the lives of butterflies

year 4 - another hint (summer, jacob)

"Is it strange for a master to have feelings for his wolf, Luna?"

Luna stares for so long, Jacob wonders if he has somehow gone deaf. He blinks his yellow eyes and shakes his head a little. "What do you mean, Jacob?" His breathy voice is low, as if their faces are just millimeters apart. He does not smile.

Jacob's lips twitch. He isn't sure whether to laugh or to act as seriously as the wolf before him. Just go with the truth, maybe. "With all the time a wolf and his master would spend together, wouldn't it be expected that maybe..."

Luna stares at him. Jacob cannot read his eyes, but his ears are perked with interest. "Go on."

Jacob chuckles from nervousness. A blush creeps into his face. "Since they have known each other for so long, wouldn't it be possible for them to fall in love with each other?"

When Jacob looks up, he realizes how close their faces are. His breath is so sweet. He smells of excitement and wonder and a thrill very different from that terrible, lust-filled night.

His voice reaches the very depths of Jacob's heart. "Perhaps it is not simply a master and his wolf, but the right person that is more important."

He shivers. Wolves were usually so direct, and yet this one seemed to bound away from him, waiting for Jacob to catch him and hold him in his arms.

Luna laughs at his expression. "Was that the answer you were looking for, Jacob?"

"May I have another hint, Luna?" he asks, laughing with him.

"Okay." Luna's finger is on his lips, and Jacob is suddenly lighter than a bird's breezy flight. "Maybe, at a different time, we will meet. And maybe, if we are the same as we are now, I would like to spend those moments with you. Maybe, it is you that I would like to spend the most time with."