Lunar Shadows: Awaken

Kyran

Selene’s laughter rings out melodically, echoing around the forest as I bound through the trees with her on my back. My spirit feels free with her, like this, as if I’m soaring instead of running and I’ve never felt anything like it before. The warm sun filters through the branches, casting everything in a hazy glow and the only sounds are my paws thumping a beat on the earth to the song that is Selene’s joy emanating from her.

“Faster!” she calls on a laugh, giving my sides a little squeeze from her legs.

Hold on, I mindlink her, feeling her hands grip into the fur at my shoulders and I launch us forward. She squeals as her arms wrap around my neck, not quite making a full circle and I growl lightly in amusement. Careful not to accidentally lose Selene, I don’t run at my fastest speed but push my legs hard enough to give her a thrill. Trees whoosh by in blurs as I dodge around them, choosing my path as I go, running aimlessly through the forest. A few moments pass and I notice a brightness up ahead and make my way toward it, hoping it’s a field.

With my wish granted no sooner than I thought it, we burst from the shadowy woods into an open field of wildflowers, dozens of acres wide and I mindlink Selene quickly, Want to see just how fast we can go?

Her limbs tighten as a response and I sprint flat out now, small grunts leaving my chest with each exhale and I hear a pealing scream mixed with excitement and fear tear from Selene followed by a bubbling laughter. Wind whips past as we fly across the field at a breakneck speed until I slow my stride down gradually, loping around in a wide circle and walking a few paces before coming to a stop. Crouching down, I flop onto my belly as Selene slides off my back sideways, falling into the grass beside me onto her back. My tongue lolls out of my open mouth as my chest heaves rapidly for a few moments and I glance at her, enjoying the wide grin she has plastered on her face. Her hair is billowed around her in a cloud, her icy eyes shine brightly and her creamy skin is glowing, as if she’s made of starlight.

You are breathtaking, Selene, so beautiful, I say to her admirably, watching her cheeks flush a rosy pink.

She sits up and reaches out toward me, brushing her hand against the side of my face. “You are too, like this and in your human form. You have a beautiful soul, and I see it in you as much as it shows outwardly,” she murmurs, smiling brightly.

Impulsively, I lean down and lick the side of her face, causing her to laugh deeply and push at my muzzle playfully. Feelings that are completely unfamiliar begin to consume me with warmth and fuzziness, light, airy joy and freedom. No longer do I feel weighed down by my suffocating darkness, suffering endlessly while pretending I’m fine on the outside. I don’t need to pretend, with her. She brings me the peace I didn’t realize I’ve been silently screaming for all my life. Closing my eyes, I feel the heat of a tear drip and Selene’s gentle hand presses to my face.

“Kyran? What’s wrong?” her soft voice is concerned as she pushes her fingers into my fur.

A quiet, low growl rumbles through my chest at her touch and I open my eyes, finding Selene staring at me with worry. Nothing is wrong, I mindlink, I’m very happy. You make me feel free, Selene, and I can’t express to you what that is like, for me. I am very grateful to have met you, I murmur, pressing my snout to her belly gently.

She laughs lightly, pushing her hands beneath my chin and I raise my head, gazing into her gleaming, crystal eyes, wet with unshed tears. “I understand that more than you know,” she whispers as she leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose, making my tail thump against the ground softly.

Selene grins with a chuckle, leaning back and removing her sweatshirt, bearing her small torso as she lifts her arms. I can’t help but yearn to run my hands along her smooth skin, to follow the curves of her body. Resting my head on my paws, I blink lazily at her, watching as she runs her fingers through her hair over her shoulder and smiles adorably when she notices me staring.

I like when you scrunch your nose, it’s cute, I tell her, earning a laugh as she blushes and scrunches her nose intentionally at me.

“Shift back, I want to ask you some more questions about wolves,” she demands, giving me a smirk.

Mmm, yes ma’am, I growl lightly, making her snort a laugh and I shift back to my human form.

Selene holds out her sweatshirt for me, mumbling, “Here, you can, um, cover yourself with this. Because, you know, distracting,” as she waves her hand around the air, blushing.

I chuckle and take her sweatshirt, placing it in my lap as I sit up. Selene rests her elbows on her knees, propping her chin up in her hands and looks at me eagerly. I give her a smile before asking, “What would you like to know?” and lean back on my hands, ready to answer any question she has.

Selene

I lose track of my thoughts as my gaze drifts down Kyran’s bare body, over his tanned skin glowing warmly in the sun and his thick muscles on full display. I so badly wish I was bold enough to keep my sweatshirt from him, but I don’t think I could bring myself to actually do that and I wouldn’t want to possibly make him feel uncomfortable, either. He clears his throat, tearing my attention back to his face and I feel my heart beat flutter.

With my face aflame, I bite my lip and scrunch my eyes closed, muttering, “I’m so sorry,” and peek one eye open at him. “I’m staring at you like you’re a plate of fresh baked cookies, again, that’s rude of me,” I murmur, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Kyran gives me a crooked grin and replies, “It’s alright, I don’t mind. If anything, I actually appreciate your honesty. I’ve, ah, found myself doing the same, you just haven’t caught me yet,” he admits, rubbing his neck with a light laugh.

We gaze at each other for a breath, then both begin laughing as the awkwardness fades into comfortability. Straightening, I propose, “Okay so, how about, if either of us does or says something which makes the other uncomfortable or that they don’t like, it’s up to you or me to explicitly voice that concern. Otherwise, we both have the opportunity to…express ourselves with each other, freely. Deal?” I raise my eyebrows at him, holding out my hand as I bite my lower lip, smiling.

“Deal,” he laughs, clasping my hand gently but firm. His brow lowers a bit, and he asks quietly, “Is there anything you don’t want me to do that might really upset you? I don’t want to accidentally cause you to be upset or distressed, Selene,” as he reaches out and brushes his hand on my knee.

I frown as his question triggers a few rough memories to surface briefly, and I swiftly dismiss each one, not wanting to dwell on them at this moment. Shaking my head slowly, I look up into his eyes, knowing my answer. “No, Kyran, I don’t believe you would intentionally do anything that would upset me. I trust that you wouldn’t. The only thing I can think of that might bring me some distress would be if you were to, um, touch me in my sleep, or forcibly control me physically,” I say quietly, looking down and picking at the hem of my t-shirt with shame.

When Kyran doesn’t respond, I glance up at him and see him clench his jaw, his face stricken. “Selene,” he whispers, “I would never touch you sexually without your permission. Even now, after our agreement with one another, that is something that should be honest and real, not played on like a game or bending the rules. Whatever has happened to you, I am here for you if and whenever you need to talk or even to just let it out, in any way you need to,” he pauses to take a breath, his deep voice rough with his emotion. “Though I do not know your specific details, I do understand what it’s like to be…manipulated in that way. You are becoming so precious to me, I couldn’t—”

With my heart leaping from my chest at his words, I throw myself forward as tears slip from my eyes, wrapping my arms around Kyran’s neck and crashing my lips into his as I kiss him deeply. His warm hands splay on my back as he sighs, sliding his arms around me and holding me closely. Electricity tingles beneath every part of my skin that touches his and my blood sings with the warmth that blooms deep within my body. He feels right, he feels like home.

A few blissful moments pass before he cups my face and I pull back slightly, my breathing a bit ragged. He grins crookedly and I huff a laugh, grinning back. Leaning forward, Kyran presses his forehead to mine briefly before lifting his head and lightly kissing the place between my brows. “So, what questions did you want to ask me?” he murmurs, the smile never fading from his handsome face as he strokes my cheek with his thumb.

Reaching up, I take his hand in mine and blink a few times, needing to focus my thoughts. Remembering details from earlier, I decide to ask, “You told me about mates earlier and I’m curious, what are the other aspects to werewolves? How do alphas differ from the regular wolves? And what exactly are the hybrids you mentioned? Oh, when my mother was explaining things, I heard you mention the white wolf, why was that specific? I know now that is my wolf, Luna. What does—oh, oops, I’m sorry,” I press my hand to my mouth, embarrassed for rambling incessantly.

Kyran’s eyes crinkle as he chuckles, “It’s alright, I followed what you’re saying. To start, werewolves’ fur coats are colored the same as their natural hair in human form with their eyes matching as well, and mates are never of the same coloring. Alpha wolves are always black, no other wolves will be. Besides black, regular werewolves fur ranges in all colors you’d see naturally in hair and in all different shades as well. Some even have a mixture of tones also, though no patterns. The older a wolf gets, the grayer their hair and fur, much the same as normal humans as they age,” he explains, an easy smile spread on his handsome face as he absently fiddles with my fingers.

“There are not any white wolves, however, never has been except for in legend. ‘A mysterious, all-powerful ruling wolf once roamed the earth, her magic capable of healing the damned and strengthening those around her.’ I’ve only met two wolves, a mated pair of elders in my pack that claimed to have seen this great white wolf, once upon a time. The story of your wolf stretched back over a millennium and most wolves only believe it to be just that, a tale. I wonder if Luna would recognize them, Eirene and Chrestotes, if you met them again,” Kyran muses aloud, absently playing with my fingers.

A slight pressure pushes in my mind before Luna’s voice murmurs, Yes, I know them. We helped them communicate while they were held imprisoned away from each other.

Kyran smiles widely at me, raising his eyebrows. “Well, I’m sure each of them would be very grateful to speak with you, if you would like to when you’re ready,” he offers kindly.

I smile back at him, nodding my head a little and wait for him to continue explaining the werewolf culture to me.

“In regards to alpha wolves, we hold power over wolves who swear allegiance or loyalty to us, forming our packs. Some have been known to abuse that power, behaving in a similar manner to that of a human dictator. Alpha wolves are either born through a bloodline, accepting transference of power if his father steps down or through winning a fight to challenge him for it, or by another male wolf killing an alpha and taking his place. If that happens, his hair and fur color will magically alter to black, marking his status. Generally, many wolves do not respect an alpha through transference because they feel he did not earn the position. Likewise, some view outright murdering for it to be a despicable grab for power, unless it was death from an agreed upon challenge.

“As for our power, we can force any wolf in our pack to submit to our will whether they want to or not. This is what I meant by the abuse of power, before. I personally only use this when absolutely necessary, never just because something isn’t going my way or someone refuses my command. I don’t believe in taking someone’s free will just to suit my whims.” His voice goes flat as he picks at the grass with a tight expression.

After a few quiet moments, he continues describing his culture, “When it comes to other wolves, either from another pack or a rogue, they feel the instinct to submit naturally when around an alpha and most of the time they keep their distance if he isn’t theirs, to discourage the threat of a challenge. This happens when a male wolf won’t submit or look away from an alpha in either wolf or human form and most often the fight is brutal but quick, generally ending in the death of the challenger. If it’s a female, most likely it means she wants to get laid, and she will,” he says jokingly, “unless he’s mated, then may she rest easy because a pissed off female mate is not fun to be around, ever,” he adds with dramatically wide eyes and I laugh, playfully pushing his shoulder.

Scrunching my brow, I ask, “How did you become Alpha?” drawing circles on his palm with my fingertip and enjoying listening to his husky voice as he teaches me about the fascinating supernatural world.

The humor fades from Kyran’s face and he pulls his hand from mine, rubbing his mouth as he glances away. “I killed my father,” he says quietly, not looking at me.

Stifling my shock and sensing there’s more to it, I gently press, “Why, what was the reason?”

Watching his jaw clench, I can tell this isn’t an easy thing for him to discuss. As I’m about to tell him he doesn’t have to, he explains with a rough voice, “He was bitten by vampires, trying to protect my mother when she was abducted by them. He became berserk, slaughtering innocent wolves in our pack in his distress and rage at my mother’s disappearance. As he lost control over his wolf, people feared for their lives, living in turmoil with him as Alpha that way. My older brother Einarr was supposed to be Alpha, not me. But he died that day protecting our mother, along with our sister Kara, Trey and Kyrre’s triplet. I got there too late, chased after the vampires that took my mother and tore apart any of the ones I could reach until they seemed to just…vanish.” His voice trails off as he stares away into his memories.

Feeling his pain, I clasp his hand tightly, remaining silent. No words could help soothe that kind of wound. After a moment, Kyran clears his throat, looking at me once more. “Hybrid wolves are the product of a male werewolf impregnating a witch,” he states with a change of subject back to explaining the werewolf culture. “They are werewolves who wield varying levels of magic, dependent on the power their mothers harness. There aren’t many hybrids, mostly because witches generally choose to remain impartial to other supernaturals and their affairs. If a witch decides to bear a hybrid child, it would be wise to assume she has reasoning to do so, who-knows-what for. You can tell a hybrid wolf by her eyes, they will have some form of purple shading, similar to how a witch’s eyes appear,” he speaks indifferently, neither in favor nor opposed to them.

A memory flashes of my night at his bar and I announce, “That redhead, at your bar. The waitress. She had indigo colored eyes, is she a hybrid wolf?” I ask curiously.

He nods his head silently, his mouth pulling into a flat line. Picking up on his distaste, I raise my eyebrow in question. Kyran sighs, leaning back on the hand I’m not holding. “That was Vala, who you…met. She is—ah, was—my head hybrid warrior, there are eight hybrids in my pack total and each are trained in combat to use their witch magic both defensively and offensively. Eir is the only exception, she will not fight because she does not believe her powers are to be used to bring harm upon others, though I am unsure if she even is a witch.” He trails off for a moment before lightly shaking his head.

“Anyway, Vala is a powerful hybrid. She claims her mother raised and trained her with ancient magic rituals and practice. She specializes in both psychic and illusion magic, she can make you believe anything she wishes. Vala can create an extremely realistic mirage, unknown to her victim unless they try to touch it. Pair that with physical combat training and she is nearly unstoppable to fight against," Kyran looks over at me, grimacing slightly.

"What's that face for?" I ask hesitantly, hoping like hell they aren’t currently romantically involved and my chest constricts at the thought as a foreign heat of jealousy courses through me.

"She happens to be my ex-girlfriend and I have reason to believe she was involved with what happened to you at my bar, Saturday night. I don't know why that happened or her reason for involvement but she has been...dealt with. I don't intend on speaking with her again until I learn more about that night, if I can," his face is hard as he stares out across the field.

My mouth twists a little as I think about this new information and I ask, "How long ago did you break up?” with genuine curiosity as my chest relaxes with relief.

With a sigh, Kyran looks to the sky, mumbling, “You’re really just making me lay it all out there, huh?” and his sarcastic tone pulls a smirk to my lips.

Composing myself, I assure him quickly, “If you don't want to talk about it I completely understand," as I entwine my fingers between his.

Meeting my gaze, he gives me a small smile, replying, "It's alright, I'm past it now, even though it did affect me for quite some time,” he pauses, taking a breath to collect his thoughts. “Years before becoming Alpha, when I was still young, I met Vala in a...shady part of the city. I wasn't home often and thinking back on it, my relationship with her could have been avoided had my mother been aware of it. She knew me too well, my mother, she would've known something was wrong,” he sighs heavily as he briefly closes his eyes.

“Anyway, Vala was the first female to actively pursue interest in me, a few had tried to before but I was not the most approachable guy, back then. We had a noncommittal hookup one night after she incessantly followed me for days, showing up in places I wouldn't have expected to find a woman. After that night, I thought she was my mate. I was infatuated with her, couldn't get her off my mind and she became an obsession for a while. We would constantly have terrible fights over things I can't recall now, but they felt like the biggest problems I could imagine, at the time. Our relationship wasn’t healthy and I knew it, but didn’t care much to make a change because I believed I’d found my soulmate. My life was very volatile with her and I wondered for a while if this was really what mate bonds were like, why would people fantasize about them like they were a dream come true?" Kyran's voice drifts a little as he absently rubs his chest with his free hand.

Giving the hand I hold a little squeeze in encouragement, he meets my gaze once more and finishes explaining. "It wasn't until my mark appeared that I discovered her illusion. Vala had been magically manipulating my emotional reality into believing she was my true mate. So upon learning that, I had to process that my real mate had just died. My pain was so immense that the despair was too much for me to handle. I wanted to kill her at that moment, my hatred so intense that I feared I actually would and I left, disappearing from everyone for years. No matter how much my father commanded, I wouldn't return. Not until the night my mother was taken," he lets out a deep breath, briefly rubbing his hand over his face.

A small exhale leaves my parted lips and I grip his hand in both of mine. "That is just awful, Kyran. Truly awful. How—why the fuck is she still around today?" I ask harshly, a rare anger flaring inside me at the thought of him being around someone who's caused him so much pain.

He lets out a humorless laugh as his mouth twists to the side. "Once I became Alpha, I knew our pack needed her power and chose to set aside my personal bullshit to better protect them as best I could. Given the fact that I was pretty awful at being an Alpha for a while, it was the best place I could think of to start, intending to be a good one. I had requested her allegiance in exchange for my forgiveness for her despicable actions, which she eagerly accepted. Over time, Vala worked her way high in the pack, proving her place through her capabilities. I had made her swear a binding vow to never use her abilities against anyone in my pack. She has, in the past, made attempts at regaining my affection but after learning the truth of what she'd done to me, I have never looked at her as more than a member of my pack. I'll admit I still harbor regret of ever meeting her, though I have to say, life has a very peculiar way of working itself out," he smirks at me, tugging on my hand lightly.

Leaning over, I let go of his hand and wrap my arms around his middle, squeezing him tightly and he curls an arm around my shoulders firmly, running his hand along my side. “I am sorry for the pain you’ve endured because of my mark,” I whisper, “as well as everything else brought upon you by others.” My lip quivers with a sudden emotion and his arm tightens around me comfortingly.

“It is nothing you need to apologize for, sweetheart. I am just grateful to be sitting here today, with you,” he murmurs into my hair and I smile as his hand lightly squeezes my shoulder.

Glancing up, I realize abruptly how long we must have been gone for when I see the faint specks of stars peeking through the clouds as dusk slowly dims the sky. Kyran follows my gaze with a sigh and rubs his hand down my arm before withdrawing, making me yearn for his touch as his warmth fades away.

"Let's get you home, I'm probably needed for something anyway back at my house," he smirks and leans forward to kiss the top of my head, making my cheeks flush.

"Thank you, Kyran, not just for taking me on a run, but for being open and trusting me with the more sensitive parts of yourself," I say quietly, resting my hand against his chest over his heart.

"Mmm, I don't think I could keep anything from you that you ask of me, sweetheart," he murmurs as he presses his forehead to mine before swiftly shifting to his wolf and licks the side of my face.

"Argh!” I laugh, playfully pushing him away and scooping up my sweatshirt as I stand. Pulling it over my head, I can't help but breathe in his rich, earthy scent and roll my lips between my teeth as I smile at the ground. Kyran nudges my belly with his snout and crouches low, waiting. I climb atop his back just behind his shoulders and wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. As he stands, he lifts his head toward the sky then takes off at an easy lope across the field.