The Hidden Luna

Chapter Ten

Ally’s POV

The first thing I notice is that I’m walking barefoot and my feet are cold. The ground is soft and feels as though I’m walking through freshly cut grass. I’m surrounded by darkness. The trees are blocking out the sky so there is very little light around me. My heart starts to race as I feel like the darkness is swallowing me. I close my eyes briefly and take a few deep breaths.

When I open them again I notice there is light streaking through the trees ahead of me.. I carefully start walking towards it. The closer I get to the light, the more calm and serene I feel. My anxiety is replaced with a weird feeling of expectation. When I reached the edge of the forest, I was met with the sight of a beautiful lake. It was completely still and I could see the reflection of the moon on the water.

I didn’t know what I was doing there, nor did I care. I was enjoying the peaceful solitude. I sat down on a boulder near the lake and dipped my feet in the cool water.

“It really is beautiful here, isn’t it?” a voice said from behind me.

Although I was startled, I wasn’t afraid.

“It is. Where are we?” I asked.

“Nowhere special. Just a lake.”

I turned to look at who the melodic voice belonged to. Where I expected to see a woman, I was surprised to see a wolf. She was huge. Even larger than the wolf I saw in the woods. But unlike that wolf, I felt no fear. She was pure white with black paws which she laid her very large head on. We sat there for a few minutes just staring at each other.

“You’re beautiful.” I finally said.

She inched her way closer to me. When she was within touching distance she stilled. I took it as a sign that she would be ok to pet. Her fur was like the softest silk I ever felt. I ran my hand over her huge head and behind her ears and she actually purred at my touch.

“I’ve been waiting for us to meet. This is long overdue.”

“Why have you been waiting to meet me? And is your voice in my mind?” I asked.

“Yes, only you can hear me and for now only you can see me. I have been waiting to meet you because you are part of me and I’m a part of you.”

“Are you like my imaginary friend?” I laughed.

“For now, if that makes you comfortable we will go with that. In time, you will learn all about how special you are. I am just here to give you a warning.”

I stiffened. “Warning about what?”

“There are a lot of dangers ahead. It will be a confusing time for you and I wanted to assure you who you could trust. Sydney and Owen are true friends. They will never betray you. Trust and lean on them.”

“I just met Owen. How can I lean on someone I just met. What if he doesn’t want me to lean on him?”

“Trust me. Owen will do just about anything for you. Give it time and you will see what I see. Aside from being a hottie, you can give him your heart and he will protect it at all costs.”

I felt the urge to hug her. I wrapped my arms around her very large head and breathed in her scent. We sat there for a while and she didn’t seem bothered by my invasion of her space. A part of me was still shocked that her size didn’t scare the crap out of me.

“I don’t even know your name.” I said with my face still snuggled into her fur.

“It is Leah.” She said with a chuckle. “It is time you left this place. I can’t stay any longer and it will not be safe here. You really should go.”

“How do I go?”

She laughs again as she stands and stretches. “Just wake up silly girl.” She gave me what I could only call a sloppy kiss on the cheek and ran off into the forest. I watch her run off and then turn back to the lake. I don’t want to leave this peacefulness. I finally stand as I think about waking and leaving this place when I hear a low growl behind me.

I hear Leah’s voice in my head telling me to run! I take off in the direction away from the growl. I could hear the paws hitting the ground behind me as it got closer and closer to me. There was instant regret for not leaving when Leah told me to. Even though I knew this was just a dream, I had no desire to be ripped to shreds in my dream. Don’t they say that if you die in your dream, you die in real life? I certainly didn’t want to test the theory.

Of course in nightmare fashion, I tripped and fell tumbling right into a tree. I lay there disoriented and for a moment forgot about the wolf that had just been chasing me. I sat up and leaned against the tree. I looked around and didn’t see the wolf and thought that maybe my pathetic fall deterred him from trying to eat me. I stood up and tried to make as little noise as possible. I closed my eyes to try to force myself awake when I felt a sudden burning pain. I looked down and the wolf had clawed me across my stomach. My hands instinctively went to put pressure on my wounds while my legs gave out on me. The pain was excruciating.

When I looked up the wolf was staring right back at me. It huffed and made a sound that resembled a chuckle and nudged me harshly with its huge head. He nudged me again from the side as if trying to tell me to stand. I braced myself against the tree and wobbled as I stood back on my two feet. As I was turning to try and run again, I was knocked to the ground by another swipe of its claws on my back. This time I fell flat on my stomach and was in so much pain I couldn’t move if I wanted to. I could feel the blood seeping out of my back and stomach. I thought this was how I was going to die. I closed my eyes and tried to wake again. Begging the gods to let me live through this terrible nightmare. The wolf howled and placed his paw on my back pushing me into the ground. The next thing I know, I feel his jaws clamp down on my shoulder and feel the flesh being torn away as I scream bloody murder!

Owen’s POV

I woke up to the sound of Syd moving around in the kitchen. I slipped out of Ally’s bed and slid my jeans back on. I sat down on the stool at the counter just as Syd was pulling items out of the fridge. She pulled out chicken, a bowl of what looked like rice, vegetables and soy sauce. She stared at the ingredients for a few moments before I broke the silence.

“Are you trying to figure out what to make with those ingredients?”

“Yes, I’m not much of a cook. To be honest, Ally does most of the cooking. I just pay for takeout.” She laughed.

“Well from the looks of it, you have all the ingredients for stir fry. But by the look on your face I can tell you have never even attempted to make that. How about you cut vegetables and I will cook?”

“Sounds good to me.” She said as she threw the veggies in the sink to rinse. I took out a pan and was surprised to see that they had a wok. I pulled it out and placed it on the stove. After seasoning the chicken I placed it a pan to cook. With the chicken cooking and the vegetables chopped and ready, I took the opportunity to talk to Syd now that we were alone.

“Do you think she will accept me as her mate?”

She laughed. “I think she already has. You two looked like an old married couple going through the apartments. You didn’t even realize I didn’t go into the last three. Hahahaha.But I’m glad you went with the house. We can throw some great parties in that space. And before you even say anything, Yes we will be throwing parties. If you are goin to claim my best friend then you have to put up with me.”

I threw my hands up in surrender. “I’ve accepted you too. I look forward to it, if it makes her happy.”

“Good answer.” She said as she pulled out a bottle of wine. She took out three glasses and poured wine into two. She pushed the other towards me and we did a little cheers and drank enjoying the sound of the chicken sizzling on the stove. I turned to check on the chicken when a blood curdling scream rang through the dorm. I turned off the burner and ran into the bedroom where I found Ally screaming and fighting something in her sleep. I wrapped my arms around her and shook her gently.

“Ally! Wake up baby. Wake up!” I said while trying to hold back her flailing arms and trying to shake her awake. She stopped struggling so I released her arms. I turned her so that she was facing me and lifted her chin.

“Open those beautiful eyes for me Ally.”

She took a deep breath and a smile spread on her face. “Owen” She breathed out as she finally opened her eyes. I stood in shock as I was met with two golden eyes staring back at me.

Last edited on 2/28/22