Chapter 4: The Moon and the Shadow (Final Part)
The peak of the night passed in a blur of silver and grey. I didn't move. I couldn't. Every time I shifted, the massive wolf resting against me would let out a low, warning huff in her sleep, her ears twitching at the slightest sound from the deep forest. I stayed as still as a statue, my vampire nature allowing me to endure the freezing temperatures that would have claimed a human life hours ago.
I watched the stars crawl across the sky, thinking about my mother. She used to say that the stars were the eyes of those who loved us, watching to make sure we weren't lost. For the first time, looking down at the rise and fall of the wolf's ribs, I didn't feel lost. I felt like an anchor.
As the first sliver of bruised purple began to bleed into the horizon, the air shifted. The "loudness" of the moon that Wolfie had described began to fade.
Then, the change started again.
It was quieter this time, but no less painful. I felt the fur beneath my fingers recede, melting back into warm, soft skin. The massive weight against my chest shrunk until it was the familiar shape of the girl I'd met at the gate. I quickly shrugged off my heavy overcoat, draping it over her as she transitioned back, shielding her from the biting morning chill.
Wolfie let out a long, shaky breath, her eyes fluttering open. They weren't glowing amber anymore; they were a soft, hazy honey-brown, clouded with exhaustion. She looked up at me, blinking against the pale morning light.
"Drayan?" her voice was a mere rasp, her throat likely raw from the night's vocalizations. She looked around at the ruins, then at my coat wrapped around her shoulders. "You... you stayed."
"I told you I wasn't going anywhere," I said. My voice was stiff from disuse, but I reached out to brush a stray lock of hair away from her damp forehead.
She sat up slowly, clutching the coat to her chest. She looked at my shoulders, where her claws had pierced my shirt and skin the night before. The wounds had mostly healed, leaving only faint red marks, but her eyes filled with immediate regret.
"I hurt you," she whispered, her lip trembling. "I told you it was a mistake. I'm a monster when the moon is up, Drayan. You shouldn't have been there. My father says the wolf doesn't know heart from prey."
"Then your father is wrong," I said firmly. I caught her hand—the heat was still there, though the fever had broken. "You didn't hunt me, Wolfie. You chose me. You could have run into the woods, but you stayed. You fought the wolf so you could stay with me."
She looked at me then, really looked at me, and I saw the "cheerful girl" finally starting to peek back through the trauma of the night. A small, tired smile touched her lips. "You're very stubborn for a city boy."
"I've been told that before," I admitted, a small smile of my own breaking through my usual cold mask.
"Drayan..." She hesitated, her fingers tightening on the lapel of my coat. "About the marriage. I was angry when my father told me. I thought he was just trying to control me, to tie me down to someone who would be afraid of what I am. But..." She looked at the silver locket she was still clutching in her other hand. "I think Drac knew something I didn't."
"My father is a lot of things," I said, thinking of Drac waiting by the fireplace at home. "But he knows what it's like to lose the person who keeps you grounded. I think he wanted me to have what he lost."
We sat there in the ruins as the sun finally crested the mountains, turning the snow-covered village of Redpaveley into a world of gold and white. We weren't just a vampire and a werewolf anymore. We weren't just a contract signed by two old men.
We were two people who had found a way to be quiet together in a world that was always screaming.
"We should get back," Wolfie said, though she didn't move to get up. She leaned her head against my shoulder, and for once, I didn't pull away. I didn't feel like I had to hide.
"Yeah," I whispered into the morning air. "But let's stay for one more minute. I want to remember what the sun looks like with you."