Heaven's Eclipse: Star-crossed Fate.

Chapter Two: After Hours.

155 AD.

Two weeks after the Lupusikings pack's ambush, all the dead had been buried in a mass grave, half a day's trek way from the village, so rot would not draw scavengers back to the village. The huts had nearly all been rebuilt and the blood stains covered with fresh sand dug from the nearby river bed and left to dry out in the sun. Village life went on as normal, whilst those affected mourned for their loved ones in private.

The girl and the primalupus met up every day in the woods and slowly the creature began to become more tame and gentle. The primalupus's lips didn't lift in to a snarl whenever the girl approached it and it wasn't so rough anymore. Time and patience had begun working its way into the beasts heart. She always came clothed now with a pair of cured animals hide as shorts, that were almost as tough as leather. The girl would settle her head on its lap and they would seek the solace and pleasure of the quiet meetings they had. Words were rarely exchanged, but a peace had settled between them. The meetings went on for three full moon cycles, but one day a couple of kin primalupuses followed the girl to their secluded meeting place.

"Well, well, well look what we have here." He nudged his companion.

"Looks like Samuel has a new play thing." The girl was sitting next to Samuel, on a bed of dried leaves, when the two male primalupuses emerged from the shadows of the trees. She got hurriedly to her feet and staggered away from the newcomers, remembering the brutal attack on her village and people. However Samuel grabbed for her and pulled her to naked her chest roughly and she could hear low vibrations from the growls echoing in her chest. The skin on skin contact sent sparks down her spine, igniting her inside. The warrior in Samuel acted on instinct, overriding her gentle touch and her wolf was being protective over its mate. The girl struggled against her, trying to free herself from her steel grip to flee the two advancing primalupuses, who were stalking forward. In a desperate effort she bit down on Samuel's hand and with a roar of more surprise than pain, she let go. Released, the girl ran to the stallion tethered to a fallen log and swinging a leg over its bare back, she grabbed the woven rope that was tied around the head and whipped the loose end around, to smack its flank. The stallion jolted and half reared in alarm, before leaping into a gallop and heading back towards the village.

The mistake for the girl was to run from the three of them. The predator in them loved to hunt and when teased with prey, that was thick with the sour scent of fear, the urge was too much for the three of them to contain. Together they arched their backs, the animal taking over all of them and together twelve paws hit the dirt together, before the three primalupuses took off after their prey. Sleek muscled bodies' racing through the trees. Suddenly it had become a game of survival.

Present Time.

Tick, tick, tick, the irritating sound of the second hand on the clock was the only thing that broke the monotonous silence and I wondered if the library monitor would notice if I launched a pencil at the irritatingly slow clock. I had gone to the library after hours to study like normal, but was unable to focus on any of the books in front of me. The words on Alec's letter kept swimming around inside my head. The seconds seemed to take hours to pass and I jiggled my knee up and down to try and ease the pent up tension I was feeling, if I could at least get some studying done, whilst Samantha was playing her match, then we could walk home together. The library monitor, who was using the time to file away the masses of returned text books, coughed from down one of the aisles and the noise seemed ridiculously loud and out of place in the silence of the otherwise empty library. I was the only student in here tonight.

I put my head in my hands and sighed heavily to myself, the weight of the last few days was swallowing me up and I felt exhausted inside. 'No harm in closing my eyes for a moment. To clear my head.' I thought to myself. I doubted I would actually be able to sleep anyway, from everything that was overwhelming me and would only rest my eyes for a few moments. I tried not to think about how Alec was now gone, the upcoming exams I would face this semester, or the trouble my parents had gotten themselves into to.