Page 149 of Crystal Luna
“I will,” she repeated and leaned into him.
“May I kiss you goodbye?” Asher spoke timidly, as if she’d say no—but she could feel that he would accept it if she did.
In place of an answer, Velora tilted her head and brought Asher’s face to hers by a hand on the back of his neck. Their lips brushed softly, Asher clearly being scared to take things too far.
With a sly smile she giggled and looked up at him. “Is that what you call a goodbye kiss?”
His cheeks flushed a rosy pink. “I didn’t want to…”
“All of a sudden you’re shy, huh?” she teased. Though she stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his. It was a quick kiss, but effective in making his heart skip a beat. “Don’t fight while I’m gone. Not even with Ely, the pack’s gossip will pick up on it.”
With that, she turned and left, leaving her speechless alpha behind.
Velora reached out for Isaiah, following the bond to the gym. As she skirted the edges of the village, Ely emerged from the woods—and he looked like shit. For a second, he seemed as if he wanted to walk towards her. But he quickly froze and bowed his head in submission until she passed him.
She found Isaiah feverishly lifting weights, his body covered in a light sheen of sweat. The minute he laid eyes on her, the weights hit the floor with a clang that echoed through the room. It wasn’t lost on her that the mirror had been repaired since her battle with Asher.
Isaiah approached, concern filling his eyes as he noticed the bags she carried.
“I need space,” she explained. “I have enough food for a few days—Asher made sure of that. And I’ve already promised I’ll come back.”
“Where are you going? I can have Axel go with you.”
“One of the cabins to the north. I thought rogues might not travel that far away from Swiftport and I’ll stay inside the borders.”
Isaiah’s restraint was visible as he fought the urge to reach out and touch her.
“I just need a little time,” she repeated before standing on her tiptoes and pulling him into a short kiss—or so she thought. The moment their lips touched, he wrapped one arm around her waist to hold her close. The other went to her neck, angling her head to allow him to deepen the kiss.
Breathless, he broke the kiss and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”
Velora shrugged, unable to fight the smile spreading over her lips. “Don’t fight—not even with Ely.”
“I can’t promise that.”
“Sometimes you have to separate business from your personal life—it’s what’s best for the pack. You’ve been friends your whole lives—and he’s your beta now. Gossip will travel fast, especially if he doesn’t clean himself up.”
“He talked to you?” he growled, his hands turning into fists.
“No. I saw him when I was walking over here, and you’ve got work to do. You don’t have to like it, but you have to keep things civil.”
Velora spun on her heel and left, leaving Isaiah alone with his anger.
She shifted just past the treeline and made her way to the cabin as her wolf. It was freeing to be able to run and leave all her responsibilities behind. She’d found her calling in being a warrior. It led her on the path of discovering her true self. Luna, on the other hand, felt like a foreign title to her—something she didn’t necessarily want.
Her large paws sank into the ground as she charged towards the cabin. She’d picked one that she was sure wasn’t in use, looking forward to being in nature by herself.
It only took her a few hours to arrive in her wolf form. There was nothing to restrain their land, so the territory spread wide to the north. No human settlements or other wolves had claimed the land after the Crystal Wolves had taken it for themselves. The majority of the pack stayed south to be closer to their resources, but the north stayed nothing but wilderness.
Velora hadn’t had the chance to explore it much as a child. Her mother was too sick and her father was often needed closer to home. Her wolf enjoyed the isolation; being able to roam freely without worrying about borders or being seen by humans.
She dropped her belongings off at the cabin, then went right back out to explore. Just as the sun cast a pink hue over the horizon, Velora settled on a moss-covered spot next to the cabin. It had been fun but she was exhausted. Where the forest wasn’t as dense, she’d found a few ridges that spanned deep within the surface of the earth. She itched to explore them again once the sun rose. What were gaps in the earth’s surface even called? Faults?
She chuckled to herself, knowing that if she asked the twins they’d rush out to buy her a book on geography. They were so eager to make her comfortable that they’d buy her the world if they could. She had a feeling they’d already ordered hiking supplies so they could join her more often.
Velora’s heart stuttered when she realised she was warming up to them—much faster than she cared to. They truly had been nothing but sweet to her and it was breaking down the walls she’d worked so hard to build. Being so close to them and enjoying their presence was probably one of her greatest weaknesses in her fight against them.
She sighed, feeling Asher push at her mind, wanting to know that she was okay. The simple feeling of her mind seemed to assuage him, and he pulled back without a word. Still as wolf, she dozed off to the sight of the moon shining down on her.