Lune
A human. A living, breathing human. I was giddy with excitement, high on curiosity, thrilled by discovery. I had found a human. Tentatively, I poked my head out from the bush, scanning my surroundings. The human was walking back through the forest, presumably to the village.
"Having fun?"
I whirled around, ears pinned back to my head, fangs bared. Hayden emerged from the underbrush, and my muscles relaxed.
"Did Marvey send you?" I asked.
His eyes sparkled, a glimmer of color in his usually jaded eyes. "Would it affect your response if I said no?"
"No, I'd already know you're lying."
Hayden's ear flicked. "He did send me, yes."
With a roll of my eyes, I shouldered past him. Hayden followed close beside me, and I could hear his heavy breathing.
"Did you have to run far?"
"Of course I did," he growled. "You're way past our borders." He forced his breath out in a huff. "You shouldn't even be this far out."
"And Marvey shouldn't be hovering around me like a pesky fly," I shot back. "He's governing every aspect of my life."
"He's looking out for you."
"By sending you to hunt me down?"
The corner of Hayden's mouth twitched. "He was selected for the hunting party."
"That's what you said last time."
"Was it? Guess my memory's a little frayed."
"Don't defend him, Hayden. He should come to meet me face to face and justify his own actions."
Hayden tilted his head. "He's too stuck up to do so, you know that. This is just how he is."
I snarled and turned on Hayden. "All Marvey does is tell me what to do. Lune do this, Lune do that. Where's my say in all this? Where's my freedom?" I dropped my gaze. "If this is just how he is, then maybe it was a mistake accepting him as my mate."
A lull set in, silence smothering the conversation. Hayden didn't reprimand me for my outburst. Without another word, he pushed forward, and I was forced to follow.
I trailed behind Hayden, tussling with my thoughts. Had I really meant what I said? Was accepting Marvey a mistake? But he said he cares for me, I care for him. I couldn't imagine my life without him always harping me. It would be so foreign.
"Marvey had a lover before you, Lune."
My head perked up. I wasn't Marvey's first mate?
"I don't know if you remember her or not, but she was much like you," Hayden continued. "Headstrong, adamant about free will. Marvey held no restraints on her. When the curse took hold, she didn't take it too well. Got into all sorts of trouble and messes. Then one day, she said she was leaving. I remember Marvey fighting, begging her to stay, but in the end, she left. The hunting party found her body in a river a couple days later." Hayden sucked in a breath. "Marvey confronted me soon after. He said her last words to him were, 'let me do as I please.'"
A wave of guilt washed over me. Marvey had lost his first mate and here I was complaining about his behavior like a spoiled child. "I didn't know," I said.
"He's afraid of losing you as well." Hayden cast me a sideways glance. "He loves you, you know?"
I kept my eyes glued to the path ahead. "I know."
Hayden exhaled and squinted his eyes. "Anyways, we'll need to hurry it up if we're going to make it home before dark." His footfalls quickened, and I hastened my own to keep pace. "I hope that cleared up any misconceptions," he said. "I also hope that it changed your mind about running off again."
"My heart is with Marvey, but it also belongs to the wild. I live to roam free."
"I figured as much." Hayden shook his head. "Then, please tell Marvey to send somebody else to track you down. I'm not an errand boy. I still have other duties to attend to."
"I'll speak with him, but I cannot make any promises. You're efficient."
Hayden scowled. "Perhaps it would be best if I took my time finding you, then."
I hummed amusedly. Hayden, Beta, third born of the Alpha. Quite laid-back in comparison to his siblings, though perhaps that was a result of his placement in the family lineage. With two other siblings as prime candidates, he wouldn't become Alpha anytime soon, thus he had no reason to go above and beyond in his duties, but he was a far cry from being considered lazy.
Hayden glanced skywards, towards the sun. His gaze darkened and his gait accelerated, a rush to get home before nightfall. Two wolves alone could quickly fall prey to the nighttime hunters.
"So, Hayden," I said as we weaved through the trees. "Have you thought about taking up a mate?"
He blinked in surprise. "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"Most of the pack has already been paired up for quite a while, yet you remain alone."
We raced up a hill, leaping off the crest and soaring down. Landing at the hill's bottom, we continued running.
"To be fair," Hayden said. "None of my siblings have taken up a mate, and neither has Yvette or Arabella. There's no rush."
"Yvette's been considering searching for a mate," I said slyly.
"Is that so? Does she have her eyes set on anyone?"
I opened my mouth, but then closed it again. Yvette did in fact have her eyes set on someone, but it wasn't my place to blurt out who. "I don't know," I lied. "She hasn't told me." I sidled up against him. "But enough about Yvette. I asked about you."
Hayden gave a low chuckle. "My love life isn't much of your concern."
"But I'm dying to know."
We heard the distinct chatter and calls of our pack, just as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Hayden slowed to a trot as we entered the camp.
"Let's just say I still have all of eternity to decide," he said.
"Always so secretive," I groaned.
"Lune! You're back!"
I turned my head and saw Marvey bounding up to me. He nuzzled my shoulder, and despite the conflicting feelings I felt towards him, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hayden requests that you stop asking him to find me," I said.
Marvey pulled away. "Then perhaps you should stop running away."
"You shouldn't worry about me and my expeditions. I'll always come back." I gave him a reassuring lick on the nose. "I promise."
Marvey glanced at Hayden behind me, who I assumed supported my decision. Then Marvey nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll stop worrying so much. It must make you feel trapped, doesn't it?" He looked back at Hayden. "Thank you for bringing her back."
Hayden gave him a curt nod before stalking off. Marvey herded me towards the center of camp with his tail.
"I hadn't realized how hurtful my actions were to you," he said. "It was just this morning that I became aware of your feelings. Hayden was the one who brought it up, actually." Marvey opened and closed his mouth like a fish, struggling to find his words. "What I mean is... What I want to say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being controlling and inconsiderate and manipulative." He ducked his head. "I don't deserve someone like you, Lune."
I burrowed my nose in his fur, inhaling his familiar and comforting scent. "You may be an arrogant, self-centered blockhead, but I love you," I said. "And that's why I will forgive you every single time."
Marvey leaned against me. "Thank you," he murmured.
"Lune! Oh, Lune!" Arabella pranced over, calling out to me in her chirpy, singsong voice. "Now that you're back, we have to help Yvette."
I gasped. "Wait, she wants to do that today?"
Arabella nodded vigorously. Marvey tilted his head. "Help Yvette? With what?"
Arabella giggled as I nudged Marvey away. "It's nothing," I said. "I'll see you tonight, okay?"
I turned tail and ran after Arabella. She led me to a break in the trees before scurrying off to do her part. Yvette, usually so calm and composed, was now an anxious mess.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
Yvette stopped pacing. "Well, it could be worse. I could be worse. Everything could be worse, really." She resumed her antsy treading, and I sat back on my haunches.
"Relax," I chided. "You'll be all tongue-tied if you continue fretting about it. You've known him all your life and he's known you all of his. It's a match made in heaven."
Her tail thrashed back and forth like a whip. "We don't know that for sure. There could be someone else, another wolf, who suits his fancy better than I do."
"All this negative thinking. You're no more confident than a mouse." I sighed. "Perhaps you should try again another time."
Yvette opened her mouth to respond when Arabella's head burst out from a bush. "He's waiting for you!"
Yvette met my gaze, her eyes resolute and unwavering. "The time is now," she said and strode out of the clearing.
Arabella leapt beside me, and we hunkered down in the cover of the bush to watch as Yvette approached Hayden, vacillating between confidence and cowardice.
"Ah, dang it," Arabella quipped, her tail beating the ground as if it were a drum. "I can't hear them."
I directed my ears forward, straining to hear their conversation. They spoke in hushed tones, and I could only make out bits and pieces here and there. But I apparently didn't miss much. As quickly as the conversation started, it ended, Hayden running off and Yvette returning to us.
"So? What happened?" Arabella bounced up and down on her paws. "Tell us everything!"
Yvette collapsed to the ground, letting out a sigh and resting her head on her paws. "Well, you didn't miss anything," she said. "Raisa called for Hayden before I could get a word out."
"Raisa ruined the moment?" Arabella exclaimed. "Oh, when I get my paws on her." She sprinted back towards camp hollering at the top of her lungs.
I took a seat beside Yvette. "Are you going to try asking again?"
"It took over a moon for me just to think about asking him," she replied. "Actually trying to ask nearly killed me."
"But you'll try again, right?"
Yvette blew a stray leaf off her nose. "Eventually, yes, but not for a while."
I rose to my paws. "Well, you have all of eternity to resummon your courage."
"Ah, I do. Don't I?"
I nodded. "I doubt our curse will be leaving anytime soon."
Yvette paused before saying, "A blessing in disguise."
And as I left the clearing, I couldn't help but agree with her. Underneath the curse's ugly, twisted skin was a layer of good. The curse had given us more time in the world, infinite time. Maybe, just maybe, life would be okay if we never returned to humanity.