The Alpha: Claiming His Enemy's Daughter
Chapter 516: UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

Chapter 516: UNDER THE MOONLIGHT

"Where do you want to take me?" Iris asked, she was comfortable enough to stay clinging onto Cane’s back even though they had crossed the river long back.

Cane didn’t put her down, and she didn’t want to be put down either. It was great because she didn’t need to walk and even more so when she had a reasonable reason to hug him like this.

They didn’t go deeper into the mountains, it seemed, Cane took her to the other side of this Goffa mountain. Only now did she realize how big it was, as it stretched between the two packs; the Howling Wolf pack and the Blue Moon pack.

They walked across a clearing and the grass looked so soft and comfortable enough to walk barefoot, still, it wasn’t enough to tempt Iris to get down from Cane’s back.

"Somewhere nice. I hope you will love it."

Iris wanted to say that she would love to be anywhere with Cane, but she refrained herself from saying that out loud, because of how cheesy it would sound. In the end, she settled on enjoying the sight before her eyes.

Dense trees lined up this clearing, while the night sky looked so bright with pale moonlight illuminating their path. Unfortunately, there were not many stars above them. The wind was not cold and Iris really enjoyed this walk with Cane, or she could say it was Cane, who was walking with her on his back.

And they spent half an hour or so of walking in silence, silence that fulfilled them, where they didn’t need to submit to the obligation to speak, since being in the presence of each other was already enough to fill the void in their hearts and give comfort to their troubled minds and all the problems they had to face sooner or later.

The only important thing they had right now was each other. They only wanted to be in each other’s presence at this very moment.

"I found this place when I stayed in the mountains long enough years ago."

Iris understood what exact moment Cane meant, it must be the time when her father sent many people to the mountains, but gave those shifters Rottingbane beforehand, so they wouldn’t be able to shift into their beasts to protect themselves from the monsters. They needed to bring back one monster within three days, or else their loved ones would be killed.

Only a handful returned, while the other members of the Howling Wolf pack died in some part of this mountain or were killed in their attempt to bring back the dead monster to save their loved ones from Gerald’s cruelty.

And every time, Cane would be able to return.

Shivers ran down Iris’ spine when she realized that Cane could have died during any one of those times, while her father did torture him, he never actively tried to kill him.

However, leaving him in the mountains without being able to shift into his beast to defend himself was a dangerous gamble, unfortunately, her father and brother loved that game. Something completely wrong could have happened to him at that time and she wouldn’t have been able to have this chance to love him.

Feeling how Iris’ mood dampened because of what he said, Cane put her down and kissed the tip of her nose. "Don’t think too much." Cane didn’t say it to make her uncomfortable or sad, he only stated a fact. "This is my favorite place whenever I am here. I am sure nobody knows about this place."

"What is it?" Iris lifted her head, she still looked sad, but there was a glint of curiosity in her blue eyes.

"Come here." Cane took her hand and both of them climbed the hill.

"You shouldn’t have put me down," Iris mumbled, she was trying to keep up with Cane, while the Alpha looked so at ease even after he carried her halfway here.

Cane chuckled when he heard that. "You need to get a little bit of exercise."

"My feet are not as long as yours..." Iris complained, she started panting now, but Cane didn’t want to carry her again.

"It’s good for you to warm up."

Iris pursed her lips, but she didn’t say anything anymore, she needed to save her breath and strength, as she followed him.

Once they reached the top of the hill, Iris gasped in fascination to watch the sight on the other side of the hill that she climbed. Just like what Cane said, it was worth it.

"What... how can there be a place like this?!" Iris exclaimed, the scenery was so breathtaking, it took her breath away.

"Trust me, I have the same question," Cane said softly, as he grabbed her hand and helped her to get down the hill, which Iris did without any complaint, since she was enjoying viewing the place Cane showed her.

"Cane, this place is so amazing..." Iris breathed the words out.

"Hm. It’s amazing indeed." Cane stared at Iris when he said those words.

This part of the mountain was a spacious clearing, where the grass grew in the color of white, as if it was covered in snow. The surrounding trees were covered in moss of blue color, which glittered under the moonlight, while the flowers were the color of black. Iris had never seen such flowers before. They looked beautiful yet ominous. The flowers almost looked like they were saying; people could stare at them, but they couldn’t touch them, since they didn’t know whether the flower was poisonous or not.

But what left Iris flabbergasted was the lake, the lake was clear blue. The water looked so clear, you could see the bottom of it. Iris stood at the edge and saw the colorful stones at the bottom of the lake.

"Careful," Cane warned her, he put his hand around her hips protectively, he knew his mate could be clumsy and he didn’t want her to get wet, at least, not in that sense...

"How did you find this place?" Iris’ face was so red, as she smiled. "This place is magical." She stared at the white grass and squatted down to pluck a blade. It felt so soft, the texture was different from the normal grass, it was almost like fur instead, lying on it would feel like you were lying on a soft bed.

"I don’t know, I found it by accident," Cane replied. He stared at his mate, who looked so happy to see this place. "I am glad you like this place too."

"I love it!" Iris stood up and tiptoed to kiss Cane on the lips, but because she couldn’t reach him and Cane was being a tease by not lowering his head, Iris could only kiss his shoulder. She pursed her lips, but it didn’t dampen her mood, as she ran around this place to admire the flowers, the strange blue moss on the trees and found colorful stones, which exuded yellow light from their cracks.

"Don’t you think the blue moss is in the same color as the lake water? Don’t you think the trees absorbed the water from the lake and then the moss absorbed it from the trees, so it is in the same color? But, why are the trees still in the color of brown?" Iris’ curiosity had gone wild. "Do you think these flowers are poisonous? Have you tried to eat one? Is it okay for me to sniff at it?"

Cane laughed to see the enthusiasm in her eyes. "I thought the blue color was the same as your eyes," Cane replied, as he approached his mate, but Iris ran away to the other side of the tree. "And no, everything is safe." He had tried it before and even drank the water from the lake. If he found a harmful object in this place, he wouldn’t have taken Iris here, knowing her curiosity could put her in danger.

"Oh." Iris then sniffed the flower and tried to remember what kind of scent it exuded. "I feel like I have smelled this kind of scent, but I can’t remember what it is..."

"Cinnamon," Cane said, he approached Iris again, but she was busy sniffing another flower in a different shape. "That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I smelled it."

"Oh, right!" Iris sniffed the other flowers again. "Oh, I think all the flowers here have the same scent, despite their shapes being different," she concluded. She then went to the lake again. "Have you ever swam there? It doesn’t seem too deep."

"Do you want to swim?" This time, Cane managed to catch up with her and stood behind his mate.

"No, I have never swam before," Iris replied honestly.

"I can teach you."

"You can?" Iris tilted her head and caught how dark Cane’ eyes were. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hm."

"Uhm, maybe next time," Iris said, she felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter their wings and her face became so hot when she could feel the atmosphere had shifted.

"Why not now? I want you to enjoy this place."

"This place is beautiful." Iris genuinely felt that way. "Thank you for taking me here."

"This place is indeed beautiful, but I took you here not to show you how beautiful this place is, but to show my favorite place to my favorite person."

Iris widened her eyes and turned her body around to look at Cane. "Cane, is that really you?" Never in a million years did she imagine she would ever hear something like that from him.

"It’s me, Iris." Cane kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her closer, as he kissed her lips. "I want you, Iris, will you give yourself to me?"