Luna of the Golden Moon

The Cabin in the Woods

Caleb's Alpha wolf was sitting in the distance, the moonlight glimmering onto its dark pelt. He was the biggest one, making the Beta wolves look like they weren’t full-grown compared to him.

“Don’t shift yet.” He didn’t say more when I was feeling the sparks of golden and green coming up, drawn out by seeing my male in his wolf shape. He was majestic in the dull moonlight, showing me its way to him, my mate.

His wolf's eyes glowed yellow, making me whimper again, longing for him and starting to shake from wanting to shift when I needed his closeness, touch, or be beside him, anything!

“Alpha, please…. I’m sorry….” I was trying to link him when he stopped me with a growl that made me bow down, not because I wanted to, but more that he was right to be angry when I had said no before the whole pack, which was wrong of me. I didn’t want to say no to him, but I was furious, and he had to understand that??

The giant wolf didn’t answer; he just growled more when he suddenly took off. I followed, not even asking him why. He was my mate, and I wouldn’t go against him, no matter what happened.

Caleb's wolf stopped, having turned around every two minutes to see if I was keeping up with my human form, going slower since I couldn’t really see when I wasn’t shifted in the twilight.

“Luna, shift.” Caleb's dark voice filled my head, making me feel better. I heard he didn’t sound as angry as he did ten minutes ago when we were still surrounded by Betas, listening to anything they might have caught between us.

My muffled pain made him take a step towards me like he couldn’t stand seeing me in pain, even if it just was a part of shifting to the wolf; it still hurt and always would if what Caleb had told me was true.

I wanted him to do something more than stare at me, the moonlight making me even whiter in the dark woods surrounding us; this was the real me, the wolf that was his mate, Luna.

“Let’s go….” My mate huffed when I took the first steps. I came to his side and stroked against him, making small whining noises. I wanted him to understand that I loved him no matter what happened and that I was his mate no matter what I thought about traditions.

The Alpha wolf started running when I followed; keeping up a fast pace was hard, but at least I could finally see in the setting sun. Every creek and noise filled my ears, turning the slightest, trying to make sense of what was happening around me.

“Stop.” He was commanding me when I came into a trot behind him, seeing a deer in the distance; they looked delicious.

“Stay here.” He didn’t say more when I felt he was still angry, and I sat down, whining; this was bad. He didn’t say more than two words to me, and now he left me in the dark woods to hunt down a deer that wasn’t aware of us since Caleb was a hunter and I was just a city girl, a Delta.

“Alpha, I’m sorry….” I repeated the words, wanting a better answer than growling, only to be met with a heavy sigh, like he knew I was. However, he still couldn’t let it go, me making a fool out of him before the whole pack, the same one he one day would take control over.

He came back from nowhere, almost scaring me when I did a small yap, seeing his big shadow over me; how could he be so silent since he was a freaking mountain??

“Practice, now let’s go. It’s getting late, and I want to get to the cabin before night….” He didn’t go as fast this time as we wandered over the darkening landscape. Dusk was upon us, and I was so happy we would be somewhere other than that stupid wooden palace.

“That stupid wooden palace is my home….” Caleb's voice was heavier when I wanted to take back whatever I felt. Still, I was not too fond of that place, or at least I wouldn’t say I liked how things worked; it was not what I thought would happen when I felt the matebond kick in between us.

“But it's not mine….” I said it back cautiously; that mansion only had horrors inside, including me being forced to stay against my will when both he and the main head knew I wanted to see my parents!

Caleb's wolf stopped, and to my shock, he shifted back fast and stood naked in the middle of the forest, having his back on me before he turned around slowly, showing off just how strong his body was; that was never going to make me not want him, just raw power that was coming out from every muscle being tense from his toned sixpack and powerful legs, arms, and shoulders that was crowned by a strained jaw and deep yellow eyes.

“You want to stop being my mate, is that it, Luna?!” He sounded so dangerous and grave that I couldn’t help but whine, still in my wolf, prancing like he had said something I didn’t want to hear.

No, that is not what I wanted!? I shifted back as well, trying to win more time to answer that question, when Caleb's yellow eyes stared at me, observing how long it took me to do the same thing he could do in seconds.

“You just say the word, and I will tear that mark away from your neck, and you will be free of me, of the wooden palace and anything else that comes with it.” My hand instantly covered the mark on my neck by his grave words. Was he serious now?! Would he take that from me just because he didn’t like how I talked to him? I made my own choices. I barely had any, just like my uncle, the head Alpha, had told him before we left!

“You always have a choice, Emilia, and I am not going to be blamed anymore that you don’t like the ways of our kind; this is what we do! We are not humans, but you don’t understand that since you didn’t grow up along the pack!” Caleb's dark voice even snarled at me when I still held my hand over my neck, staring at him wide-eyed for being angry; that hurt me more than anything.

“No…no, I guess I didn’t, mate….” I was sniffling it when he looked like he was close to killing someone, me, or anyone coming along.

I sat down into the softness of the wet ground, still naked, having my hand stuck to the place on my neck where he had marked me, making me grounded when I was still trying to catch my breath from feeling his aggression.

“Your hurt is my hurt, Luna. When are you going to understand that?” He sounded softer when I made another sniffling sound, still not letting go of my neck. I didn’t want him to take my mark, and I had fought for it. It was mine to keep, no matter what he was telling me.

“Emilia, please… listen...” He was coming down towards me, like he still was his wolf, moving slowly on all fours, almost looking like he wanted to submit before me, but that was stupid. He never would since he was an Alpha, and they didn’t submit to anyone.

“I would, for you, submit….” He sounded more amused than hurt when I looked up, resting my head on my knees, feeling the burning tears coming down on my neck where I still was clamping my hand, afraid that he would make his threat real.

I flinched when he was close enough to take my hand away, revealing the big bitemark across my neck and showing everyone that I belonged to him and nobody else.

I knew he would, but I didn’t understand why. I could feel he wasn’t lying to me. He would do that against anyone but not me, his mate.

I whimpered more, feeling his hand on my neck, following the teeth marks and his fingers giving me sparks that made me shiver. I wasn’t even cold, not when he was right before me, looking at me with dark charcoal with sparks of yellow. He, indeed, was magnificent.

“You are beautiful, Mila, more beautiful than any other girl I have ever seen, and I love you with all my heart, never doubt that….” He whispered it to my shivers, wanting to kiss him for even being close, earning a smile that was playful more than angry now when our heads were connected, feeling the soft beating of our bond pushing us together.

“It’s the heat…. It makes you want me…. Breed with me….” Caleb did a genuine snicker now when I didn’t care, so what if it was? I was his mate, and I loved him; he belonged with me, and… we would never part.

“Oh, that is definitely the heat talking….” He was still whispering it when I was blushing; that still felt strange, that he knew just how much I wanted him to be inside of me, make me feel good, and never stop, like a crazy s*x maniac…. My head bowed down from the shame; everyone could see it, not just him, feel it.

“That’s okay. It’s natural for you to be like this; it's your part, and by now, you are probably already pregnant, Luna….” He was grinning when I looked at him. I was shocked. Could it really happen so fast?!

I didn’t know, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be that, feeling more panic in my chest, I had just finished school this summer, and now I was going to have a real baby, a real one…. Oh, the moon goddess… I was gulping when Caleb dropped his own smile, feeling my insecurity about us having a pup so soon. What would happen then? I was to have a baby, and then that’s all I ever would be? A mother?

“It’s your responsibility, Luna.” Caleb sounded angry again when he let me go as if he couldn’t believe I was still struggling against him and everything he knew. I bet he would have been happy with his chosen mate.

“Get up. We have to get to the cabin.” He was up again when I nodded, still unsure what to say. This was getting worse with every moment; maybe I wasn’t made to be the Luna of a great pack, no matter my mates' opinions on the topic.

Caleb didn’t shift this time. I was still sniffling when I followed him deeper into the woods, knowing that he was still thinking about how he would make me understand my place in the world he was brought up in, and I wasn’t.

It was a smaller cabin, having a lake just a few hundred yards below it when I was still sniffling, feeling the anger that was radiating from my naked mate, walking with great strides like he wanted to put his rage somewhere that wasn’t on me when I stopped and stared at it.

This place looked nothing like the wooden palace; it was old and seemed to have been taken care of for a long time. Someone loved this place, even if it was old and weathered.

“It’s my mother's cabin.” Caleb stopped in the pitch-black darkness surrounding us, only hearing the tiny creatures and the cabin creaking. He sounded proud and nostalgic, telling me that when I was still looking at it, thankful that we were talking about something other than me having a baby, I still wasn’t sure what to feel about that now that it was real; that was scaring me more than I wanted to admit.

“It’s beautiful...” I was coming closer, not caring that he had turned to observe me again. Let him. It was fascinating to see this old place compared to the wooden palace, which was modern and more futuristic as if someone had made sure to destroy traces of some parts of the mansion.

“Yes, it's where my mother used to take me when she wanted me to get away from everything, the responsibility and me being the heir of the pack….” He stopped having his arms crossed and looking tense as if he didn’t like to think about that time in his life, even if he sounded happy talking about it.

“She sounded like a great mother….” I whispered it, trying not to get him angry again since it burned inside my chest whenever he had a harsher voice against me. I was still not used to feeling everything inside him. It was a mess, to be honest. Anger and love are all mixed up for me and do not make any sense.

“She was, and so will you be.” Caleb's voice was stern again when I did a sigh; I wasn’t so sure about that part. My mother had me when she was older, even if it was rare; it happened since she didn’t meet her mate, my father, until she was almost forty.

“Your mother is a liar and a hyena more than a wolf.” I wanted to cry hearing his still harsh words; how would he know that?! He didn’t know me and certainly didn’t know my parents!? I was staring at the lake, wanting to escape, when he followed my eyes. I'm unsure why I was staring at it, but I missed that part of my life.

“Your father is a tyrant and a cold-hearted bastard who would rather let your real mate die and admit my true form than lose his face.” I said it aloud, making him react to my strong voice since I had been linking him all the way, even if he was talking loudly.

“What!?” I didn’t flinch hearing his growl this time, showing me his teeth, feeling the packbond that was pushing him for talking s**t about the head Alpha; to my calm face, he was, and there was no doubt that the golden moons lineage was running just as strong in him as it was in my mother and me.

“You are not a golden moon….” Calebs had dropped his aggression since he knew I was right. Thank the goddess; he was his father's son, and I wasn't in the golden moon pack.

“I don’t want to talk about our parents anymore… not when what I wanted was for us to get here and just … be us….” I raised my eyes upon hearing that. What did the almighty Alpha Caleb want to be, humans? That seemed too good to be true.

He wasn’t answering that when he just came closer, the both of us still naked when I gulped seeing his dark eyes on me, not a hint of yellow anywhere like he was trying to show me that he was serious with his words.

“So, tell me then, who are you out here, Alpha?” I was still unsure what to feel about him, saying all those awful things to my face and expecting me to forgive him like he hadn’t hurt me by telling me he could take my mark when he knew I loved him.

“Caleb.” His handsome face had a slight smile. He stopped just before me. I wasn’t cold; I was a wolf, right? I couldn't feel the damp ground underneath my soles when he was before me, looking down on my face with great love in his charcoal eyes.

“Please, Mila, I don’t want to fight over something I can’t control...” He begged me when a smile started to form on my face. Did he call me Mila? I had never had a nickname; my mother disapproved of such nonsense.

“I don’t care what your mother approves of or not. You are mine, and I want to call you something that is only mine and nobody else….” He sounded more longing when I nodded, staring back at his handsome face. Yes, I wanted that too, something that was just ours.

“Okay… let’s just be humans… Cay…” I smiled this time when he heard me call him that. I'm not used to someone calling him anything but Caleb, and I'm the same person.

“I like that and… about us knowing each other…. We will get to that, and you will see that I’m not just the Alpha heir of the golden moon, even if that’s what you've been getting from me….” He sounded guilty when I was leaning against his hard chest now, surrendering to his plea for us to let go of everything else; that sounded nice. I needed a break from being Luna, and that wasn’t even my accurate title.

“It will be soon enough, but let's go. I want to show you the inside of this place….” Caleb was holding me close when I felt better hearing that. He tried to show me he could be something other than tradition, and I needed that more than ever.

“Wait…” he chuckled to my surprised face, feeling his arms taking hold of me, lifting me up like a bride, going over the threshold to the small place hidden away from everyone, including the pack.

“Oh, goddess…” I was staring in awe at the simple place. Maybe it didn’t look like much to someone who wasn’t me, but I didn’t need more than this small place and my mate holding me in his strong arms, enjoying the company of each other’s touch.

“Yes, it's not much, but… I like it here…” Caleb was putting me down carefully, still naked, when he went into one of the small rooms, fetching a blanket that he wrapped around my body to my thankful smile; it was nice even if I wasn’t cold, not when he was close. Every second was hard not to kiss him.

“I love it….” I was still standing up with the blanket around me, trying not to stare at him being hunched over by the fireplace, showing me just how much of an attractive man he was. No matter what he did, I would always stare at him.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Caleb had turned to face me, and the fire started making me calmer than I had felt for a long time, maybe even before I came to the wedding to become his mate.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that… I want you to be happy, Mila, even if I can't control everything….” He stopped when I frowned; I didn’t want to discuss that anymore. I just wanted to get curled up and snuggle inside the blanket, sitting in an old armchair when he started the fire.

“I’m going to get some clothes, and then… we can talk….” He sounded disappointed and happy at the same time. I bet he wanted to do something else, seeing that I could feel the heat radiating from me, making me squeeze my thighs not to go crazy when it was coming in waves.

I sighed happily, leaning back; we were far from the wooden palace, sitting in the middle of the forest. He nodded his head against a pile of clothes lying on the other armchair that he had brought out for me.

I stood up and pulled off the blanket before him. His desire awoke at once from the rapid turn of my naked body as I laughed and pulled on the pair of jeans that were tight on me. I had to roll the legs up, and the T-shirt was too small.

I already knew he was staring at my breasts in the blue shirt, smelling faintly of woman, but no one I recognized. Caleb stared at me as if he had never seen me naked several times.

“I know… but you look incredibly sexy right now...” His voice was strained as I shook my head. He was crazy sitting there and drooling over me when everything was too snug and too long on me; whoever wore this before me must have been slimmer and taller than me, without a doubt.

“It was my mother's, but I don’t remember that t-shirt ever looking as good on her as it does on you.” Caleb raised his eyebrows. Right now, he looked like his age, an excited young guy with only one thing on his mind and not the rest of the world on his shoulders.

“My age? What about it?” His face became brooding again as if he didn’t know what I was feeling and could hear me before I knew it myself.

“You look… different here like you're twenty years old and not a hundred….” I looked amused at how he made a grimace that I had called him old, but that is how he felt to me, like he was a hundred years old; with every warning and reprimand, he could never stop trying to lecture me, he was my mate, not my father.

“I don’t lecture you….” he stopped at the end of the sentence when I looked at him from the other armchair. My legs crossed, and my eyebrows raised by his blatant lie.

“Okay… so I lecture you too much… but you have so much you don’t know; I'm just trying to help you….” he sighed again when he realized how hard he pushed me these two days. I had no time to prepare, and then I was the Luna, just like that.

I dropped down more in the armchair and got annoyed, I didn’t even know why, but I was tired of getting scolded, and to hear about my role, I already knew where my place was with him.

“It's not your fault… you have been so good, and I am so happy that you are mine...” he said warmly again when I looked up at him and smiled triumphantly back, I didn’t want to be angry, but I did not want to be quiet either.

“Can you, like, just chill sometimes…” I said the words relaxed; I couldn’t bear that it was so intense between us all the time. I could learn things myself, but I didn’t want to hear anything more about him dying for the pack or me having his heir; it was too much for me to handle, especially after almost being killed by his former mate.

He just stared at me, and I sighed; when ordinary couples met, they went out and did things, dated, and had s*x without it, which would lead to the girl getting pregnant as quickly as possible. He was wrong if he didn’t know that I understood what he was doing at this point.

“I have never hidden what I wanted, Mila…” he looked at me, reserved when I sighed. I hadn’t said no because my instincts screamed for it, but part of me knew it was too early for us; we barely knew each other.

“Why can’t you wait?” I knew I wanted his children; there was no doubt about it, but did it have to happen so fast? I hardly knew how to take care of myself, and he wanted us to have children so quickly because it was the way to secure his future. Still, I would have to give up a big part of my life and take care of everything.

“So, no pups… yet?” He looked at me a little disappointed when I sighed; if I was pregnant already, I would accept it… but if not… I wanted to wait, at least for some years, to get to know each other first, not just as Alpha and Luna but as Caleb and Emilia.

“What, like real humans? Boyfriend and girlfriend? I thought you were joking when you said that….” He chuckled scornfully and amused as I nodded; why not? We had all our lives to be everything else.

Why couldn’t we start like that? Boyfriend and girlfriend? I had my hands in my lap and looked at him, becoming stiffer; he wanted to make me happy. Still, everything I was telling him was going against his wishes, how he ticked, and I knew that, but still, it wasn’t the strangest request to ask of the guy you loved.

After a few minutes, “Okay. Why not?” he answered out loud, and I almost didn’t believe he had agreed. That was not his reality; it went against his upbringing, his way of looking at the world, and everything he knew.

“I would do anything for you unless you haven’t got that yet, Mila.” His voice was provocative and warm, and I smiled stupidly at his way of saying my name here, even if it was different.

“What happens now?” I sighed. I knew I had wanted to let go of everything with Alpha-Luna for the moment, but I was worried for him and what this would do when the pack saw him and us.

He moved in the chair, leaning back more, with me following his moves. He was slouching and tired, which looked funny, as did his otherwise proud attitude.

“I don’t know… maybe I don’t care?” he watched me playfully. I didn’t see any of the serious Alpha who scolded me and told me to control my emotions, only Caleb almost lying down on the armchair with a mischievous smile on his handsome face.

“Maybe we're just letting go of everything? Escape and live like a small pack somewhere, stay here until we are old and die?” I slapped my hand over my mouth and giggled as if that would ever happen! He would not give up his position, and I knew it as well as he did when we both laughed at the thought, even if it was tempting to be here alone in a cabin.

“Caleb…” I was still laughing when he shrugged; he was tempted, and I felt it. I sighed heavily; one could dream, I guess.

“I can’t. Runaway.” I looked up at him now, where he was sitting with his back straight suddenly, and I nodded. I knew and hated that we couldn't, but I felt him, all feelings, of being unable to do it, but I did not know why?

"My father. You've seen him; he wants to ensure the pack stays the way it is, and... Emilia, there is a reason my mother used to take me here; it's not easy being head Alpha Terrence's son and heir..." He stopped when I lost whatever playfulness that had been between us. He could say that again; that man was a walking stone with a missing heart.

Caleb didn't answer me when I got closer, wanting to comfort him; looking so sad in the light of the fire became more apparent from the darkness around us, which remained only when the last rays of light were gone outside. It was beautiful.