Chapter Eighteen

Pearl

Waking up wrapped in Rylan was the best thing I’d ever experienced. His even breath tickled the back of my neck, making me smile. The little cabin was dark, the only light coming from the moon outside.

I didn’t how long it had been since Rylan voiced his worries about this place. Days? Maybe a week? The lack of sunlight made it hard to count the passing of time. I wasn’t worried though, since the Moon Spirit led him to this place.

Rylan mumbled something in his sleep then rolled over, releasing me from his hold. I remained still, listening to his breathing, wondering if he was about to wake up. A soft snore told me that he was still sleeping and probably would be for a while longer yet.

Carefully, I rolled to the edge of the bed and swung my legs over. My bare feet touched the cool floor, and I shivered, though I didn’t feel the cold like a human would. I stood and made my way to the door, a need to breathe in fresh air overtaking my mind. My wolf stirred inside restlessly. The urge to shift and run was appealing, but fresh air beat it.

Pulling the door open, I stepped out onto the small porch and filled my lungs with cool air that was surprisingly sweet. I looked around, not recognizing anything familiar about the area. It didn’t smell any different than what I was used to back home.

The moon hung full and suspended in the sky. Stars splattered the blackness, barely discernible from the overshadowing moonlight. I took comfort in the normalcy of this place. I tried to find constellations in the sky. I frowned, annoyed it took me much longer to spot the Big and Little Dipper. Their locations were correct, but they were inverted.

The longer I stared, the more they started to look like reflections in a mirror. I frowned, was I just remembering them wrong?

A flash of white from the corner of my eye caught my attention. A white wolf appeared from between the trees, deep blue eyes watching me intently. I smiled, inviting the Moon Spirit to come closer.

‘It’s good to see you,’I greeted.

‘All is well.’The wolf trotted closer before sitting and looking at me expectantly.

I lowered beside the wolf, crossing my legs and not bothering to cover my nakedness. ‘What is this place?’

‘This was my gift to the original Alpha Seeker and her line, but now it’s yours and your mate’s. This place is a small consolation for the burden I have placed upon both of you.’

‘What do you mean by ‘consolation’?’

‘This is a getaway for you. A small pocket of reality that I created so that you might escape the burdens of reality. In this place, time pauses. No matter how long you stay here, it will feel like only minutes when you return.’

‘So, it’s like a reflection. A place that mirrors a small portion of the forest that we can access whenever we want.’

‘Essentially, yes,’the Moon Spirit affirmed, its ears twitching as the sound of Rylan stirring reached our ears.

‘Only minutes will have passed back home?’I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that time would just pause while we were here. It felt like we’d been here for weeks. If it was only a few minutes, then that meant that Rylan had no cause to feel guilty for being away for so long because we weren’t technically gone for a long period of time.

‘Mate,’Rylan’s wolf whispered, obviously more aware than his human side.

‘I’m outside,’I replied, amused.

‘Why?’The inflection of the mental voice changed, meaning Rylan’s human side was awake now.

‘The Moon Spirit is here.’

‘Ah,’was his reply, all drowsiness forgotten. ‘I’ll be right there.’

I could tell that Rylan had a ton of questions for the Moon Spirit. I was excited for him to learn about this place and what it could mean for us in the future. A safe space to get away. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, one that would be enjoyed for many generations to come.

The thought of future generations made me think about what our future would look like. At the moment, the only thing we could focus on was this situation with Rylan’s aunt. We needed to figure out how to rebalance the scales or there wouldn’t be a future for any of us.

It was a sobering thought.

Rylan approached, sitting next to me and putting his arm around my shoulders. His face was solemn, and I knew that he’d listened to my earlier thoughts.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, we were thinking of the small pack we’d put together. Guilt ate at my insides, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret the time we spent here together. Our mate bond was complete, strong, and vibrant. I would never regret that.

‘I apologize for not explaining, but you both seemed… preoccupied,’the Moon Spirit said, speaking into both of our thoughts.

‘So, this place is a pocket that time doesn’t touch?’Rylan seemed to grasp everything we had already discussed.

‘Correct.’

‘Well, that’s interesting.’A spark of curiosity entered his thoughts. ‘I’m grateful that you let us use this place.’

‘Like I said to your mate, this place is now yours. All you have to do to find it, is follow the directions I originally gave you.’

‘And… it’ll work wherever we are?’

‘Yes.’

“This place is incredible.”

I agreed with my mate. This gift was almost too much to accept, but I didn’t voice that in case I offended the Moon Spirit. Rylan slipped his hand into mine, squeezing my fingers in agreement.

‘I overheard you saying that all was well?’Rylan queried, and I felt him prodding the place where the pack bond was.

‘It’s still there,’the Moon Spirit assured him.

‘What now?’I leaned back with my free hand supporting me. ‘Do we just return and pick up where we left off?’

‘Yes, but also no. You need to get information out of your cousin, but you’ve been going about it the wrong way. He is suffering while you’re trying to get through to him. In this, he needs both of you.’

‘I don’t know how I can help,’I grumbled, the memory of Rylan’s complete focus still caused a bit of pain.

‘You are the Alpha Seeker. Your duties do not end now that you’re mated. You are still important to how the future plays out.’

The Moon Spirit’s words warmed my heart. During that time, I’d felt useless, but maybe now, I could help Rylan as an equal.

“You’ve always been better than me.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll never be your equal.”

I bit my lip to stop the absolutely cheesy grin because the Moon Spirit was still there and now was not the time to seduce my mate. Rylan’s green eyes grew steelier as he caught the direction my thoughts were going in.

‘How do we return? When we’re ready, I mean,’I asked, doing my best to refocus my thoughts.

‘The same way you got here, just in reverse.’The Moon Spirit stood up and walked several steps in the direction it had come from. ‘When you are ready, and not a moment sooner.’

With those final words, the white wolf disappeared into the tree line, leaving Rylan and I alone again. Out in the open. And naked.

He tugged me closer, capturing my lips with his as he pulled me until I was straddling his lap.

“When do you want to go back?” I eased away so I could see his face.

“When we’re good and ready,” was his quick reply before kissing me again.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the present. Reality would be there, waiting for us when we returned. Best to enjoy the time we had together now.

Rylan lay on the ground, his hands exploring my body as I eased myself down onto his waiting erection. My eyes closed as I settled on top of him, letting his hands run over me until I couldn’t stand being stationary any longer. I braced my hands on his chest then moved my hips, forcing him deeper into me.

He groaned, his fingers digging into the skin of my hips as he watched me. There was something about being outside in the fresh air with the stars and moon shining down that was erotic. My nipples puckered in the cool air, the sensation made me gasp as pleasure shot straight to my core. I couldn’t get enough of this feeling. It was one thing to feel him through the mate bond and a whole other thing to physically feel him there while inside of me. It took intimacy to another level. I loved listening to his thoughts while I was in control. The way he completely worshipped me, body and soul, was indescribable.

I arched my back as the edge drew closer and closer, my cries echoing as I struggled to keep the rhythm going.

“Keep going,” Rylan encouraged, his jaw muscles twitching as he watched me.

“I can’t,” I protested as a shudder ran through me.

“Yes, you can,” he gritted out, breathing heavily, his body like stone beneath me.

Rylan shifted slightly, his hands gripping my waist. I moaned when he helped lift me up and down, his hips thrusting me up to meet me.

“Yes, Rylan. Oh, spirits. Yes,” I yelled as intense pleasure rolled through my body. My muscles tightened, gripping his cock until I thought I was hurting him.

“Fuck.” He groaned, the veins and tendons in his arms popping as he struggled to be patient and wait.

Panting, I slumped, my arms barely able to hold myself up as aftershocks buzzed through me. Rylan’s eyes widened as when his own climax overtook him, his hands helping to keep me upright.

When he was done, he released my torso and I fell against him, my head resting on his chest. As we laid there in the open, with only the stars and moon as witnesses, I didn’t think we’d ever be ready to go back home.