The road leading into the forest was the only thing she could make sense of as the sun was setting, but she didn’t turn back. Arthur vanished into the distance, streaking ahead with his speed, but she could follow the path his body had created as he barreled through the forest. Broken branches and large, muddy paw prints led her forward.
She soon heard Arthur's growling and the sound of claws tearing into a tree. Something thudded, skidded in the dirt, and thudded again. He roared as the tree creaked after a few strikes. It tilted and crashed to the ground as Daphne reached the clearing. Arthur stumbled, seemingly hurt. A shallow gash was on his shoulder, yet he threw himself at another tree with a growl of fury.
She gasped in horror then anger over took her as he threw himself again. She ran foward.
“Stop, Arthur!”
Arthur stopped, turning his head to look at her as she reached him and threw her arms around his neck, clutching tight in c
She gasped, choking on her scream as emotions stormed through her, fierce and unrelenting like a raging river rushing towards a great fall. She was hot, filled with a desire she had never felt before. A lightness and overwhelming joy was breaking through it. She didn’t know how to make sense of any of it, so she clung to Arthur as if they were going over another waterfall.Her blood was rushing in her ears as her heart pounded against her ribcage.Were they her feelings? She didn’t think so. With shock, she realized that they were all coming from Arthur and a little glimmer of hope was twinkling at the edge of her mind. She wanted to reach for it, but it was swept away in all the other emotions.She was pulled into the darkness of unconciousness.“Daphne!”Daphne groaned awake, turning over in bed as she opened her eyes. There wasn’t a lot of light coming in through the window, so she guessed it was close
The days passed in peace for a while. It was almost shocking to Arthur considering how out of control his life had been. He thought back to his time in the Brown Valley pack, getting worse with every passing day and shunned from even the most basic of the pack’s activities.It seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d been running for his life through the forest. Had it only been a few weeks since he’d met Daphne? His bond with Daphne had done wonders for his control, let alone just meeting her.He would have never imagined that he would be even a stand-in leader of a pack’s patrol before.Lucas seemed calmer in the middle of battle, and even when he started to lose himself in the bloodshed, he could reach out to Daphne with ease and she always answered.Her voice in her mind was magical, like her scent, and calmed him down quickly. The people on the patrol were delighted and relieved. They had feared the way Arthur lost control in the
Mamie opened the door with bleary eyes, “What’s happened?”“Arthur needs help!” Daphne cried. “There’s a rogue in the village!”Mamie gasped and ushered her in as Blade darted out the door, letting out a warning howl to the entire village. He heard people mobilizing as he yelled orders and tried to find Arthur’s scent through the village.The scent of blood grew stronger as he ran and he hoped it wasn’t Arthur who was injured. He didn’t hear anyone coming from the village fast enough to be of help, but he heard Arthur growling and the familiar sounds of blood splashing on the ground coming from the northern side of the village.He turned towards the north well. A rogue howled in pain as Arthur ripped its paws off with a terrible snapping sound. The rogue stumbled on the nubs of its legs and Arthur slammed it to the ground with a swipe of his paw. Not far away lay the body of another rogue i
“They poisoned the well,” Daphne told Blade. "I made tea from the well water and he drank it."Blade looked at the doctor and nodded, “Check him. Quickly.”Arthur followed the other doctor and Blade came to Daphne. She explained how they figured it out, and his expression drew tight with annoyance.“Damn rogues. Who knew they could be so crafty…”It was worse than he imagined. The doctors had figured out that it wasn’t just any poison, but wolfsbane, a poison that was specifically cultivated to use against werewolves. Blade knew that it had been the poison of choice during the battle against vampires from all the stories of the war. Once a werewolf consumed enough, or if they consumed just a bit and were left untreated, they died. Treatment wasn't exactly difficult, but it took a lot of time.If the rogues really poisoned the wells, the entire village was in danger. Several of the wells in the villag
What truth? Arthur was confused and narrowed his gaze at him in suspicion. Rex wasn’t usually cryptic. Maybe it was because Rex knew that Arthur still didn’t trust anyone and he needed his strength to defend Sharp Armor, but he didn’t care."Why are you being so cryptic?”“It’s complicated.“What do you mean?"“I want to be sure,” Rex said. “But I’ll need you to come with me to verify it. When I’m sure, I’ll tell you everything.”Arthur glared at him, “Why won’t you just tell me now? Why bring it up at all if you weren’t sure?”Rex’s eyes widened, seemingly shocked and Arthur wasn’t sure what to do or say. He had expected defensiveness and anger, but Rex’s eyes just softened and seemed misty.“Well,” Rex said. “That is one way of thinking about it… Will you come with me
Your Majesty?Lucas sat up in attention and Arthur frowned. What was this old man talking about?“What?”“Tom what do you mean?” Diana asked glancing at Arthur though Tom hadn’t torn his gaze away from Arthur. He shot up from his seat and rounded the table.Rex slowly sighed with relief, “I knew it...”Arthur looked at Rex, “What? What is it?”He looked at Tom warily, “You… You are, aren’t you?”“Are what?” Arthur asked.“Arthur. Your name is Arthur, isn’t it?” He asked, his eyes glowing with hope as Arthur stiffened, staring at the man in shock.He turned his head to growl at Rex, “Where did you find him? Damn it! I thought, I thought he was dead—”Dead?“At the edge of the forest,” Rex said as Arthur looked between the two men. “He came from a v
Arthur had hoped he was wrong, but a part of him knew.Owen’s voice rang in his mind."We will meet again in the future… When that day comes, you will die, brother.”If what these people said was true. Owen was his cousin and the child of his father's killer and the leader of the rogue’s attack on the pack.He was kin and enemy. Worse yet, Owen had already sworn to kill him.Arthur cursed at the turn of fate. Maybe he wasn’t cursed in the way the Brown Valley pack thought he was, but what else could he call having family member itching to kill him but a curse?“Damn it,” Arthur hissed. “I've seen him.”Rex gasped, “When?”“Before your patrol found me and Daphne,” Arthur growled. “He attacked Daphne... I think he recognized me. He called me brother.”Tom frowned, “Well… you are related, but I don&rsquo
He was late again, later than any of the other patrol members. She had stayed up until he found his way back.Tonight, it was nearly midnight when he returned, coming in through the door almost silently. There were leaves and twigs in his fur, but he didn’t look as though he’d been in a fight.“Arthur?”He seemed startled that she was still awake and shocked. She would almost say caught, but he shifted and gave her a tired smile.“What are you still doing awake? You should rest.”“I was worried…” Daphne said as he sat at the table across from her. “You’ve been coming back later and later. Is everything okay?”He averted his gaze the way he had been for the past few days.“It’s nothing…”“You’re… acting suspiciously.”He winced, “Well…”“Are you looking for the
Arthur was in a bad mood, but as Daphne held onto him, she couldn’t help but laugh. They’d left the cottage about an hour ago and they hadn’t gone for. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn he was walking in circles just to avoid leaving.“Oh, Arthur, it won’t be that bad.”“We deserve at least a month,” Arthur grumbled walking through the forest.She laughed, “Is that why you’re walking so slow?”He didn’t answer and she laughed harder, leaning into the warmth of his glossy, golden fur. He’d been grumbling about heading back to deal with the mess of the werewolves and vampires for the past few days.“We don’t have to go back,” Arthur huffed. “You don’t think Nicole can’t handle those cowards?”Nicole would just as soon kill half of the pack leaders than put up with bullshit from them, but that wouldn’
Morning came slowly, waking Arthur. Daphne’s scent filled his nose and he turned to look at her, grinning at her sleeping face. As if she felt him looking at her, her eyes snapped open and their gazes met. Arthur turned, pressing his lips to hers, unable to resist the need to be closer to her, to be sure she was still his Daphne.Daphne sighed, pressing into the kiss with a little sigh. The sound sent heat through his blood until need and desperation pooled in his hips and he felt his cock swelling.Daphne gasped, as he angled his hips against hers. She looked up. Arthur’s face heated. He was going to apologize, to make some sort of excuse, but he didn’t get a chance.In a flash, he was on his back with Daphne hovering over him. He was a bit shocked at her speed and strength, but his wolf growled in contentment. Did werewolf mates tussle with one another? He’d always imagined it as sweet and gentle, but the urge to flip them over again an
Arthur chuckled at her thought. Did she think he wanted to talk about it now? He was running on adrenaline and relief. As soon as he got somewhere he knew was safe for them both, he’d probably collapse, curled around Daphne.“I haven’t changed much, Daphne.”“That’s not true,” Daphne said, “You have more scars.”Arthur shrugged, “They’ll be gone in a few days.”“Not on your skin,” Daphne said, sliding a hand over his chest as she looked up at him, “In here.”His heart sped up as their gazes met. He wanted to protest, but he couldn’t find the words. She was right. So much had happened. He’d been so used to not thinking about it before Daphne, then worrying about it with her, that losing her had left him floundering.She stepped back, taking his hands and leading him towards the house.“Come on. Let’s take a bath. I th
Arthur opened his arms trying to sweep her into his arms, but she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder. Fear filled him and anxiety. He didn’t know what to make of her sudden apology or what he should say in response.“I’m so sorry, Arthur! I should have never gone! I shouldn’t have left you. I should have made Mamie and the others leave me behind, at least they would have been alive.”Arthur’s eye burned with an unfamiliar sensation. He didn’t remember the last time he’d cried or if he’d cried at all, but the tightness in his chest felt like it was going to burst. It sounded like she was regaining her memories, but had she regained all of them?She hiccupped, “The baby… It wasn’t your fault. I…”Arthur tightened his grip on her with a relieved sigh, burying his nose in her neck.“Daphne,” he whispered. “You r
Daphne didn’t speak as they watched the fire rage, burning through vampire and werewolf corpses and surrounding John as he panicked, limping as if his leg had been injured. Daphne narrowed her eyes as he tripped on nothing.He tumbled, head over heels onto the duchess’ body, and shrieked, drawing back as the fire began to devour him.“No! Your Majesty, please!” John crawled towards them. His face twisted with desperation and terror.Daphne didn’t look away, meeting his gaze as he realized that there was nothing he could say to escape his fate. His expression turned determined as he got to his feet and tried to shake off the fire that had reached his jacket. He tore it off but another burst of fire started on his pant leg and he went down again.“That lesson about tying your boots properly,” Nicole said lightly, “That is why.”Her lips twitched into just a bit of amusement as he began to scream a
Daphne rushed to where his body stopped, pulling him onto his back as tears fell down her cheeks.“Just hold on!”Owen’s hand grabbed hers as she settled her shaking hands over the hole in his chest. Blood was bubbling up and pooling around them. Her magic warmed and stuttered trying to close the hole.“Run…” he gasped before his last breath escaped him and she could no longer feel any spark of life in him.“No…” she sniffled. “No! You can’t–”A snarl drew her attention from above. Osborn had shifted and started to barrel down the side of the hill towards her. She lunged aside, barely dodging his attack, and grabbed her sword, turning into his next attack as he skidded, turned, and lunged at her again.His claws met her blade and shoved her back and off her feet. She tumbled back and landed hard on her arm.He was too strong f
Arthur ran towards Osborn, snarling at him. Osborn didn’t seem worried, watching and waiting for him before moving at the last possible moment. He shifted into his human form so Arthur’s attack, just barely missed him before shifting back into his wolf form to snap his jaws at Arthur’s leg.Arthur shifted mid-air and rolled across the ground. His heart was hammering. If he hadn’t, there was a good chance that Osborn would have taken his leg off or at least wounded him seriously.Osborn was nothing like Owen. He had to be more careful. Osborn chuckled and turned towards him.“Hello, nephew… shame your mother manage to get you out in time… I’m impressed you have a bit of battle awareness.” Osborn laughed, dark and furious. “Next time, I’ll just take your head.”Arthur got to his feet, eyeing Osborn. They watched each other before he heard the duchess’ footsteps.&ld
Tom looked up in horror.He couldn’t believe it, but there was no mistaking Osborn even with his missing eye. He was wearing the same armor he’d gone to battle against the vampires in though it bore the signs of battle. Behind him were other werewolves in the same armor, glaring across the clearing.How could he be alive?His heart lurched as Arthur got to his feet and shifted into his wolf form at Daphne’s side. He’d been overpowered by a half-vampire woman. Arthur didn’t stand a chance against Osborn! What were they going to do?Even with the Royal family’s ability to control wolves, Arthur didn’t have the years of combat experience or the deep-seated rage that Osborn did. His legs felt weak as he turned to look at the others who looked confused and had started to engage the turned werewolves.It was uncanny and deeply disturbing to see Osborn commanding them. What would Dean have thought of his brother now
Her tone was as sharp as a blade. She seemed to glide towards him and swung at him, barely missing his shoulder.She was much faster than he remembered. He felt the force of her swing as it missed him and knew she’d gotten stronger too.“Daphne! Stop. I don’t know what they’ve done to you, but this isn’t like you–”“You don’t know anything, murderer!”His gut clenched and for a moment he heard the furious chants of the Brown Valley pack at the back of his mind.He pushed those thoughts away and dodged another attack.“You killed my son!” Daphne screeched.Her words struck him. His blood ran cold, “What?”Daphne growled at her, “Don’t play dumb, werewolf. You were happy to sleep with me but you couldn’t bear the thought of half-vampire son, could you?”The bubbling joy of hearing that she was pregnant died as the rest o