His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 96: My Comforter. My Protector

They cannot control me. I cannot control him.

My wolf has become feral, trembling with raw, violent intent.

But she... she reduces him to submission, collapsing to the ground, whining, and desperate for her safety. My body quakes with unrestrained rage and emotion. How does this tiny, fragile figure command such dominance over us?

Yet, she cannot be our mate. Her wolf does not answer the call of mine.

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A comforting warmth wraps around me—not feverish or stifling, but a soothing, gentle heat that coaxes my body to relax. Toes curl instinctively, seeking more of it. The steady rise and fall of the soft, furred presence draw me closer, arms tightening of their own accord. A low, rumbling vibration echoes through me, pleased by my actions. I hum in response, content and blissful.

Any worries and concerns that had kept my nights fitful and restless melted away. It was like a cloud surrounded me, comforting me and acting as my protector from the rest of the world, keeping me away from any harm. I sighed and snuggled closer, turning into the softness, hiding my face from the light, trying to tug me out of this restful sleep.

The smell of pine and cloves made me sigh again, enjoying the scent, not wishing to piece together what the scent meant. "Is this a dream?" I mumble into the fur.

The responding vibration almost made me sink under again, but a light nudge to the top of my head made my chin tilt back. My responding groan to the light piercing my eyes also made me aware of the warm air now breathing across my face, down my neck and back.

Huh? Disorientated and confused, I finally forcibly opened my eyes to discover myself staring back at a long snout, sharp teeth and vivid, green eyes. An enormous black wolf was above me.

"What..." I croaked and paused. My throat was so dry, but I didn’t dare look away from this wolf staring down at me.

However, that black wolf moved slightly, its head turning away and returning to look down at me, holding a jug of water.

"Um..."

The wolf shook the jug lightly, urging me to take it. I reached for it, but the wolf pulled it back and shook its head. How do I understand this? "You... Want to..." No, really?

I reach again, steadying the jug from moving from side to side and tip my head back, mouth parting, watching the wolf like I’d really lost the plot as it tipped the jug down and refreshing water poured down my throat. I gulped it down, holding the wolf’s bright stare, not sure what to do next.

When I’d had enough for my stomach to feel incredibly full, I tapped gently on the jug. The wolf pulled it back, eyes gleaming at me, satisfied. My lips parted and closed a few times. Yes, I looked ridiculous, but so was all of this!

I’m sure there was something incredibly important I was meant to remember, but this scenario was highly distracting. "Are we... going to talk about this?" I ask, staring back at the wolf and bracing myself as it lowers its nose.

He sniffs at my neck, the snout damp and cold compared to the rest of its body. I’m frozen, not quite registering what is happening until its tongue licks up the side of my neck and face. "Hey!" I knock its head away, and it whines, its ears flattening.

Again... What is happening right now?!

"Eryx," I say, remembering who this is. "Down."

A snort from behind me has my head twirling in shock and embarrassment. There had been an audience the entire time! Kharis was relaxed, arms crossed against his chest, leaning against the wall beside the window to my right, and Alaric watched from behind me, seemingly relaxed, but his jaw and eyes were tense.

"Ida..." Alaric says softly. "Maybe speak to him nicely and not like a dog... Coax him back control to Eryx."

My head whipped back to the wolf. "So... this is not... Eryx..." I’d read about wolves taking control of their human counterpart, but I’d believed it to be part of the old legends. I haven’t met anyone with this issue until now.

Faidon had been nervous when I was left alone with Eryx at the ball. Was this an ongoing issue? Like before, there was no fear that locked me in place. The wolf growled in Alaric’s direction, its ears pinning back.

"Hey!" I thumped its chest, and his head cocked back, shocked. Slowly, it looked back down at me, eyes sparkling. It’s tail thumped once, twice.

"Ida!" Alaric hissed. "What did I just say? He has caused us nothing but trouble since discovering you were unwell."

That was right. I’d been poisoned, and a high dose at that. I’d barely sipped anything, but the taste still made me shiver. Noting my physical response, the wolf rubbed its head along my body.

"Woah, erm..." That was a little personal. I held its snout away from my stomach and stroked the side of its neck instead, distracting it. It worked.

My head tilted, observing the black wolf, Eryx’s black wolf. "How long has he been like this?"

"It’s only been a few hours," Kharis answered, also observing us curiously.

The black wolf rumbled in response, eyes sharp on Kharis. He bowed his head. "I am sorry. But I followed Her Highness’s orders on this."

"You can hear him?" I stared wide-eyed at Kharis. Alaric was not much better.

Kharis shifted uncomfortably, aware that it wasn’t normal and it was possibly another secret Eryx wanted to keep silent. My gaze returned to the wolf who had been sniffing my neck again. The more I looked, the more I swore I could see some sort of white patch, a marking, between its eyes on the lower part of its forehead.

Noting my stare, the wolf pulled back. Clearing my throat, I reached out and rubbed at the side of its neck.

"Ida!" Alaric hissed. "He’s kept you hostage this entire time. We haven’t been able to come near you and check on your condition!"

"Stop being dramatic, Alaric." I shrugged as the wolf’s tail started to wag under my touch.

"Dramatic? Me? Dramatic?! You could have died, and we couldn’t get to you because he cannot control his wolf!" The wolf stopped and growled at my brother.

"Hey." My soft voice didn’t draw its attention back to me. "Hey!"

My hands grabbed at its jaw, and the wolf’s head dropped down, bright eyes locked on mine. It should have seriously freaked me out, but it didn’t. It was like I was staring back at an exotic forest of bright green leaves. Calming.

"Thank you," I whisper, softening my touch, then smile brightly, putting on a silly voice. "You just wanted to make sure I was okay, didn’t you?"

His tail wagged again, and his tongue flopped out. "Didn’t you!" I repeated, scratching at it’s neck and the wolf turned it’s head to get my hand at a better angle, it’s tail still wagging.

"Sweet Goddess," Alaric muttered. "You’re telling me... He didn’t want any of us to touch you so you could recover in peace?"

"Yes, he did," I said softly and gave him a soft kiss near the snout.

Just like that, the wolf vibrated and shrank until a strikingly dangerous man replaced him. Those vivid green eyes were on mine as he smirked against my lips, his arms wrapped around my waist, lying above me. His hair was tousled, and his chest was panting still, but he calmed the longer we stared at each other. The rough touch of his hands on my hips softened, and his fingers traced patterns as he relaxed further.

Those eyes danced back at me, waiting to see what I’d do next. What game should we play? He seemed to be asking. It was utterly enchanting.

Kharis cleared his throat and we froze, simultaneously shifting our attention away from each other and to the angry, Alpha King, vibrating with rage at the end of the bed, glaring at the Alpha Prince.