Eclipse Child |✔|

|17|

Do not be ashamed 

of the wars you soul has fought, 

to save itself. 

-isra al-thibeh

***

The wolf walks beside me. I let my hand stay upon his back, idly trailing it up the grove of his spine- taking in the course roughness of the fur- before I run it back down.

He did not mind.

We walk for several hours. I don't tell the male that my side hurts from the effort it takes when climbing up the slopes of the mountain. It would serve no purpose to our trip. And I never had been one to express my pain.

He seems to know where to go.

His steps are sure and steady as he follows an unseen path, slowly making his way forward and deeper into the mountains.

I shiver against the cold.

I at least had the good sense to take the jacket that had been hanging in the hallway. The scent had told me it belonged to the male.

I smile as I take it in. I liked having his scent on me.

"You are an only child." The wolf looks up at me. It is all right though. I've realized that wolf or human- either form would result in the same silence from the male.

"I'm not an only child."

We move forward. His ears are up, listening to my words as I continue to speak.

"I have two brothers. Vincent and Leo."

He must have noticed the way Vincent's name left my mouth because he is soon pressing his head against my hip, looking up for me to continue.

"Vincent...Vincent is the oldest..."

I pause. The male stops with me.

I look at the ground, taking in the frostbitten dirt. I don't know what else to say.

There was so much about Vincent. So much- that my mind felt like it was overwhelmed with information.

As flashbacks of the past resurfaced.

But I push aside the one memory that haunted me- unconsciously adducting my shoulder blades together- and instead grab the male's fur, twisting it around my fingers and moving forward with him.

"Vincent may be there. He may not be there. I don't know," I shrug, trying desperately to sound indifferent. "He left almost..." I quickly count back the months in my head, "a year ago...I guess it's been that long."

A low whine leaves the wolf. I laugh at the sound.

"Why did he leave? Because he could. Because he wanted a break from the constant burden of..."

I can't say the word aloud as I whisper in my mind, me.

"He went away when no one was watching- in the middle of the night. I think it hurt my dad more than anyone else. But it also made me wary of what he was leaving for."

I reflect back to it.

Dad had called the Training camp, seeing if Vincent had arrived there or was planning to attend.

They told him that he had never contacted. And Vincent never showed up.

"He may be training. But I am also."