You Are the Moon That Breaks the Night |Virgato|

Chapter 14: Covenant [II] (Part 2)

Chris allowed himself a couple of seconds to shake the terror from his bones, then he jumped up. He slowed down a considerable amount when he saw the way the hunter whose name he didn't know yet was watching him. A moment later, Joel appeared in the door frame. Christopher's stomach sank as he watched Joel's eyes meet his for only a fraction of a second, the alpha's irises pitch black in the low light. Then Joel averted his gaze, effectively making the words in Christopher's throat die.

Like that, Joel was making a beeline for the spiral staircase. Chris hurried after him. It wasn't until they were out of the mansion, Joel striding down the gravel driveway, that Chris tried to speak up, "Joel."

The brown boy ignored him. Chris sucked his bottom lip inside his mouth and began to chew. He tasted iron by the time he had climbed into the passenger seat. Chris hadn't closed his door fully when Joel was firing up the engine and pulling away from the mansion.

Forcefully, Chris was hurled back into his seat, the door falling shut on its own accord. Joel didn't even seem to notice. His eyes stayed glued to the streets as he kept shifting gears, accelerating. The echoes that hit Christopher's chest took his breath away. Even in its weakened form, the pure, pent up rage that resonated within his chest made Christopher's jaw clench. His heart was pounding against his ribcage.

"Joel!" Chris called out once he saw the needle of the speedometer pass the seventy mark. They were twice above the speed limit. Christopher's voice seemed to do the trick, though, to shake Joel out of his stupor. Joel hit the brakes, hard, and Christopher's body was hurled forward. He wheezed as the seatbelt ricocheted him back into his seat. Before Chris knew it, Joel had steered the Jeep onto the side of the street, killed the engine and was out of the car. Cursing, Chris fumbled to unbuckle his seatbelt and followed him.

The night's air was cold, stinging like a whip on his skin as he ran after Joel's figure, a dark silhouette moving through the night. They were in the middle of nowhere, nothing but a slim stretch of green alongside the road before the forest began. Chris counted that as a plus.

"Joel, fucking- Joel!" Chris slithered to a halt when he saw that Joel had stopped at the edge of the woods. Even from afar he could see the other boy's hands tremble, his chest rising in uneven intervals.

Joel's claws flashed in the moonlight as the alpha boy lunged forward. For a moment, Chris thought Joel was slashing at the tree to release his anger, but he thought wrong. A bone-thrilling groan resonated across the field and then the branches of the trees were shaking as Joel unhinged the trunk of it by its roots. Gaping, Chris watched Joel rip the tree out of the ground, like he would have plucked the pinwheel out of his mother's flower pot. Joel swayed only for a moment, the tree above him showering the ground with earth.

Then the alpha sent the tree flying, crashing into the woods, cutting down the trees in its way and leaving a swath of destruction. Joel let out a roar that was more feral than human, the noise making Christopher's blood freeze and boil at the same time. Chris fought with the need to shift, join his alpha in his frenzy.

The feeling ceased when he saw the blood drip from Joel's hands, the skin sliced open by the bark of the tree. Joel had hurt himself, maybe would hurt himself even more severely if Chris didn't put an end to this. Efferitas exeat, Chris told himself with faux optimism, then took a step forward.

"Joel?" Chris called out meekly as soon as he was only a couple of feet away from Joel's aquiver figure.

The other boy spun around, snarling at Chris with his fangs on full display, before Joel seemed to realize what he was doing and the gold faded from his eyes.

"Christopher," Joel pressed out, and then with a lot more anguish in his voice, "Chris."

Chris opened his arms right before he was tackled to the ground. Joel's legs bracketed his waist like a vice, effectively pinning Chris to the ground. Christopher's head hit the ground with a low thump. Simultaneously, Joel gripped the front of his shirt and pressed him into the grass even further before closing the space between their bodies. Chris tried to meet him halfway, but the growl Joel let out was enough to make Chris refrain from moving even the smallest inch.

And Chris never would have thought it would happen like this, them kissing in the grass at the side of the road, but Chris couldn't bring himself to care, not when he could feel it, felt everything that Joel was feeling, with the other boy so close.

Joel's heart was pounding against his own, the other boy's lips heavy on his. It wasn't gentle, Joel kissing him was clashing teeth and swiping tongues. Joel's nails were tearing open fabric and skin as he gripped onto Christopher's biceps. The pain made electricity prickle at the back of Christopher's head.

Chris couldn't help the small, protesting noise that escaped his lips when Joel pulled away eventually. They breathed heavily into each other's mouths as Joel pressed their foreheads together.

"Tell me," Chris breathed out once he thought the air in his lungs had returned. His voice was shaking more than he would have liked, "Please, just tell me."

"You're mine," Joel's gaze was searing when he pulled away far enough to let their eyes meet. Chris found oceans of emotion in Joel's dark eyes, but they all boiled down to one thing. A promise. A promise withstanding whatever the council may have decided. Christopher's breath hitched as a slow, triumphant grin spread over Joel's lips. "The council validated my claim. You are my beta, officially."

Chris felt a blinding smile creep onto his own features, "Yeah?"

Joel chuckled, "Yeah."

Chris let out a string of curse words, causing Joel to outright laugh this time. It was pure relief, hyping them both up. Just for the sake of it, Chris gripped Joel's arms and rolled them over. Chris yipped at the alpha beneath him with his fangs on full display, a mad giggle escaping his lips when Joel took back control and flipped them over into their original position. Unbothered, Chris bared his throat. The gesture was instinctual and seemed to console Joel within an instant. Growling softly, more gently than anything, Joel leaned down, rested his face against the crook of Christopher's neck. Chris could feel Joel's teeth graze his skin, not enough to break the skin, just enough to make goosebumps erupt all over Christopher's arms.

Chris let his head loll to the side. It was hard to fight against the feeling of utter bliss that Joel's presence caused him.

"Hey, Joel?"

The other boy hummed in acknowledgement.

"What happened over there?"

Joel raised his head, his gaze darkening when he followed Christopher's line of sight to the swath in the woods.

"Something that," Joel let out a sigh, "Something that Alberto said got to me. It shouldn't have, but it did. I'm sorry you had to witness that."

Chris swallowed down his curiosity. He didn't have to ask, though. Joel was telling him on his own.

"My mother," Joel said. He rolled off of Chris and onto his back, their sides staying pressed together. Chris dropped his head to the side so he could watch the other boy's profile as he spoke. "She disappeared six moons ago. I've been searching for her every night, roaming the woods, but I- I just can't find her."

The helplessness and frustration in Joel's voice made Christopher's heart seize. "Do you think she's-"

"No," Joel interrupted him, gruffly. Chris flinched, and a second later, Joel was taking his hand, interlacing their fingers before squeezing. "No," the brown boy repeated more softly, "I would have known that. Losing a member of your pack is like having a limb torn off. It's excruciating. My mother, she just... vanished. We were on a stroll through the woods. Erick and I were chasing a deer, and my mother stayed behind, you know, let us young wolves have our fun. Then I felt an echo of distress and the next second she was gone, her presence just," Joel stretched his arm into the sky, balling his hand into a fist before uncurling his fingers one by one, "Gone."

"I'm sorry," Chris said. He wished he had better words, words that were sufficient, but he didn't.

Joel smiled at him nonetheless, "Don't be sorry. I will find her. Even if I have to roam every stick and stone these woods consist of, I will find her."

Chris let his eyes flutter closed. In front of him, he saw the picture that had caught his eye that day when he talked to Joel in his study. Joel, not older than twelve with a blinding smile on his face, his hand resting on his mother's shoulder. The mother of that small boy had disappeared. Chris channeled the determination Joel was oozing into an echo of his own, "We'll find her."