Chapter 3: Morgan

Her eyes flickered open, and the morning light shown through her eyelids blinding her for a moment.  Squinting and blinking, she gave her blue eyes a chance to adjust to the invading light before pushing off the ground and stretching her body out for a long and satisfying relief of tension to get her blood moving.  She looked around at the stone and tapestry covered walls.  The same walls she’d seen every day since being brought to this dreadful castle.  How did they do it?  How did they live day after day in this boring place with their boring routines?  She walked to the balcony grateful Philip had left it open for her.  She missed the breeze whistling through the trees of the forest.  She missed the hunt, though she couldn’t entirely complain about having a full stomach every day.  She even missed hiding from the other packs and the sense of adventure and slight danger.

A rattle sounded behind her, so she spun her head to see the door to the chamber opening and a maid sneaking in to clean.  She must have been new because she didn’t close the door behind her like the others had.  While the maid set to work making the bed, the white wolf slunk across the room by the wall and out the door.

There weren’t any other people in hall outside the room, but soft voices came from somewhere, bouncing off the walls around her.  With so many reverberations, it was hard to tell from which direction they came.  Glad to be out of the dark room, she pattered down the hallway in an unknown direction to see if she could find a way out of the castle.  She passed one room where a maid was cleaning the fireplace.  Past another room were two manservants talking in a joining hallway.  She quickly slunk past the hall to continue down the one she’d been trotting.  The hall turned and led to a ‘T’.  She sniffed the air.  It smelled fresher to her left, so she turned.  The hall lightened up toward the end and the scent of fresh air grew stronger making her heart leap a bit at the thought of freedom.  One more bend in the hallway revealed an opening to a gallery with a staircase to a floor below.  She sped up her trot, now unable to control the freedom calling to her, but voices in the last room off the hall up ahead stopped her, cold.

They were the voices of men.  Both voices she’d heard before on the night she was brought into the castle.  Both were a deep baritone that carried without much effort, but one was gruffer than the other.

“But why do you wait, Morgan?” Questioned King Aaron, “Do you not like her?”

“Like, isn’t the issue here, Father.” Answered Morgan, “I simply don’t see a need to rush into this decision.

“What decision?  The marriage has already been decided.  A courtship beyond a year is unheard of with arranged marriages.  You should have been married months ago.  I should have a grandson in my arms by now!”

“A grandson is not guaranteed, Father.  And I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry to pass on your throne.”

“I’m not.  But I would like to know it is secure before I die.”

She wasn’t sure why, but the conversation intrigued her.  She slunk closer to the door and lay down outside it.  Here in the light, the stone walls nearly matched the color of her fur being only a few shades off, so she was pretty certain no one would notice her if she was still enough.  Unlike other wolves, she was able to see in color, so the subtle changes in hues were not difficult to identify.  This always gave her the advantage when hunting.

“I’m just not certain, Father.” Stated Morgan.

“Certain about what?  Evangeline’s father and I have already made the arrangement.  You have nothing to consider!  Just marry the girl!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“There is something about her that unsettles me.”

“It’s just being a woman.  That’s what they’re good at.  Live with her long enough and you’ll get used to it.  I felt the same about your mother when newlywed.  It goes away.”

“No.  Not that.  Something isn’t right and until I know what it is, I cannot marry her.”

At this, Aaron let out a frustrated cry that raised the fur on her entire body.  The conversation was going nowhere and really didn’t concern her, but she could agree that Morgan was right.  Evangeline was no good if he wanted a loyal wife.  She stood and dashed passed the double doors to the gallery.

Her countenance suddenly sank in her chest.  Below her was a small crowd of bustling people enjoying conversation after what must have been breakfast.  Among them was Prince Philip and a handful of young women and other men dressed for riding.  By the looks of it, they weren’t leaving any time soon.  She moved closer to the wall and stalked along the gallery hoping to find an escape somewhere.  At the end of the gallery, she found a short hall that led to a balcony.  If it weren’t for these balconies everywhere, she’d go crazy.  She walked out onto it and hopped up on a little stone bench to see over the stone banister.  This balcony overlooked the gardens.  Out from what must be a door below, came Philip and his whore, Evangeline.  She lay her head down and closed her eyes as a ray of sunshine found her on the bench and worked to warm and comfort her.  Against her wishes, the sounds of hummed flirting and giggling reached her ears.  She groaned in disgust hoping they’d get caught by someone who cared because clearly their hunting party paid no mind.  She forces her thoughts to the forest, chasing rabbits and napping behind hedges.  Eventually her surroundings grow quiet and under the warmth of the sun, she falls asleep.

~~~~~

“There you are!” a voice broke through her subconscious and jarred her awake, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”  Standing beside her was Philip in his night robe.  She gazed around and realized the sun was on its way behind the tree line.  Did she really sleep all day?  “I don’t know how you got out of my chamber, but you’re lucky my father didn’t find you, or you’d be soup.”  He patted his thigh, “Well, let’s go.  You can’t change your bandages by yourself, now, can you?”  She knew he was right and hopped off the bench, just realizing how itchy the bandages were making her.  She was glad he remembered that at least.  He had forgotten to feed her, though and her stomach rumbled in protest.

They wondered the maze of hallways until they found his room.  He pushed the door open and waved for her to go in ahead of him.  Reluctantly, she walked past.  The room smelled strange, this time offering hints of stale body odor.  She noticed that the bed had already been laid in and the fire was already dying.  So much for a warm place to sleep.  Philip walked past her and grabbed a small pile of fabric strips on a table by the fireplace and lifted them.  As he walked over to her, a knock sounded on the hall door of his room.  Philip furrowed his brow and set the pile of fabric down on his way to the door, “Who on Earth?” When he opened it, a waft of rose oil flooded the chamber making the she-wolf’s nose cringe.  “What are you doing here?” Philip whispered.  The stranger pushed past him and gently nudged the door with her elbow causing it to close a bit behind her.  Evangeline.  Didn’t she get enough of him earlier?

“I missed you.” She said in one of her little coo’s.

“You’re risking a lot by sneaking to this side of the house, you know.”  His hands rose to rest on the woman’s curvy hips.  The wolf could already smell his arousal and turned her back to the couple to walk toward the balcony.  Maybe she could avoid being witness to what was about to happen.

“Everyone is asleep.”  She heard the woman coo again behind her.  The door to the balcony was closed and the smell of rose oil was becoming overpowering.  With uncontrollable force, the wolf sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed again.  “What is she doing here!”  Evangeline exclaimed.

“She lives here, have you forgotten?”

“Oh, Philip, please put her out?”

“No!  Are you insane?”  He shot a look of pity in the wolf’s direction, “Someone would kill her.”

“But Philip, what if she thinks you’re hers and attacks us while we…”

“Don’t be silly.  She wants to go home.” You have no idea.

“If she does, I’m not going to try and save you.”

“She won’t.  Now, come closer before I have reason to be cross.”  Sounds of moaning filled the room as the couple made their way to the bed and the wolf retreated to the fireplace with her back to the show.  The torture was unbearable as she listed to their mumbling and groaning.  In agony, she stood and turned around trying to cover her ears with her paws when she noticed the door.  Evangeline had pushed it, but it never shut fully, and Philip had neglected to lock it.  With great relief, she crept across the room to the door and out to the fresher air of the hall.

She wondered the hall knowing that all the doors would be closed and locked at this time in the evening, so attempting escape without a key was useless.  She eventually found her way to the familiar balcony overlooking the gardens and hopped onto the cool stone bench.  This time, there was no annoying couple to disturb her view.  Resting her chin on the stone banister of the balcony she inhaled the pleasant aromas of herbs and blooming flowers before closing her eyes to enjoy the sounds of crickets chirping their evening songs.

Soon, her ears twitch as the sound of light footsteps approach from the hall.  They didn’t pass by but rather stopped abruptly directly behind her.  Lifting her head and craning her neck to look over her shoulder, her eyes gazed up to meet a pair dark chocolate eyes belonging the older prince.  She stared back with an icy stare, too tired to be anxious in his presence.  Morgan didn’t seem to hold the animosity toward her that he did before.  This time his eyes held a softness that caused her to wonder what this next encounter with him would hold.  On closer observation, Morgan donned a nightrobe like Philip did, that had a thicker collar.  She saw no threat of weapon, either so she decided to stay instead of leaving her spot on the bench.   Perhaps he was looking for Evangeline.

“Why don’t you run, wolf?”  His deep voice cracked a bit.  He must be tired, too.  “Is the free food to enticing?”  Her stomach grumbled again at the reminder she’d nothing to eat all day.  In the wild, this wouldn’t have bothered her, but after two weeks of solid meals, her stomach had been spoiled.  She turned her head and rested her chin on the balcony again.  Morgan stepped closer bringing with him a lingering aroma of pine that reminded her of the forest.  He must have gone out with the riding party earlier in the day.  She closed her eyes and let herself dwell in the familiar smell.  He stepped closer again, so she opened an eye and glanced sideways at him.  He took the hint and stopped moving forward.

“I been wondering why a wolf would save a human?”  He continued to look her over, “That is, if wolves have motives like humans do.”  He sighed heavily and moved his attention to the stars.  “And what motive could Evangeline’s family have for a marriage with me?”  At this, she lifted her head and turned to him slightly.  Evangeline is in your brother’s bedroom right now, Morgan.  Maybe I should show you what she’s up to and settle the issue.  She took a long, hard look at the strain on his face and decided against it.  Why, she couldn’t say.  It wasn’t as if he’d been kind to her, but for some reason, she didn’t want to hurt him.

“I can’t believe I’m talking to a wolf.  As if you can understand anything I’m saying.”  To this, she let out a quick snort and put her chin down again on the banister causing him to laugh.  The sound was pleasant to her ears and caused her body to relax a bit.  “What are you doing out here anyway?”  She flicks her tail.  “Are you locked out?”

Something like that, she thinks and flicks her tail again.

“Well, if you promise not to eat me in my sleep, you are welcome to follow.”  She lifted her head and tilted it at him.  “And don’t tell Evangeline, she wouldn’t like it.”

She’s doing a whole lot right now that you wouldn’t like.  The she-wolf wagged her white, bushy tail a couple times to acknowledge his words and hopped down from the bench to follow him. 

“Hmph.” He furrowed his brow and turned to lead the way. “I know you can’t understand me.” He said more to himself than to her.

His bedroom was down a separate hallway than Philip’s and quite a bit larger than with a larger bed and grander fireplace.  Unlike Philip’s, Morgan’s fire was burning strong, making the room glow and shadows dance along the walls.  His bed has pillars and curtains around it making it look very grand.  His room had a separate door leading to a changing room and wash tub.  The curtains to his balcony were open so the stars were visible through the windows, but the door was closed to keep the heat in.  It was cozy and the whole room smelled like pine and woods.  She immediately felt like she was home.  Satisfied, she made her way over to a soft bearskin rug next to the fireplace and plopped down for some sleep, though she didn’t quite understand how she could be tired. 

“Hooold on.” Morgan interrupted, “Philip didn’t change your bandages, did he?  They’re filthy.”  She only moved her eyes to look at him, “Will you let me?”  He began to slowly make his way over to her and she sat up while he knelt in front of her.  She flipped her ears back and showed him the whites of her eyes, bringing the corners of her mouth closer to her nose in a pointed warning.  “I promise I’ll be gentle.” He spoke softly but the adrenaline was already surging through her.   She fought to reason with her wolf instincts knowing that she can trust this man to change simple bandages.  Her eyes turned green against her will, and Morgan became fixated on the flecks of green mixed with flecks of gold that began appearing in her irises.  “Amazing,” he whispered, and the sound of his voice distracted her for a moment while snuck a hand to her chest.  Soon, his fingers were playing with her rough, white fur until they found their way deep enough to scratch her skin and then move in circles to massage the sore muscles underneath.  Her wolf instincts continued to try and fight what is happening, but the human in her knew they needed the bandages off…. And his hands felt so nice against her skin and the pressure of his fingertips began releasing the tension in her rigid body that no amount of stretching could.  Suddenly she felt a quick release of the bandages around her and the fabric fell to the floor around her paws – sneaky human!

“You’re almost all healed up, now.” He said, “You must be anxious to get home.  It won’t be long now.” The news should have been music to her ears but the way he was making her feel at that moment made her lament at the news.  If she could just stay here while he kept touching her, she’d be content.  Her body continued to relax as he moved his massaging hand from her chest to rub where the bandages had been flattening her fur.  She hadn’t realized how much that area itched until he began rubbing there.  Involuntarily she leaned into the strength of his hands and closed her eyes.  “See, I’m not so bad am I.”  His deep voice spoken in such a soft tone did something in her chest that she was unable to fight.

See, neither am I, the thought came out but part of her wondered why it mattered.  Why should she care what he thought?  He stopped rubbing and stood and as he did, his robe fell open slightly, revealing a fully muscled chest beneath.  Had she been human, she’d have been attracted to it.  Being wolf… she might still be.  She shook the thoughts from her mind and watched him walk over to his armoire and pull out a shirt.  From under his bed, he pulled out a knife and began to shred the shirt into long strips.

“This should be the last bandage change for you.  Then you can go home.”  He walked slowly toward her again and knelt down on the rug next to her, careful to keep his body language non-threatening.  She was impressed with his knowledge and his efforts to help her be at ease while he invaded her space.  He set to work re-wrapping her wounds and tying them at her shoulder blades.  “There, now.  Not so bad.”  He rubbed her chest again with his fingertips and she resists the urge to close her eyes again, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of having that kind of control over her, and yet she hoped he wouldn’t stop.  “Even if Philip doesn’t want to let you go, I’ll make sure you get to go home.”  With that, he quickly stood and causing her to lose balance for a moment as he pulled his hand away.  She watched him stroll over to the bowl of water by the door and rinse his hands off before removing the heavy robe from around his body.  She takes note that it wasn’t just his chest underneath that robe that was worthy of gawking, but his entire body was covered in muscle.  In the wolf world, he would have been a well sought-after mate.  As he pulled back the covers of his large bed, she forced her eyes away from Morgan and curled up on the bearskin rug, reminding herself that she wasn’t human, and he wasn’t wolf.  She was cursed and would forever be alone.