A Luna Scorned

Chapter 15

“Ari! This is beautiful!” I exclaimed. We had walked up to the waterfall and I was peering down at the beauty below. Liam wanted to shift and run there, but I wanted to walk. I wanted to enjoy the forest and take in the sights. Natalie wasn’t happy about that. She wanted to meet Liam’s wolf. I promised her we would soon. We were standing on the edge of the waterfall. It wasn’t very tall, but it was still breathtaking, none the less. Crystal blue water cascaded over the rocks, plummeting into a deep, crystal blue pool below. The water was so clear that I could see the fish swimming around down below. The pool was surrounded by luscious grass, thick pine trees, and these tiny little purple and yellow flowers.

“I knew you’d love it!” She giggled. Before I knew it, Liam had stripped off his shirt and shorts and was standing on the edge of the cliff in just his boxers.

“Liam, what are you doing?” I began to approach as he turned and winked at me before leaping off the edge of the cliff, adding in a cute little flip before breaking through the water's surface. Cole and Riley quickly followed suit and Ari stripped down to her bikini and stood at the cliffs edge, a wide grin on her face.

“Come on Ky! You’ve got to try it. It’s so much fun.”

“I don’t know, I’m not crazy about heights.” I said as I inched closer to the ledge.

“JUMP!” Cole shouted at Ari from the water. She giggled and motioned for me to come closer.

“Come on! Get out of those clothes. We’ll jump together.”

“WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?” Liam shouted up.

“Kyrie doesn’t like heights!” Ari shouted back. She looked at me, pleading for me to go with her. I stripped down to my floral blue one piece suit. It had cut outs on my sides, and the back was completely bare, except for the string that tied the bikini.

“I love that swimsuit.” She bounded over to me and grabbed my hand, dragging me towards the edge. “Trust me!” She pleaded.

“Okay.” I stood on the edge with her and took a deep breath.

“You can do it!” Liam shouted from below where he, Cole and Riley were waiting.

“Ready? She asked. “We’ll go on three, okay?” I nodded and she began the count down.

“THREE!” She shouted and jumped off the cliff, still holding my hand. I tried my best to jump with her, but it was more of a stumble. I screamed all the way down, only stopping when my feet hit the water and my body was swallowed up. I quickly made my way back to the top. Liam scooped me up just before I surfaced. He held me tightly in his arms.

“AHHH! I told you that would be so much fun!” Ari brushed her hair out of her face.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” I said.

“Oh, come on! You loved it!” Riley quipped.

We swam from the morning until mid afternoon. The sun beat down on us as we huddled under the shade in the water.

“I’m starting to get wrinkly.” Ari whined.

“I’m hungry.” Riley added.

“When are you not hungry? I asked. Riley shot me a fake glare.

“We need to do this more often.” Ari said. “It’s just like old times.”

“I miss those times.” Cole added somberly.

“Yeah. Me too.” Liam spoke up. “We wouldn’t be back here if it wasn’t for you.” Liam pulled me close to him.

“Yeah Kyrie. You’re bringing us all together again.” Riley mocked romantically.

“Okay, okay.” I pulled away from Liam and floated on my back, looking up at the bright blue sky. This was perfection.

“But seriously, Ky, it’s been years since we’ve all been down here like this.” Riley was a little more serious this time.

“The gang’s all back together.” Cole lightly punched both Liam and Riley in the stomach. All three men were so ripped, they had muscles on their muscles. Liam was slightly more bulky than the thinner framed Cole and Riley, but all three were absolute masterpieces. I felt a tug on my toes and looked up to see Liam pulling me by my foot so that I was closer to him.

“How about a run?” He suggested.

“Yes!” Cole and Riley said simultaneously.

“I’ve got to get my clothes from the top.” Ari began to swim towards the water's edge. We all followed suit. I stepped out of the water and wrung the excess moisture from my hair. I was met with a low whistle.

“Dang girl. You look hot.” Liam wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you.” I looked up into his eyes. They were a beautiful deep brown and I found myself getting lost in them. Liam gently caressed my jaw line, bringing my face closer to his. I surrendered to him as he passionately kissed me. His lips moving from mine, down my neck. He hovered over the spot where I would be marked, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. He finally advanced from my neck, down to my shoulders and back up to my lips, locking us back into a deep kiss. His hands steadying me at my waist.

“Get a room you guys.” Cole joked. Liam released his hold on me and smiled sheepishly at Cole. We climbed up the mountain side and gathered our clothes. Liam placed mine in the bag he brought with him.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Um...what’s his name?”

“My wolf?”

“Yeah.”

“Colt.”

“Colt? Really?”

“Well, it’s Colter, but he prefers Colt.”

“You’re kidding?” I found it funny that his wolf’s name would be Colt. After all, I did come from a ranch and worked with horses. How ironic. I suppose you could say it was fate. Maybe the moon goddess did know what she was doing after all.

“What’s yours?”

“Natalie. But she goes by Nat.”

“You’re okay with this?”

“Yeah.” I looked up to see Cole shift. His wolf was a beautiful, solid black with bright green eyes. Riley shifted to a bright sandy blonde and Ari a platinum blonde, almost white wolf with striking blue eyes that were the same as Riley’s. Liam took off his boxers and stuffed them in his bag. He shifted to a monstrous dark gray wolf. He had streaks of silver running throughout, they glistened in the bright sunlight. His chocolate brown eyes flashed brightly at me. Colt laid down at my feet. I reached out and gently pet his head. He whimpered and inched closer to me.

“Turn around.” I said to everyone. They all turned around and I stripped out of my wet swimsuit. I stuffed my suit and clothes into Liam's bag and placed it on the ground.

“Ready for this Nat?”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been wanting this since he suggested it this morning! Let’s do this!” We quickly shifted and everyone turned around. My wolf was a deep brown, almost black. She had a large white stripe in between her ears and piercing green eyes. Colt licked his chops and let out a low gowl. Natalie whimpered and laid down at Cole’s paws. He sniffed her all over, and began to wag his tail. Nat returned the motions and soon the two were playfully frolicking through the field. Colt doubled back for the bag, grabbing it in his powerful jaws. He pounced on Nat, who playfully nipped at his feet, and they both took off in the direction of the pack. Cole, Riley and Ari were hot on their heels.