*Noah*
I was completely taken by how Zara seed to have gotten more beautiful overnight. I gazed at her, lost in her eyes for a mont as I gave her a light smile.
Questions kept nagging at my mind. Who was this woman, and why did she have such a powerful pull on ? Why couldn’t I rember?
I felt my wolf’s frustration lding with my own at the fact that we just couldn’t grasp what was going on here. At least, in the mont, I could admire the person I was drawn to so much.
She wasn’t wandering off and trying to avoid , either, or telling to go away, which was a relief. I looked down and gazed from the cara to her again.
“You looked like you were having fun getting into a good position,” I comnted.
She giggled. “This sort of thing is very fun, yes. May as well bask in the attention while I have the chance,” she said with a good dose of confidence.
That made my smile widen. Confidence was a wonderful thing to have, and wow, did she have it. I chuckled and dipped my head. “By all ans. Let’s take so more pictures then?”
“Sure.”
I was delighted when she began switching poses, too. She did a laying pose, draped across a patch of grass with flowers rising behind her. That was very artistic and wonderful.
“You can go lay in them,” I suggested. “I think that’d make for a good one.”
“I won’t ruin the flowers?”
“No, it’s alright. My aunts will be delighted for them to be used this way.”
She grinned and moved back a bit, posing in the flowers first in a laying position, then sitting down. She leaned down to take a pose of slling the flowers. Then, she stood up again, striking several more poses.
Delight and surprise flowed through at the number of poses she was doing, and I made sure to snap every one at several angles. When we took a rest, Zara sat near , and I felt a connection crackling between us.
The sensation of being drawn to her so powerfully never went away, and only intensified the closer she got.
“Where’d you get this eye for photography?” she asked.
“My aunts taught photography when I was young. I visited often. They still have a darkroom in the attic, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh? I’m not surprised,” she said. “They are really lovely and artistic people.”
I bead at her and nodded. “They are. We’re close. I knew they’d go out of their way to help us. I’m relieved they did.”
“ too.”
Zara stared off through the garden for a mont, then gave a warm smile that sent shivers down my spine. I wanted to take her into my arms right then and hold her close, but I resisted the urge to do so.
With a hum, she said, “Can you teach ?”
I smiled at her and nodded. “Of course, I can, beautiful... only if you’ll listen to .”
“Hm, I’ll give that a maybe,” she joked.
I chuckled. I handed her the cara, and soon directed her around the garden. I pointed at a group of roses that had been set up in a heart formation. “That’d make for a nice picture.”
“What a sweet arrangent!” she agreed.
I had her adjust the angles she was taking the picture with, and she listened intently to my instructions, soon snapping several pictures before we moved on.
“It takes a keen eye to get the angle and lighting just right. Photography is an art,” I explained to her, and she nodded. We spent so more ti taking pictures together before another thought entered my mind.
“Oh, and I called the palace. I’ll be eting with the Alpha King at the end of the week. Did you want to head to the palace with , or stay here at Midnight Sun?”
She frowned in thought, and I expected her to demand to go ho after all this.
But her expression turned thoughtful. “Well, your aunts offered to help us figure out what’s going on with the mate bond situation.”
I felt a pang of anxiety rush through at the ntion of that, swallowing a bit. I knew how dangerous the Luna Lilies were at this point, and what they’d done.
If that was what they ant, I wanted nothing to do with it. I had a really close connection to Zara and wanted to figure it out, but that had only made things a lot worse.
I gazed into her eyes, and she looked back at . Lost in them a mont, I asked, “After what’s happened, is it a good idea to look into it?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “I really want to figure out if there’s a chance we can work, Noah. I... feel the connection to you still. Everything we’ve gone through... I don’t want that lost.”
“I don’t either,” I said, though I couldn’t rember what she was talking about at all. Yes, that bothered , but still, after everything that happened....
Still looking deep into her eyes, her unwavering expression and posture, I realized this was sothing very important to her. “Alright,” I said after a pause. “But on one condition.”
“Oh?” she asked, raising a brow, possibly preparing to argue with or be stubborn.
I nodded. “As long as I don’t have to drink any of that tea or take anything. And... with our baby inside of you, you shouldn’t either.”
Zara sighed in relief, no doubt glad I was willing to work on this. With that in mind, we finished up taking pictures and went up to the attic darkroom I told her about.
It was just as I rembered, too. My aunts must have still been using the space for their pictures. I smiled lightly at that thought, so happy they still embraced their artistic side.
I hoped they never stopped.
We began working on the pictures, with explaining to her the delicate process of developing them. She nodded, listening intently.
“Sotis, you get the funniest of pictures while snapping them in nature,” I told her.
“Oh? Tell a story of one, then. I need to hear it.”
“Heh. Well, once I snapped a picture of a bird drunk on fernted berries.”
“What?” She couldn’t help but give a giggle. “Is that a common thing?”
“I don’t know, but would you believe they act like us when drunk? They’re completely uncoordinated. The poor thing was stumbling everywhere.”
“Oh dear. Did it end up alright?”
“Yep. Just fine, aside from what was probably a massive hangover after it woke up again, of course.”
Zara gave a light bit of laughter, her face lit up by the dim red light. I turned to give her a grin, my eyes fixing on her as I found myself staring at her again.
Moon Goddess, she was beautiful. The intense urge to kiss her washed over , but I ignored it. That would be pushing things too fast.
I didn’t want to ruin this mont by doing that.
We moved on to hanging up the photos to dry, both of us being as delicate as possible. I watched Zara’s eyes light up as she examined each one.
“Our day together,” she whispered.
I nodded, hesitating before placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Couldn’t have gotten all these amazing snaps without your help, beautiful.”
“You’re just saying that to get on my good side,” she teased.
“Nope, that’s a legit complint. You really do have an eye for photography, Zara.”
“Really?” she whispered, beaming at the photos. “Thank you, Noah.” Suddenly, she gasped and giggled. “Look at this one!”
I tilted my head, looking at the one she pointed out and having to give a laugh as well. She had taken a picture of , and right before she snapped it, I had made a very silly expression.
“Couldn’t let you take the spotlight with being goofy,” I said.
“I think my expression is sillier, though!”
“Oh? Let see.”
I looked at a photo where she was sticking her tongue out and closing her eyes, and I just had to chuckle. “How about we call it a draw?” I asked.
“Deal.”
She continued looking through the photos, and as I stood there beside her, the desire to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close ca over . I really wanted to do so.
Then, she turned her head and caught my stare. She must have seen my dark eyes swell with longing. I heard her breath catch as I kept my expression entranced by her.
I removed my hand from her shoulder, then reached up to gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. I couldn’t help it now. My fingers trailed lightly down her cheek.
Zara shivered, causing wanting to rush through . She was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen, even here lit up by that dim red light.
Zara’s eyes slowly began to close as I leaned in. My heart pounded as my lips ca closer and closer to hers. She wanted to kiss , and I felt elated. I closed my eyes, waiting to feel her soft lips against mine.
That never happened, unfortunately.
Just before our lips t, Zara pulled back. I opened my eyes to stare at her as a look of uncertainty crossed her face. Hurt twisted into my expression as I felt a stab of sadness rush through .
We were so close to sharing the mont, so close to kissing. I wanted to feel her lips against mine, to embrace her, to hold her close.
“I want to make sure we’re taking things slow and moving forward for the right reasons,” Zara said softly. She closed her eyes and reached up to rub her temples. “Not... just falling into old habits.”
“Old habits?”
She nodded. “I can’t face you forgetting everything again, Noah. I just can’t.”
“I understand,” I said, my tone wavering sowhat. I tried my best to mask my frustration, giving a nod. She couldn’t even give a chance.
I knew she felt sothing for . I had a feeling she shared the feelings I had for her. But this woman was so uncertain with .
That hurt. My wolf was overco by that feeling as well. It was horrible.
After a pause, we returned to packaging up the photos. Zara wasn’t too shaken, though was deep in thought as she handled each photo.
I saw her gaze lovingly into each one as she took care to store it properly per my instructions. The joy that crossed her face caused most of my negative emotions to fade right in that mont.
I wanted to see that joy again. I wanted to see it all the ti, no more of that uncertainty and despair.
We both were so drawn to each other.
No matter how long it took, I knew I’d find a way to help Zara trust in our connection, even without the mate bond.
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