The Rogue's Luna

Return

I had made the decision to drive the truck all the way to the cabin, but of course, there wasn’t exactly a clear road or pathway. Which meant that the truck protested the whole way up the ridge. The suspension groaned, the tires struggled through the mud, it wasn’t supposed to be driven on. The reality was that there wasn’t a real road. It was just a trail I have carved throughout time. There was barely enough room, and it was a long journey, but it was the fastest way home. And I needed fast. Because I knew that something was wrong. The feeling had started the moment I had hit the edge of my territory. The scent was off. The air felt thinner. It was like something had pushed through the quiet and left it trembling behind. I killed the engine and stepped out, as I let the door slam shut behind me. I dropped the tailgate and grabbed one of the crates from the back, slinging it under my arm before heading toward the cabin. But when I tried to open the door, it wouldn’t budge. I frowned.

“Liora?” I called out, but there was no answer. I dropped the crate in the dirt and banged on the door. “Liora, it’s me, Thorne…open the door,” still, there was no answer. I went over to the window. The glass was old and fogged at the corners, but I could still see inside. The door had been barricaded. It wasn’t just locked. Liora had moved the furniture. “Liora?” I called out again as I tried to figure out where she was. She had to be inside. And then I spotted her huddled in the far corner. She was curled up and clearly asleep. I went back to the door and banged on it louder. “Liora!”

“What the hell happened?” Ace questioned, but I ignored him. I knew that Liora was still healing. She was weak, but she had been improving. I had no idea what had gone wrong.

“Liora!” I shouted. “It’s me, Thorne…open this door or I swear I will break it down,” I pressed my forehead against the door. And then I heard it. The sound of scraping. Wood dragging over wood. I hurried to the window and I saw her pulling the stacked up furniture away from the door. When she was done, she stood on the other side.

“Thorne?” she said and I sighed in relief as I went back to the door.

“Yes, it’s me, I’m back,” I said. I heard the lock click and then the door opened slowly. She stood behind it like she wasn’t sure if I was real. Her eyes were wide and I could see how exhausted she was. “Hey,” I said softly. A moment later, she was in my arms. There was no warning. No hesitation. She merely threw herself at me with enough force that it nearly knocked me back. Liora buried her face against my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her whole body trembled. I didn’t even think about it, I just wrapped my arms around her and held her as tight as I could without hurting her. Liora didn’t say a word. And she didn’t have to. I could feel it in her skin. The panic. The way her heart beat like it was still under threat.

“Thorne,” she whispered.

“It’s ok, I’m here…you are ok,” I reassured her. But she didn’t let me go. I had only been gone for a day, but clearly something had happened. “What’s going on? What happened?” I asked her as I pulled back enough so that I could look down at her. Liora shook her head as tears filled her eyes.

“I don’t…know. I just…I thought someone was out there. I couldn’t think. Everything felt wrong,” she struggled to explain. My jaw tightened. It was the wolfsbane. The last traces of it was screwing with her senses. With her instincts. It was making her see things, feel things, that weren’t real. I should have known. I should have warned her or something. In truth, I shouldn’t have left. I sighed as I forced myself to keep my voice even.

“Come on,” I said as I let her go. “I need help unloading the truck,” she looked up at me in surprise.

“What?”

“I went to get supplies. Food. Coffee. I even bought actual soap. Help me haul it in before it starts raining,” I said. She stared at me like she couldn’t believe I was talking about something so normal. Then, slowly, she nodded. And I watched her straighten. Just a little. She followed me out to the truck, and I handed her a bag of dry goods. She carried it back inside without question. Then another. Then a crate of canned food. She didn’t speak. But she moved. Each step a little steadier than the last. I didn’t press. I didn’t ask what she saw or what she thought was waiting beyond the door. I let her rebuild her reality one trip at a time. By the time we finished, the fire was going again, the cabinets were stocked, and she was leaning against the counter with a cup of water in her hands like the world hadn’t just cracked around her. I stood across from her, watching the color slowly return to her cheeks. “Are you ok?” I asked.

“No,” she admitted softly. “But I’m better now that you are here,” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Mostly because there was a part of me that was happy to be back. There was a part of me that was relieved to be around her again. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but it was there. The bond pulsed between us and I shook my head as I headed into the kitchen. I needed to do something. I started prepping dinner while Liora stood close, watching me. We didn’t talk, but eventually, she offered to help me. It was strange, working side by side with someone after being alone for so long. I realized that I liked it.

“Do you think you are up for a bit of adventure tomorrow?” I asked her while we waited for the food to finish cooking in the wood fire oven.

“What?”

“I have to take the truck back,” I explained. Liora frowned, and I knew she had questions, but all she did was nod. “Good,” I said with a nod. Liora eventually went to sit in front of the fire while she waited for dinner. I decided to clean up. I hated that she had gone through something so traumatic, and I only had myself to blame. Still, I knew that the worst of it was over. Now that the wolfsbane was basically out of her system, she would truly start to heal.