*Lilly*At first, I was hesitant. But Ni looked confident. So I walked, minding my steps because these rocks were slippery. Luckily, the stairs weren't steep, so it wasn't too dangerous, I guess."Be really careful, Love." Luca's voice sounded in my head and I nodded.The air became colder when we walked under the thick vines and leaves that spread to form this natural roof. It's getting darker and darker in here. At first, I couldn't see anything. But a few seconds later, my vision adapted more and more, until my sight was finally quite clear.Under the vine roof, there was nothing but creeping plants. I saw several animal eyes shining in the dark, they were hiding behind wide leaves. Either they were shy and scared to go out, or they were ready to attack us.And then something hit me, as I just realized there were plenty of animals here where I thought there were none earlier. Because since the moment we got Mira in our hand, there were no animal sounds, not even crickets. Very quie
*Lilly’s Pov*Bones… So many bones, and skulls..It clicked me and sent a shiver to my head to toe when I recognized some skulls belonging to humans. They were scattered everywhere from under the vines that were now moving backward as if someone had pulled them from there.I stepped back in shock.“What’s wrong with them?” I looked at the scene in horror. Do all the plants here really eat humans or anything alive near them?“They are looters…” Ni replied. “Ever since Elden Wood lost its guardians and grew wilder without soul due to Mira’s actions, some wanted to take the hidden treasures here, believe that Elden Wood hides precious stones under this altar. They also believe that the plants that grow and the water that flows in Elden Wood have the power to restore youth…” Ni paused for a moment.“...Because they see how Dryads and all the inhabitants of this forest can live longer than the others…”I was stunned. “Is that true?”Ni shrugged her shoulder then sighed, “Nah, we could liv
“Lilly? Love? Can you hear me? Please, wake up….”“Cyllina!”Those voices came back and forth as I began to gain consciousness. My eyes were still closed and were really heavy, I almost couldn’t open them up.“Nghh…” I groaned and frowned as the pain in my head throbbed.“Hey…” I felt a familiar touch caressing my cheek. The mate bond sparks towards his touch sending the warmth to every vein on my body. It immediately pulled me out of the darkness. I gasped for more air as I felt like there was no more for me to breathe.I opened my eyes but then closed them again as I didn't expect the light would be so bright hitting my retina.“Luca?” I called him, I wanted to hear his voice to make sure that I was safe here.“Yes? I am here my love.” He held my hand and kissed it. I finally squinted my eyes to look around.Why is it so bright? "Where are we?" I said it out loud.“Still here, in Elden Wood…” He answered me.Then, something struck me. How we got here, what we were doing, what we did
I smiled and nodded, “I also thank you for helping us until we get here.” I said sincerely, “Ni, I wish my mother was here and everything I went through in the past was just a dream…” Tears started well in my eyes, but I held them back from falling."My sweet, Cyllina..." Ni suddenly changed her form from the size of a butterfly, now standing in front of me, human-sized and taller a little bit from me.“Cyllina, your mother, Runa, must be proud of you.” She hugged me. In her embrace, I could feel her sadness. She also lost her best friend, her sister.“We can’t undo what’s already happened. Trust me, Elden Wood is now free from the witch’s curse and torment…” Ni looked at the stone table under the altar roof. The net was still there, but I didn’t see Mira’s figure inside it at all.“For hundreds of years, when the Dryads were killed for her greed, this forest lost its guardians. The Dryads were the soul of this forest. But that Dark Witch took everything, making Elden Wood grow in ven
Ni walked towards him and stared at us in turns.“Nos, you can say that he is the sacred gazelle of Elden Wood, our spiritual guardian. He helped us maintain our clear mind. He is the one you are looking for if you were in your lowest state.” She paused a moment and sighed.“.… When Mira attacked us hundreds of years ago, Nos who we believed couldn’t lift a finger to an annoying cricket, helped us fight that witch, and that battle hurt him badly. When the Dryads were gone, he blended into the woods and we never saw him again. I felt his presence, by the wind, by the moving trees, but I never saw him.”Now I understand why sometimes I feel like I am not in control of my body.It was Nos. He used me as an intermediary and guided us all the way here. Including that ritual… It was him…“Will we see him again?” I asked, looking at the majestic statue of Nos. His large, branching horns reminded me of my dream, where he and my mother had spoken to me.“Maybe?” She shrugged, “Nos is one of th
*LUCA's POV*It’s not that easy for me to stop an excited Lilly and forbid her from running,“Love, no, please don't run, slowly.” I sighed and carried her bag, which I had made from tree bark. When I made it, I felt like I was back in the Stone Age. The edges of the rope were still very rough, and I sometimes saw my mate's back turn red from wearing it.I promise to make her a better one. If we go back to Blue Moon, I'll order a special purse from the human city for her. They make the best ones.“Luca, come on!” Lilly waved her hand at me. She had already arrived near some fairly large rocks on the river's edge.I saw her about to go into the river, only a step away from plunging her feet into the clear, flowing water. And I immediately stopped her.“Woah.. Wait, wait..” I ran and pulled her back two steps further from the edge of the river.“Why? I want to take a bath…” She pouted. I stared at those pouted lips and bent over to touch them with mine. She is soft and sweet as ever.“M
Adam’s POVI saw the look she gave me. Those bright, beautiful, green eyes, apologetically met mine. I was bewitched by it.How come she had the most enchanted eyes? I met so many women from hundreds of years of my life, I never met one like her.She spoke and acted without hiding any bad intention, a pure and soft-hearted one. Was it because she was one of my kind?Well, now it makes sense because I only met one Dryad descendant other than me and it was her.I don’t understand why her mate hated me. That Lycan always looked at me like I was a criminal. He maybe thought that I wanted to steal his mate. Which I don’t… or at least that is what was in my head days after we met.It would be a lie if I said I didn’t get excited to meet my own kind. I thought I was the only one left, but even after years I finally arrived here at Elden Wood, I found no one here except for Ni, the fairy water. But then, out of nowhere, I met her, I found another Dryad, a beautiful one indeed.I thought she w
Lilly’s POVWe made it back when it was almost dark.Luca carried me again because he said it was slippery and I didn’t refuse this time.I almost couldn’t feel my leg.Luca was taking his time, and it also surprised me what happened to Largo.It was me who wanted him, I didn’t know why I felt so aroused these past few days when it was just the two of us. And Largo didn’t wait a second when I asked him to have his way with me.But something halted him from it. He usually will do anything as he pleases, but today, he did it really slowly as If he was afraid. And it was the first time he did that. He usually made me scream and beg for him to stop and I was tired, and he wouldn’t even listen.I thought maybe it was because we were on a rock in the middle of the river. They might think it would hurt me if they did it just like the way at home or on solid ground.But I was so aroused that I beg them, that waterfall reminds me of the one we have back at Blue Moon. Where they did the Luna ri