Lunar Temptations

Ch 58

From what I could see, a grove stretched out in front of us. Its large trees shadowed us, but the sky peeking through created a bewildering view. We began to walk hand in hand into it. The road was left behind us, and Zayden motioned the guards to stop and wait there.

"While you were gone for years, I found a new spot," he revealed, and I hastily took a detailed view but found nothing like a spot there. I didn't ask, though, and waited for him to lead me there. At this point, I wanted to simply go with the flow, and the flow had taught me that this person with me was the only one I needed, wanted, and would ever have by my side.

We walked for a few more minutes in silence, holding hands, and it was enough for my chest to begin to feel lighter. Being in his presence, smelling his scent with nature surrounding us, was a therapeutic experience, and I wanted to hold onto every bit of it until it was all I felt. A clearing came into view, followed by a huge pond.

"Wow," the words left my mouth in awe.

The pond was crystal clear, and the fish could be seen swimming inside. Zayden walked me over to a boat by the side. It was narrow and elongated, and I quickly identified it as a canoe. I had sat in them once or twice before, but never in the past few years, so I was going to back out if he asked me to sit in it.

I paused, and he turned to me, "What's wrong?"

I bit my bottom lip nervously, "I haven't done this in a long time," I replied.

He gripped my hand tighter, but not tight enough to hurt me. "Are you afraid of drowning in a pond, Miss Dawson?" His lips began to lift at the corners in a smile.

I rolled my eyes, "No."

With that, I climbed into the boat, and when I sat down in it, he was already smiling. Of course, I wasn't afraid to drown in the pond, but there were fishes in there, and as much of an animal as I was, eating them or getting eaten by them wasn't my favourite thing to do. He pushed the boat into the pond and climbed in after me. I was reaching to grab the paddles when he beat me to it. He began to paddle, and the moving boat made me a little nervous, but I eased into it when my eyes took in the sight.

We were propelled towards the centre of the pond and were surrounded by trees. The trees were in the most lively shade of green and lit up the whole place, along with the transparent water. The fishes were small, and I couldn't help but smile, watching several of them swim around us.

"So, this is the spot," I said. A smile played on my lips.

"What do you say?" He said, diverting his attention from the water and back to me. I would end up spending my whole life with him, and he would still manage to make me tingly with his look. He never stared at me distracted or in thought. It would always be an attentive one, where he would see me and me alone.

"I say it's better than our old hut by the stream," I smiled, and his face eased watching me. "I don't think so." He shook his head, denying.

"Why? We had a stream there, it's a freaking pond here," I pointed towards the boat, "A boat too."

"We had memories by that stream," he said, taking me by surprise. I blinked at him, my smile faltering. Memories from that hut and everything started resurfacing. We, for sure, had fun memories at that spot, and I dumped everything for a boy - the boy who was betraying me, the boy whom Zayden had warned me about, and I didn't listen, the boy he killed just to protect me.

"You were right about him," I admitted lowly, my eyes falling and moving to the water so he could not see the tears in them.

He didn't say anything, and it was my cue to continue as he listened.

"I would have been as good as dead if it weren't for you," my eyes were watering, and my vision blurred as a tornado of emotion began to envelop me. "All this time, I thought you were the one who had betrayed me when you're the very reason I am alive now." My voice was beginning to waver, but I didn't stop.

"No- it's not your fault," he said, and in the calmness, his voice sounded intense. "I should have told you everything, and I regretted it every day after you left." I looked at him through my blurred vision, and I didn't need to see his eyes to know that he was saying the truth. I couldn't believe that I had left for years, thinking I was depriving myself of my mate without knowing that it was him and that I was destined to come back to him. He was destined to be mine, and nothing could have changed that, not even the misunderstanding that he had killed my "innocent" boyfriend.

"I never gave you a chance to explain. I had run away before I could hear your name again," I said, a tear or two falling from my eyes, but I was too consumed by the emotions to count them. He put the paddle down and grabbed both my hands into his, pulling me closer to him. "You did give me a chance when you came back and accepted me and my pack, when you came back to fulfil your duties, or when you didn't pull back while I slipped a ring on your finger knowing well that you hated me. Hell, you gave me a chance even when you went to our old hut, injured, not knowing if you would be rescued or end up dying there," he finished, and I was a crying mess by the end of it. I let his words sink in and held his hands tighter.

"I am sorry, Zayd," I muttered, not believing my own words.

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