Two Sides of The Moon - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

-Jack-
I was in the middle of organizing my drawers when it happened. I felt his distress. Arch's. For a second, I hesitated, but only for a second. I grabbed my jacket before dashing out my home, trying to figure out what exactly I was feeling.
Whatever it was, it was strong. I'd never felt anything like that, and I wondered if it was actually his panic I was feeling. I honestly wasn't even sure how I knew it, but I just... I just did. It was nothing I was feeling, that was for sure, and I just couldn't see how it could be someone else. He was the only one that mattered to me.
I didn't know where to go. I didn't even know where he was, but I knew he had to be close. I stopped outside my yard, closed my eyes, and tried to figure out which way to go. Which way was he pulling me...?
He was somewhere in front of me, so I started running. I didn't even stop to think that it was a bad idea. Of course I didn't! Screw my own fears! He was in great distress, and for a moment, I feared he was being attacked. Hurt, or even dying...
Though the forest was too quiet... At first, anyway. I started hearing loud voices as I ran past the town, heading to where my spirit was taking me, but the calmness still made no sense. Arch was close by, I could almost smell his scent, but I couldn't hear the sounds of battle, not even a fight, just... Just worried shouts.
The second I saw him, I slowed down. He was being taken inside one of the houses. I couldn't smell any blood, or see any enemies, so my confusion got worse. What was going on? I had to stop since there started being too many people heading towards the house. I hid behind the trees, my heart racing.
He was all right, right? He... was...? He was calming down now. Not much, but a little. Still, I didn't leave. I had to know what was going on.
Soon, Rayleigh and his mate arrived at the house, and so did the old Spirit Walker. There were a lot of people standing around, everyone looking like they were ready for war.
A thought occurred... Arch was the diviner of this pack. The people around me definitely feared he had seen something – I could hear them whispering about it. I learned a lot about him and his ability while eavesdropping in on the conversations around me.
I turned to look at the house again. He was calm now, and a little while later I found out why.
"He's resting now – you can return to your normal duties," Luna Thisalee came to inform us. Almost everyone left apart from some guards who stayed still, looking alert.
I didn't want to leave him, so I turned into a wolf and lay down on the snow, staying hidden under the trees. It was a long wait, but I refused to leave until I was sure he was all right. I was ready to wait for him for hours and hours, but it only took one before I heard loud voices coming from the house again.
And a minute later, Arch barged through the door. I stood up, immediately knowing something was terribly wrong. I didn't even have to see Jaden trying to grab him by his arm and get instantly flung through the air. Arch was growling, halfway into his shape-shift. The people inside followed him out, Rayleigh at the front.
"Arch! Arch! You better stop now!" he yelled, while his son got back on his feet and joined them.
I stepped out from my hiding place, keeping my eyes on Arch. He was furious. If someone tried to get too close to him, he slashed his claws through the air, forcing them to back off.
"Arch! Where are you going?!" Tilly yelled after him, but it looked like he didn't even hear her.
"Arch! For fuck's sake! Stop!" Jaden hurried his steps past his father and got immediately scratched.
That was more than troubling. Arch would never hurt his Alpha, his best friend. Before I knew it, I was in my human form, rushing after them.
"Wait! Don't go near him! He may be possessed!" I yelled, and people turned to look at me.
"Can't be!" the old Spirit Walker said. "There's no one in his body!"
"What's going on then?" I asked.
"We have no idea," Rayleigh spoke. "But you're right – everyone, keep your distance."
"You sure he's not possessed?" I asked when I caught up with the Spirit Walker.
"I'm sure. The wards are holding strong," he said, but he did look unsure. "His spirits are agitated."
"No shit," I mumbled, feeling that in my soul.
"Where are you going?!" Jaden yelled at Arch, who still refused to even acknowledge the rest of us. He kept walking through the forest in a straight line, almost as if he was walking towards something. Or someone.
"Are you sure his spirits are free?" I asked again, and before the old man could get annoyed with me, I added, "He's acting like someone is calling for him."
I received some pretty worried glances, but no one replied to me.
"We have to find a way to stop him," Rayleigh said gloomily. "Without anyone getting hurt."
"Arch!" Jaden shouted angrily and run past him. "Arch! Stop!"
We all watched helplessly as Arch launched at Jaden, who was smart enough to jump out of the way. And Arch continued walking.
"Goddamnit Arch! What's wrong with you?" Jaden yelled after him.
Both he and Tilly tried to get ahead of him, yelling at him to stop. We were surrounded by people already. Concerned people. Arch finally slowed down a little, glaring at Jaden and Tilly. He looked like he was ready to attack us. I joined them two. I wasn't much of help, but I hoped Arch would snap out of it, whatever it was that was making him to act like this.
"Could you fucking stop?!" Jaden suddenly yelled so loud we all flinched away from him. True Alpha, I suppose.
And finally, Arch stopped. He glared at us for a short moment, but then took another step.
"I said stop!" Jaden yelled again.
The echo of his voice lingered in the forest, but otherwise, it was silent.
"Thank you," Jaden snorted with an annoyed tone, and when Arch even looked like he was about to continue walking, Jaden lifted his hand and commanded him to stay still.
Suddenly, Arch blinked, looking like he finally actually saw what he was staring at. His expression quickly became confused as he stared at us.
And then our eyes met.
"Jack?" he whispered, looking almost scared, and seeing him like that hurt.
"Are you all right?" Jaden asked, and Arch turned to look at him, his confusion only getting worse.
He turned to look around, then down at his hands, before he spoke, "What's going on?"
"We're uh... just having a little stroll around the woods," Jaden said, letting out a chuckle. "But I think we should head back now, don't you think?"
"I..." Arch muttered, looking weak all of a sudden. He was having trouble standing up. "I think..." he murmured.
I was right next to him in a heartbeat. He passed out, and I caught him before he could fall. Jaden, Tilly, Rayleigh... They had followed me closely and helped me to lay him down.
"We need to get him in," Rayleigh said.
We carried him back to the town, but we didn't take him back to the house he'd been in. We took him to the healing facility they had in the main Hall, and the medics came to make sure he was uninjured. I retreated into the back corner of the room, letting Jaden, Tilly and Arch's parents occupy the area around his bed.
I was mostly ignored, but Arch's father kept giving me glances, and though he wasn't being hostile towards me, it was clear he didn't want me around.
Maybe I should've left. I didn't want to leave him, of course, but what could I do?
I almost did leave, but then someone stepped into the room.
"Oliver?" Jaden spoke his name in surprise, and got up to hug him. "Why are you here?"
"I could feel him," Oliver said, looking down at Arch. "Natalie came too. What happened?"
"I don't know," Jaden muttered, looking at the still unconscious Arch.
"Let me see..." Oliver muttered, walked right next to the bed, and hovered his hand over Arch's head. I got up to see what he was doing, unable to sit still anyway.
"Hmm..." Oliver uttered, and turned to look around. At first, I thought he was looking at the room, but then I saw his eyes. They were gleaming with golden white light. As I stared at him, he blinked, and his eyes were dark, the blackest purple I'd ever seen.
"Let's see..."
He left the room without saying a word. Jaden and Tilly followed him, but me and Arch's parents stayed by his bed, not knowing what to do. I had the feeling they had the same problem I was having. I needed to know what Oliver was doing, but at the same time, I didn't want to leave Arch.
I looked at Arch, who was sound asleep. His spirits were calm again. If I just quickly went to see what Oliver was up to... I'd be gone only for a minute.
I looked up and saw Arch's parents staring at me.
I opened my mouth to say something, but I blanked out. I felt so goddamn anxious around them, so I did the awkward thing and walked out without saying anything. I basically ran out without giving Arch a second thought. As I marched through the hallway, I felt so embarrassed that I wasn't sure if I could see them anytime soon. But I was sure they didn't want to see me either, so we probably were all good.
But I felt bad for leaving Arch...
I caught up with Oliver and the rest just when they were stepping outside. Oliver walked to the top of the stairs, turning his eyes on the sky. I tried to see what he was seeing, but his eyes were still black. He wasn't seeing anything mortal, anything we could see.
We were joined by a bunch of people from Rayleigh to Spirit Walkers, and everyone watched Oliver in silence, looking worried.
Oliver lowered his gaze and looked at something in front of him. To me, there was nothing but air, but he lifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around something. Like a thread. He slowly moved his hand towards himself and looked up.
And he ripped it, whatever he was holding. Even I could hear a loud snap that echoed in the air.
"Nice try," Oliver said with an amused, but dark voice. Then he glanced to his left. "Selene."
The goddess appeared next to him, and I had to take a step back in surprise. Everyone did. They all could tell she wasn't a normal human. She was huge. Maybe eight feet tall. And she was wearing a small, golden dress that barely hid her thighs, and had only thin straps going over her shoulders. And she had a golden cape that drifted slowly through the wind.
"What happened?" Oliver asked, still keeping his eyes on the sky.
"The diviner was attacked. His gift is broken, but my brother is taking care of it," Selene spoke with a voice that was unnaturally full, rich, and timeless. I had no other words to describe it. I felt like if she yelled, the whole world would come crumbling down.
"Who attacked him?" Rayleigh asked.
"We don't know. We are trying to find more information, but we have only a little power left. Especially since we gave our gifts away," Selene spoke.
"Is Arch all right?" I asked, stepping closer to her.
"He'll recover," she said, studying me for a moment. "What an interesting little being you are."
"Uhh, thanks?" I mumbled. Then I realized something. "It was you who tied me to him."
"Yes," she said, looking away from me.
"Why?" I asked, feeling anger all of a sudden, and I didn't care that half of Jaden's pack was listening. I needed answers.
"Because I saw the way you looked at him," she spoke.
"That's bullshit," I said.
"It kind of is," Jaden agreed. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the goddess.
"If I could turn back time, would you rather have me not point him out to you?" Selene asked, taking a short glance of me over her shoulder.
I was about to say yes, but that word just didn't come out. She smiled at me when I stayed silent.
"You chose him long before I chose him for you," she spoke. "You already knew, so you didn't need me to point him out for you."
"Then why did you do it?" I asked.
"You needed it to stay alive. We needed you alive to save his life while we were trapped in our realm."
"But now I'm useless," I muttered.
"Only if you deem yourself useless," Selene said. "Your spirit is strong, relentless, and we need all the warriors we can get, no matter big or small."
I wanted to disagree, but I was still alive, wasn't I? Maybe I still could be useful.
Another person appeared out of nothingness. The lady who Oliver followed around, Natalie.
"There's nothing weird going on in the Spirit Realm," she huffed, glancing at Selene. "But you knew that already."
"I did. It's the Shadow Realm that's restless."
"What did you break?" Tilly asked Oliver. "We all heard it."
"A link between Arch and someone else," Oliver explained, and I was angry once again.
"That is how they tricked him," Selene sighed. "They planted false visions in his head, causing him so much agony his spirit became vulnerable to attacks. They were able to infiltrate his mind using that thread. They must've planted it when they pulled him through the Shadow Realm during the battle."
"You knew about it?" Jaden frowned, looking just as angry as I felt.
"We are spirits, not shadows," Selene said. "We didn't know it existed until he was attacked, and we didn't have the power to cut it."
"I did. Thank you for guarding him until I could get here," Oliver said.
"We chose Cerberus as our champion," Selene bowed. "It is our duty to watch over them."
Jaden bared his teeth at her but didn't say a word. I was so confused... Cerberus? Champions?
"Why did they attack him?" Rayleigh asked, stepping closer while carefully peering at Selene – he did not know what to think of the goddess.
"To prevent him from seeing what they were up to," Selene explained. "And break his mind, but they didn't have nearly enough time for that."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, feeling a nasty knot in my stomach.
"You don't break a soul so old just like that, don't worry," she said reassuringly. "But they got what they wanted. We couldn't see what they did."
"But you're gods?" Rayleigh frowned.
"Spirits," Selene corrected him. "And we can no longer use our abilities, which is why we shaped them into gifts Cerberus can use. The Howl and the Vision."
"When did you give the Vision to Arch?" Jaden asked. "He never said anything about it."
"We gave it to him when he was born."
Jaden squinted his eyes. "So... If he got his gift at birth, why didn't I get mine until now?"
Selene peered at him. "His gift was easy to hide from the world. Yours was not. Every single enemy would've had their eyes on you the moment you used the Howl for the first time. And using Vision requires years of training. Howl is much simpler. You just... howl."
Jaden crossed his arms over his chest. He was... pouting? What kind of Alpha was he? He had received a gift from a god and he was pouting because his friend got his first?
How was he an Alpha??
I was getting a headache, and my need to go see Arch grew too strong to bear. I left the group without saying a word. A moment later, I stopped by the door of Arch's room. His parents were still there, and Arch was still sleeping.
I stood there at the door, suddenly unable to step inside. No matter how much I wanted it... This was not my place. He was not mine.
When his parents noticed me there, I could almost feel their disapproval. The man got up, walked to the door, and closed it right in front of me.
I could feel a crack in my soul, and I remembered why I wasn't supposed to leave my home.
If it even was my home...
I turned around and was suddenly face to face with one of the guards. He gave me a sympathetic look, but didn't say anything. I just hurried past him.
This really was not my place.