MATED TO THE NIGHT WOLF (MTTNW)

[33.1] IMPRINT

Perhaps it is my wolf.

It is the hole inside of him I promise to fill. He does not care for these promises. I do not care for them either. It is not what we truly need.

For I can not fill the hole inside me. The promise of giving myself to another. One that was not designed for me. One that I know, that I feel,  will never understand me, one who is forced to be around me- that promise is dragging me back here- into this field of solace.

I can spend an eternity here.

They will suffer, yes, with the Evernight, the shadows, and with the threat that now looms upon them, and their bodies will litter Valcane, should I decide to stay.

It is then they will call for the Night Wolf, the so-called Prince of Shadows to defend them. It is only then they will replace their fear of me with faith and hope-

Then...

But for now, they do not care how the loneliness inside of me eats me alive, they do not care how it is quenched, only that it is quenched.

So what is it to sacrifice for them then, when I can stay in my solitude here and now? Forever.

Yes... I drift off, taken by the endless, by the comfort it provides. I can be selfish. They have never been anything but selfish.

My heartbeat is steady beneath my open palm. Everything is quiet, and minutes move through time this way. Perfect solitude, rest, and contentment until -

"Master." A whisper so soft.

I freeze at these words. The word is spoken not as if from memories but as one would if they were seated beside me.

I know the voice. I know who speaks but it is quite impossible. I know it is impossible. I am in the endless. It is only I who can be here, in this sanctuary.

I still so silently, empty my mind until I swear I can hear the soft breaths of someone breathing beside me. I know it is impossible, I know if I open my eyes there is no one-

That voice, which I know, could not be here-

And then...

Ever so slightly, I feel her fingers brush across my forehead and my eyes open because that feeling is not a dream, it is not a memory.

The bright sky above is what I see first and I quickly turn to the side where I am so sure she is sleeping. Only the wind blows in the emptiness inside me, only the flowers around me bow softly,

There is not another soul and yet my heart beats faster beneath my open palm.

I sit up, and I notice something...

An imprint in the grass. As if somebody had been beside me.

Thoughts splurge in my mind, my heartbeat quickens as I get up. I have one thought in my mind- one thought only.

I can not think of another.

I take wide strides through the fields ignoring the flowers and grass that cling onto my legs bidding me stay, the winds blow harder with every step I take across the acres of endless green, and soon everything begins to lift, the flowers, the trees, the world becomes dimmer, an off-grey, the flowers begin to wilt and leaves begin to dry.  Darkness spreads through the fields as the illusion becomes corrupted revealing the true chaos that is hidden beneath.

There is no field anymore, there never was.

The darkness and chaos of the endless swooshes all around me, shadows creep toward me, all shapes and sizes, long arms and claws pulling at my coat whispers enticing me to stay if only for a minute longer-