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Auror

An unusual restlessness bubbles through my veins, and in every room of the house, my frustrated and restless sighs can be heard. I have no idea what the damn reason is.

“If you keep this up, you’ll make a hole in the floor,” Black says, and a feral growl escapes.

“Shut your mouth; I didn’t call you here. You came out of meddlesomeness. The day has just begun, and you should be sleeping or satisfying your mate.” I glare at him, furious, and he doesn’t even move.

“You’re restless, Auror. You wouldn’t be calling me just before midnight if something wasn’t happening.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, this sudden irritation that keeps me awake,” I say, frustrated by not understanding.

“Nothing different from the last three centuries.”

I sit on the floor, putting my head between my hands, and see Black’s now-human feet through the gaps in my fingers.

“Why don’t you just leave?” I ask, irritated.

“Auror, you’re starting to worry me. I know you’ve always been a pain in the ass, but I’ve never seen you like this. Well, I have, but only during the lunar cycle when mating is necessary, but that’s months away.”

“I’m just more irritable than usual; it doesn’t feel like the heat of a lunar cycle at all.” I stand up, and at nearly two and a half meters tall, Black now looks much smaller.

“That’s the issue. How about we go to the sacred tower? The angelic elder might give us a forecast, see the future, I don’t know.”

“Do you really want to bother the oracle because I’m irritated?” I’m incredulous. “I need to remind you that if we do that, Luna would have to live here with me in the house on the hill.”

Black’s laughter bursts through the house, and in some way, it makes me a little less irritated.

"My friend, desperation makes us do things; I’m the only one who visits him, Auror. It must be that; you need to get more involved with the community. They’re all yours to care for."

"No!" I shout, standing up. "There are humans in town; you know I can’t blend in. I already hold a meeting once a month and manage everything very well."

"You’ve become the monster from the stories told around the campfire. Do you think your growls and roars aren’t heard? You’re irritable and discourteous, and when you’re hunting, you seem like a demon who can’t stay quiet."

"Want to question even the way I hunt?" I advance, pressing my nose to his, showing my fangs so he backs off and understands who’s in charge here.

"Don’t use your leader power on me," he says, facing me.

Black is the only one with this audacity, but I won’t let him forget who I am. I press a bit more, and when I see him arch his shoulders and lower his head, a sort of whimpering can be heard, and I decide to back off.

"We’re friends, Black, but don’t think that makes me any less of a leader. Let the stories continue to circulate around the campfire; let my house be seen as haunted. I’m a monster, you know well what I do with the females who lie in my bed each lunar cycle. I won’t be a damn gentleman; that wretched woman took everything from me, including my humanity," I remind him.

"Cristaly is dead, and so is Galena."

"I’m dead! I was condemned to darkness; I’ll never have a mate born for me. Do you really think I don’t know? It’s just a life opportunity. You had your mate; any férnus in Forty Mile can have one, but I can’t. When a leader is born, his mate comes almost a hundred years later, or did you forget that Cristaly was born from Luna and was destined for me?"

“I haven’t forgotten,” he says. His gaze contains pity, which only infuriates me further.

“Get out!” I roar, furious. “Get out of here, Black. I’ll accept any kind of sentiment directed at me, but I won’t tolerate pity.”

“Auror…” he tries to speak, but I hurl the small wooden table in his direction, watching him dodge to avoid the blow.

“Leave, Black. I’m tired of all this crap.”

“The elder had a purpose when she didn’t kill you.”

“Yes, she needed to keep the férnus in check; only the leader can achieve that. I was the next in line, and now even that’s been taken from me.”

“I don’t think so. I believe the Moon Goddess has a plan. An angelic being would never allow such suffering for a férnus; it’s her duty to protect us.”

“Then tell me, Black, where is my mate? I’ve been agonizing for three hundred cycles, and nothing. Another cycle is about to begin, and there’s not a damn mate for me.”

His gaze now shows someone who is holding back words to avoid continuing this pointless argument.

“I’m going to sleep. I’ll see you at the meeting tonight.” I turn my back, not listening to any of his words.

I should have controlled myself, should have been restrained or respected my instincts, but the pain of betrayal blinded me. A damn lie took everything from me, and now nothing I feel or do will erase the fact that I killed my best friend.

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