her sister's clothes and shoes. She looked back at her friends before waving at them. The child hated that she had to go so soon, but she couldn't stay. Gage managed to look up at Sam, who now had her sister, before looking ahead of them to walk. "It's not your fault. She'd tell you if she could." Gage smiled a bit. Gage was right. Luna wasn't going to talk, but if she could, that would have been what she'd say. Luna tried to stop shaking, but the same image of someone drowning her caused her to shake more. She ended up nuzzling Sam for comfort without realizing she had.

"She likes you," Gage randomly said as she made a slight gagging noise. "You both have cooties now."

Sam looked down at the child and smiled. "In time, you will understand." He knew it was not his right to tell this one how wolves worked. She would learn through her own experience as the wolves met. Sam couldn't help but imagine Gage's wolf if she had one. The constant daydreaming seemed to make the walk back to their house shorter.

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Time flew by as Sam led Gage home. His arms never tired as he carried Luna close to him. Now, he stood at the tree line and looked at the greenhouse. His nasals flared as he took in the air. Nothing was out of the ordinary, so Sam walked out and quickly moved to the front door. "Let's get inside." He spoke softly to Gage and moved so the child could open the door for him.

By the time they got back, Luna was already asleep. She didn't mean to fall asleep, but she did. Gage was also tired as she opened the door to the house. She froze for a second before walking in. She could have sworn that Luna locked the door. Maybe she forgot? The child walked in anyway and left the door open for Sam. "Sister sleeps on the couch." She pointed to the couch before running into the bathroom to change her clothes. She needed to get out of her wet clothes before she got sick. If she didn't, Luna would get onto her later.

Sam gently laid Luna on the couch and sniffed the air. Nothing smelt different, but Sam felt on edge. "Luna, you're home." He softly spoke to her before looking over her clothing. He wanted to help her get dressed, so she wasn't uncomfortable. Taking his shirt off, he sat her up and slipped it over her head. His hands held her back as he moved her arms through the sleeves. With his hands still under the shirt, he unclasped Luna's bra. How he would have loved for this to lead to more, but he would not do anything without her approval.

She needed new underwear. The ones she wore were soaked. Her face grew red as he looked over her sleeping form. He tossed her soaked bra into a hamper and rummaged through her clothing until he found a comfortable pair of shorts. It was awkward. Don't do it.

What if she gets sick?

Then we helped her get better. You undress her, and she'll never forgive you. Sam sighed and shook his head. Putting the shorts on top of the stack, Sam sat on the edge of the couch and gently ran his fingers through Luna’s hair. He didn't want to go home tonight.