Moonlit

Chapter Eighty-Five

With the wolves asleep in their beds and likely there until late morning, Terra sat in the living room against the wall, tucked in by the edge of the couch. She wore one of Jrasic's hoodies, the hood over her head and her face tucked down to try and catch the last of his fading scent. Her sobs were as quiet as she could make them and she wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked a little. Her heart cried out to him, to the subtle looks he gave her when he thought she wasn't looking. To the smile he saved just for her, and the way his lips felt against hers. Now she was only left with a diminishing scent and the sketches she never really thought did him justice.

One of the doors just off the living room opened and a hesitant figure poked out. Upon seeing no one at first, Shayne stepped out, but then froze as a scent he was never able to smell before, hit him. He peered through the dark house, his sight already greatly improved, and took a tiny step forward. "Um...Terra?"

Her head popped up and she ran a hand across her tears. "Sorry," she managed. "Did- did I wake you?"

"No," Shayne said immediately. "At least, I don't think so." He crossed over to her, pausing a bit closer. "Are you okay?"

She sniffed and lifted her shoulders. "Yeah, fine." Terra moved her arms to pull her legs to her chest and hugged them there. "Just...a couple months ago we were attacked. They...they took someone. It's nothing for you to worry about, though."

Shayne looked down and came around to her side. He leaned against the wall as well and slipped down it until he sat beside her. "So it's real then. This whole...battle thing." He paused and slowly looked to her again. "Do you think...they're okay? Whoever was taken?"

"'Okay' probably isn't the term I'd use." Terra reached down and pulled free her necklace, fingers tracing the pendant. "He...he's alive, though, I think. I hope."

He watched her movements carefully. "He's special to you," he said. It wasn't a question.

Terra smiled sadly at Shayne and nodded. "I love him. If I don't get him back...I don't know." She sighed and turned her head away again.

A small smile came to Shayne's lips as well. "He's a lucky guy, you know," he murmured. "It'll work out. Right? I mean...I can't even begin to understand what's happened to you all these months but..."

"There...there are only a few outcomes." Terra pushed the hood back from her face and pulled her hair free over her shoulder. "I'm not really sure how it will end. If we win, he could still be- be gone." She sucked in a slow breath to keep down another round of tears, near holding her breath to do so.

Shayne reached a cautious hand out to her, unsure what he intended to do, and ended up just setting it on her shoulder. "Tell me something else," he said. "This guy. He showed you this...this world?"

Terra managed a small nod and closed her eyes against his touch. "He's, uh...yeah." She let out an awkward laugh and said, "It's going to sound really weird."

"Weirder than what I just experienced last night?" Shayne said. "Because I'm still trying to convince myself that really happened."

Clearing her throat a bit she murmured, "He was our teacher. Jrasic. So much has happened since then."

Shayne's brow rose. "Wait like, our History teacher? The one that made you...this?"

Terra gave another nod. "The one and the same. He's...he's different than how he acted then."

"So...not like a teacher," Shayne said.

The smallest of laughs escaped her and she shook her head. "Well, except that he taught me everything about this world. Kind of like Jessie did, for you. I would have helped more, but I'm just...busy."

"No, I get it," Shayne said with a shrug. "Brave and strong leader and all that." He settled back against the wall more, resting his arms against his bent knees.

"Again, you don't have to stay." Terra pushed at her face with her hands. "At least until this is all over, I want to make sure you're safe. That's all."

Shayne dropped his gaze to his hands, fiddling with his own fingertips. "I don't know... Is it even possible? Going back to normal life being this...this thing?"

"I...I'm not sure. I haven't tried." Terra sighed and watched him fiddle. "We'll do what we can, Shayne."

"I just worry about my parents," he told her. "I was getting ready for college. And that freak attack from the wolves it just..." He trailed off and shook his head.

"At least you're here," she murmured. "Alive."

"I guess that's more than we could say for the other people there." Shayne loosened his grip on his hands, letting them just fall limp from his knees.

Terra released a long breath and just nodded. "I am sorry, Shayne."

"Wrong place at the wrong time I guess," he mumbled.

"Get some sleep." Terra stood and stretched. "I need some air."

"Sure." Shayne stood as well though lingered by the wall still.

"I'll see you later," she promised. Terra raised a hand to him and turned away. She stopped by her room to lace up her boots before she went back into the snow, paw prints still covering the area. The tears threatened to return as she moved back towards the cabin, but she just threw up her hood and marched forward.

• • • • ☾ • • • •

This time, Sonya waited for her on the front deck. The other Alpha leaned forward onto the railing with a hat trapping her hair and a fluffy coat wrapping her body. "Good morning," she greeted as Terra drew near. "How was your moon?"

Terra moved to the steps and hovered there before she went up the first one. "Actually, pretty great," she said with a tip of her head. "There's only a month left, Sonya. But I'm guessing you wouldn't surrender."

"And neither will you," Sonya said. "And that's just fine."

Terra went up on the deck and sighed. "Then this may be it before the end."

"Yes," Sonya said, her gaze still on the forest. "It very well may be."

"You know why I'm here," Terra said facing the other Alpha. "Is Jrasic still alive?"

Sonya shifted on the railing, pushing with a finger at the bits of snow that had accumulated there. "He was when I left this morning."

With a grunt, Terra wandered to the other side of the deck and leaned down. She ran a hand along an empty space where a vase had once sat. "I have to wonder what your definition of 'alive' is."

"You'll see soon enough," Sonya said. She leaned off the railing and slipped a hand into her coat pocket. "I won't keep you long, Terra. We both have things we should be doing right now."

A scowl took Terra's face and she returned her attention to Sonya. "Fine, then. Prepare your unwilling wolves. We'll see who wins in the end."

Sonya heaved a slow sigh and dropped her gaze. She pulled her hand back out and offered her closed fist to Terra without a word.

Terra crossed the deck and paused, too close to Sonya for her liking. Without moving closer, she just offered an open palm out. The other Alpha dropped a key into her waiting hand and was first to step back.

"Consider this a parting gift," Sonya said.

Without really looking at it, Terra shoved it into her pocket. She didn't bother asking about the key, knowing there were others that could answer her questions. Terra moved back to the steps and went down one, still watching Sonya. "You get nothing from this, Sonya," she said. "Not me. Not Wren. Not Rachel. No matter how it ends."

"I suppose we will see." Sonya leaned against the railing again, one hip against it, and watched the fresh flecks of snow that lazily fell from the hazy morning.