Chapter 6: Lingerie and Magic

I woke to a soft tapping sound. It took my sleepy brain a moment to realize that it was knocking. Someone was knocking on a door.

There were no doors in the forest.

Nor beds.

I stretched my limbs among the pillowy softness before sitting up.

A groggy “Hmmm?” was all I could manage as I stifled a yawn.

“Luna?” Liz’s voice sounded before she stuck her head through the door. “Oh! You’re awake!” came her surprised gasp as if she hadn’t been the one to wake me.

She swept into the room with a tray in her hand and went to place it on a small round table situated in one corner of the room.

“Thank goodness. I was beginning to think you were sick. Alpha Linus said not to wake you, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay…after last night. And, well, I also wasn’t sure what to do about the visitors. Alpha Linus said not to let you have any visitors, but they keep showing up and I don’t know how long I can keep turning people away. I brought you breakfast. I wasn’t sure if you like tea or coffee, so I brought both. And water. Or do you prefer juice? I don’t think I have any in the kitchens but there’s a shop just down the street—”

“Liz?” I interrupted, my brain hurting from her verbal spiel.

“Yes, Luna?”

“It’s too early for any reasonable person to be moving around that much.”

As she spoke, she’d flit from one end of the room to another, opening the drapes, straightening this, and repositioning that.

She regarded me for a split second before announcing, “But it’s almost noon.”

“Is it?” I responded blankly.

The brilliant streams of sunlight now filtering through the windows, should have clued me in that it was well past my regular waking hours but I hadn’t been awake long enough to process more than one thing at a time, and Liz had captured all my focus.

I slid from the comfort of the bed. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time shall we?” I suggested, sliding into one of the two chairs around the table. “Starting with the most important thing—breakfast,” I announced and smiled in satisfaction at the tray’s bountiful offering.

Despite being full when I fell asleep last night —this morning?—my belly was thoroughly empty now. The scent of coffee was balm to my soul though I never drank the stuff. I’d tried it once and my heart had tried forcing its way out of my chest.

Scary stuff. But I loved the smell of it.

I reached for the cup of tea and could practically feel Liz’s stare boring into me.

I glanced up to confirm my suspicion. “Would you like to join me, Liz?” I asked when our eyes met.

“Oh no, thank you. I already ate.”

Knowing I wouldn’t be able to swallow a bite with her standing over me, I sent her my best attempt at a beatific smile. “At least sit. I insist.”

When Liz was properly seated across from me, I took a sip of tea.

“Thank you for breakfast,” I told her.

A blush stole her features. “It’s my honor to serve you, Luna.”

I almost choked on my tea. It hadn’t been the first time she’d called me that this morning, but my brain was finally awake enough to address it.

“You don’t have to call me Luna,” I told Liz. “Valen and I haven’t even completed our mate bond yet.”

The title of Luna was only given to an Alpha’s formal mate. And you only became a formal mate once you have completed the mate bond.

“Oh, well it shouldn’t be much longer. Alpha Linus clearly cares about you very much.”

I looked at Liz dubiously. “You don’t need to lie to make me feel better, Liz,” I chided gently. “I know very well that Valen isn’t thrilled at the idea of being mated.”

Liz looked like I’d kicked her puppy.

“Is it because of what Bethany said? Please forgive her, Luna, she didn’t mean any of it. She was only—well I can’t say I know exactly why she acted like that. I’ve never seen her behave that way before. She’s actually very nice once you get to know her. I’ll talk to her and—”

“It doesn't have anything to do with what Bethany said. And I’m not angry with her…anymore,” I added, because Liz looked very close to tears.

She was a bit capricious, wasn’t she?

“Let’s forget about whether Valen likes me or not for the moment. What I meant to say was, even after we’re formally bonded, you still don’t have to call me Luna,” I explained.

“I can’t do that!” she gasped, sounding scandalized.

I pouted. “I don’t like the idea of my friends calling me Luna. That means I can’t call you Liz. And I very much like the name Liz.”

“Friends… Are we…friends?” she looked stupified by the very suggestion.

“Aren’t we?” I asked back, mirroring her expression.

Seconds slid by as she appeared to contemplate my question. And then a shy smile stole over her face.

Liz was just the most adorable creature.

“I’d like that a lot. If we were friends, Zira.” I could tell she was trying out my name as if she hadn’t said it before.

“I’d like that a lot too, Liz.”

***

After breakfast, I went to take a shower in the adjoining bathroom. I had worried aloud about cleaning up and that I needed to get clothes and Liz had excitedly told me I shouldn’t worry about clothes for now.

Apparently, those ‘visitors’ she’d mentioned earlier were pack members who had dropped by to see their new Luna. Word traveled fast in a shifter community and it seemed Bethany and I had drawn a lot of attention last night.

“They brought you a lot of gifts!” Liz had squealed in excitement. “I’ll take them up while you shower.”

Now, post-shower, and freshly washed hair, I stared in awe at the numerous packages that covered every bare surface of the room.

Liz stumbled into the room again, her arms laden with another set of bags.

“Still?” I asked, relieving her of some of her burden, and searching for a place to put them.

“There’s still some left downstairs. They keep showing up,” Liz said, sounding out of breath. “I guess everyone was really happy that our Alpha will finally be mated.”

I said nothing to that.

For one thing, I knew not everyone would welcome the news that Valen had found his mate. But also, judging by the numerous gifts that had overtaken the room, at least half the people here did welcome it.

I wondered how long it would take for their Alpha to fall in line.

After digging through a small portion of the bags and boxes, I saw that Liz had been correct in her earlier assurance that I didn't need to worry about clothes for a while.

There was plenty to choose from.

It was a complicated mix of colors, fabrics, and designs that immediately gave me a headache just trying to figure out which to choose.

I steered clear of jeans. Those things were horridly uncomfortable and restrictive.

My fashion taste tended to lean toward efficiency and comfort more than anything else.

Spending most of my days in the woods, exploring and hunting for food, did not make many fashionable clothing items feasible options. And even if it did, I would probably still opt out of it.

Personally, I’d opt out of clothes altogether, but I hadn’t come across a society, human or supernatural, that had given up the confinement of clothes.

If there was a race who was as comfortable in nakedness as shifters, I had yet to meet them, but even shifters felt the need to use the trappings when they returned to human form.

I had eventually gotten used to wearing dresses and skirts with loose, flowy fabric. Pants and shorts of equally fluid material made an appearance when I needed to go hunting.

After digging further through a pile on the bed, I found a few dresses that were to my taste. One rather large box contained an assortment of underwear; none of which seemed particularly practical.

I lifted an exceptionally small slip of red silk and eyed it dubiously. “What…exactly do I do with this?” I asked Liz hesitantly.

A light red stain appeared on Liz’s cheeks when she saw what I was holding.

“Oh. That must be from Clara. She owns a lingerie shop a few streets over. She designs them and everything. She’s really nice. You’ll like her.”

I turned the…lingerie over and examined it closely. As far as I knew, underwear was designed to either cover, support, or both. The scrap of red in my hand could do neither. I said as much to Liz, and she made a strange sound, somewhere between a cough and a laugh.

“I don’t think that’s what Clara had in mind when she made it,” Liz finally said.

“Then why?”

Liz looked at me as if she was wondering if I was joking or not. She must have decided I was because she finally answered.

“Seduction.”

“Seduction?” I parroted dumbly, thinking it over.

“Why would you need clothes for seduction?” I asked Liz again. It all seemed counterintuitive to me. The whole business of seduction was so everyone involved would take their clothes off, wasn’t it?

Liz didn’t seem to have an answer for me so I dropped the silk fabric back in the box, and continued my search. Most of the other undergarments were similarly minuscule and impractical.

I chose one of the safest-looking black satin pairs with lace trimmings and put the rest back in the box.

I chose a dark green dress with capped straps and a close-fitting bodice. The skirt flowed freely to an inch or so above my knees. It was a suspiciously perfect fit but I supposed that was something to be grateful for.

I would need to find the time to thank everyone for the gifts, but for now, it was time to locate my ever-elusive mate.

Liz offered to dry my hair, and I gratefully accepted since it would have taken ages to let it dry on its own. I brushed off her offer to help me put it in a braid, however, since that also took more time than I was willing to sacrifice just then.

“We don’t have time. I have to find Valen,” I told her, jumping from the seat I had occupied as she’d dried my hair.

“Do you want me to call him?” Liz offered but I rejected the offer as I led her to the door.

“I’ll do it myself. Thanks for the offer though. And thanks for drying my hair. And breakfast. And letting me stay here last night. Really appreciate it, Liz. I’ll see you later, okay?”

I closed the door before she could protest, or offer her assistance again.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I was to test my new powers.

I hurried over to the bed and removed as many items as I could before I sat cross-legged in the center. I placed my palms over my knees, closed my eyes, and took several deep breaths.

I’d only used this ability a few times—the first one entirely by accident. I had spent the day hunting for dinner… unsuccessfully.

My stomach protested as I thought about a tavern I had frequented in a Fae district a few months back. They made the best bread.

I closed my eyes and thought about every detail of the place until I could almost smell the delicious scent of freshly baked fermented dough. Then I’d felt lightheaded. A floaty feeling had taken my body even though I was lying down.

Then, I couldn't only smell the familiar scent, but could hear the sound of pots and pans clinking in the background and the feel of cold, scratchy grass under my back gave way to warm, solid wood.

I opened my eyes to a familiar haphazard ceiling. I was lying in the middle of a tavern. The same tavern I had only just pictured in vivid detail. Fortunately, it hadn’t been open, or I was sure to give the customers a heart attack.

It had been a joyful, yet draining experience. One I had only ever tried twice more.

Now as I sat in bed, I wondered if I would succeed this time. In all the previous cases, I had thought of places. Places I had already visited before and could picture in vivid detail.

Now I was attempting to use a person as a guide.

The only person I could find even with all senses impaired.

Valen.

I pictured him as I had seen him last night rather than the images I held of him from my dreams.

Valen with dark, gray eyes who never smiled. Valen with white blonde hair that brushed his chin. Valen with tattoos I knew nothing about. Three tattoos. Valen, whose aura was as strong and steady as his heartbeat.

“Found you,” I whispered under my breath the moment I latched onto him.

It was hard to describe how it felt when I traveled. That’s how I thought of the time between my disappearance from one place and my appearance in the next. It felt like I was wading through water with tunnel vision. And the only thing in sight is my intended destination.

I knew immediately when I arrived. The scent in the air changed from light and airy, to warm and woodsy. I opened my eyes and winced at the pain in my head. I was sitting in what appeared to be a kitchen.

My limbs didn't feel all the way there, so I didn’t attempt to stand immediately, but my attention was captured by the other presence in the room.

There was a half-naked man standing with his back to me and a bottle to his head.

A man that wasn’t Valen, but a man I recognized immediately even though I couldn’t see his face.

“Ezra?”