Noah leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs with his leather boots propped up on the table in Sylvie’s cottage. His hat covered his face as he waited for his mate to grace him with her presence. He attempted to entertain himself by balancing his cane upright on its handle. It slowly tipped over to one side, then to the other, never quite gaining the necessary equilibrium to stand up straight. He was bored. Bored out of his mind.
While watching his cane fall over once more, he whispered to himself, “How has it come to this? Reduced to seeking cheap thrills from balancing a cane.”
Right when he was about to track down Rowan and challenge him to a duel to relieve his boredom, he heard voices coming from outside. He jumped up from his chair, fussing with his hat and trench coat to make sure his outfit met his usual standards. He needed to make a good impression on any guests that honored him with their visit. After all, he couldn’t embarrass his mate by looking shoddy. He flung open the door, uncaring of what potential dangers lay on the other side, to reveal Sylvie and another woman in a heated discussion.
The unknown wolf was almost as tall as Sylvie but had luscious auburn hair and hazel eyes. Freckles peppered her pasty white skin, and as opposed to the leather shirts all the warrior wolves seemed to love, she wore a stylish tasseled jacket that covered her arms. With great difficulty, a blue bandana held her bushy hair away from her face.
Finally! Someone who appreciated the intricate beauties of fashion. This stylish wolf understood that heat stroke was sometimes necessary to pull off the proper image. He fingered his trench coat while gazing up through the leaves at the late summer sun beaming down on him. He nodded to himself; some sacrifices were an absolute necessity. Refocusing his thoughts, he returned his gaze to the two wolves who had paused their conversation at his entrance.
“Good afternoon to you both, my dear ladies. Shame on you Sylvie, you didn’t tell me to expect guests today!”
Sylvie watched him with pursed lips as he walked up to the other woman. He was able to grab her hand, shock slowing her reactions, and placed a delicate kiss on the back of her hand.
“And who might this ravishing lady be?” he questioned with a wink.
The female wolf froze, widened eyes glancing from him to Sylvie in a constant swivel. The earth seemed to stand still, frozen in shock, as everyone waited for someone else to make the next move. Behind him, he heard a roar and suddenly felt himself being flung back through the air; the force causing his trench coat flaps to flutter in the wind.
He skidded to a stop on his back, staring up at the sunlight fighting with all of its might to penetrate the canopy. A family of birds preened their feathers on the branches high above, and he couldn’t believe he had yet to notice them before now.
Wow! A different vantage point could really change your perspective on the world — a roar shook the forest, sending the frightened birds flapping to safety and him back to reality. He raised his head to see Sylvie, now in her wolf form, growling and snapping at the other woman, who had her hands raised in surrender.
“Sylvie, I didn’t touch him. He’s your mate, and I’m not challenging you for him,” the woman pleaded with the enraged Alpha.
Noah jumped back onto his feet and rushed toward Sylvie in a burst of speed. Examining the situation that he had caused, he secured a firm grip on her tail and yanked it as hard as he could. She yelped and spun around to face him, snapping at his hands. With a loud whack, he popped her on the snout with his cane.
“No! Bad Sylvie,” he yelled, pointing his finger in the wolf’s face. He heard the other woman gasp, and Sylvie shifted back into her human form.
She stared at him with a dazed look on her face. “Did you just pop me on the nose like some pup?”
The other woman covered her mouth with her hand, shoulders shaking. He needed this strange woman to stop laughing immediately. He had just saved her life, and she was digging him a hole that he wouldn’t be able to escape.
“Did you just say ‘bad Sylvie’ like I was some common street dog?” Sylvie asked in a monotone voice, her clouded eyes staring off into nothingness.
He heard a snort from the traitorous woman, who couldn’t keep her laughter contained. His hair was standing up on the back of his neck, a sixth sense that warned him of impending peril. It had never steered him wrong, and he would not ignore its sage advice.
“It was nice to meet you, my dear Lady…” he paused for the woman to grace him with her name.
“Wren,” the woman provided with a small wave and a bright, beaming smile.
“It was nice to meet you, my dear Lady Wren. If you’ll excuse me, I’m afraid all the excitement of the afternoon has drained me. I must retire for the evening.” He gave her a quick bow, studiously ignoring the dazed-out Sylvie.
He made it to the cabin just in time to close the door and bar it with his body before a loud growl shook the surroundings. The scratching of claws and loud snorting informed him that Sylvie had returned to wolf form. The door almost caved in on itself as she threw her massive body against it. Noah held on with all of his strength as he tried to keep the door between himself and the enraged wolf.
“Please, my mate. We shouldn’t go to bed angry like this. Why don’t you go cool off for a bit before we discuss what each of us could have done better?” The pounding at the door paused for a second before an even more viscous bang cracked the wood.
“Be strong, my friend,” he told the pitiful door, who was taking the brunt of his mate’s fury. With a final bang, the door exploded in a splintering of wood, sending him flying back onto the bed. A giant wolf, the color of the moonless night, stalked through the door. Its silver eyes glowed, scrutinizing his every movement. The wolf growled at him, with clouds of steam coming out of its snout as it panted heavily in what he hoped was exhaustion and not rage.
He retreated toward the headboard of the bed with his hands and cane outstretched to provide some barrier to her if she charged. “Now listen, my mate. There’s no need to blow things out of proportion. We can talk this out.”
The wolf lunged straight at him and he closed his eyes in despair, accepting that his mate would rip him apart. Who would have guessed this would be his last stand? Killed by the woman nature deemed to be his perfect match. His suspicion that nature hated him felt more justified as he was about to meet his downfall at its hands.
A heavy weight, but lighter than he was expecting, landed on him, pinning his hands over his head against the wooden headboard. He cracked an eye open to see Sylvie, in her human form, straddling him. Her glowing eyes were as bright as ever, and he averted his gaze while baring his neck. It was the only thing he could think of doing that would give him a chance at survival.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He waited for her judgment and felt her lean in toward his neck. His pulse quivered violently in the vein on his neck, but it wasn’t from fear at the certain death inching towards him. She stayed in human form, which he took as a good sign, and sniffed the side of his neck. Goose bumps broke out across his skin as her breath and long raven hair tickled him.
He gasped as she slowly licked his neck and lightly nibbled at his skin. She broke the skin with her teeth and a bit of pain flashed before she licked the area again, soothing the puncture site. He shivered at the surprising pleasure that coursed through his body.
“Oh, my dear mate. Why do you anger me with your blustering defiance? Just submit to me, and our time together will be so much more enjoyable,” she whispered into his ear.
Noah shuddered at the sultry temptation in her voice. “Submit? I will never submit to you or anyone, Sylvie.”
She sighed into his neck and moved off of him, releasing his arms. His hand flew to his neck, patting his skin to examine the wound with his fingertips. His fingers came away sticky with blood, but he couldn’t feel an open wound that would explain the bleeding. He sat up and watched Sylvie warily as she stretched her arms above her head, showing no indication of their spat a few seconds ago.
“Wren, come in,” she yelled out the door.
The woman from earlier appeared in the doorway with a big smile on her face. “Oh? Is that it? I thought I was going to have to wait for a while before you two would be presentable.”
Noah found his cowboy hat on the floor and tipped it to Wren. “I’m sorry for the delay, my dear lady. My mate disagreed with my greeting method from earlier, but in the end, she saw reason and acknowledged her overreaction.”
Sylvie snorted at that with a roll of her eyes. Wren’s eyes locked onto the blood on the side of his neck and she chortled. “Oh yes, it seems like you made her submit extremely quickly. But then again, what else could she do when faced with the insurmountable strength of a human male?”
Noah returned his hat to its rightful place on his head, frowning at her words. “There was an insult in there somewhere. I’m sure of it.”
Wren giggled with her hand covering her mouth. He almost teared up at the sound of her laugh, the soft melodies warming his spirit. Finally, someone in this deranged pack understood his humor.
“Enough,” commanded Sylvie, annoyed at their banter.
“Noah, this is my best friend Wren. Wren, this is the famous mate you’ve heard so much about, Noah,” she introduced them with a flippant wave of her hand.
“And what do we owe the pleasure of your company in our humble abode, my dear Wren?” he asked.
Sylvie interjected as Wren prepared to answer, gritting out through clenched teeth, “Wren’s father was the Alpha of a pack that merged with the Baleful Fiend Pack. She has a deep understanding of the politics and cultures of the different races. I called upon her counsel to discuss the Unseelie attack perpetrated against your caravan.”
Noah’s playful smile dropped from his face as he pictured John lying in a pool of his own blood with an arrow jutting out of his neck.
“They were strong, but not as strong as they should have been. No magic users either. A portal might be within reach for a possible invasion against the pack, but would they be brazened enough to risk mutual annihilation?” he questioned.
“Exactly our thoughts. The target was most likely the human caravan and not a probing attack against the pack.” Wren agreed with a nod of her head.
“The question is, why would they launch such a costly attack? No offense, but the human goods aren’t worth losing hundreds of your forces to steal. Does Greenwood have any war-worthy grudges that may have prompted the attack?” Sylvie asked.
Noah thought back to his memories of Greenwood. “Nothing that would prompt a war. We avoid their territory and they avoid ours. If we find an unseelie in the Wilds, we kill it without hesitation. They do the same. Nothing has rocked the political status quo as far as I know.”
The room fell silent as Wren and Sylvie pondered his words. This was a mystery that held survival implications for the pack and would not be taken lightly. A full-force Unseelie attack was not something that any of the races were confident in dealing with.
“Regardless of the reason, Wren, I want you and the scouts to run extra patrols around the outskirts of the territory. See if you can find any other signs of the Unseelie near pack lands,” Sylvie said, not able to hide the worry on her face.
Wren nodded her head in consent. “What about Rowan? Will he listen to your commands on this?”
“I will have to make him listen,” Sylvie grimaced at the mention of her First Beta. “We can’t deal with an Unseelie invasion if the pack is divided.”
Wren nodded solemnly before giving a little wave to Noah. “It was nice to meet you, Noah. Make sure you don’t hurt Sylvie with that immense human strength of yours.”
He nodded seriously at her warning. “You have my word, dear Wren. I will control my strength to the best of my abilities.”
Sylvie exploded at the pair of troublemakers, “Wren, leave now! Noah, don’t say another word!”
Wren giggled and shifted into a massive auburn wolf, taking off into the woods. He wiped the smirk from his face, preparing for more serious matters. He looked over at Sylvie, who was intently gazing at him as if she was deciding on whether he was worth the trouble as a mate.
“I would like to talk to you,” he said, his voice soft and serious. She didn’t respond and waited for him to elaborate. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for unwelcome news.
“I want to leave the pack territory and return to my home. Will you let me leave or will you keep me prisoner?” He firmed his shoulders and waited for her answer.
“Noah, I know you have been pulled away from your own kind,” Sylvie said, staring him down before letting out a long sigh.
“I know the pack hasn’t been that welcoming toward you, but will you please give it a few months? Give life here a real chance?” Sylvie pleaded with him. Actually, pleaded with him, instead of commanding him. A vulnerable look appeared on her face as the exhaustion she hid from the rest of the pack was on full display for him.
“Sylvie, it’s not a matter of me being shunned here or that I miss Greenwood,” he paused and she looked up hopefully at him. “I’m not safe here. Plenty of these wolves will kill me the second an opportunity presents itself.” She growled at that and slammed her fist against the table, elongating the crack made by Silas.
“No one would dare touch you or I would rip them to shreds,” she promised.
“I trust you would Sylvie, and if fear was all that was driving me to depart, I would place my life in my mate’s hands. No, the main reason I can’t stay here is that you have taken that choice away from me. I will not compromise on my freedom,” his voice rose in certainty, and Sylvie acknowledged his conviction with sad eyes.
“Will you not sacrifice that freedom for a few months? Just a few months and if you still want to leave, then I will escort you to whatever human settlement you wish to go.”
As he stared into her pleading eyes, he considered her words. A few months was nothing in the grand scheme of things. He could keep a low profile by staying in the cabin away from all the murderous wolves. Two months would pass by in the blink of an eye and would make things so much more pleasant in the meantime.
125’s lifeless eyes, staring up at the moon, flashed across his mind. Would his savior still carry that delicate smile he had died with if he could see Noah now? He tried to move past the intrusive thought but couldn’t, his obsessive focus not releasing him from its snares.
125 didn’t sacrifice his life so that a wolf pack could hold Noah prisoner. He clenched his fists and focused a steely gaze on her silver eyes. Claustrophobia clawed at his throat and threatened to choke his words. The smell of damp cavern walls and images of flowing blood overrode his senses, destroying his logical reasoning.
“I will not compromise on this Sylvie. I wish I could,” he finally muttered.
She gazed into his eyes and then blew out a long sigh, shaking her head in regret. “I’m sorry, Noah. I’m sorry you were picked to be my mate, but nothing can change that now. You will stay in the pack where you belong by my side. We can revisit this in a few months.” She stood up, ending the conversation.
“You would make us enemies, then?” he whispered, biting his lip until he tasted the copper tang of blood from his memories. Something deep inside of him revolted at the thought of disappointing her.
She walked up slowly to him, petted his cheek, and whispered into his ear, “Oh, my mate. Everyone is my enemy to some extent.”
There was no door to slam, but the instant shift into her black wolf, bounding into the forest, was answer enough.