#4 Moonlight on the Water
Chapter 23

Navy

It was finally Thursday and I was ready for whatever surprise Knox had in store for me this weekend. He promised a relaxing camping trip in luxury and I was holding him to that. I was a siren princess, I didn’t do sleeping on the ground with the bugs and the snakes.

Knox had to do some work in the office this morning, but promised to be done before twelve. I was in my room packing with the help of the handmaiden Knox had hired for me. She was my age and extremely kind. She was eager to please, so it took me a while to get her to loosen up enough to hold a casual conversation with me.

“I hope Knox told you what I should pack, Melly.” I sighed, staring at my closet and empty suitcase. Melly laughed,

“He said to dress casually.” She shrugged as she began to pluck things off the hangers.

She filled my luggage with short sleeved T-shirts, crop tops, jean shorts, capris in case it got cold, a sweatshirt, lounge pants, and pajamas. She started packing my underwear and I complained when she only grabbed the silky sets. She reluctantly agreed to let me add my comfortable cotton choices. We finished just in time. Dover poked his head through the door and announced the arrival of Knox.

“I’ll carry this, Luna.” Dover said, picking up my suitcase and leading the way towards the elevator. I followed him to the main floor.

Julia and Clay were in the hallway talking to Knox. I picked up on the tailend of the conversation. He was giving Clay instructions on how to handle the pack while he was gone. Jenna skipped over to me while Meredith and Harvord were standing off to the side.

“Have fun, Navy!” Jenna was beaming with her mate, Mason, standing behind her.

“Take care of everything while we’re gone.” I said, feeling obligated to worry about the pack’s wellbeing.

“Everything will be fine here, Luna, just have fun.” Mason said, putting his hands on Jenna’s shoulders to stop her from bouncing.

“How are you feeling, Jenna?” I asked, eyeing her pregnant belly.

“A little tired, but I’m okay.” She shrugged,

“Don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough.” She winked at me. Mason chuckled at his mate.

“Jenna!” I shrieked in embarrassment, catching the attention of everyone around me. I blushed even harder. Meredith rolled her eyes at my dramatics and walked away, Harvord followed after his girlfriend.

“What are you doing to my mate?” Knox struts up behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist.

“Embarrassing her.” Mason tattled on his mate, earning a glare.

“Are you ready, baby?” Knox looked down at me and I nodded. I weakly waved to the room as Knox led me out the front door. Dover and Natasha were waiting by the car to see us off.

“Everything’s in the car.” Dover said, opening the passenger door for me.

“Thanks, Dover. Clay is briefed on everything that needs done while we’re gone.” Knox said, nodding at his Gamma.

“Bye Luna!” Natasha smiled at me and I returned it,

“Bye, Tasha.” I slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up for our journey.

Knox jumped into the driver’s seat and put the SUV into drive. He fiddled with the radio until he found a station he liked, then reached over and picked up my hand, resting our entwined hands on his thigh.

“I hope you’re excited.” He said absentmindedly.

“I am.” I smiled over at him,

“Is there anything planned?” I asked.

“I just thought we could hang out and get to know each other a little more. We can have a bonfire or go swimming. There are some great hiking trails, too.” He was rambling, worried about my reaction.

“That sounds amazing, but maybe not the hiking.” I giggled, looking down at my legs,

“I’m more of a swimmer.” Knox threw his head back and laughed loudly.

“Fair enough.”

“How far away is it?” I asked.

“Only about twenty minutes.” He said, focusing on the road again.

He drove us out of the pack’s main village and through the security gates. The road turned into dirt as we bumped along through the woods. We weaved between the trees and I resisted the urge to flinch at his driving. He wasn’t slowing down even as we nearly side swiped tree trunks or squished the forest animals who were scurrying out of our way.

“I don’t think I like driving.” I mumbled, feeling a little green around the gills. Knox looked sideways at me and immediately slowed down,

“I’m sorry, baby. We’re almost there.” He said, squeezing my hand tightly.

“Great.” I said between my clenched teeth.

Knox took the rest of the drive slowly, carefully maneuvering the rustic road. Eventually we pulled up to a modestly sized, A-frame cabin. It had a huge porch with beautiful flower beds out front. Knox said that there was a big patio with a picnic table and fire ring in the backyard. He carried our bags up the steps, still managing to hold onto my hand all the way through the door.

In the living room was a huge stone fireplace that went the whole way up to the ceiling. A loft extended over the kitchen and living room. The walls were made of light colored wooden logs and the floor was a mixture of dark, barnwood planks and carpet in the living room.

“What do you think, baby?” He asked, dropping our bags on the floor.

“It’s nice.” I stepped away from him and started exploring,

“Is this yours?” I asked.

“Yeah, I bought it for myself as a 18th birthday present to get away from my father.” Knox shrugged, walking over to the kitchen.

“I love it.” I smiled in admiration, wanting to validate Knox and his choices. I knew he was self-conscious when it came to his father and getting his approval.

“I’m glad. We can come here whenever you want. Your key works on the cabin, too.” Knox nodded at the bronze key dangling on my chest.

He walked towards the steps and I followed him up. The loft was huge with a big TV and sectional sofa. Off the loft were five bedrooms and two large bathrooms for the guest rooms to share. Knox said that there was another bathroom and laundry room on the first floor along with a finished basement that acted as a recreation room.

“Do you want to watch a movie? I can get the fire going?” Knox asked, nodding back down the steps after he got our bags settled in the master suite. I nodded in agreement.

I flopped down on the couch and watched as Knox built a fire. He handed me a case filled with DVDs. Apparently the internet service sucked up here so Netflix was out of the question. I didn’t tell him that I had no idea what a Netflix even was.

I flipped through the movies, not having a clue what any of the titles were. Needless to say, we didn’t have TVs or internet in the water. I looked at the pictures on the discs and decided on one that had a princess on it, it said The Princess Bride. When Knox was finished with the fire, I handed him the disc.

“Oh, good choice.” Knox nodded approvingly, putting the movie in the DVD player and switching on the TV.

He snuggled on the couch next to me, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep before the opening credits were even finished.