Chapter 109 Soaking Away the Mud

Chapter 109 Soaking Away the Mud
Chapter 109 Soaking Away the Mud
Lulu
Caspian stared at my absolutely disheveled state, his eyes completely full of protective instincts and a deep, intense longing.
Without wasting a single second, Caspian turned to the head Omega who was standing on standby near the hall's stone pillars. "Get some warm water ready with the best flower aromatherapy in my private bathhouse right now. Make sure the temperature is spot on for relaxing the body."
The head Omega bowed respectfully and rushed off to carry out the supreme Alpha’s orders without a sound.
I let out a massive, heavy sigh and turned around to look at Dorian, who’d been walking silently behind me the entire time. The bloke looked just as shattered as I felt. Being proper careful, I handed over the small clay jar filled with the Iqxe Mud.
"Hold onto this, Dorian. Keep it completely safe in your pavilion until it’s time for Elijah’s protection ritual," I said, my voice sounding a bit hoarse.
Dorian took the jar from me, giving a slow nod with a flicker of understanding in his eyes. "Don't you worry, Lulu. Not a soul will lay a finger on this until the day the ritual altar is opened. Now, off you go to clean yourself up. The stench of that swamp is starting to make my sorcerer's nose wrinkle."
I let out a soft chuckle at his classic, grumpy remarks before stepping out to follow Caspian toward the Alpha’s private wing of the building.
The moment the door to Caspian’s private bathhouse swung open, a wave of fragrant, warm steam hit my senses instantly. The essential scents of rose and ylang-ylang drifted through the air, creating a proper luxurious vibe of pure tranquility. Right in the middle of the room, a massive marble pool held gently bubbling water.
Not waiting a second longer, I shed my filthy cloak and stepped straight into the warm pool.
As the water wrapped around me up to my chest, I closed my eyes, letting the warmth soak in and completely melt away the leftover muscle tension from that brutal journey.
Caspian joined me a few moments later. His powerful frame moved into the water so smoothly it barely made a splash. He sat right down next to me, letting his broad chest become a solid backrest for me to lean against. His strong hands slowly started massaging my incredibly tense shoulders.
"Tell me everything, Lulu," Caspian murmured softly, his voice vibrating right against my ear. "How was your trek to the Southern Swamps with the sorcerer? I know that place is never exactly welcoming to outsiders."
I leaned my head back against Caspian’s sturdy shoulder, completely basking in the feel of his fingers before I started talking. The memory of the foggy, thick landscape of the Southern Swamps flashed right back into my mind.
"You wouldn't bloody believe how primitive the trail was, Caspian," I said, tracing little ripples in the water with my fingertips. "Motor vehicles couldn't even manage to push through the thick, muddy borders of the swamp. In the end, Dorian and I had to travel by riding on the back of a swamp buffalo just to venture deeper into the wet woodlands."
Caspian let out a low rumble of a chuckle, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. "A Luna of Sapphire Water riding a buffalo? Now that is a rare sight."
"Don't take the mickey," I muttered, elbowing his ribs playfully, which only made Caspian laugh a bit more. "And the misery didn't even stop there. When we finally arrived at the exact spot from Dorian's ancient map, the Iqxe Mud was completely impossible to dig up. It was bone-dry and hard as dead clay. We literally had to wait around for a massive downpour so the mud would get wet and the magical essence could dissolve."
I sighed deeply, remembering how absolutely pathetic our situation felt back then. Dealing with the nights in the Southern Swamps felt like a never-ending test of patience.
"We were forced to take shelter in this tiny, ramshackle hut right in the middle of the bog, with a roof made of palm leaves that leaked all over the place," I continued, my voice a bit whiny as I recalled the sheer discomfort. "And night-time out there was a total disaster. Thousands of swamp insects swarmed all over the place, making this massive, droning racket in the pitch black. I barely got a wink of sleep because I felt proper itchy and paranoid the whole time."
"Why didn't you two just use some protective magic?" Caspian asked, his eyebrows knitting together, clearly hating the fact that I had to suffer like that.
"That was the main snag. Dorian and I couldn't use a single scrap of our magic while we were in there," I stated firmly. I turned my body around to face him. "Dorian explained that forcing any magic out would completely muck up the stability of the living creatures and ancient entities residing in that swamp. If we were foolish enough to cast a spell, the Iqxe Mud would instantly vanish into the bowels of the earth."
I leaned back against him again, letting the warm water wash away the remnants of that physical ordeal.
"To actually get the essence of that protective mud, I had to submerge myself directly into a thick mud hole for a solid hour. It felt like being sucked into a vacuum of absolute icy chill, letting the ancient energy of the swamp blend with my hybrid blood until the mud reacted to me on a personal level."
"And what happened once you succeeded?" Caspian pressed, his fingers now gently stroking through my wet hair.
"Once I managed to get the mud safely into the jar, another disaster struck. Dorian, with all his arrogant sorcerer pride, took a wrong step on the path. He ended up sinking right into a quicksand bog hidden under a load of dead leaves. It took me a whole hour to drag him out without using any magic, relying purely on a thick rope and my raw wolf strength." I shook my head, remembering the sheer panic on Dorian’s face, which you almost never see.
"But the absolute best bit was during the journey back," I said, a proper fierce wolfish grin spreading across my lips.
Caspian raised an eyebrow, giving me an intense look that practically demanded the rest of the story.
"We got ambushed right on the outer borders of the swamp. A pack of Rogue wolves surrounded us, completely intent on robbing us of our gear," I recounted, the memory of flashing fangs and wild snarls making my blood pump all over again. "And the shocking thing was, their Alpha leader was an Alpha female. A proper heavily built woman with a massive scar right across her face."
"And what on earth was Dorian doing? Why did he let you face them?" Caspian’s tone went sub-zero in an instant, his Alpha instincts always going into overdrive whenever my safety was on the line.
"Dorian wanted to step up, but I held him back. I knew this was strictly wolf business," I replied, my eyes flashing with a challenging glint. "I had to fight her one-on-one. The rules were simple: beat the Alpha female, or the two of us would end up as dinner for hundreds of her pack members."
"How did the fight go?" Caspian asked, his eyes darkening with a mix of worry and absolute fascination with my wild side.
"Honestly, Caspian, I didn't have any real trouble at all," I said with a dismissive shrug that made me sound like a proper regal Luna. "My hybrid physique is miles ahead of any wild Rogue mutation. I dodged her, tore into her shoulder, and slammed her massive body right into the dirt until she threw in the towel and whimpered in submission. To be fair... I proper loved it. It’s been ages since I let my inner wolf loose in a proper, honest physical scrap."
I let out a soft breath, shifting my position in the water until I was sitting fully on Caspian’s lap. I looped both of my arms around his broad, sturdy neck.
"But out of all that adventure, Caspian... there was one thing that absolutely tortured me the whole time," I whispered softly. "I missed Elijah so much. The thought of my little boy left behind kept making my chest feel proper tight. And... I missed you terribly too. I missed this warmth, I missed your scent, and the way you make me feel completely safe in this chaotic world."
Hearing my confession, a clever, highly meaningful smirk played on Caspian’s incredibly handsome face. His massive hands moved down to my waist, gripping it possessively, marking his absolute territory over me once again.
"You did brilliantly, my Luna," Caspian said, his voice dropping into a deep, raspy bariton that suddenly filled the bathhouse with pure sexual tension.
He leaned his face in close, letting the tips of our noses brush against each other, breathing his warm, minty breath over my lips. His golden eyes completely locked me down, radiating a fiery passion that he’d clearly been holding back the entire time I was away.
"So tonight, let your husband take care of the rest of your fatigue."
I caught my breath as I felt his hands start to wander up my wet skin beneath the surface of the water.
"Caspian..." I gasped softly, a sudden rush of desire instantly sets my senses on fire.
"I’m offering top-tier service in bed tonight, Lulu."