Luna Rising

THIRTY-SEVEN

With Jippies teleportation magic, we all arrived where he sensed the monster's energy.

I let out a sigh thinking about Michael being left behind. Dominic noticed and went by my side, taking my hand.

"He will be alright," as if he had read my thoughts. "Malik will make sure the child will be protected."

I smile. "I know. However, he and I don't see eye to eye. I will trust him for you. And I know Scylla and Takkar will also keep the baby safe."

The forest is quiet, and all you can hear are the crickets cricking and the gust of nightly wind. I feel an evil eerie aura coming from the cave before us.

"This place is stench with demonic energy," My nose wiggles nose and I can feel the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise.

"Princess, we need to destroy the monster before it attacks again," Jippies said, and he snapped his fingers and created a barrier to keep the thing inside. "This wouldn't hold it in, but it will give us time to kill it."

"Camila, Kaze, do you think you can handle outside guarding the cave," looking at the two.

"No worry Master," Kaze bows his head. "I'll make sure nothing gets passed us."

I pat the large canine's head. "Good boy," I smile, then glance at Camila. "Cam, I know you want to come with us, but I don't want to risk getting you endangered."

"It's cool," she shrugs and feels her shoulders slump. Camila wants to get into action, but I don't want to let her get hurt since she is young. "I don't mind guarding the entrance." Then her mind linked with me. "Besides, I don't want to be next to that guy."

I take a glance at Clayton talking to Dominic before looking away. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No, I just feel...strange around him,"

"And by strange, you mean?"

Camila grunts and scratches her head. "I don't know. He's not only annoying, but I find his presence a bit relaxing, yet I felt a strange pull coming from Clayton while you were in the nursery with Michael. I can't explain it, but his obnoxiousness and flirtatious behavior make me...tingling."

"Tingling?" I repeated.

"Yeah, and I hate the thought of him with other girls. Of course, he wouldn't be with someone younger than him and a curse. I feel somewhat happy around him." Camila let out a sigh. "Do you know what's happening to me?"

Camila is sixteen and will be turning seventeen in three months. Were-jaguars don't have mates, just lovers that don't last long. Camila's clan is full of women; they are the only clan with a tradition of not having a mate. The chief believes they don't need men in their life. Camila told me their first chief, the founder of the clan, once found her mate and was in love, but that mate had betrayed and used her for his benefit of becoming chief.

I remember back in Romania, Clayton had a slight interest in Camila. I am still determining the term of it. I assume he treats her like a sister. But I caught him staring at her when she was fighting the demons like a warrior. He, as a man, stared at Camila as a woman. And after hearing Camila's feelings about Clayton, I concluded that something was happening between them. That tingling feeling she is feeling is when you sense the attraction of a mate.

She has been kept from the outside world and not taught that having a mate makes Camila confused and worried. She has that phase. I know she isn't kept in the dark about relationships. She's a big fan of romantic comedies and sitcoms with romance. Camila would also talk to me about boys sometimes. She has never seen one except Arlo, but he's a demon, Kaze is a dire wolf, and Takkar is an ogre. She doesn't know about boys her age. She feels uncomfortable around Clayton because he's a bit older than her, and she doesn't know what to do in that situation.

Plus, they don't know each other very well.

Does that mean Clayton and Camila are...?

No, it can't be. Clayton is nine years older, and Camila isn't ready since she wasn't taught firsthand when encountering her mate. Also, Clayton has been with a few females; he's more popular with the ladies and has broken a couple of hearts. What I'm worried about most is what if they aren't meant to be and break her heart.

Of course, Malik found his mate and was possessive of Scylla. Once Camila turns seventeen, everything will be changed between them. Clayton will sense her as his mate.

Seventeen is still young, and I wanted her to wait for her to be eighteen. If she felt the tingling rupture inside Clayton, I had no choice but to block the mating phase. She's not ready, and being a cursed black Jaguar still needs to be taken care of. I need to research her curse, but all I learned from her mother and the chief; the curse is deadly, a bad omen that their god had punished because of the first chief. I remembered those words before leaving the clan.

Once the Black Jaguar finds her mate, she will die.

In short. Suppose Camila falls in love with Clayton and claims him as her mate. She will die.

If my theory is correct and Clayton is her mate, I prevent them from being together as her guardian and mentor.

I wave my arm in front of Camila as she blinks, then stares. "What was that for?" Our mind link cuts off.

"A protection spell," I lied with a smile, which was a guilt trip. "Anyways, we will talk about that thing later, okay?"

Camila nodded as I left her and walked toward Dominic and Clayton. Looking over my shoulder, I can see Camila's wry expression. At least with the spell, I cast on her, she wouldn't think about the mating phase.

"Is everything okay?" Dominic asked, which had me snap my head.

"Yeah, everything is fine," I smile, peaking at Camila one last time. "Clayton, you are coming with us."

"Sure, but why can't I stay with Camila?" He asked. He doesn't sound curious, more like a young girl and a dire wolf guarding the cave entrance, and having one more person will be better than two.

"Don't worry about them. She and Kaze can handle themselves," I say. The spell I had placed on Camila let out resistance to Clayton's overbearing protection that a mate would do. I just got to separate the two before figuring out how to help Camila.

A low rumbling sound from inside the cave had all of us look.

"What the hell is that?" Clayton ask.

"The monster," Arlo replied, his voice firm.

Another menacing growl echoes inside the cave.

"And he's awake and hungry," Saye added.

"We have to hurry," stepping forward and building my magic in my hand as it glows bright white. "We mustn't let that thing get out."

"Princess, you must use your light magic," Jippies calls out. "Anything holy can hurt the creature."

"Got it," I inhale and let it out. I felt a hand around mine and looked at the person next to me with a smile. "Let's go."

I took a step away from Dominic and entered the cave, with the rest following me in pursuit.