Scarred Luna

Kieran’s POV

I sucked in a deep breath as I stole a glance at my reflection in the mirror. No matter how many times I stared at myself, I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It didn’t add up. At all.

I pouted as I smoothed my hands over the dress I was wearing. It was a pink pastel dress, with lavender flowers printed all over it. It was an off shoulder dress that clung to my skin so perfectly. It was made of pure cotton and it flowed all around me, just stopping above my ankles. To top it all off, it had a high slit that exposed a good portion of my thigh.

It was a beautiful dress, there was no denying that, but what made it all the more special was the person who gifted it to me.

Alpha Xander.

A wide grin made its way to my face. The mere thought of it was more than enough to have me grinning from cheek to cheek. In all honesty, I hadn’t stopped grinning since two days ago. I’d been grinning ever since Sabrina and I came back from the palace. Or more accurately, ever since I and Xander’s little rendezvous at a secluded spot in the palace.

Let’s go on a date. Xander’s words rang in my ear. Go on a date with me.

I almost didn’t believe him. A tiny part of me couldn’t even believe that Xander wanted to go on a date with me, until a package came in for me this morning. It was a small note, attached to a cute package.

‘Look beautiful for me this evening. We’ll be going on our adventure by five. ~Xander’

The note was all I needed to put me in an even better mood. The moment I saw it, my happiness levels climbed up to a million degrees. Immediately I read the note, I ripped the wrapper into pieces just to reveal this beautiful dress I was wearing.

I snuck a quick glance at the clock high up on the wall and I felt my happiness level reduce to a certain degree and turn into a bundle of nerves. Xander had asked me to be ready by five and here I was, far from ready.

I looked all dressed, but deep down, my mind was a complete mess. My emotions swirled all over the place and I fought the urge to puke. I had no idea why I was anxious, but who wouldn’t be? Alpha Xander was the most perfect human I’d come across and I wanted what we had to last. The last thing I wanted was for anything to come in between us, not even me.

I sucked in a deep breath again as I took one more glance at my reflection. If I was being honest, I looked gorgeous and my heart swelled with pride. Even though I was anxious, my pretty face would do a good job at hiding it. I slipped my feet into comfortable slip ons and headed down the stairs. The mansion was mostly quiet and I knew why. Sabrina was away on a two day trip in the neighboring pack. Apparently, she had some errands to run that required her going to the neighboring pack and I couldn’t help but thank the goddess for this opportunity. If Sabrina was around, then this date might not even be possible.

If she was present, I would have no other choice than to sneak out of the house and even that wasn’t guaranteed. In her absence, I could easily walk out, no questions asked.

The sound of someone’s footsteps reached my ears and I froze. I found a quick hiding spot and wedged myself in between as Alice passed by.

Alice, I’d almost forgotten about that witch.

I waited for some time as she passed, oblivious to the fact that I was close by. The moment she was gone, I quickly made my way out of the mansion. It was already ten minutes past five when I got outside the mansion. I had walked a small distance from the house, just so nobody could spot us.

I had barely waited for more than a minute when someone snuck up on me from behind.

“Holy!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as someone’s hands wrapped around my waist. Only when I caught a glimpse at who it was did my heart calm down a little bit. “Oh my gosh, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry.” Xander smiled sheepishly, and in that moment, I totally forgot he had scared me a couple of seconds ago. “I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to surprise you.”

“It’s okay.” I blushed furiously as I took him in. He was in casual clothes, but they were more than enough to send the butterflies in my stomach fluttering. “You look nice.”

“But you look gorgeous.” He grinned and I blushed even harder. “I could forget about our date and stare at you all day.”

“Stop that.” I blushed as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Let’s just go. Where are we even going anyway.” I said, in an attempt to change the topic.

“You’ll see.” He winked before taking my hand in his. “Come on, let’s go.”

Wordlessly, I followed Xander to his car parked just a stone’s throw from here. After he’d helped me settle into the car, we drove off, the asphalt road steering us in the direction Xander wanted us to go. As the scenery whizzed past, I couldn’t help but wonder where he was taking me. He hadn’t dropped a hint and honestly, I really didn’t want to ask. I wanted the surprise to well… surprise me.

After driving for what seemed like an hour, I watched Xander pull the car to a stop. The moment I got down, green grass tickled my feet. We were in a remote area, with nothing but nature surrounding us all. The fragrant smell of flowers wafted into my nose and I took it in. Birds chirped in the distance as they flew around, giving me a little show.

Streaks of color filled the sky, painting it in an array of gold, pink and orange. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale and I wanted nothing more than to capture it.

“Come on” he said, a bright smile on his lips.

He took my hand and we walked into the open field a little.

My eyes widened as I looked at what he had prepared for me.

We stopped in front of a picnic blanket with an array of food and snacks spread out on it. Then, it hit me. It was a sunset picnic. Our date was a sunset picnic.

“Let’s sit” Xander’s voice broke through my thoughts. I turned and a gasp slid past my lips. “The view is more gorgeous down here.” I said and it was indeed. I could see why he chose this very spot.

“I’ll take it that you like it?” He grinned widely. I was too stunned to speak and from the look on his face, he was proud of himself. “Come on, come sit.”

We settled on the blanket with his help. Okay. About that array of snacks that were spread out in front of us? They were not just any kind of snacks, they were my favorite snacks.

“How did you know?” I asked, as I grinned widely.

He chuckled.

“Well, let’s just say some snacks in the fridge runs out faster than the others” he said and I blushed.

“This is beautiful Xander.” I let out softly. “Thank you so much” I said with a smile lacing my lips.

“Anything for you.” Xander mirrored my expression before taking my hand in his. We stayed like that for a while, silently enjoying nature and enjoying each other’s company. We fed each other some food and snacks as time went by with a little bit of light conversation in between.

“Why don’t you want anyone to know we’re mates?” Xander spoke up all of a sudden. His question caught me off guard, and I stilled, but his hands around me were more than enough to calm me down. ” Aren’t you happy?”

“I am.” I sighed. “Truly, but…”

I trailed off, before swallowing the huge lump that had formed at the base of my throat. It had been quite a while, but I still hadn’t gotten over it. How was I going to explain all of that to him?

“I’m listening.” Xander’s tone was gentle. “You can talk to me.” he said and I sighed.

“It was a long time ago.” I sucked in a deep breath before continuing. “Not exactly but it’s been so long, I really don’t remember a time before everything happened. I’d always dreamed of living in a fairytale but instead, I was cursed with a nightmare.”

A gentle breeze blew by as I paused. My heart thudded in my chest as I waited for Xander’s response. Was he going to lash out? Or twist his face in disgust?

A wave of surprise hit me as he wrapped a hand around my shoulder, before pulling me close. All it took was one whiff of his cologne, and I felt my insides settle.

“I’m listening.” Xander nudged me gently

“I was just abused, a lot.” I rushed out in one breath. “Now, everything about intimacy scares me. I’m just trying not to let old patterns repeat itself. That’s why I don’t want anyone knowing we’re mates. For now.”

“I understand.” He sighed. “And I won’t tell anyone, except Oliver.”

“What?!” I exclaimed and he chuckled.

“I didn’t mean to.” He grinned. “You remember that day, at lunch, I was so mad I just had to blurt it out, so he would keep his name out of your mouth.”

“Oh.” I grinned. “Just promise me he won’t tell anyone?”

“He won’t.” He made a show of drawing a cross over his chest. “I’ll make sure.”

“Thank you.” The rest of the evening went by in blur and in no time, we were home.

I literally skipped and twirled to my room. It was late when we got back and I had no one to deal with. My smile didn’t leave my lips even when I’d gotten to my room. I slumped on my bed, just to have the memories from a couple of hours ago replay in my head. I was in the middle of it all when a knock startled me.

“Who is it?” I called, before walking to the door. I’d just seen Xander some seconds ago, so what did he want? “Xander, is that you?”

“You?!” I exclaimed as I froze the moment I swung the door open. “What the hell are you doing here?”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.