Luna Kiara

Question

Oswald

When she bolted away from me, my heart crushed. She didn't want me. My own mate didn't want me. My worst fears were becoming a reality. My father's curse was starting to manifest itself.

"Follow her!" Through our link, Aztec exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Follow her, don't be stupid!" he advised, groaning. "We can't afford to lose her!"

I moaned back, "But she doesn't want to be with us."

When I responded, I could almost feel Aztec grimace.

"Are you stupid or what? This has nothing to do with you. It all revolves around her. She's on her own and at risk of being hurt again. Do you really want that?"

He was right. She could get hurt or lost. The forest was teeming with rogues and wild creatures. She won't be able to fight them off because she is a human. In addition to the animals, human gangs would occasionally penetrate the forest. We don't typically bother them, but the goons who attacked my mate deserved to be punished.

That is something I would never want her to go through again. Though she didn't want to be with me, I would protect her. I knew what she was to me, even if she didn't realise what we were.

That was enough for me to safeguard her and stand by her side.

I quickly scented the air and followed her fragrance. Her calming lavender scent drew me away from the creek and into an area where the trees were denser.

An aroma I despised assaulted my nostrils as I dashed through the undergrowth.

Cats.

I came to a halt and inhaled deeply, trying to find out if it was a werecat or not.

"Oswald?"

I could hear her pleasant voice, but it was a little distant. She was close enough for me to hear her, but not close enough for her to hear me with her human ears.

"Don't just stand there, hurry!" Aztec insisted.

I raced up to her.

"Oswald!"

She yelled again, and a threatening growl followed, much to my dismay. My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my rib cage. As I drew closer, I saw it wasn't a mystical creature, but simply another wild animal. There was a tiny difference in the odours of the two of them.

It wasn't a rogue wolf or a werecat, which reassured me. Without shifting, I wouldn't be able to battle them effectively.

I finally found her. She was leaning against a great oak tree, her face flushed with terror. I noticed a lioness hiding in the woods, ready to pounce on her, out of the corner of my eye.

I dashed over to her. When she finally saw me, her eyes widened.

She whimpered and raced towards me.

"Oswald..." she wheezed.

I wanted to scoop her up and take her away from danger, but I knew what was about to happen. The cat was poised to attack on its victim, and if we fled, it would consider it a fun chase. Before murdering its prey, the wild cat would like to play with it. I couldn't let that happen. In my human form, I may not be able to outrun a cat, but I can certainly kill it.

I shoved her to the side when she ran in to my arms, just in time to meet the lioness, who snarled as it leapt into the air.

I focused my sight on its movements and prepared to claw at her throat, using my predator instincts. My claws were outstretched, and I hoped my mate didn't notice them.

I clenched my teeth and snatched its throat, ensuring that my claws entered her flesh. Thick blood oozed from her throat. The wild cat thrashed and moaned in pain, but I summoned the strength of my wolf. My muscles swelled up. Despite this, I refrained from shifting to Aztec. Unless it was absolutely essential, I didn't want to change in front of my mate. She wasn't willing to give 'us' a chance, and I knew she'd be terrified if she saw me transform.

Besides, I could easily handle a typical wild cat. The cat was limp in no time. I tossed her body to the side and waited to see if she could get back up and attack.

When she didn't, I looked over at my mate, who was looking at me in disbelief. She was laying on the ground, her body pushed up on her elbow, her eyes and mouth open, as though terrified of me. She may have fallen down as a result of my hasty thrust to the side.

Slowly, I relaxed and waited for my erratic breathing to settle down. She leapt to her feet. I could see she was worried because of her expression.

"She is a human. So, what do you expect? In front of her, you just slaughtered a lioness," Aztec murmured in my head.

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" I responded.

She brushed the dirt from her clothes and looked at the still body of the wild cat before turning to face me. She was, without a doubt, taken aback.

"H…how… How did you pull that off?" she let out a gasp.

My lips were slightly parted. I didn't know what I was going to say to her.

I looked down at my hand that was coated in the cat's blood. As soon as I saw the lioness wasn't going to attack us again, I retracted my claws. Hopefully, she didn't notice it.

"Uh…" I couldn't come up with an adequate explanation.

"Tell her you're from another planet," Aztec said.

"I can't tell her that!"

"Why not? You don't want to tell her what she is to us anyway," his statement made me mentally groan.

Aztec had been pressuring me to tell her everything since the night we rescued her from the goons. But I didn't think I would be able to do it just yet. I thought we should take some time for us to get to know each other.

"She is a human! We can't suddenly become possessive and territorial. That will be creepy!" I protested.

"Oswald?"

My mate's melodious voice interrupted the internal dialogue with my wolf.

"Yeah... are you all right?" I inquired, hoping she wouldn't inquire about how I killed the werecat.

"I suppose," she admitted. "You've come through for me yet again. Thank you very much."

My lips twitched, forming a smile.

I found myself swearing, "I'll always be there for you."

I just couldn't help myself from saying. Maybe it was too soon, but I was overjoyed that she wasn't afraid of me like I had assumed. She spoke to me. She even expressed gratitude to me for rescuing her.

Nonetheless, I meant every word I said. I would give my life to protect her.

As she averted her gaze, her cheeks flushed. She was adorably adorable. With golden skin and dark brown hair, I thought she looked like a demi-goddess.

Aztec chimed in, "I wouldn't mind holding those locks in my hand when we pound into her like there's no tomorrow."

My eyes felt like they were going to pop out.

"Aztec, what the heck? Not now!"

"What? She is our soulmate. The one who was meant for us. What else do you think I'll say about her?"

I sighed. What would I do with my crazed wolf?

"That's... nice," she murmured, her gaze falling on my hands.

"I… that.. how?" she glanced at the cat that was now bleeding out.

I sighed.

"I guess, instincts?" I mumbled, earning a groan from Aztec.

"This needs to be washed away. I'm going to the creek to cool off. Will you join me? The jungle is a dangerous environment," I quickly added, averting the topic.

She began to walk alongside me, nodding her head. I sneaked looks at her as we walked towards the ocean, and my heart fluttered with each one.

She was breathtakingly lovely. It's just right. I couldn't help but admire her glowing golden skin.

When I remembered what Gail called me, I swallowed hard.

"You have the colour of charcoal on your skin! I feel sorry for your mate! She will have to live with this... black thing! I'm sure she will reject you!"

My heart began to beat faster. Maybe she isn't rejecting me because she didn't have a clue.

"She isn't going to turn us down. She's far too nice. She's just a little apprehensive," Aztec objected.

"But it is the truth. She is wonderful. In fact, she is perfect. Don't you think she deserves better?"

"Will you stop devaluing yourself? Yes, our mate is deserving of the best. And if she's destined for us, it's only because she's supposed to be ours. We are just as deserving of her as she is of us. What do you know about her, anyway? You didn't know her name since she didn't tell you. I'm sure she's hesitant to open up to us because of her experience with those goons. What exactly did they do to her is unknown," he stated

He had a valid point. My hands clenched. What if she was r***d? I didn't like the notion I came up with. My veins boiled with rage, but I managed to keep it under control. I cast a sidelong glance at her. Her bruises on her arms and legs were no longer visible. It must have been painful, but she withstood it. What I knew was that she was courageous. Despite the fact that she had been through hell, she was looking forward to the future.

I let out a sigh.

"But… I'm not worth anything. Now I'm a nobody. What exactly do I have to offer her?"

"That dangling third leg between your legs..."

"Shut up, Aztec," I rolled my eyes and threw him to the back of my head.

We didnt exchange any words the entire time. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts. Soon, we arrived at the creek. She sat down on a large boulder while I washed the blood off my hands.

I continued thinking about what Aztec had said while I did so. It was true that I had no knowledge of her. She was now attempting to go back to the human city. Then, I would be left with nothing except memories that I would want to cherish for the rest of my life. However, I couldn't let her go without her telling me her name at the very least.

"You haven't told me your name yet," I said, cutting the silence between us.

"What am I going to get if I tell you?"

Her question caught me off guard, but Aztec was haste to exclaim in my thoughts.

"A kiss!"

I cleared my throat, grateful that he didn't battle me for control.

"Anything you want to ask me," I said.

She gave me a sidelong glance.

"Anything?" she inquired.

"Yes."

She let out a sigh.

"Kiara. Kiara is my name."

My face broke into an involuntary smile. In my thoughts, Aztec howled in excitement. Kiara. What a lovely name.

"Luna Kiara, my partner!"

Aztec exclaimed, making me chuckle inwardly. Luna. Yes, she was supposed to be my luna. I felt awful that we didn't have a pack to give her what she deserved. In fact, I didn't have anything to give her.

I smiled, "That's a lovely name."

"It's my turn now. Why are you living alone in the woods?"

I ran my tongue over my lips. I couldn't inform her that I was kicked out of my pack. She had no idea who we were.

I cried out to my wolf, "Help me, man."

"Oh, my goodness! Don't you have a knack for getting us into crisis? Why do I have to bail us out every time we get into trouble?"

Groaning irritably, "Come on, now! Please help me," I pleaded.

He urged, "Just tell her the truth. There must be a reason she is hitched to a werewolf."

I stood up after taking a deep breath. I had finished washing the blood from my hands.

"Well? You said I could ask you anything, so I did," she shrugged her shoulders.

I mustered a smile and turned around to face her.

Could she really handle the truth?