"Someone's up ahead," Jaeda said, slowing her pace. 

Cole stared at her. "How do you know? Can you smell them?"

Jaeda stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "Are you serious?" Cole didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes. "We have a normal sense of smell, weirdo. What made you think lycanthrope have super-smelling?" 

"Uh..." Lionel was always talking about how much he loved how Cole smelled. Cole had just assumed that sense of smell applied to everything. Guess not. "Then how do you know there's-"

"Because I can see them, weirdo," she interrupted, smiling. 

"Right," Cole said. His shoulders were stiff. If he was being honest with himself, he still wasn't used to living with the Prowlers and this was just another reminder. He had gone out on patrol like this time and time again, and yet he still felt like something was off. Not just with how he fit into the Pack, but something inside of himself. He had no clue what it was. Maybe it had something to do with the message he'd given to Minoah. It was a declaration of love, basically. Soren had wanted to tell her that he was thinking about her and that he wanted more than anything to be with her again. But something didn't sit right. 

Or maybe it was just that Cole had so much to do now. He had to figure out who he was...for real, this time. It was a peculiar feeling. He could be honest now, but there was a vulnerability that came with that. He should have expected it, but he was shedding his past self. In a way, he was disappearing. He didn't know where he would go or who he would become. He just had to be ok with that. 

"Oh, hi!" Jaeda said, bouncing up. All caution went with the wind. Cole peered through the forest. It was night, so seeing anyone or anything was practically impossible even with the beam of his flashlight. Some of the tension in his shoulders melted when he finally realized who they'd found.

"Jaeda," Tom said, nodding. His eyes shifted to Cole and he smiled. "Son." 

"Hey, Tom." 

"Never thought you'd end up on the other side of this patrol," Tom said. He was with three other men, two of which Cole recognized as Hunters and the other Cole assumed was a new recruit. 

"Yeah, well." Cole shrugged. "Neither did I, but here we are." 

Tom nodded. "Well, I hope all's going well. Your dad updated me, by the way. I'm happy for you." 

Cole smiled. "Thanks. Me, too, actually." 

"You haven't run into anything on patrol, have you?" Tom asked. He glanced at Jaeda and Cole detected a strange look between them. It quickly faded. 

"Nope. Nothing yet," Jaeda said, smiling. Yet? Was she planning on finding something?

"Ok, well be on your way, then. Cole, I hope to see you at the house sometime. Your dad suggested we have dinner all together sometime soon," Tom said, patting Cole's shoulder. "You should bring it up to Kaia and have her call him. I think he's a bit worried about being the first to call, even if he won't admit that." 

"Sure. I'll talk to her." 

"Good luck with the rest of your patrol, son," Tom said, gesturing for the other Hunters to follow. For some reason, watching the Hunters go, Cole felt a sinking feeling. But it wasn't the usual vat of dread he slipped into. He felt warmth surround him with the realization that those people were no longer his people. He looked to Jaeda, who was beaming at him with her hands clasped behind her back. She looked like an overjoyed pixie. 

Now, the Prowlers were his people. It was like sinking under a warm blanket. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Cole asked. 

She shook her head and started walking again. "Dunno." 

"It's getting to the point where your smile is so wide that it goes past really happy and dips into the serial killer territory. Like, you're across that line." 

"Serial killer?" Jaeda exclaimed. "Do I look that creepy." 

Cole just shrugged. "You're acting weird." 

"I'm not!" Jaeda said, but it was too quick and too loud. Cole's eyes narrowed slightly. Something was up. 

"What's going on?" Cole asked, stopping where they stood. Jaeda didn't say anything. She kept walking like she had someplace to be and was awfully late. "Jaeda, wait," Cole said, bounding up to her. They walked into a dark clearing and Cole grabbed Jaeda's arm to stop her. She squeaked. "Why did Tom look at you like that? And why are you so jumpy?"

"You're jumpy," Jaeda accused. 

Cole's expression went blank, his lids drooping. "Seriously?" he deadpanned. "That's all you've got?" 

"Oh, shit," Jaeda said, gripping her hip. "I dropped my gun back there." 

"Well, let's go get it," Cole said, starting back the way they'd come. But Jaeda pressed a hand to his chest. 

"That's ok. I got it. Wait here, ok?" she said. 

"You want me to stand here in the darkness for you to run back and find your black gun at night on your own. You want me to just stand here." 

"Yes," Jaeda said, already walking away. "I'll be right back ok?" 

"Fine," Cole said, shaking his head. "How long ago did you lose it? You had it when we talked to Tom, right? That was only just-" 

"Dunno!" she yelled back, already disappearing into the woods. Hopefully, it wouldn't take her long, whatever she was doing or whatever was going on. Cole was anxious to get back to the Mansion. He'd told Albert that he would play with him when he got back, and he was really looking forward to it; hanging out with Lionel's brother always seemed to fill Cole up. And he needed that at the moment. He couldn't stop thinking about that message. 

The back of Cole's neck prickled. He looked up, trying to see anything in the darkness. He shined his flashlight at the trees but didn't see Jaeda. "Have you found it yet?" he yelled. How far back had she gone?

Cole shivered and rested his hand on his gun. He felt like someone was watching him. "Hello!" he yelled. No one answered. Cole blinked hard. Something was...shining in the woods. Deep between the trees, he saw a person-shaped white...thing. It was moving, too. "It's not a ghost," Cole said to himself. But he was nervous. Cole believed in ghosts wholeheartedly, and that thing looked like a ghost. 

He turned around to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him, and when he looked back to where the ghost had been, it was gone. It was just darkness. "Definitely a ghost," Cole whispered before turning and yelling louder. "Jaeda! Come on!" Get back here before I get murdered by Casper the not-so-friendly ghost, please. 

"Out here all alone?" 

"Jesus!" Cole jumped and whipped his gun out, whirling around and pointing it at the person who'd snuck up on him. 

"Woah!" Lionel said, holding his hands up. "I'm your mate, and you forgot my name?" 

"What?" Cole asked, confused. He lowered his gun and put it away. His heart was still beating quickly. 

"You forgot my name," Lionel repeated. "You called me-" He shook his head, seeing how confused Cole seemed and giving up. The joke had passed. "Nevermind." 

"You scared me," Cole said. 

"Why are you so nervous? I shouldn't have been able to sneak up on you. I thought you'd have felt me coming," he said. 

Cole shook his head. "I saw a ghost." 

"A ghost?" Lionel prodded. 

Cole nodded, pointing to where it was. "Right over there. It glowed. It was moving towards me." 

"That's where I came from, and I didn't see it." Lionel was smiling slightly. "Are you sure it was over there?" 

"There's a ghost in these woods," Cole said like it was just a fact, telling Lionel without words that there would be no arguing with him. 

"You believe in ghosts," Lionel said, nodding. "Ok." 

"You think that's weird?" Cole asked. 

"No," he said. "Lots of people do. Besides, there are weirder things in the world than ghosts that are definitely real, so... Why not?"

"Speaking of weird..." Cole stared at Lionel. "Why are you out here? You're not on patrol."

"I'm not," Lionel said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Cole recognized the twitch. 

"What's going on?" Cole asked. He turned around to look at the forest behind him. Jaeda was still gone. He looked back at Lionel, sinking into understanding gradually. "You're up to something. You and Jaeda."

"I should have known you'd figure it out so quickly," Lionel said. 

"I haven't figured it out entirely," Cole admitted, stepping closer to Lionel. Lionel smiled and leaned into Cole, resting his hands on Cole's arms and caressing Cole's biceps with his thumbs. Cole pulled Lionel's hips closer. "You wanted to bring me here?" 

"It's beautiful here. It's quiet," Lionel said, looking up. The clearing allowed for a brief relief from the wood's canopy. A thick starry sky sprawled above them. It was strange. When Cole looked up, he realized that he didn't care about the stars. They were just a bunch of burning, hostile orbs ages away. 

"I don't think I like stars," Cole said quietly, still looking up. 

"An unpopular opinion," Lionel said, moving his hands to rest behind Cole's neck. 

Cole looked back down at Lionel. "Why? Do you? Did you bring me here because of the stars?" 

"Maybe," he said, but it felt like a dismissal of the question. Why were they there, together. Cole wasn't complaining, but he did want to know. "How come you don't like them?" Lionel asked. 

Cole shook his head. "No reason." 

"Come on," Lionel said, gliding his fingertips along Cole's forehead to give a piece of Cole's wild hair a new home. "Tell me. I promise you won't ruin the stars for me." 

Cole sighed. Lionel's face was still beautiful in the darkness. He was just as perfect as the day Cole had first set eyes on him, only now, he had no reservations. Now, he was able to be himself, to get to know who he was without secrets, lies, or guilt. It made his relationship with Lionel feel so much purer, safer, better. 

"Stars are sad, I guess." Cole pulled Lionel closer. Lionel let him. "If you really think about it, sure, they're beautiful, but they're actually just balls of fire lightyears away. They lose some of their charm when you think about them like that. They become real instead of fantasy. And so many of the stars we look at right now are probably actually long dead, and we're just seeing the light of dead things."

The light in Lionel's eyes didn't waver. "But can't you still see the beauty in that? Even if they're real, as you say, and even if they're long gone, we still get to look at them, enjoy them. Isn't the whole point of it just that? To enjoy them and be happy...that can't be anything but a good thing."

"But the stars aren't what people act like they are, and people make up stories about them, ignoring the truth," Cole said. 

"I see," Lionel nodded, "but the stars exist for every one differently. A shooting star is just a meteorite to you, but it's a piece of hope flying through the sky for the next person." 

"For you?" Cole asked. 

Lionel just smiled curiously. "Maybe. But we're not talking about me."

"We're talking about me?" Cole asked, confused. 

Lionel slid away from Cole, leaving him cold. He turned his back and clasped his hands behind it. "The stars are what you make them, Cole. What you make them."

"Me? Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm struggling to follow." 

Lionel turned around. "There's a reason I wanted to meet you here. Sure, it nice. But it's more than that." 

"Ok," Cole said. "Talk to me." 

Lionel took a deep breath. His voice shook slightly. "Ok, this is harder than I thought it would be." 

Cole's heartbeat picked up the pace slightly. "Are you ok? You're making me nervous." 

"No, please don't be nervous. This isn't anything bad or weird or anything like that." 

"Then what's the reason you got Jaeda to bring me here?" 

"Because it's a middle ground."

Cole waited for Lionel to say anything further, but supposed it was his turn to say something when no explanation came. "A middle ground," he repeated, still confused. "Between what, exactly?"

"My world and yours," Lionel finally said, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"What?" Cole asked. "I thought...I thought you said. What do you mean my world? Do you mean the Hunters? I'm done with-"

"I know, Cole," Lionel said. "Sorry, I'm really not doing this well." 

"Whatever you're doing, it's really not making me feel great right now," Cole said. Lionel rushed forward like he'd been trying not to and finally given in. 

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Ok. Trust me," Lionel said, taking Cole's hands. "Please listen?"

Cole slowly nodded, swallowed hard. Lionel didn't let go of his hands. "There's always been this one thing between us. The fact is that we literally belong to different species. We can't get around it, and we can't lie to ourselves and pretend it isn't true."

"You said my being human wasn't-"

"I said listen, Cole. I didn't mean to freak you out, but I promise I'm still desperately in love with you and you should know by now that's never changing," Lionel scolded, squeezing Cole's hands. Cole shut up, his heart easing up slightly. 

"So we have this weird fact about our lives. I've told you before that it doesn't bother me. You know this. I know this. But, like I've also said before and I will say over and over again in the future, I'm in love with you. I have been since before I even met you, which is peculiar yet true. Because that's a part of what it means to exist in my world. Being mated means we're in it together, whatever it is."

"I know you believe that I love you, and I know you believe that your being human doesn't matter to me. But I'm not sure you believe it doesn't matter...to you, I mean."

"I'm-" 

Lionel clapped a hand over Cole's mouth. "I knew you were going to start talking again. I was ready for this because I've been preparing this talk in my head for a long time, actually. And I figured you were going to argue with me about this." Cole nodded against Lionel's hand. 

"But I think you just don't want to admit it. Judging from your track record, you're not a huge fan of confronting things that scare you. Which I get. You have your reasons, and to be honest, it amazes me how strong you've been since this all started. But this thing, this...worrying. I want it to stop." 

"Worrying," Cole said, peeling Lionel's hand away. "I'm not worried." 

"You are. I can tell that you don't think you belong. It's like...you feel so at ease most of the time, but the second another Prowler comes into the room, you change. You stop being you. You freeze up."

This time, Cole didn't have anything to say. He was on the verge of boiling over. He hadn't even realized it until Lionel had said it out loud, but he was frustrated. He was so angry. He was worried, and he was angry that he was worried, that he had to worry. He was angry that he was human, that he wasn't what Lionel expected, that he had to face hardship just because of who he was. Because that's what his life had been...hardship after hardship that Cole had no say in, that just seemed to happen to him because of the secret order of the universe that Cole wasn't even sure he believed in. 

He felt tears sting his eyes, and he looked up at the burning, hostile orbs in the sky. "I said that the stars are what you make them, Cole, and I mean it. If the Pack sees you as an alien, it's because you see yourself as one."

"I can't help it," Cole said, harsher than he meant to. He immediately looked at Lionel to make sure he hadn't hurt his mate. Lionel only showed understanding and affection on his face. Thank god. "I can't help it, Lion. It's like this sickness. My brain keeps telling me that I'm just me and that I'm different. I feel like I'm lying. I'm masquerading as something that I'm not."

"You feel like a liar?"

Cole felt guilty, which was a whole new sort of painful because he thought, after he'd spoken to his dad, he didn't have to feel guilty about who he was anymore. And yet, here he was. "I look at them, and I think about all the ways we're different. I...still struggle not to let it make me feel distant from you." 

It was quiet, the sort of quiet you could only get in a forest. It was the silence of gently rustling trees and creaking of branches. 

"When I first found out you weren't a lycanthrope, I was scared."

"You never said that."

"I know. I didn't want you to think that I was scared of what we have. I still don't, because I'm not. But at first, I was selfishly worried because I didn't know what it meant for me. I had all these expectations for my future, and then you appeared and I realized that I was an idiot for trying to tie my life up into neat bows or cage fate."

"But I knew I needed you. I had to trust that because trying to fight it would have been nearly impossible," Lionel said quietly. His voice was strangely soothing like it was meant to blend in with the whispers of the woods. 

"It was impossible," Cole replied, almost inaudible. 

"Life's impossible, Cole. It's impossible, and we--everyone who's alive--is just swept up in it, caught up in something we don't understand. We stumble around in the dark, all the while pretending we can see. It's terrifying." 

"I know," Cole said, nodding. He pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes. "I wish I was braver." 

"No one's brave, Cole," Lionel said immediately. He stepped closer, pulling Cole's hands from his eyes and taking Cole's face. "The biggest lie we all tell, no matter what species we belong to, is that we're not afraid. Do you feel my hands right now?" 

Cole lightly rested his hand on top of Lionel's. It was...shaking. "I'm terrified as we speak because I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. But in the dark, it helps to have something to hold onto. A promise that goes beyond it all, that doesn't belong to your world or mine. It'll just be ours, something to restore your faith. A promise to remind you that even if you're on the wrong path, you've still got one thing right." 

Lionel turned his hand, taking Cole's and holding it flat between them. "What are you-" Cole stared, but then Lionel placed something on Cole's palm. It was cold and small. For a moment, Cole's brain refused to process it. When it finally gave up the fight, he snapped back to reality. 

"Lion." 

"I want to marry you. I want you to be my mate and my husband. And I want to be yours. I don't want there to be any sort of ceremony, Lunar or marital. I just want this to belong to us, right here and from now on. The ring's silver and the jewel is red. It's the colors of the Prowlers. But it's a human tradition to have rings. So I thought it was-"

"Middle ground," Cole finished. 

"...Yeah." 

Cole held it between his thumb and pointer finger, entranced. "Is that...all you're going to say? This is traditionally something that would earn a response, and-"

"Is this what you want?" Cole found himself asked.

Lionel's expression softened. "Well, yes. But honestly, you spend so much time worrying about what I want. This is one of those moments where you have to ask whether it's something you want. So...what do you want, Cole?"

Cole closed his fist around the ring, feeling the cold metal warm in his hand. He closed his eyes and held the ring to his heart. He nodded, slowly at first and then faster. "I want this. I want this badly." 

"So I did the right thing?" Lionel asked. "This isn't weird or too fast or too much?" 

Cole launched himself forward and slammed into Lionel. "Woah," Lionel exclaimed as they lost their balance. They tumbled to the ground, but Cole didn't care. He barely even felt the impact. All he felt was the ring in his hand and the comforting vibration of Lionel's laugh in his chest. Lionel pet Cole's head, his brow drawing together as the mirth faded. They lay there for a moment. 

Cole finally lifted his head and looked down at Lionel where he'd been tackled. He smiled. A tear fell as he looked at the ring in his palm, but Lionel wiped it away even as it fell. Cole slid the ring onto his finger, but...

"It doesn't fit," Cole said awkwardly. 

"Oh, shit," Lionel said, reaching down into his pocket. "Here," he said, laughing. "I think I gave you mine." 

"Nice one," Cole said jokingly as they traded rings. 

"I was nervous," Lionel insisted. 

"Mhm," Cole said, sliding his ring on all the way this time. He watched Lionel do the same. When Cole was done staring at his hand, he looked up at Lionel. But Lionel had already been staring. 

"You're happy?" Lionel asked. 

"I can't explain it," Cole said. "But yes. The world's shifted a bit."

"For the better?" Lionel said. 

"Much better," Cole confirmed. 

"Kiss me then," Lionel ordered. 

Cole pulled Lionel closer by his shirt. "I can do that."

And afterward, Cole realized, they could go home together. Home. Their home. With his ring on his finger, he knew that's what it was now. They would go back to their room and Lionel would pull Cole down onto their bed. 

They would face the rest of their lives together. Cole trusted that now more than ever. It didn't matter that they were different species. The feeling of the band around his finger and Lionel's lips made him want to forget the science of it all. 

In the end, even if the stars were just distant fireballs, Cole had to admit that kissing Lionel under them wasn't so bad after all. 

And thus concludes His Hunter! I can't believe it, either. I hope you all enjoyed. I will casually admit here that I may or may not have considered continuing their story in an official sequel to His Moon which may or may not follow both pairs of lovelies. Let me know if you're interested?
And, as always, thank you so much. I don't know where HH would be without all of the people who love Lionel and Cole as much as I do. Honestly, I don't know if these two would have even existed without you all! So, thank you for breathing a strange magical vitality into them from wherever you are in the world. ~M