Chapter 36

~“Luna….”~

His voice was soft as he called my name, sounding distant. I stood in the bedroom and listened closely, not feeling alarmed despite the oddness.

The voice was familiar, one I had heard before yet never gotten to see the owner of that I could recall. Yet at the same time, I felt confusion mixed with the odd serenity that had come over me.

How was he calling to me here in the palace? I hadn’t believed that anything could do so with Emelio watching over things.

Was this all simply in my mind?

~“My beautiful girl…”~ The voice drifted in my mind like he was whispering in my ear. ~“You know what must be done. You cannot deny what you are.”~

“Let me be!” I whispered, closing my eyes as I stood in the middle of the room to break the spell he seemingly had over me. I was grateful that Rayne wasn’t in there.

He’d gone to speak to his father about something that had been on his mind, believing I’d be safe there. That was why I wanted to be rid of this before he came back.

The last thing I needed was to worry him more.

~“I won’t let them take you from me. Mark my words; I will make certain that you become mine.”~

A sharp breath escaped me as his presence let me go. I breathed hard as if coming up from underwater and opened my eyes as I felt alone in the room again.

Relief swept through me as I realized that everything looked as it had before. Thank goodness.

He may have tried to intimidate me, but he couldn’t get to me here. I slowly sat down on the side of the bed, trying my best to pull myself together.

As much as I hated admitting it, I knew that the voice had been my father. He was indeed after me and wanted me to become like him, and wasn’t going to be giving up anytime soon.

~How can I keep fighting this?~ I wondered. ~I don’t want to be anything like him. I want to stay with Rayne and be in love.~

The gentle click of the doorknob brought me back to reality, and I quickly composed myself, hoping that I could fool whoever was coming in. It was Rayne who stepped into the room, quietly closing and locking the door behind him.

He looked a bit tired, but it was rather late, already after midnight, and had been a long day for us. “You’re still awake?” he said when he noticed me sitting there.

“Y-yeah,” I answered, doing my best to sound normal. “I couldn’t sleep without you here, so I thought I’d sit up and wait for you to come back.” Rayne saw through me, although I didn’t believe he knew exactly why I was on edge.

He knelt in front of me, gently holding my hands in his. “Whatever’s bothering you will be all right. We’re going to make sure nothing happens to you,” he reminded me.

“I know you will,” I closed my eyes as I lowered my head. “Can I say how I love you without it sounding strange?”

“Of course, you can. I know you love me, and I love you. There’s nothing strange about saying it out loud.” Rayne assured me.

He stood up and helped me to my feet, though I still couldn’t face him. “I never meant to bring all of this trouble. All I’ve ever wanted since we met was for us to be happy together, but it feels like there’s been so much against us from the start, even before we ever realized it.” I continued.

“Stop worrying so much. None of this has been your doing, and we’ll put a stop to it, including driving that Fallen away so that he never bothers you again,” Rayne swore.

“But I…”

“No buts.” Rayne held my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I told you when we met that I refuse to ever give you up no matter what comes, and I will never go back on that. You are everything to me, Luna.”

I felt tears sting the back of my eyes but somehow managed to hold them back as I closed them again. The gentle feel of his lips touching mine made my heart flutter, and I leaned into our kiss, savoring the sweetness of it.

Oh, how I loved him. I would’ve given anything for all of this to be over and to spend the rest of our lives together in peace.

Rayne pulled me closer as our kiss ended and I felt his lips glide to my neck, where he placed a slow, open-mouth kiss on my throat. I couldn’t stop the soft moan from escaping me, nor the heat that was beginning to rise in my body.

“I do love the taste of you,” Rayne whispered in my ear.

“Rayne…!” I whispered.

“Let’s forget all the tension for now. It’s been a while and I need you.”

I wasn’t about to deny him.

I wanted a release from all of the tension as much as he did, and even more, I wanted to forget about my father for a while. The tie to the back of my nightgown was loosened, and I allowed it to fall to the floor, leaving me in just my underwear.

I pulled off his shirt before we shared another kiss, loving the feel of my bare body pressed against his strong one. Rayne’s fingers ran lightly over my sides and then up to my breasts, caressing them before kneading my nipples.

“Oh…,” I breathed as he squeezed them, making them harden. “You’re so sensitive.” Rayne teased in a low voice.

He gently twisted my nipples, eliciting a soft cry from me. I felt the electricity surge down my body and wetness began to form between my legs.

“I…oh…!” I couldn’t form words as he began sucking on my left nipple.

I felt his hand move between my legs and his fingers stroked me through my underwear. It was hard for me to even think now.

All I could focus on was how he was touching me and his tongue swirling around my overly sensitive nipple. But somehow I managed to reach between us, feeling the bulge in his pants before sneaking my hand into them and wrapping my fingers around his manhood.

It was so big already and even a bit hot, sending even more excitement through me. Rayne groaned as I stoked him, finally standing up straight.

I took his cue, pulling his pants down as I went to my knees. His manhood was large and firm, with a bit of liquid already leaking from his tip.

He really was excited. He always leaked when he was, not to mention would have a long finish once he reached his peak, which I loved.

I stroked him as he stepped out of his pants, then kissed his tip a few times before taking it into my mouth. The intoxicating taste of him filled my senses and I took him in as much as I could, feeling his tip touch the back of my throat.

I pulled back slowly, then did it again, falling into a rhythm. Rayne began moving his hips with me, thrusting into my mouth, and I could hear him groaning in pleasure as I tasted him on my tongue.

After a few minutes of this, he finally pulled me back, stroking my hair as he looked down at me. His skin was flushed, and his golden eyes were dark with lust.

“As much as I love that, I still want to taste you too,” he breathed. I gave him a seductive smile, going over to lie on the side of the bed and pulling off my underwear, then spreading my legs for him.

“Go ahead. Bring me to my edge,” I urged him.

“You can be such a tease.” Rayne chuckled lowly.

He leaned over me as he stroked my slick opening and kissed behind my ear before whispering in it and making me shiver, “You’re so wet and hot. I can’t wait to be inside of you.”

I moaned as he pushed two fingers deep inside of me. I could feel my walls squeeze around them and more wetness come out of me.

“So beautiful,” Rayne purred, kissing my throat again before moving down between my legs. It was hard for me to hold them open as he continued pumping his fingers in and out of me.

My entire body was hot and tense, and I was beginning to wonder if I’d be able to hold out for him. It was even harder when he pulled his fingers out and began licking my opening.

I had to use all my strength not to cry out loudly for how incredible it felt, and I sensed the knot beginning to form in my belly, indicating that my release was starting to build. Rayne sensed this too because he stopped after a few minutes of licking and sucking on me, leaning over me again with the tip of his manhood pressed against my opening.

“Please…,” I softly begged, pressing against it so that his tip barely entered me.

“Why would I want to keep holding out?” Rayne responded.

I moaned as he slowly pushed himself inside of me until his entire manhood was within me.

“I want to fill you with me until you can’t take anymore.”

“Do it please! I want you so badly!” I cried.

Rayne obliged me, slowly moving his manhood out to just his tip before thrusting it hard back into me, then repeating that over and over. I was seeing stars each time he did, gripping the blanket under me as my body arched to his.

He was so deep inside of me that it felt like he was practically in my womb, and all I wanted was for him to fill it. The mere thought was making the knot in my belly tighter and tighter, and I was certain I was almost there.

“You’ll always be my Luna,” Rayne told me breathlessly as he pushed completely inside of me and lay over me. “I’ll never let anyone take you away from me.”

“No one will. Everything I am will always only be yours,” I swore.

I gripped his strong back tightly as he began thrusting faster, the knot within me moving down now. My release was so close.

Just a few more thrusts… My orgasm swept through me more intensely than I recalled before, my entire body jolting and then stiffening under him.

Rayne moaned as my walls flexed around him, his thrusts slowing and becoming deep and sensual. Within seconds I felt his manhood begin jerking hard within me, his warmth covering my walls.

He pressed into me as he continued releasing, moaning in pleasure with me. Ah yes.

I’d needed this. I’d needed him to claim me as only he could.

It felt like forever that we stayed like this, though I suspect it was only a few minutes. My heart was still beating hard as Rayne finished pouring himself into me, and I could feel his doing the same under my hands as I ran them over his slick chest.

“It feels like we were a bit pent up,” I whispered.

“Maybe. It has been a bit tense lately.” Rayne leaned down and kissed me between my eyes. “I wasn’t too rough, was I?”

“No. I love it when you are,” I reassured him.

Rayne kissed me slowly a few times. “Let’s stay like this for tonight. This is my room and no one will enter without permission.”

“I don’t mind. It’s comfortable like this,” I agreed. I moaned as he finally pulled out of me, our combined juices spilled out between my legs. “But maybe we should clean up a bit too,” I relented.

“True. I suppose we both released rather intensely this time.” Rayne laughed. I giggled too, allowing him to help me off the bed.

We had a washroom connected to our room, so we were able to clean up in there without bothering to get redressed. Afterward, we laid lay down under the blanket and Rayne turned off the small light so that we could get some sleep.

I was feeling pretty content, not to mention my body was tired now. Snuggling against Rayne as he put an arm around me, I began drifting off to sleep without thinking any more of my father or the issues we were still facing.

I slept in darkness for what felt like quite a while, but slowly, I began to fall into a dream. I was now walking in a deep part of a forest that I didn’t recognize.

Everything was dark and quiet around me, and the air was still and warm. I was dressed in my white nightgown and could feel the soft grass under my bare feet. It felt like I was heading toward something, but I didn’t know what.

“Come to us…,” a soft female voice called to me.

She sounded like she was in front of me, though I couldn’t see much of anything in the darkness there. Yet the pull of this voice felt undeniable, and I couldn’t stop myself from moving forward.

I needed to find the one who was calling me. I needed to get to her.

The woods became darker as I continued, the smell of the trees and grass now beginning to be replaced with one I couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t exactly like fire or smoke, yet it had a strange resemblance to it in my mind.

Brimstone perhaps? While I had never smelled that before, it was the only thing that came to mind.

I stopped again, unsure of whether I should continue. The trees around me were starting to look more barren, and I could see mist beginning to rise from the ground, which had become colder under my bare feet.

“You shouldn’t go any farther. They’re trying to lure you away,” a male voice suddenly spoke. I spun around when I heard him, shocked to come face-to-face with an ethereal figure standing just a foot behind me.

It took me a few seconds to register that I had seen him before. He was the same one from that strange dream I’d had not long ago; the one the old woman had called Sionn.

“How are you here? Where are we?” I managed to stammer out.

“I had a bad feeling about this. Even an incubus can be dangerously tricky to deal with, and it appears he did find a way to override the shield magic that Emelio was using to protect you. But no matter. I said I’d step in on this one as I needed to,” he responded. I felt a twinge of fear within me and took a step back.

“You’re not…going to kill me, are you?” I asked nervously.

“Of course not! Why would I do such a thing?!” Sionn curtly answered. He reined in his annoyance right away. “I mean, no. I’d never be out to cause you harm and neither would any others. You are not the real issue here. I’m simply breaking their spell over you so that you can be found.”

“Spell?” I repeated.

A strange cold spread over my collar as I spoke, and I absently reached up to rub there. As I did, I realized that I felt something odd, like a lump under my skin.

Sionn stepped closer as I looked down at it. He reached out to touch me, but a black flame shot out to stop him.

It felt bitterly cold when it did, making me gasp and hold the area. “This has become even more complicated than they thought,” Sionn admitted. “It appears that stone was cursed to embed itself into you when the time was right. I’d imagine with that reaction that it won’t be that easy to remove either.”

“Then how can we? What’s going to happen to me if it isn’t?” I asked him.

“Don’t panic, my dear. It can be figured out, but for now, the main concern is getting you away from here,” Sionn reassured me, patting my shoulder.

“Do you believe that I would let her go so easily?” a familiar male voice suddenly asked him.

I turned to see darkness rising about three feet in front of us. Sionn pulled me back beside him as it formed into a human-like shape, melting away to reveal the same male I’d seen at the village.

He looked at us with cold eyes, a neutral expression on his handsome face.

“You…you’re…” I couldn’t get the words out. My soul already knew who this was, but my mind hadn’t wanted to accept it.

This creature was my father.

“You have turned out as beautiful as I’d intended, girl. I’ve been long awaiting the day you would awaken,” the Fallen calmly stated, his expression unchanging.

I managed to find my voice, even though the fear I felt was overwhelming. I didn’t want anything to do with him or to be anything like him.

“There was no reason for you to wait for this! I am nothing like you and never will be!” I informed him.

“Is that so? It would seem that you still have some fight left within you. Not that it will last much longer. My spell will see to that,” the Fallen stated. I felt my collar become very cold and looked down to see a circular glow in the middle of it.

My mind began to haze and my body warmed as my womanhood tingled. I held my arms, trying to fight the lustful urges attempting to rise within me.

No, I wouldn’t let this overtake me. I’d never betray Rayne, even with this.

“That’s enough! Let her go and be gone! She will not bend to you or betray Rayne!” Sionn ordered, pulling a golden sword from his belt.

The Fallen’s expression hardened. “Do you believe I fear the likes of you? You are only a construct from a near ruler has been!” he growled. The air around us grew colder, and Sionn pushed me behind him.

It was just in time as the Fallen was suddenly in front of him. Sionn used his sword to stop him from digging his claws into his chest, pushing him back.

The Fallen’s hooved feet slid over the ground, pulling up the dirt as he went back a few feet. His eyes were glowing red now as he growled at us.

“Run away! They will find you while I hold him off!” Sionn ordered.

“But I…!” I started.

“Do not worry about me! Just go!”

I had no choice but to do as he said. I knew instinctively that my father would take me away to his realms if he caught me.

So I turned and began to run back in the direction I felt I’d come from. I honestly wasn’t completely sure whether it would lead me back to the palace, but I couldn’t stop to think too much about it.

The dark forest was full of mist as I tried to run, and I stumbled on a few high roots and rocks. I didn’t dare look back as I regained my balance, instead forcing myself to continue running.

But all at once, everything became very quiet again. I stopped, catching my breath as I looked around me.

“Sionn?” I whispered.

The creeping feeling that I wasn’t alone gave me goosebumps, and I thought about bringing out my wings and trying to find an opening to fly away. But as I tried to take a step forward, I suddenly felt something wrap around my ankle, almost making me fall.

I twisted around, looking down to see that it was a vine that had wrapped around me. I realized that I could hear the sounds of something rushing toward me and saw that more vines were creeping my way.

“No!” I yelled, pulling my foot as hard as possible to escape the vine that had me.

I managed to break free and took off running again, though the vines were right behind me. It was like the plants had come alive and were after me.

Seeing an opening in the trees, I brought out my wings, ready to fly away from here, but lost my chance as more vines suddenly wrapped around my waist and legs. I screamed as I was dragged to the ground, pulling frantically at them to get away, but they held onto me like chains.

“Please, help me!” I cried out. “Rayne!”

All at once there was a gust of wind over me, and in that instant, the vines had all been slashed. My eyes widened as I realized that I was now in the protective arms of my love.

He wasn’t alone either. Lord Jekia was there along with Emelio.

The vines were still coming and attempted to wrap around Lord Jekia, but he slashed through them easily, then looked at Emelio.

“This spell is a nuisance. Be rid of it,” he ordered.

“Yes, sire,” Emelio agreed without hesitation. He held up his hand, a bright sphere of light appearing over his palm. “Be gone with the darkness and let in the light. The damned have no domain here!”

The light shot out all around us, enveloping us in warmth while the vines were burned away. It only lasted maybe ten seconds, but as it faded, the forest began to look normal.

I realized that I recognized it. This was an area close to Belgan that I’d crossed through with Selenia the day before.

“Are you all right, Luna? You’re not hurt, are you?” Rayne asked me as he checked me over.

“N-no, I don’t think so,” I responded, still looking around us. “Is it all gone now?”

“Don’t fear, my lady. The spell is broken and it appears that the Fallen has backed off and retreated, although I must say that this was cut close,” Emelio answered.

“Unfortunately, although we did luck out with the intervention,” Lord Jekia acknowledged, looking a bit exhausted.

“Maybe it would be better for us to take Luna back right away then. It could be dangerous to stay out here in the open while it’s still night,” Rayne suggested.

Lord Jekia nodded. “I agree. Let’s head back. We can figure out our next moves when we get home.”

Rayne stood up, picking me up. “Just hold onto me. It will be quicker this way,” he told me.

I agreed, holding onto his shoulders before he and Jekia sprinted off, heading back toward the palace. But that lingering darkness remained even with the relief and safety I felt.

The dangerous turn things were taking was very real, and I had the sense that it was all starting to come to a head now that my father had shown himself.