Taine couldn't sleep. He didn't even bother tossing and turning in bed, but rather decided to make good use of the desk and get some work done. The job of being Alpha never ended. Looking up at the full moon it reminded him of the night he came to get Camila. The thought didn't stay for very long, because movement outside caught his eye. He saw Camila leaning on her balcony, staring at the same moon, lost in thought. Without warning, she stripped and shifted. Before he could process what was happening she had run and jumped off the balcony onto the grass and was sprinting into the woods. This was déjà vu, but of a scarier kind. He wasn't sure if he should follow her or just wait until she returned... if she returned...Not being able to help himself he shifted and followed.
Staying at a far pace, careful not to arouse suspicion, he kept her in his line of sight. He was careful not to be clumsy, every step was careful and deliberate. They were thick into the forest now. Even though he was silent, she still scanned the surrounding area before turning and making her way off the dirt path she had seemed to be following. He watched her disappear into a thicket, before making his way to the same spot to peer through. The bush was dense and he couldn't see much. What he could see her was her now human and clothed figure. She was in a clearing of sorts. There was a unique tree planted amidst the dense cedar trees and Camila was sitting next to it. It gave off a different energy.
The moonlight passed through uninhibited here, and it illuminated her, in short moments marked by the passing of clouds.
"I know you're here."
He hesitated not expecting to be spoken to. Surprised and embarrassed at his failed attempt to conceal himself, he raised a paw to pass through the bush, like he had seen her do not long before.
Even more surprisingly he saw another wolf emerge from an adjacent side of the clearing. Moving quietly through the leaves and getting ready to enter kill mode, his hair stood up and his teeth were bared. But something stopped him. Camila seemed to know this wolf.
She didn't look surprised. She approached it and handed it a spare shirt and pants she must have brought with her.
"Here. You can shift."
She turned to the moon and basked in its light, while the other wolf shifted and changed. A man had replaced the wolf and was now stepping closer to his mate.
He didn't understand why he wasn't sinking his teeth into this man's neck. The full moon was making him edgy but the rational side of his brain commanded him to stay put and listen.
He tapped her on the shoulder and broke her haze. She turned to see him crookedly smile with his arms outstretched. For her.
The anger of an Alpha reared its talons when she stepped into this mans arms and stayed there for what seemed like years.
Camila was the first one to add additional noise to the songs of the forest.
"It's been a minute, hasn't it?" She smiled sadly. "How did you know I would be here?"
"I know you Mila, don't tell me all this time apart made you forget that."
She laughed, but Taine could tell it wasn't a real laugh, " No, but I just didn't know you'd be here at all today."
"A little birdy told me. So I made the trip"
"Liz?"
"Yup."
The pair was now sitting next to each other on the grass. Taine didn't know if he imagined it, but there was something there. Something delicately held in the space between their connected eyes.
Camila cleared her throat. "How have you been?"
"I never got to say goodbye to you."
She shifted her gaze to the moon again. "You sure know how to make small talk, Mason."
"Mila. I never got to say goodbye."
Taine felt guilty. Like he was intruding on something private. Something he shouldn't see, but something he couldn't look away from.
Raising her voice slightly, her eyes snapped back at him, "I never got to say goodbye to anyone. Not even them. All of it nearly killed me. There isn't much I can do to change that."
The man, took her hand in his, "I know coming here makes you feel close to them." Camila nodded in response.
"Are you happy?"
She pulled her hand away."Yes, I'm fine."
"Mila don't lie. Not to me."
"There isn't much I can say. I feel like there's a hole in my heart and the emptiness eating me alive. The worst part is, I know that there isn't anything I can do about it. I am so homesick it's crazy."
"Then stay. Or run, I don't know, do something!"
"You know I can't..."
"Why? You're not telling me something."
"Its just...I'm not just 'Mila' anymore, I'm going to be a Luna with a mate now. I have responsibilities."
"Well screw that...You'll always be our Mila here. You'll always just be Mila to me."
Camila, eyes downcast began picking at the grass. " Mason it's my destiny or some bull like that. I'm here now and I will take what happiness I can get."
The man, whose name had finally been revealed sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "And hows the guy, treating you, alright? Better than that first night?"
Taine bared his teeth again. He was not just a 'guy.' He was an Alpha and her mate. Taine noticed Camila didn't lift her head, to meet Masons gaze.
"He's fine...He...I couldn't even tell you one thing about him, I barely know him...Things are strained and unfamiliar in so many ways. The place, the life, the soulmate, the secrets...I just don't know what direction I'm moving in half the time."
"You may feel bound to him, but you don't love him. You are only there because you have to be."
Camila and Taine both flinched at the words spoken so truthfully.
She didn't respond.
"I wish you were still here. With me."
Camila looked up into his eyes and searched his face. The words that had just been spoken had an immense impact on everyone in the forest that night. Something seemed to change within Camila. She stood up quickly.
Her mood shifted and was now lighthearted, but it was forced. "Hey Mason, since when are we so serious. C'mon, I'm leaving tomorrow morning so walk me back. It's our last chance to catch up."
They walked back slowly through the forest talking, laughing, arms close. Taine close.
Eventually, the pair had reached the pack house and were preparing to part.
"You're leaving in the morning. Come spend some time with me?"
Camila shook her head and laughed, "No I have a date, with my favourite man!"
Mason chuckled, "Sam sure is a lucky four-year-old."
"We're having breakfast tomorrow morning."
"He misses you... Jake does too, even though he doesn't show it."
"Jake? He is more than fine. I think he just misses someone to get into trouble with or someone to save his ass constantly... I don't think we're talking about Jake anymore."
"I'm still going to wake up to see you tomorrow."
"Mason, let's be honest, you aren't able to function before ten o' clock. It's okay, I don't want a big soppy farewell...It's not going to make anything easier."
"Camila..I..."
"Mason, I can't do this. Let's just live in the memories of before and not ruin things. We are going different ways now."
With that Camila slowly stepped away from him and made her way back to her bedroom. Taine had already been waiting in his room, watching the interaction from the balcony. He couldn't hear anything but he could see the way Masons, eyes followed Camila, practically begging her to turn around. Taine had never hated someone more.