Luna woke to a soft rumbling sound, and her body bouncing slightly on top of some cushion.
She parted her lashes, wincing when the light burned her retinas.
But when they adjusted, her brows drew together when she realized she was in a car.
She sat up in the backseat, letting out a soft yawn before she gazed at the driver.
From those brown locks and orange eyes, she knew it was Elijah.
But was it the real one?
"L... Lijah?" she whispered.
He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Hey, baby. You okay?"
She relaxed a little at the name.
But she just urged herself forward and crawled over the center console—to the passenger seat—and Elijah moved slightly out of the way so she could fit.
She did, and she plopped down onto the seat, staring at him.
His eyes were focused on the road, but they were slightly hardened—angry, almost.
"Can you..." she said then, making sure he wouldn't flip, "show me... dove?"
He glanced at her and smiled softly, lowering the collar of his shirt to expose it.
The moment she saw the black dove still drawn on his skin, she relaxed back into herself, staring out the front window.
"Why we in car, Lijah?" she asked him.
He chuckled softly. "We're in the car because last night when you fell asleep, my reflection tried to kidnap you."
She looked at him and her eyes widened. "What?!"
He nodded. "Yeah... sad, right? He even threatened me with a knife."
Luna sputtered her lips. "No one threatens Lijah with knife. Knives are unworthy to Lijah."
He chuckled then. "Yeah, he was stupid. A gun would've been better, but still... really? At least use enchanted weapons."
"Did you kill him?" Luna said.
Elijah sighed. "No, I started doing my usual psychopath taunting, cut him a little, and he ran off with his tail between his legs."
Luna giggled. "He's scared of Lijah."
He glanced over at her in amusement. "Yeah."
They were silent for a moment.
"Lijah where we going?" she asked then.
He smiled a little. "To the woods a ways away from here. In the mountains. Now that the master knows where my cabin was, I had to ditch it, so now we're going to live in the woods."
"Why not another house?" she said then.
"They'd find it, Angel."
She sputtered her lips again. "They won't find us in woods?"
He shook his head. "Less likely. There's no address on a tent, is there?"
She giggled. "Elijah's smart."
"I just have survival instincts," he told her, shrugging. "I know the woods well because of my wolf, so I know the ways of the woods better than the master."
"What about groceries?" she asked him then.
He glanced at her in amusement. "We can hunt, Luna. I hunt them, you drink the blood, I eat the meat."
She smiled then. "Okay!"
He chuckled then, and stared back forward.
They were silent for another long moment.
"Luna," he said then.
She gazed up. "Yes?"
He paused for a moment, as if hesitating. "About what happened yesterday... with the master and that reflection of me. How do you... feel about me?"
He glanced at her. "I know it wasn't me who hurt you, but... still, do you still trust me?"
She stared back forward then, eyes darkening. "Uhm... yeah."
"You're not being honest," he said to her.
"I just nervous," she told him. "I trust you, yeah, but...."
"Not as much as you did?" he finished.
She nodded shyly.
He raked his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Angel. I really am."
"It's not Lijah's fault," she said quietly.
"Yes," he replied, gritting his teeth, "it is. I let him knock me out so he could take you! And I didn't wake up in time to prevent you from falling!"
"It's not Lijah's fault," she repeated.
He sighed then, patting the steering wheel impatiently. "I know, but I... could've prevented it."
"It already happened," she told him, watching herself rock her feet side to side, "so it cannot be changed, so therefore, it is not something to dwell upon."
He was silent for a moment, though she avoided eye contact. "Your trust in me was broken," he said then, making her close her eyes tightly. "And I don't know how to fix it. Because you trusted me from the beginning—when I didn't even know you—you put your life in my hands when I didn't trust you, and I finally gave you mine, and now... that was taken from me."
She lowered her head as tears stung her eyes, and she hiccuped a little when the cold swarmed her chest. "I sorry. I sorry I hurt you."
Elijah set his hand on her thigh, making her gaze up hazily. "It's not your fault either, Angel. It's the master's."
She lowered her head again, and he just set his hand there and lightly pet it.
She just hiccuped and lowered herself on his lap, resting her head on his thigh despite him having to constantly lift it to press the gas or the brake.
"Shh..." he soothed, brushing his fingers through her hair.
He then set his hand on her forehead. "Intrabit in mentum."
She closed her eyes as her brain fogged.
"Go to sleep," he whispered.
Her lashes fluttered shut, and she drifted off onto his lap.
He just kept his hand in her hair. "We're an hour away, so just relax for now, okay?"
A/N:
There, first chapter. Thoughts?
YOU ARE READING
Secrets (Crave: 3) (FINISHED)
VampireI will kill him. I will mutilate him. I will make him hurt. And he'd never want to be alive again. After Luna was almost murdered by the doppelgänger mirroring her lover, Elijah finally got her back in his arms to protect her. Luna was fragile now...
