Omega Moon

Chapter Four

The first thing she noticed when Melody woke up was that she was warm and comfortable. She wasn't accustomed to waking up and feeling so content and well-rested. A soft yet happy purr escaped her throat and she heard a low chuckle behind her.

"Awake? I was starting to worry. You slept for nearly two days." Draven said, stroking a strand of hair out of her eyes, "Between the medicinal bath helping to heal your wounds and not taking the suppressants, your body is struggling to stay awake and accept these new changes."

She groaned a bit when she sat up. The pain was no longer in her back, it was as if she were never injured at all. Her guess about medicine being in the bottles had been correct, "I feel weak but better."

"Good." He stood up and pulled on a pair of pants, deciding to go shirtless, which seemed to be a trend among the men here. Not that she was complaining, he was very nice to look at. The omega moved out from under the blankets, seeing the scars from before were gone.

"Your back is healed without a trace, too. Our doctors and herbalists make only the best. They swore they would help others and heal the sick and injured but I never expected they would succeed in creating such a thing. People from all around the world come to the shop here just to buy or trade for their medicines."

Melody moved to stand up, not caring that she was bare. She was safe and comfortable around Draven in a way she was unable to explain. He reached out and helped her into a dark blue sundress that reached just below her knees, the sleeves short with a sweetheart neckline in the front. The material was soft and thin, not to mention comfortable. She chose not to wear shoes when they were offered to her, she always hated having shoes on her feet.

Being barefoot was always her first choice, even as a child. Something Sable never agreed with...

"Come, let's get you something to eat." Draven took her by the hand and led her into the dining room. Everyone else had an early dinner so there were only a few others in the room. Warren was there and speaking with a female she had yet to meet while Landon and Lita were at the table, splitting what looked to be vanilla cake with brightly colored icing on top. Both of them nodded in greeting to her and she responded with a happy little wave.

"Melody!" Warren ran to her and wrapped her up in a hug, "I'm glad you're finally awake!"

"I didn't mean to sleep for so long." She laughed nervously, "Are you liking it here?"

"I am!" He looked back to the female he had just been talking to, "The girl I'm training with is really nice, too."

"I bet she is. She is very pretty." Melody giggled.

"Her name is Alexandra but she goes by Alex."

"Get to know her and ask her out!"

"I... I think I will." Warren took a deep breath and smoothed his hair back before quickly following after her.

Melody sighed happily and looked around. The large room was brightly lit. The cooler-toned colors on the walls and floor made her feel at ease. Her blue eyes looked over the elegant windows that seemed to take up the entirety of the walls. She could easily see the sparkling ocean through the thick glass and her excitement jumped in her chest.

"Can I go to the ocean after we eat?" Melody asked Draven with bright, hopeful eyes and a pitiful pout.

He nodded with a smile, "Of course. But first, you must tell me what you want to eat. Our chefs will cook just about anything."

"I... I'm not sure...?" It was the first time in a long time that she was asked what she wanted instead of just being given stale bread and water. She appeared nervous at him asking, her voice giving out. Draven put a comforting hand on one of hers that was resting on the table. He was worried she was having flashbacks or something, perhaps she had PTSD from living with her aunt and being treated so badly for so long.

"It's alright. There's no need to panic. Would you like to see what we have?"

Her eyes gazed up at him, wide with anxiety, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is." He helped her to stand, "Come on."

Once in the kitchen, she looked at all of her many choices. Half of the stuff, she had to ask what it was. She had no idea what caviar was but it smelled funny. When he explained it was fish eggs, she decided against trying it. There were tanks of fish to choose from. She decided she wouldn't be able to cook her own fish if she ever decided to eat any. They were all so beautiful and it'd break her heart to kill such a thing.

Draven made a mental note to teach her how to gut a fish in case she had to use the knowledge one day. He had to teach her to survive in case he wasn't around to help her. Teaching her to fight and protect herself was at the top of the list. Being Luna, she had him and she had others who would give their lives to protect her but she still needed to know how to protect herself in case they failed. She had been forced to stay in that terrible home for so long, she was innocent of so many things and had to learn. While he was brooding in his mind and worrying over her being protected and prepared, she chose to eat steamed clams. She never had seafood before! All of this was new to her and once she tasted it, she knew it would be the only thing she would choose to be eating for the rest of her life.

"These are so amazing!" She said happily munching on the clams. The chewy texture with the unique taste was quickly becoming one of her favorite things, "Thank you so much! It's so good!"

Draven laughed, happy she was enjoying herself. He was relieved she was enjoying her new home and she hadn't even seen all of it yet. After two large plates of steamed clams with melted butter, Draven led her outside where she ran until her feet hit the sand on the beach. Melody wiggled her toes into the grainy substance, loving the texture. It was different from the snow, grass, and mud she was used to feeling back home. This was warm from the sun and so nice. Soon, her fascination with the sand was overcome with her urge to feel the ocean water. She stopped for but a moment when she felt the cool damp sand under her feet. Once she stopped and the waves gently lapped at her feet, she giggled and stepped further into the water until she was knee-deep. The waves pulled at her and seaweed touched her legs as it moved along with the tide. Draven joined her. She moved out deeper and a wave small hit her. She came up sputtering with her tongue out, a surprised expression over her features.

"Ah! It's sooo salty!" She coughed with her tongue lapping at her lips, she had read in her book that it was salty but this was so much stronger than she had been expecting. She imagined it was a faint salty taste but the fairytale book her father had given her didn't go into detail about the taste of it.

"Yeah, please don't drink it." Draven laughed at her reaction. With a smile on his lips, he took her by the hand and led her deeper until their feet no longer touched the ground. She was quite frightened at first, clinging to him and refusing to let go for fear that the waves would pull her out to sea. He gently coaxed her to float out away from him until she was floating on her own, hand still holding one of his. Soon, she became used to the waves and was laughing as she moved to float on her back. Looking up at the sky, she watched a seagull fly overhead and allowed herself to take a moment and think.

A few days ago, she was forced to be a servant for terrible people who she refused to call family and going about a torturous daily routine. Today, she was eating new foods and swimming in the ocean with her destined mate by her side. Happy tears ran down her face only to be kissed away by the ocean.

She was finally free.