The Full Moon [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Zaid, you can't. You have to eat. If not for you, for the pups." I said. Zaid lay there for a while, then sighed and sat up slowly. I studied his back. I could just see the tension, his muscles taut and knotted. I felt an aching in my chest to see him so miserable.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and started to massage him. He blinked and tilted his head back to look at me.

"You'll be okay." I said, gently rubbing my thumbs into his back. Zaid studied me for a second, then looked out the window, relaxing slowly. I felt his muscles relax under my hands, his breathing becoming steady. We sat there for a while longer, maybe a few minutes, before we got up and went downstairs.

The table was already set and most everyone was already sitting down. Zaid didn't say anything to anyone, just sat down beside me at the head of the table. We passed around the food and just ate silently. I noticed Kyler wasn't there, his seat beside Zaid empty. I frowned, glancing up at the ceiling, then back at Zaid, who made a weird choking sound.

He just got up and went to the bathroom. I didn't speak. No one did.

It felt like such a depressing meal.

And it went on like that for days, at every meal. They were silent and depressing. Even after Kyler came back about three days later, he was dead silent, staring at his food as if he was disgusted by it.

The days turned into weeks.

It'd officially been two weeks after the incident with Ash and Kyler, after Zaid turned eighteen when things seemed somewhat semi-normal and people were settling in.

The hunts were more frequent with the men and the women scurried around to clean up or care for the pups- Except Ivy. She left as often as possible, even with her pup's thirteenth birthday coming up.

Zaid still didn't speak as much, but when he did, he was trying to be happy again. He was spending time with the pups, his belly noticably larger. He was switching to heavy sweatshirts, despite the warmer weather rolling in. We kept the fans on, sucking in the air from outside.

"Mia, stop teasing the twins." Zaid snapped as the young female pup kept swatting at the tail of one of the twins. They yipped in unison while Mia backed off, only to bump into Fin, who growled low in his throat. He was turning thirteen soon, which meant he'd be able to change into a human. He was also showing signs of being his mother's son. It made me grimace to think of a male Ivy running around, hacking at things and ripping things open.

"Watch Ty, he's at your ankle." I warned Zaid when he went to lean forward. Zaid stopped and grabbed the russet colored pup near his ankle, tossing him on the sofa beside him. Ty yipped and crawled into Zaid's lap, resting against his belly. Zaid sighed, stroking his fur for a second until he saw that Rain, Kit, and Harmony were practically climbing all over Ron, the youngest of the pups.

"I got him." I said, walking over and scooping Ron up. The poor little pup was yelping and wailing, pawing at the air as his blind eyes searched for me. I held him close, stroking behind his ears. Ron was Frita's only surviving pup. He was born blind, which had struck everyone in our pack rather hard, but despite being blind, he still managed to do a lot of things on his own.

"He's like his father." Frita had told me sadly one day. Frita's mate had drowned long before she joined our pack.

"Is this what you've been doing all day?" I asked, sitting down beside Zaid, avoiding Rain and Kit, who had trampled onto the sofa to cuddle with us. Zaid gave me a tired smile.

"Yea. It's pretty much all I can do." He admitted, looking vaguely irritated as Ty snuggled against his belly. The rest of the puppies yipped and climbed onto the sofa. Soon, I felt like I was under a blanket of puppies, except Fin, who sat on the floor still and watched Zaid and I with a cocked head.