Dark Twin Moon - The Awakening

Chapter 22:

The night itself seemed to have stopped. Even the silent forest fell stiller than before as Kayleb's desperation erupted from him like tsunami waves.

While Jerome was on his mission to get the second vial, Kayleb tried with all his might to keep the Alpha wolf awake: "Don't fucking close your eyes, man!" He almost screamed. "You have so much to do in the future. You can't die now! I just won you as my friend. My first in a long time. Why didn't you listen to me? If you die, I could never forgive myself!" He didn't care that Tarik, Neil, and Clara saw him cry. He let his tears out as they came.

It felt so good for him to let his feelings run free.

Almost four minutes passed, and there was no sign that Jerome would return anytime soon. James didn't have much time, and Jerome took his time. Kayleb wanted to smash his head in, split open his skull, and spill out his walnut-sized brain.

"Clara? Did you cover up your guys' smells?"

The sudden question startled everyone. But the girl mentioned was the most frightened. The tearful voice asking the question cut off midway. His suffering was all too audible.

"James asked me to. He's my Alpha! I couldn't have said no to him!"

Even though Kayleb knew she was sincere, he didn't care.

"If he dies, it's your fault and yours alone! I would have explained it to you vaguely at some point. Neither of you know any fucking boundaries!" He suddenly yelled at her. "Thanks to that, I have to go through this shit twice. You have no idea how painful this is for me!" His voice was still filled with immense pain and yet so much energy. "I need a lot of rest to regain my strength. That is, if both survive."

His last words penetrated deep into Clara's soul, slightly cracking it.

But the words hurt Kayleb too, especially as he worriedly looked down at the boy they were talking about. His head still rested in his lap. He held it in one of his large hands, even using his shirt to wipe away the sweat pooling on his forehead. After his outburst, Kayleb spent the following minutes resting both boys' heads on his legs as both stopped convulsing.

The others didn't know this, but when he caressed Luke and James' heads or ran his hands through their hair, he took away most of their pain. Something werewolves aren't capable of.

He put on a strong face for the rest, only a few tears falling from his eyes.

Before Kayleb could ponder any further about the fate of his friend and the first, he wanted to help from the bottom of his heart, even if it would mean a great sacrifice. Finally, after a long, painful silence between them, Jerome came running out of the woods, still in his wolf form. However, before he could stumble into the circle and make the same mistake as his Alpha, Tarik grabbed him firmly by the neck, took the vial from his snout, and tossed it to Kayleb. With utter ease, the lycan Alpha caught it.

"Do you trust me, and will you bow down to me of your own free will?" He asked his friend the same question he had asked Luke just before.

James' eyes were barely open but wide enough for Kayleb to know he was alive. His chest slowly heaved. "I, James Titarius Rowland of Hawelsfeld, bow my knee to you, Kayleb Ulfarius Pentalox of Trailton. My life is yours, and so is my trust," he stuttered heavily.

The lycan was taken aback by his friend's words, barely able to make out over the static in his ears. His eyes widened in pure shock.

Nobody there should have known who he is. But what was even more interesting was the fact that his friend himself came from an ancient Lycan bloodline: Hawelsfeld. Some of them even still have holdings. However, most of the house fell out of favor in the first Mage War, at least as far as he remembered.