Dark Moon

Chapter Seven

Dune blinked, his eyes clouded with a quiet rage. "What is it, Aurora? What do you want?" The shadowy figure gave the two an expression of mock pain.

"So cold, brother." She grinned jovially. "It is not nice to neglect your little sister."

"Aurora. Why did you come back?"

"I came with a warning. For you and your friend. Do not trust anyone. Even those you think you know."

"What does that even mean?" He growled inquisitively. Aurora's shape begin to fade, and he began to swat at it. "Hey! Explain!" Aurora's smile grew broadly before disappearing completely. He shifted wolf, pacing back and forth, fur ruffled with a fury that made the air feel like electricity. Caitlin watched him momentarily, before nudging his shoulder lightly with her muzzle.

"Dune. I think we need to go..." She murmured softly. Dune picked up his head, scanned his surroundings once, then nodded without a word. His tail flicked her lightly on the maw to apologize. They reached Dune's back porch and returned to their human forms. Slipping himself down onto the steps that led to the back door, he watched the female in silence. Caitlin moved uncomfortably under his gaze as she sat on the grass.

"I owe you some explanation. I guess..." Dune said, resting his head on his hand.

"Kind of, yeah."

"I was formerly the heir of the Wolven throne. My wonderful father, or so he calls himself, bound his soul to my body when I was a child. That way, if he died, he would still be alive inside of me. A vessel, I could say. So to the council, having a demon half possess you is similar to being a halfblooded Wolven. They banished me until I can separate myself from him." Caitlin gave him a blank look.

"So let me check my understanding so far..." She tilted her head. "Your father is-was- a demon, and he bound himself to you. If your father was a demon then wouldn't that make you a halfbreed anyway?"

Dune shook his head. "Not in this case. He wasn't my biological father. Or...so we know. No one knew what kind of demon he was. Depending on that can we actually figure out if I am a halfbreed or not."

"Ah...and so your want-to-be father bound his soul to you, and the Pures kicked you for not being completely clean?"

"They're afraid of me. I am the odd one out. If they were to allow a wolf with dirty black fur into their pack, many arguments would be made to allow halfbreeds into the pack as well."

"Oh. Gotcha. And the...girl...?"

"Aurora. That thing was my sister."

"Was?"

"Aurora died. Kicked in the head by a moose during a hunt. She was too little to hunt, but for some reason her older friend thought it was a good idea. She bled to death."

"Then how was she...?" She waved her hands in a bizarre circular pattern to attempt to show him what she was trying to say.

"Aurora died on cursed grounds. A long time ago, the Pures got into a fight with a neighboring half-pack over the moose that they had ended up taking down. The halfbreed wolves cursed the land before Aurora died. She will never be able to rest in peace now."

Caitlin blinked. "This is...a lot." Dune nodded, then sighed. "So if you need to separate yourself from your father, wouldn't you need to know what kind of demon he was?"

"I don't have access to his body."

"But I do."

He watched her with narrowed eyes. "Alright. But first Cait, you owe me your life story. Tell me, who exactly are you, Caitlin Reevers?"