Demon Hunter

Epilogue Part 1

Six Month's After Brant's Birth

~Castiel's POV~

I woke up early. Much earlier than the sun. The clock read one am but I had a strong urge to be under the canopy of the trees. I took a deep breath and detached myself from Aurora. Her leg had been in between mine, she'd been using me as a pillow. I kissed her forehead and rolled out of bed. I walked blindly to Brant's crib and looked over him. I could feel him, the same way I could feel Aurora. His breath, his life, his emotions. I could sense certain things about all people but not as strongly as I could with my mate and my child. I reached into the crib and ran my fingers over Brant's tender cheek. "Somn ușor, fiule." He breathed in deeply and turned his face into my touch. A smile formed on my face. He would be much, I knew, when he was older. He had I as a father, and Aurora as a mother. But through his mistakes I would always stand beside him.

I took a final look at Brant then moved towards the door to the room. My feet were carrying me to a place unknown. I felt as if I were being compelled, that the actions I was taking were not the work of my own mind. But something in me didn't want to question what I was doing, only to follow. I left the house from the back door and through the sunroom. I passed the pool and Brant's playground. It was currently the sight of Henry and Drew's 'Ultimate Water War." They'd brought an entire arsenal of water guns. They'd each claimed a side of the playground and were determined to conquer the other's side. The entire thing started with a debate on which equipment was better, a slide or a swing. They happened to be on different sides of the playground.

My feet were bare. Winter was upon us, and the ground was covered with a layer of snow. I did not feel it's coldness, only my body being pulled further into the woods. I continued to walk, entering the tree line. I heard something, and came to a stop. My wolf was alert, my entire body stiff with anticipation. He wanted out, he was clawing at the barriers keeping him inside. My wolf had never been this out of control, not even with Aurora. My breathing became heavy, my teeth were clenched.

"Zachariah." I ground out. I hadn't called my wolf by his name in over a decade. It was only when he was unstable did I use it. It was a trigger word of sorts, giving the beast a name gave it humanity. He settled down slightly, but he was very much awake. He wanted to be let out, and I wouldn't be able to deny him for long. My wolf was more dominant than the man, a casualty of my life. I'd spent years in wolf form, living amongst them. I felt it was easier with them than it was with humans. During that time he had become strong, a warrior. He trusted me, and that is why I wasn't shifting in that moment. He was giving me the time I desired, but not much of it.

"What is it?" I asked him. The image of the moon appeared in my head. The Moon Goddess. She was near. I looked around me, my eyes seeing perfectly through the dense darkness. I searched for a sign of her, for any of the forms she has appeared to me in. She was a women in life, enthralled by the moon, and died within it's waves. Little new of her true origins, and why we were created. My father had always told me of his story, how it was punishment for his acts in war. His cruelty granted him a beast to match the one people saw in him. He'd tamed that beast, and as a reward he was granted a mate.

My body rocked with the weight of her voice. She was trying to speak, but her voice came as as a shrill wave. I ran, holding my ears. I tried desperately to get away, my wolf was howling. My breath was stolen from me and I dropped to my knees. My hands hit something moist. I gripped it between my fingers, my eyes squeezed shut. My chest heaved, my bones cracking. A cry escaped my mouth with the pain of the shift. It was more painful than my first. I felt myself becoming stuck between a place of wolf and man. My eyes flew open, my vision even better with the eyes of my wolf. I stared down at my hands, the veins in them prominent. I could not fully shift, I was stuck.