Chapter Text
The moon shines down brightly as Hayley strides through the forest, carefully evading the pools of water that had gathered during the most recent rain fall.
She can feel the lunar energy in her bones, supplying her with strength. Still, she needs to hurry. Tonight's moon will soon fade, and she has some distance left to go.
The forest grows thinner, and she steps out into a small, sandy clearing. There are no pools here, so she increases her pace, trotting through the grass. Her heart leaps, as it always does when she moves closer to her destination.
She is nearly half way across when she smells the other wolf. She freezes, senses alert, and sure enough, a large male steps out from behind the trees on the other side of the clearing. He is slightly larger than she is, his fur a light grey.
When she approaches, he positions himself between her and her destination. He makes no threatening moves, yet when she adjusts her trajectory, aiming to ignore him and continue on her way, he blocks her path.
Annoyed, Hayley lowers her head and twists her ears backwards.
Move, she signals, baring her fangs and growling softly warning. She can take him down if necessary. She is stronger and faster than he is.
The wolf ignores her, and remains in place. His ears are perched forward, and he doesn't seem scared.
Hayley growls more deeply and flattens her ears. Her tail flashes back and forth. She will not warn the other wolf again.
How dare he stand in her way?
Still, he doesn't budge.
So be it.
She charges, propelling herself forward. Snarling, she snaps at his neck. He twists away just in time, and jumps back, out of her reach.
Good.
Now that the path is clear, he no longer deserves her attention. She starts walking, her opponent already half forgotten, when he darts past her.
Once again, he is blocking her path.
Did he not get the message?
The wolf lowers his head in a submissive gesture. His ears twitch backwards, as if he is worried. What could he be worried about? She is heading exactly to where she should be.
Again, Hayley growls. Again, he doesn't move.
This time she does not care if she draws blood. She bites down hard in his shoulder, teeth puncturing his skin. He yelps and tries to scramble backwards, but she drags him down, and presses him to the ground. Releasing his shoulder, her jaws closes around his neck instead.
A soft whine of pain sounds in her ears, but she does not care.
He stopped her. He tried prevented her from reaching her destination.
He-
The attack comes out of nowhere. One moment she is biting down, the next she is flying through the air, legs twisting beneath her. She lands unceremoniously a few feet away, and it takes her a moment to regain her bearing.
Who had attacked her? Who had dared to-?
She freezes.
Next to the wolf, is a vampire.
Instinctively, Hayley's hackles rise. She growls deeply, her chest rumbling in anticipation.
The creature in front of her is her enemy, the antithesis to her kind.
She will gladly rip it apart.
The vampire bares its fangs. How small they are, compared to hers.
Without warning, she launches herself at it. The vampire sidesteps, avoiding her attack, but she has anticipated it. This time, she lands perfectly, and her hind legs propel her forwards as soon as they hit the ground.
She slams into the vampire with force, knocking it of its feet. Her jaws snap shut inches from its throat, only kept at bay by the vampire's hands pressing against her shoulder.
They roll across the ground, and it twists out from under her. Using its speed, it flashes back to its feet.
Hayley regards him, panting. The energy of the moon is strong within her.
She starts moving back and forth, searching for an opening. To her annoyance, the vampire doesn't allow her to circle around him. Instead, it keeps blocking the path to her destination, matching her pace.
No matter. The need to continue has diminished somewhat. She has time to play around with this child of the sun.
She snaps at him, feigning an attack. He doesn't react, but their fight has drawn his (and her) attention away from the other wolf, who has sneaked up behind it. Barely in time, the vampire dodges his teeth.
It backs away, its eyes flickering between the two of them. Its mouth moves, but the sounds it makes are foreign. Then his gaze lifts, drawn to something behind her.
Only now, Hayley hears the other wolves approach. The presence of the vampire must have drawn them out. Their scent washes over her. They are her pack, she realizes. And the male wolf is their Alpha. She should have known, should have been with them. But her destination had been more important. Is more important still.
The vampire observes the wolves behind her. Together, they could easily take it on.
It glares at Alpha, mouths something again, and huffs when Alpha doesn't respond.
Had it expected him too? How strange.
The vampire seems to hesitate. It looks at her, but without ears and tail, it is impossible to read. And then, in a flash, it is gone.
The sudden pull in her chest takes Hayley by surprise. A whine pierces from her throat as she launches herself after him, the need to move flaring through her.
After him, after him, towards her destination, because they are linked, she understands now, they are linked, the vampire and it. The ground speeds by below her, faster and faster, until her paws barely hit the ground.
She doesn't catch up with him as much as that she crashes into him.
The vampire has stopped a few miles away from the pack, and she notices him too late. They slam into the ground, rolling over a few times before lying still. Immediately, she staggers to her feet, already continuing onwards, but he is too slow, and she is pulled into two directions. She whimpers, urging him to move. They need to go. She needs to go.
He gets to his knees. He reaches out one hand, beckoning her towards him. She whimpers again, confused. Why does he not come? Does it not pull on him too?
Slowly, she complies, even though it hurts her to move away from her destination.
When she is within arms reach, his fingers bury into the fur of her neck. His arms circle around her shoulders, and he pulls her close. His scent is strong, laced with the sharp tang of death.
Antithesis. He is her opposite, and yet she allows his touch.
Wants his touch.
He says something in their strange language. She starts to back away, but he holds on tight. He is stopping her, holding her back.
She nips at him in frustration, and he responds by holding her tighter. A small whine escapes her throat.
"Hush," he whispers.
Her body starts trembling, the energy of the moon slowly seeping away, drained by her fight with her alpha and the mad rush chasing him. He strokes her neck, his fingers trailing through fur, and she sinks into him, her head resting on his shoulder.
She doesn't understand. He is not pack, he is a vampire. Even now, her relief to be with him battles her instinct to snap at his neck. Why does he not let her go? Why does he not release her?
Her destination still pulls at her, but more faintly now, reduced to a low ache. While the vampire keeps murmuring unintelligible words, her body grows heavy. She slips down, leaning heavily against him. The vampire keeps stroking her neck, her head and ears.
She doesn't know how long he holds her close. At some moment, the vampire's hand stills, and when she pulls away she sees her alpha standing nearby. His eyes glow golden in the dim light of the moon.
He huffs and bows his head. He wants her to follow him. Part of her struggles against the command, but part of her is relieved. Following her alpha is easy. Uncomplicated.
It might make the ache bearable again.
The vampire's hand falls away as she moves. Hayley shivers, feeling cold at the loss. She watches him with a heavy heart as he steps back.
Her alpha nuzzles her snout, distracting her from the creature that is supposed to be her enemy. She licks him in return. Her alpha is calmness. He is safety. He is pack.
When she looks back one last time before she disappears in the forest, the vampire is already gone.