Daphne's POV
“…Daphne? Daphne!”
I struggled to breathe. The air gurgled and bubbled in my chest and I turned, coughing to get the water out of my lungs. It gushed hot and desperate out of me as my stomach trembled and I struggled to breathe.
“Thank the goddess,” a voice said softly. Warm hands pat my back and pulled me close.
I hissed in pain as the person gripped my arm. Then, I recognized the voice. I couldn’t remember exactly why. Everything was fuzzy and blurry. Had I hit my head?
Warmth embraced me, “I was worried you wouldn’t wake up. Are you okay?”
Arthur. I remembered the wolves in the forest and the crazy idea to tie us to a tree trunk and go over the waterfall to escape. I coughed, looking nearby and seeing a piece of the trunk on the bank nearby. I let out an incredulous laugh. We’d actually survived the waterfall?
Apparently, the idea had been crazy but successful. I couldn’t hear the roar of the fall. How far down the river had we been carried? A wind blew, cold and making me shiver and wrap my arms around myself. Arthur’s arms tightened around me, pressing me into his warmth.
My arm was bruised. I looked up at Arthur a bit dazed, but my gaze stopped at the mangled mess of his arm. Blood oozed from between the open gashes around his wrist and the skin around it was dark with bruises.
Why was his arm so much worse? Had he protected me during the fall somehow? I remembered him pulling me close before we fell but nothing more than that.
“I’m okay,” I coughed. “How about you?”
Arthur smiled at me, charming and boyish, “We’ve escaped alive. I couldn't be better. ”
I sat up gingerly and looked around. The river was flowing past us, snaking into the dense forest we had seen from above, but it was still too dark to try traversing the forest, especially with Arthur injured.
“We should rest for now,” I said with a shudder. “Then maybe… head into the forest closer to daybreak.”
Arthur nodded, “You’re right. Stay here and I’ll get firewood.”
I nodded, shivering as he tucked my soaking wet cloak tighter around me. He hurried off towards the edge of the riverbank into the forest, but not so far that I couldn’t still see him.
He came back a while later carrying some fallen wood, a shirt, and dressed in a pair of trousers that were ragged and a bit too tight for him.
“Look what I found!” Arthur said, kneeling beside me and starting to build the fire. Soon, Arthur got the wood to light and coaxed the fire to a decent size. In the light, I could see how deep the lacerations in his arm were.
“Let me heal you…”
Arthur shook his head, “You’re too weak from the fall.”
I took his hand and met his gaze, “If they come again… you’ll be our only hope.”
Arthur hesitated but nodded stiffly, “Just enough to close them, okay?”
I nodded and collected some blood from a thin cut on my leg to rub into his wounds. His blood sparked with light and the skin closed leaving just the bruises behind.
“Here,” Arthur said, offering me the large shirt he carried. His face was red. “Change into it so we can dry your clothes…”
I flushed as he turned his back, “I-I promise not to peek.”
I worried my lip but found it adorable how embarrassed he seemed. Quickly, I peeled off my gown and undergarments until I was naked and put on the shirt. It hung to my mid-thigh. I pulled off my shoes and let him help me hang my clothes and shoes near the fire to dry.
Arthur seemed more than eager to help me, to care for me, and near obsessed with my well-being, like a puppy eager to be with his owner. It almost made me forget how fierce and dangerous he was.
I shuddered and curled up by the fire, “I’m… going to try and get some rest.”
Arthur nodded, “Sweet dreams, Daphne.”
I smiled and closed my eyes, exhausted from the day. The sound of the river lulled me into a peaceful sleep as I decided not to worry about anything more until the next day.
Light burned through my eyelids, pulling me from the darkness of sleep. I was much warmer than I expected as I opened my eyes and found the fire had burned down to a handful of embers. I shifted and felt something tighten around me and screamed, trying to fight against the arm around me.
The arm released me and I rolled away, throwing whatever I could grab at the person.
“Stay away!”
“Daphne!”
I opened my eyes to see Arthur just as the rock sailed, almost comically, over his head. Arthur had his hands up.
“Daphne, it’s just me… I… You were shivering so…”
I shook my head, “No. No… It’s fine. I just… panicked. Sorry.”
Arthur nodded, looking a bit admonished.
“Thank you for looking after me.”
He smiled and I sighed, before rolling to my feet. I went to check my clothes and found them all dry.
“C-Could you turn your back?”I asked.
Arthur turned around stiffly and without hesitation. I got dressed quickly before tapping his shoulder and offering him the shirt back.
“Thanks again.”
Arthur nodded and took the shirt back before slipping it on with a low growl that shocked me.
His face flushed, “Sorry… It… It smells like you now. I like it a lot.”
My face burned with embarrassment, “Don’t say that. It’s improper!”
Arthur flinched.“I’m sorry…”
"It’s fine." I hesitated a bit and continued, “…I was wondering what I should do next ... Now that we are safe, I think I should go and find a human village to hide in, and you would be safer in a pack, right?”
Arthur froze, “What do you mean?”
“Well, I thought being the forest would be safer, but if we stay out in the open, they’ll find us again. If we’re together, you’ll just get hurt more, so--“
The confusion vanished, morphing into a fierce face that made my blood grow cold as his eyes began to turn red and his body tensed as if he was going to leap on me.
“You want to leave me?” He growled. “You are leaving me for your fiance?”
The change in Arthur's expression was even more frightening than when he turned into a wolf. He looked insane and I could hear the wolf’s words echoing in my mind.
Murderer.
“No!” Arthur yelled, lunging at me. I screamed as he grabbed me. His fingers digging into my shoulders hard enough to ache, “I won’t ever let you leave me--”
Daphne's POV He was insane. Dangerous, unstable, and obsessed with me. I tired very hard push him away from me, "It's not about Carl! We just met a few hours ago, but lots of crazy things happened. I don't even know who you are. Who were those werewolves behind us? And why? How am I supposed to be with you when I don’t know anything?" “I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Oh goddess, I… I could explain everything. ” He stepped back, acting like a child who knew he made a large mistake. I whimpered looking up at him as the rage and madness vanished from his face, replaced with panic and concern. “But you were going to kill me!” I cried. Arthur’s face lost all color and he recoiled sharply. “I’m sorry…” His shoulders slumped and his eyes seemed glossy as if he was going to cry as he sunk to the ground and put his head in his hands. He trembled and his hands clenched. "Do you love him? I mean your
Daphne shook with terror. She shot to her feet and stumbled, her legs had lost all strength. She stared at the wolves, her heart hammering. If she could run, would she be able to? There was no way she could get rid of one wolf on her own, let alone dozens of them? They seemed to multiply in the night. Were they drawn to the scent of her blood, or could they sense her impending death?The grey wolf sniffed and stomped his foot, “A human?”The other wolves growled at her, seemingly aggravated by the grey wolf’s anger.“How dare a human intrude on my territory?”Daphne trembled as the wolves behind him began to growl, drool dripping from the jaws as they bared their teeth hungrily and stared at her.“Kill…”“…Meat.”“I’m starving.”Why couldn’t they speak like Arthur and the grey wolf? The other werewolves she’d encountered d
Brother. The word seemed to echo in the night as the gray wolf disappeared into the forest. What did that mean? He pushed that thought away. Owen was gone now. The rogues lay slaughtered in around them and Daphne was safe. He took a deep breath of relief. He had never known such terror as when he’d woken up to find her gone from their little camp. Her scent had been strong enough to follow, so he assumed she hadn’t been gone long. Why had she left at all? Didn’t she know how dangerous the forest was? He wanted to ask her, but he couldn’t get the words together around the relief of her still being alive. He turned sharply to look at her as the scent of her blood cut through the haze of his easing panic. She had been hurt before they’d gone to sleep. Had he been too late to keep her from being hurt further? Would she be okay? Her heart beat was beating too fast. “Daphne? Are you alright?” Daphne shuddered as the gray wolf
“My name is Blade,” the dark-skinned man said with a polite smile. “I’m the leader of this patrol… Usually, we’d have more space for visitors, but we’ve been getting more people lately, so I’m sorry in advance for the accommodations.”Daphne shook her head, “It’s better than the forest and we’re grateful.”Blade nodded and led them further into the city. They passed through the busiest part of town and headed up a hill. Nearby was a sturdy-looking building and a large field where werewolves seemed to be training. Between them was a modest house that reminded her a bit of her little cabin. A pang of longing went through her at the thought. What would become of all her books and things? Would someone find it and move in? Had the werewolves destroyed it?“That building there is the dungeon,” Blade said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “And the training grounds are over
Arthur lifted his nose. Daphne was getting closer. He had been waiting at the door of the house they’d been given in since she left, half-fearful that she shouldn’t return and on edge about how long it took her to return.She smelled nice, clean, and relaxed. There was a hint of medicine in the wind that made him relax a bit. Daphne’s injuries had been treated. Arthur stood and headed towards the scent at a light run to meet her on the road.In the distance, he heard a struggle and the sharp snap of metal coming from the prison. He hurried toward the ridge that overlooked the prison as the wall burst open with a snarl.The stench of the rogue pissed him off, but the anger turned to fear as Daphne’s scent caught his nose. The rogue twitched and turned his head towards where Daphne was. She turned to run as it lurched into a run and Arthur roared, rushing forward as Daphne screamed."Arthur!"The rogue snarled mid-leap as Arth
She was much warmer when she woke up than she remembered going to bed, curled into something soft and furry.Wait.She opened her eyes with a gasp and turned her head out of the patch of golden fur in her face. The bed creaked with their combined weight and she was all but crammed against the wall beneath the window. She couldn’t say she was uncomfortable, but she was definitely annoyed.He was far too big to be sharing this, or any, bed with her in his wolf form.She glowered at his large body covered in golden fur that gleamed in the morning sun streaming through the window.He was several times larger than the average wolf, his eyes glowed like rubies, and his fur was like melted gold. When she thought back to all the trouble that had followed them over the past two days, questions sprouted up in her mind, but she was certain that Arthur was extremely special.She’d have to figure out how to talk about all of that aft
Rex had been the alpha of the Sharp Armor pack for a long time, yet he didn’t think he had ever faced an issue like this. Rogue attacks were becoming more frequent, and several of the packs in the area were finding themselves having to deal with them, including his. In the past, there weren't many losses as his patrolmen usually outnumbered the rogues in the area, but lately, there had been casualties.The other packs had complained of the same issue.His patrolmen came back saying that the rogues had moved with purpose as if they were organized, and their organization had only been increasing over the past few months.It had been horrifying to hear and unbelievable, but he couldn’t ignore it. Rogues were supposed to be unorganized and lost to their passions and instincts. They were dangerous because they had no reservations against slaughtering anyone in their way and were made stronger by their bloodlust. Having such power become organized was a pr
Blade gasped as Daphne’s jaw opened in shock. She couldn’t believe what Rex had said. Didn’t he just say he wasn’t sure about Arthur’s control?“You want him to join the patrol?”Daphne and Arthur looked at each other. Arthur was just as surprised before turning a suspicious glare at Rex.Rex grinned, “We are very short of people recently. Rogue attacks are increasing, and our patrolmen are often injured. The cubs in training are still too untrained to fill the spots. Blade tells me you’re very strong. It’s an obvious decision.”Arthur scoffed, “You just want to use me as a tool.”Daphne had to agree. Though it wasn’t the worst thing Rex could ask for, it wasn’t very polite.Rex shrugged, “Think what you want. The forest is full of rogues and very dangerous. We can shelter Daphne for free because she's just a fragile human. But you…”