Micah places me down. I pull half a dozen old daggers out from different areas of my clothing and begin to aim and toss them one by one at the trees.
As usual, each blade lands an inch away from where I wanted it to go. I pull the daggers out and hand them to Micah so that he can have his turn. Each time he throws, they land an inch on the opposite side to where mine landed. Micah shrugs.
I giggle. Micah turns and pulls me close against his body. He gives me a mischievous look and begins to waltz. Micah is an amazing dancer. He is good at everything, to be honest. Fighting, schooling, especially maths and science, dancing, cooking. He is perfect at everything he does and perfect in every way. His kind, sweet personality. His face that the Gods must have chiselled themselves. His sable brown eyes which remind me of Autumn. His scent, oh Gods, his scent sends the cauldron inside me bubbling.
I continue to follow his lead. Our feet move swiftly together and our eyes glimmer, gazing at one another. Micah twirls me around, and we sway, step, and weave in and out. Micah suddenly stops dancing and presses me as close as possible against his body. His eyes linger on me seductively, and his lips crash against mine. Our tongues make love while my hands creep up his shirt and feel his masculine pecs. His hands also find their way under my shirt, one hand grips my waist tight, and his other hand caresses my back.
We part, breaking the kiss, only to avoid passing out due to lack of air. Otherwise, we would probably stay like this forever and never break the kiss.
‘Lylah, I love you so much,’ he whispers, keeping eye contact.
My body wants to melt further into his arms, but because I physically can’t, I respond by caressing his cheek and softly rubbing the tip of my nose against his, ‘I love you too, Micah,’ I say endearingly.
We kiss again, but slower. As we part, Micah winks, walks over to the tree, pulls the daggers out, and returns to stand in front of me.
‘Lylah, you're a born fighter, and I've always admired your passion to become a warrior for your pack. These,’ he holds the daggers against my chest and swiftly withdraws the dagger he made for me from my leather baldric and stares at it. ‘These are your best friends. Keep them close to you at all times,’ he says in a serious tone.
‘You know I always have them with me,’ I say, reaching out and taking the dagger he made me. I flourish the dagger with my fingers and swiftly insert it back into its sheath and place it back into my baldric.
‘Without your wolf and magic and if your family or I’m not nearby. You only have your fighting skill and these daggers to defend yourself and keep safe. I could never live with myself if any harm ever came to you,’ he says.
I give Micah a solemn look and decide to show off my fighting skills to reassure him that no one could ever physically harm me. I move slowly away from him, shift my right leg forward from my left in a fighting stance, and swing the dagger to my right and back to my left, repetitively with speed. Then, as quick as lightning, I throw it up in the air and tumble forward, landing steadily in a crouching position. I hold my right hand up, catching my dagger that returns from the air. I place it back in my baldric and do a backflip. I land steadily on both feet, pull my old daggers from my boots, and throw them towards Micah, who doesn’t flinch. They fly past either side of his head, missing his ears by an inch and strike the tree behind him. Reaching for my good dagger again, I dart towards a tree with haste.
A flashback suddenly consumes me. Within a moment, the tree splits into two and forms into Vicky and Tamara. They stand in front of other school students who also like to taunt me with constant bullying.
They all turn and point their fingers at me.
‘Freak, freak,’ The words echo through my mind. My legs stop in their tracks. I can’t move.
‘She's a freak. She's not a wolf,’ a voice sounds behind me. I look back to see other students standing in pairs, whispering to each other.
‘You don't belong here. You’re not one of us.’
‘Freak.’
‘She needs to leave and live amongst the humans where she belongs.’
‘Show us your wolf, Lylah! Oh wait, that’s right, you don’t have one!’ Vicky laughs.
Tamara stands before me and glares, ‘Being so weak that you have no wolf and cannot even cast a simple spell like your mother. Your family must be so disappointed and ashamed of you,’ Tamara smirks.
My mind spirals as the taunts continue all around me. I steel myself refusing to give them the satisfaction of one single tear.
‘She’s supposed to be the daughter of Alpha Maximus, a powerful Lycan and Alpha,’ a voice echoes.
‘Yet, he created a worthless freak! He mustn’t be as powerful as they say he is,’ another says.
A slow but intense moment of pain and shame continues as I hold on to my anger. My fists clench, and I shake. I could easily break their arms or force them to the ground with one blow to the face. But doing so would make things worse for me. I can’t risk hurting them and affecting Micah’s reputation and my position as his Luna. Other than joining the warriors in his pack and becoming Luna. Being by his side for the rest of my life is all that matters to me.
A loud growl erupts, silencing everyone as Micah walks up behind me.
‘Get away from Lylah now! Before I rip your heads off,’ he growls. Everyone begins to back away and dissipate into the main building.
‘Lylah, Lylah. Are you okay?’ he says, gently shaking my shoulders. ‘Lylah!’ he yells louder.
I’m Instantly back in reality and realise I had a flashback. I look up at Micah with a sad look.
‘You completely zoned out. You were calling yourself a freak and that you don’t belong here, amongst many other things,’ Micah frowns. ‘You're not a freak,’ he adds softly. ‘You are my whole world Lylah,’ he says and wraps his arms around me.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I suddenly had a flashback to that day I was bullied outside the front building at school,’ I explain.
‘One day, when I am Alpha, I will make them all pay for how they treated you,’ he says.
‘I don’t want it causing you trouble, Micah. It’s best you just leave it.’
‘I don’t care what trouble it brings me, Lylah. You are suffering as we speak from the effects of the bullying. I will personally deal with Vicky and Tamara myself,’ he says.
My heart flutters that Micah wants to help give me closure and deal with my bullies personally.
We climb the large boulders to sit on a tall ledge. Once we reach the top, we lean into each other and hold hands. Micah and I watch the sunset.
‘Tell me about Storm Glenn. What does it look like?’ I ask.
‘It’s very different compared to here. It’s quiet, serene and lush here. We are surrounded by nature, birds, deer, pigs, and other animals. It’s so beautiful. It’s village-like with its vast fields and forests, whereas Storm Glenn is very loud and busy in a modern environment. There are people everywhere who always seem to be in a rush. It’s full of modern houses and roads with small gardens. Large stores and many to shop in. It’s no different to a human town. I swear my pack acts more human than they do wolf,’ he sighs.
‘You don’t like Storm Glenn?’
‘I do, but if I was, to be honest, I much prefer it here,’ he smiles at me, ‘But perhaps it’s because I’m with you,’ he winks.
‘I worry your pack won’t like me,’ I say, fiddling with my fingers.
‘Of course, they will. Everyone in Storm Glenn will love you, Lylah.’
‘But, your father?’ I say and look at him with sadness.
‘Don’t worry about my father. He will come to his senses eventually.’
‘If you say so,’ I reply, unconvinced.
Micah immediately notices my eyes change to a dark blue. He holds my chin delicately with his fingers.
‘I promise you, Lylah. One day my father with have the utmost honour and respect for you.’
I curl my fingers through his, and my eyes are now light blue again.