A special thanks and dedication to TheAlias for the awesome new cover.
...
My head was throbbing with a dull ache. I was on solid ground, but my body felt weightless. When I opened my eyes, there was nothing but white. I blinked slowly and saw that I was on the dark forest's floor.
A familiar growl seized my heart with fear. I jumped up to my feet. The blinding white light was radiating off of the creature standing in front of me. It glanced at me from over its shoulder, and I saw its pitch black eyes.
A snarling bark demanded its attention. It turned and growled at its black counterpart, the one from before, the one that had saved me. When the black creature stepped closer, the white one jumped protectively in front of me and roared. The black one started to angrily pace, its white eyes trained on the other. They snarled and snapped their teeth, but they made no move to attack.
They were communicating with each other. If I listened close enough, I could hear the slur of words masked by their barks and growls. I couldn't make out much, only a single word.
Mine.
...
It was blistering cold, but Hunter had her arms wrapped around me. We were standing in the backyard, our face buried in the other's neck. It was so early that the only sounds heard were the chirping of morning birds and the soft murmurs of our parents, who were also bidding their goodbyes.
"I'm acting like you are moving away," I tried to jest, but my chest constricted too much.
"Maybe so," Hunter murmured into my ear, "but it will feel like forever every moment I am not with you."
I gasped at the sharp pull of her words. When I pulled back to look at her face, I could see the raw emotion in her silver eyes. Hunter touched my cheek and pulled me in for a tender kiss. It wasn't enough. I pressed forward for more, desperate as I grabbed tightly onto her hoodie, and Hunter grabbed me back.
"Hunter," Cerberus called out to her.
It was time. We reluctantly pulled away. When I glanced over, I saw that Cerberus was already walking off, heading towards Moon Shadow. Hunter kissed my lips and then she went sprinting after her. Soon, they were specks in the distance, and then they disappeared into the tall trees.
Mom came up to where I stood. She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "They will be fine," she said.
"I know." I didn't.
Mom sighed. "Why don't you go run it off?" As I stood there thinking about it, she added, "That is, unless you are too tired."
Normally, I would have passed those words off as concern, but Mom's tone was implying something. I looked at her and saw the playful smirk on her face.
"You should do a better job of hiding your mark."
"Mom!" I exclaimed, horrified, and a hand reflexively flew to my neck to cover a mark that wasn't even there.
I should have known that she was trying to bait me. After our heated make out session, I had to put a stop to things before we got too serious. I had forced Hunter to take a separate cold shower, and it was almost two in the morning when we finally managed to go to sleep.
"You're so weird," I whined.
Mom simply laughed.
...
Even though she was teasing me, I took Mom's suggestion and went out for a run. When I first started to play soccer, I took on jogging with a passion. It helped with conditioning, but it was also a great stress reliever, and I liked to explore and discover new things during my outings. I suppose that was one of the reasons why I was so drawn to explore Moon Shadow, but Mom didn't allow me to go there until I was thirteen.
