"You do not understand, Malia," said Janus, Jake's father, "There are more dangers than just humans out there. He's our son, our little pup. How could you let him out there by himself?"
"Our son is no longer a pup, Janus," explained Malia, Jake's mother, as she weaved something unfamiliar.
"You know what I mean. I know, you know what I mean. Why are you avoiding the discussion about those monsters?" he growled. He was pacing in angry strides, while the Alpha's wife sat calmly, seemingly ignoring the anger boiling from him.
"Of all people, it's you who's avoiding the discussion of them. Simply not calling them by name is avoiding them. You avoided telling Jake about them, when I told you that warning him of them was the best option. You refuse to inform anyone in the pack about your little group, and they know as little about those beasts as Jake. The only reason I know about this whole undercover scheme is because soulmates can not lie to each other, so do not blame any of your troubled thoughts on me, mister. Can you not trust me when I say that our son will be alright? If you were so worried about his safety, then why didn't you tell him of the monsters? If you did not realize he was going to run away, you are truly oblivious and stupid," Malia huffed.
Janus sighed, putting a fist on the damp cave wall and watching trickles of water fall down it. Both of the werewolves were illuminated by the orange glow of a small fire in the cave, the only source of heat in their cold home.
"You're right," he admitted, knowing they couldn't fight long. It wouldn't help anything, and, after all, they are soulmates.
"I'm always right," she smiled, knowingly, "Jake knows that, but you don't know that yet, apparently."
Janus smiled sadly, walked over to Malia and kissed her on the forehead lovingly.
"So modest," he said sarcastically, then placed a hand on her stomach, " Before he left, did you at least tell him about...?"
"I thought it'd be best to tell him when he returns," she said, smiling.
"When he returns...? He's returning?" Janus said, scrunching up is face. Malia frowned sadly, but then hid it by shrugging her shoulders.
"How should I know?" she asked, before smirking. The Alpha gave her a look of frustration before turning to the entrance of the cave.
"I'm going after him," he stated," I told him that as long as I was alive he would not be harmed. I am a wolf of my word."
Malia did not look surprised nor did she look happy, but she forced a smile upon her face.
"I knew that you would go. Go-" she swallowed a lump in her throat, "Go get him for us, okay? I will be waiting here when you come back."
Janus smiled, completely oblivious to his sad queen, and kissed her softly.
"I'll see you someday, maybe even tomorrow," he said, "I love you."
"I love you, darling. I love you so, so much," she said, "Now-Now you must go, before it's too late."
"Right," he said straightening up and brushing himself off. He undressed to prevent his clothes from ripping and then turned into his wolf. With one last look to his wife, he ran out into the snow, delving into the dark forest that Jake had ran through hours before. As soon as the grey wolf's beautiful body was out of sight, Malia let the first tear slip.
Soon, she was sobbing, head held in her hands.
David walked in not long after; his pale face was somber and sad. He knew this would happen.
"Is it done?" he asked firmly and stared in pity as Malia broke down. He walked over and rubbed her back in solace, hushing her as she collected herself. Her tears soaked his dark grey shirt, pouring in rivers. The Luna wolf wiped a single drop from her cheek and looked up at David with red-rimmed eyes.
"Fate is a cruel thing," was all she said in a broken voice.
"Yes, it is, but you had to let him go. Don't you remember the last time you interfered with fate?" David questioned.
"How could I forget? The guilt still consumes me, David," she said, sniffing, " This gift I have can only be a curse."
"I know, Malia," he sighed," Should I tell the Shifters to prepare a funeral?"
"Not yet. I'm not ready yet," she replied, another drop falling down her face.
"I will not then," he said, then asked, "Malia?"
"Yes, David?"
"What's it like to be able to foretell the future?" he asked. Malia stared off into space, thinking.
"Agony," she then said, "Especially when you can do nothing to change it."
"Like now?"
"Yes, now has been the hardest," she whispered, then cleared her throat, "Nevermind that. I believe I don't want to give time for my mind to think about it. Please Daniel, go tell them and the rest of the pack."
"Tell them what?"
"That-" she took a deep breath, "That their Alpha is dead."
No, Janus wasn't really dead yet.
But a fortune-teller, like Malia, is always right.
~{()}~
Derrick woke up to the same blue eyes, the same concerned expression, and the same man he saw before hovering over him. He was about to scream, when he felt a hand on his mouth muffling the sound. Panicking he reached up, grabbing the wrist of the wolf-man before prying it off and hoping-praying- that this was all a dream.
It wasn't a dream.
The boy still had his dignity covered with his palm, as if he had no clothes, and they were sitting in the snow in the middle of the forest.
How was this naked guy not cold yet? Derrick would have asked, but he thought that would be a silly first question.
"What are you?" he asked, rather rudely, instead. He was still a little shocked that this man was his soulmate, but he was now more like very angry.
A soulmate.
A man.
A wolf.
Such a horrible mixture. Such a nasty consequence.
"I-I'm a werewolf," said the man nervously, then held out his free hand, "My name is Jake Pierce."
Instead of taking the hand, Derrick snorted, crossing his arms.
"Pierce? Ha. Sounds like a name for a classic fairytale werewolf," the prince scowled. The man-Jake- copied the scowl in return, equally as confused and shocked as the prince. But they both hid it well.
"I hope you know that I am far from those things you call a 'werewolf'," Jake huffed, putting a hand on his hip. The other was still covering himself.
Derrick was about to ask: How so? But he had other priorities...like covering Jake up as soon as possible so that he wouldn't have to worry about secondhand embarrassment. The prince slid is fur coat off of his shoulders before handing it to Jake, who frowned.
"I don't want your coat," he stated.
"Why not? Aren't you embarrassed?" Derrick huffed.
"No."
"Do werewolves have no shame? Or is it just you?" the prince asked, haughty. Jake went deep into thought, thinking of his answer.
"A mixture. I am more overly-confident than most of my kind, but that doesn't mean I can not be embarrassed."
"Well, please put on the coat. It's making me uncomfortable to see..."
"Another man, naked? That happens to be your other half?" Jake smirked. Derrick cringed and grit his teeth together.
"Yes," the prince seethed, "Now, take the coat."
"No."
"You son of a-"
"Mr. Hunter?"
"My name is Derrick."
"Derrick?"
"Yes?" Derrick hissed.
"Tell me what the coat is made of," Jake commanded.
"What are you-"
"Just tell me," Jake said, rolling his eyes. Derrick glared, but sighed in defeat.
"Wolf fur," said Derrick, then his face lit up with realization," Oh. Right. You're a wolf."
Jake gave him a 'duh' expression before sitting awkwardly in silence. Derrick put his coat back on as the biting cold of the winter air stabbed through his clothes. He thought he saw Jake shiver a bit, but didn't once have any motions to warm him. The silence and strangeness of the situation was getting overbearing for Derrick, so the prince stood and dusted snow off of his lap.
"I'm leaving," he announced, happier if he could just run away from this situation.
"I'll come with you," said Jake reluctantly.
"No, you stay where you are," the prince ordered, " I'm going without you."
"What?! You do realize that, if we stay apart for too long, it will be unbearable," Jake explained, before adding, "For both of us."
"I think I can manage," he huffed, walking over to Oliver, who was still standing in the same spot the prince left him in. Derrick must've not been unconscious for long.
"And I'm not going to tell anyone about you, if that's what you think. They will burn me for being crazy," Derrick continued, "I refuse to let you be my soulmate."
Jake couldn't tell you that Derrick's words didn't sting. They did...even if Derrick wasn't Jake's cup of tea either.
"Is it because I'm a wolf or because I'm a man?" Jake asked sadly.
"Both really," the prince said harshly before hauling himself onto the horses back, all shock gone and replaced by extreme anger. Once again, he was directing his anger to the wrong person. Jake did nothing wrong, but Derrick's mind was too clouded to care.
Jake was taken aback by the prince's rudeness. He imagined a soulmate to be kind and gentle. To love him and care about him. A wolf, maybe, to settle down with. But no, he was given this rude, grumpy human who is leaving before they could really get to know each other. But Jake was willing to accept it, since he knew that no pair of soulmates could separate for long and he would soon have his chance to speak with Derrick again. Maybe even set his manners right.
"Well, bye then,"Jake said awkwardly, "You know, I've only known you for five minutes. It shouldn't be like this. We are soulmates. You can't just ignore me."
"I can try," the prince huffed. He then saluted Jake goodbye and then turned to leave, but before Oliver could trot away, Jake called out.
"Wait! Do you live in the kingdom?" he asked.
"Why? Do you intend to follow me? Find me?" Derrick questioned.
"Only if the separation gets too restless," Jake shrugged, "Trust me, I'm sure no one would want to come near you voluntarily."
"How about this?" Derrick offered, "Do you know the clearing on the east side of these woods?"
Jake remembered running through a beautiful clearing when the hunters were chasing him, right before he jumped off that cliff and into the lake. He didn't know if it was the right clearing, but it was worth a shot.
"Uh, yeah I think so," Jake nodded.
"Okay. Meet me there tomorrow at nine in the morning. Got it?" Derrick growled.
"So demanding," Jake teased.
"Got it?" Derrick repeated.
"Yeah, Yeah," Jake sighed, waving a hand, "I got it."
"Good," Derrick said before flicking Oliver's reins and taking off through the trees. Jake felt a heavy presence on his heart, but it was nothing serious...yet.
Derrick felt it too, along with the winter wind stinging his red cheeks and the pounding in his head from fainting. He ignored the feeling, determined to race away from the strange werewolf. He knew the werewolf was right: they would have to come back together at some point; he wouldn't have offered to meet the animal in the clearing, if it wasn't for that irritating fact.
He listened to Oliver's racing trot pound in sync with the beats of his heart and the throbbing in his head. He kept telling himself that he couldn't possibly be mated with such a vile creature, such an evil that has caused sadness in his life.
But no matter how much he repeated it in his head, he knew it wasn't true.
The only question now was should he run away from it, ignore it, go against it...or accept it?
Accepting it would be the easiest, but Derrick wasn't sure if he could accept it.
Acceptance wasn't in his nature.
Before he knew it, his meddled mind had fogged up the reality of the time and the castle of Mac Tire came into sight. His home was a forbidding, stone structure with no home-y feeling to it at all. The place was almost emitting a feeling of vacancy, like it was a ghost of what it used to be. Without the whimsical, sunny queen, the castle fell into an figurative darkness and felt as though it was abandoned to rot in sorrows.
Derrick frowned when he saw a couple, royals, exit a carriage and walked pompously inside the front gates. What were they doing here? He didn't even know them.
However, when he saw his cousin exit the next carriage, he realized what was going on.
Over all of the fuss with the werewolf, he had completely forgotten about his suitor ball.
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