Chapter Text
Leaving Elsa was difficult, but necessary.
The moment he’d healed enough to do so, Jack leaped up to heartwood rafters high overhead. He and the wolf in the corner of his mind wanted to attack the hunters straight-on, but it was too risky with Elsa gravely wounded. One way or another the hunters would die, and he’d retrieve the Bloodstone so Elsa would live.
He dropped down behind the female hunter, slashing claws across her throat before his feet touched the floor.
His landing’s quiet thump drew the other’s attention. The fair-skinned man gaped for a split second, then planted his feet and aimed his gun.
Jack hurled the female hunter at the man before he could fire.
He pounced, landing on top of tangled limbs with claws and teeth at the fore. A single bite ripped out half of the man’s throat.
His blood tasted good.
Shoving the thought aside, Jack darted into the library. A few steps and a leap took him to Elsa’s herbarium and the gem that was her family’s legacy.
Blood dripped from his clawed hand as he touched a fingertip to the lacquered box.
It felt smooth and cool. Nothing more.
Jack snatched up the case and sprinted back to Elsa. She lay on her back prone in the hallway, her face white as a ghost and her breathing labored and shallow.
He set the box down beside her, then gently moved her hand on top of it. Her skin was cold. Too cold.
She didn’t respond.
Whimpering, Jack flipped the case’s lid open with one claw, bracing for an onslaught of pain.
None came.
He laid Elsa’s bloody hand on top of the jewel emitting red tendrils of magic, then reached for her face. With her eyes closed and features lax, she looked young.
Jack dragged the backs of his fingers up her cheek, feeling mildly guilty about smearing blood on her. But it suited her, somehow, and filled Jack with pride. He’d defended her and provided, just as she had for him and he and Ted did for each other.
It felt right.
Her breath quieted.
The gurgling, wheezing sound had stopped, Jack realized, as Elsa’s eyes fluttered open.
She gazed at him without her mask, even with him like this, touching her with a bloody, clawed hand. Her lips formed the hint of a smile.
“How do you feel?” Jack tried to ask, but the wolf’s mouth garbled the words.
Although Elsa smirked, it wasn’t part of her mask. “Like shit.”
Jack’s laugh was a breathy whimper.
With color returning to her face, Elsa slipped her free hand into Jack’s and tugged it away from her face. “You’re a mess.”
He smiled broadly, grateful that she could see past the teeth and blood. He was human, mostly.
Sunset bloomed in his bones, unaccompanied by pain for the first time. It felt… strange. Cool, with an undercurrent of energy.
“It’s time,” Jack said as best he could.
Nodding, Elsa sat up, careful to keep the Bloodstone away from him.
The moon’s placid energy rippled through Jack as Elsa put the Bloodstone’s chain around her neck and tucked the gem under her ruined shirt. He felt no pain, just the wolf taking up more and more of his consciousness.
Jack didn’t want to leave, but not due to fear. He knew that Elsa would be okay.
She cupped his cheek like she had before, both for him and the wolf, and held his eyes. With a sad smile she said, “See you in the morning.”
“In the morning,” he wanted to say, but there was no time.
Jack stepped back, making way for the wolf.