"When was the last time you slept?" Mr. Crepsley asked a few hours later, after we had made a short trip to feed. I was feeling more alert, but physically exhausted. We had stopped just outside of camp and were now sitting under a tree watching the stars as they passed across the sky.
"I slept some time yesterday," I shrugged. "Or two days ago? Something like that."
"You put off feeding far too long. You should not allow yourself to grow so weak," he said, his tone gentle yet stern.
"I won't," I promised.
"What has been bothering you? You were quiet all week," he finally asked. I looked at him and shook my head.
"You wouldn't understand," I said with a sigh.
"Maybe I will," he pushed.
"It's a human thing," I finally gave in. "Even though I never knew the love of a real family, I still lost my entire world that night."
"I can understand that," he said softly. "You almost lost your own life as well," he said.
"Yeah. I can't just get over that," I sighed before standing and leading the way back to camp. I noticed that Cody must have let the wolves out of the kennel, because they were roaming around looking for scraps, as they did every night. I called them over to the trailer and shut the door, feeling sorry for myself.
I sank onto the mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling, wondering when I would come to terms with that I had become.
The weeks passed quickly. Every night, Mr. Crepsley taught me and Darren, before allowing us time to get a few hours of sleep. Every day, Darren and I did chores, and every afternoon, I took the wolves out to hunt, before training them a little more. It became so repetitive, that by the fourth week, I finally snapped.
"I'm so freaking tired of this!" I growled, throwing the dead rabbit into the sack.
"What?" Darren asked, hauling his bag over towards me.
"This! I had more fun living in the wild!" I snapped.
"I sort of like the comfort," Darren shrugged. "You'll get used to it."
"I won't! I'm tired of feeling like a caged animal!" I puffed. Hunter looked up from his meal, his tail twitching at my tone.
"The wolves don't seem to mind," he pointed out. Kovu was hauling a dead fox towards camp, his tail wagging happily. Misha was laying under a tree, supervising the hunt.
"They're used to it," I grumbled.
"You'll get used to it soon," Darren laughed. "I hated being a half-vampire in the beginning too," he added.
"At least you gave up your humanity for a good cause," I sighed.
"Hey, don't be like that," he scolded. I growled and walked off, lugging the bag behind me.
I didn't stop walking until I was back at the camp, my mood still as sour as before. The only thing that brightened my mood, was the familiar sound of Misha whining softly next to me. I looked to my faithful friend and saw the tired look in her eyes. I knelt beside her and ran my hand down her boney spine.
Though in the wild wolves didn't live longer than seven or eight years, Misha was now nearing her ninth birthday, and though the food was plentiful, the fights few and far between, my loyalist four legged friend was nearing her end. I'd noticed the change in her appearance a few weeks prior – her fur was thinner, her energy a lot less, even her speed was slowing to the point I rarely allowed her to hunt with the younger, more energetic wolves. I smiled sadly and told her to return to the trailer, which I had sense had a doggy door installed in. She whined, but did as I said without question.
I wandered around the camp until I found Harmony. Her sister was watching over her tentatively as she licked her front paws, ridding them of the dirt and blood from the earlier hunt. The young she-wolf was carrying her first litter of cubs, and was due to have her litter in a few weeks time. It was a known fact that she and Hunter were extremely close, but the pairing of the two hadn't been apparent until recently.
"What are you going to do with the cubs when they're born?" Cody asked as he ushered Kovu over to us. The young male had taken over his mother's duties as the provider and 'beta' as I called him. Misha would not allow another of her pack to overthrow her until the night she passed on.
"Let the wolves decide, as I always have," I said truthfully. "I'm sure a cub or two will share the same gifts as their parents, but the rest may stray, start their own packs, or join an already established on," I explained. "The most successful litter I ever had the pleasure of watching grow and mature, was a litter of six, all of which stuck with the pack until they were old enough to mate. Only then, did they leave to find their own destinies."
"You know a lot about wolves then, huh?" he asked, eagerly wanting to learn more.
"I do, but no more than anyone else. A lot of their habits and ways of thinking are still unknown to me. I only know that of my pack. The faithful few who have raised me since I was an infant. They're of a completely different species. Wolves, none the less, but so much more," I shrugged. "Wild wolves are completely different from this pack."
"Are you sure they aren't part dog?" he asked skeptically, his hands rubbing over the black and white patchwork on Misha's pelt.
"No. At least, none other than maybe Misha," I said with a smile. "Misha, well I wasn't even sure she was wolf when she was born. She looked like a little collie pup," I laughed. "But she grew into her role."
"They're all stunning. Are you hoping for a large litter?" he asked, nodding at Harmony.
"Not particularly," I admitted. "Large litters tend not to survive, even under the best of circumstances. I'm not sure if Harm will be willing to deliver in our little 'cave' or if she'll wander off to find her own nook. If the later occurs, I might not even get to see a single cub," I shrugged. "But she is not of the original pack. She and her sister and mate can leave at any time."
"You'd willingly let them leave?" he gasped.
"Aye. They are wild animals, after all. I was blessed with their presence, but I hold no obligation over them. They're not of Mala's pack, nor will they ever truly be," I explained.
"Who is Mala?" a new voice chimed. I turned to see Mariah walking towards us, carrying a sack of scrap meat.
"Mala was my mother, so to speak," I said with a smile. "I couldn't speak English until well after her death, so when I was little, I would just blend sounds together, to give the wolves some sort of name. Mala stuck. Mala, Sodo, Oma, Lela," I laughed at the memory. "I wasn't very creative, but it got the job done. Misha was the first wolf to get a proper name."
"Really?" Mariah laughed. "I like your creativity though!"
"Haha, it worked out, for the most part. Plus, aside from Misha and Kovu, none of the wolves ever came when called. Everything was more telepathic and signal based," I shrugged. "I still name them though. More for my sake than their own!"
"Oh, Cody, before I forget. Mum wants you back at the tent. Said she needed your help with something," Mariah quickly said before tossing the scraps of meat to Kovu and Hunter, who ate eagerly. "You never did tell us how you convinced Mr. Tall to give you your own trailer!" she exclaimed as she handed me the bag I had asked her to hold earlier that day. The sun was beginning to set, and I knew the young girl would soon retire to the tent to help her mother mend clothes.
"I didn't need to. He directed me to it the first night I came," I laughed. "And it's a good thing he did! What with Kovu's dark coat, he'd be impossible to see at night, and he's scary enough to frighten some of the performers!"
"That's true!" she laughed happily as she skipped off. I smiled as she did so, my mood a million times better.
Sometimes I forget I'm a half-vampire, just for my own sanity. It's nice to have normal human children around. Especially ones that are so full of questions. I sat down in the middle of the small pack and watched as they soon broke free of their meals and wandered around camp, only Misha and Kovu sticking to me like glue, as always.
"Hey," Darren called as he walked over to us. I smiled up at him and patted the patch of grass beside me. From where we were, we could watch the sun set perfectly.
"Sit," I said with a smile. He sat and looked at me funny.
"You're in a good mood," he teased.
"I really am," I said blissfully. "For a change."
"What changed your mood?"
"Kids," I laughed. I absentmindedly rubbed behind Misha's ear, her warm fur reminding me of how much I loved my life, prior to the whole vampire world thing.
"It's beautiful," Darren remarked after some time. I nodded in agreement.
Late that night, Misha wandered off to a deserted part of camp, and heaved her last breath. Though I would mourn her death heavily, I took it as a sign that new things were in store. As her body was properly disposed of – either buried deep in the woods, or fed to the Little People, either of which was proper enough for me – I reminded myself that she had lived a fine life, and as her last days had proved, she was happy.
I fell asleep late into the morning, Kovu curled beside me, the rest, laying peacefully on the floor. My last conscious thought was about how amazing life really was at the moment, despite the loss of my beloved sister.
a/n;; This chapter was actually not going to be until...oh say another four or five chapters, but I breezed through Books 4,5,6 and 7 of the saga, and am beginning to think far too far ahead. :P So I've decided to change my course of action with this particular part of the story, to advance onto the more...interesting parts. :D
Note The Changes: Originally, this particular story was supposed to only span between books 3 and 4. But after a lot of thought, I've decided to use that as the beginning, rather than the entire story. ;) Hard to make up details about parts we never actually saw, right? :P As always, I'd love a little feedback! I promise, it's going to get a lot more interesting soon enough!