Reporters swatted us at the entrance before Fenris, and I could leave the Cerberus building. I closed my eyes and clung to my wolf, who carried me on his back. The flashing of their cameras was irritating to me.
"Back off," He growled at the onslaughts of reporters questions.
They were all trying to get a statement from him and me. It wasn't long before he started to shimmer brightly. His power resonated with his anger and desire to keep me safe while Liam, who would meet us before this mess happened, tried to make his way through the people.
Noticing there would be no way out, Fenris took a few steps back from them.
"Hang on to me tightly, Lily." He suddenly declared.
He instantly shifted into his beast form, leaving Shade and me to cling to him for dear life. With a sharp snarl erupting from him, the reporters backed off, allowing us the chance to bolt away from there.
This would be the second time I had ever ridden him while in his beast form. Even though all I could do was hang onto his hair, fearing it might blow me off if I loosened my grip. The fur under my fingers was so smooth.
Part of me worried it would hurt him if I clung too hard, but it was a silly thought. Lycans were built to endure much more than that. We were inside the manor gates in a few seconds, safe from the crowd.
I had never seen him run so fast, not even when Cora took me.
Is that also another boon from the Blood Moon?
I struggled to hop off Fenris, who shifted back into his humanoid form. Grumbling under his breath, he glared at the crowd at the front gate. I hadn't noticed them in the blur from the speed he had run, but they had been waiting for us there, too.
"Lily, go inside." Fenris huffed, visibly heated by the event, as Melody and Amara met me at the doorstep before he stomped his way over to the journalists.
"Look, I understand why you want your story, but if any of you ever places my pregnant fiancée in danger again. I'll hunt you down and ensure no paper will ever hire you again!" My wolf threatened as they erupted him with more questions.
They were mostly about his relationship with Layla and his desire to marry a simple human. Rolling his eyes, he rudely answered each of their questions, trying to appease them enough for them to leave me alone.
The last thing we needed was for crowds to form outside our home, endangering its grounds. Sadly, the questions continued to where Melody urged me into the house to rest. Everything was becoming chaotic, and it wouldn't be slowing down soon.
When Amelia finally got home hours later, Fenris was still outside with Liam by his side, trying to stop the mayhem. I could only sit by a window and watch him from afar. Sadly, it would be too dangerous for me to be near crowds.
It's not only my life to worry about but those of my unborn child, too.
My wolf wouldn't have allowed it even if I didn't care about it. Stress was already taking a toll on me and my pregnancy. After they finally dispersed, he came in, appearing emotionally exhausted, falling into my lap before grumbling a few words and curses.
I giggled, happy to have him back even if he had been cornered. It reminded me of when he had that picture taken with Layla, yet his eyes didn't have prevalent dark circles on him. Everything was getting to him as well, though.
Our free time was disappearing with every passing day while the silver wolf tried to find some control over this power he possessed. Shade offered to be his sparring partner, which he initially declined, not wanting to hurt her by mistake.
However, she didn't take no for an answer.
"Play with me, little wolf, or are you scared?" The feline taunted him, who rolled his eyes in response to her tease.
We were in our room, and he had finished the work for the day. I was done with my studies, which were becoming bothersome and tedious.
"If you break a nail, don't blame me," He huffed, raising his eyebrows at her.
He had little control of his power, but Shade took it more as a challenge than a cautionary tale.
"I want to see you try." She snickered.
Unlike me before my pregnancy, even though we shared the same magical source, Shade could use magic with no backlash on her or me. She only used her power when she wanted me to see something or hear through her.
Her shifts and form changes also used magic, but it never weighed on me when she did them. The next day after she offered, he took her to the back of the manor, where a stadium existed. It used to be a place where his brother and his father trained.
I sat on one chair nearby, trying to catch up on the lessons left to me the previous day. The amount of knowledge being crammed into my head was extraordinary. Shade shifted into her authentic form, joining our wolf in the arena.
"Remember what you said yesterday," Fenris smirked, anticipating her movements.
"If you say so—" Before she could finish, he pinned the feline against the grown in his breast form.
What?! I didn't even see him move! Shade huffed.
He's getting faster; I can't even keep up with him using your eyes.
Oi! This isn't fair! She grumbled.
Unlike the more experienced wolf, she had no combat experience but loved playing dirty. They both weren't going for serious injuries, but Shade hated nothing more than losing. Grabbing him with her tail, she yanked him off her, launching him into the distance.
"Not bad, little wolf. Let's get serious." Shade purred, flashing her fangs at him.
My eyes wouldn't stay on the book before me when she used magic I had never seen before. She had always been defensive, never going on the offense. Once back on her feet around her, shadowy orbs formed before shooting beams of energy toward Fenris.
The rays were so fast that he could barely dodge them in time as one scraped his side before she gave him a chance to catch his breath.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Fenris growled, seeing smoke come out of his top coat.
Shade snickered. "Oh? What? Aren't you magic-proof? Didn't you say I would break a nail?"
My wolf grumbled under his breath, trying to figure out how to regain his dominance against his foe.
"Plus, Lilith wouldn't let me kill you if I tried to," She added, posturing to pounce at him.
Her tail flickered side to side as he got serious, giving off the same red hue that had increased his speed. This time, she created a barrier he quickly crashed through, but before he could pin her down, she shifted sizes, causing him to miss her.
After escaping his grasp, Shade shifted back, taking the chance to pin him down. For a second, she felt victorious over the silver wolf under her. However, it quickly crashed when he shifted back into his humanoid form and grabbed her front leg, triggering her to shift back into her tiniest form.
"Hah! Got you." He yanked her onto his chest.
She tried to shove him off.
"What?! Unfair! This is cheating!" Shade grumbled in his grip, unable to find freedom.
"No, no, no! It's very fair! I've declawed you, little one!" Fenris snuggled her nose in his.
She licked him before pouting. "Hmph! Only because I went easy on you!"
Even though Fenris didn't know how to control it entirely, from that brief interaction, I could see that magic was useless against him—well, at least the one that came from me. This meant we could only take red Lycans down through physical means.
Perhaps with the magic of a god, too, but that's...
It had to be the reason Stella created that variant of wolfsbane to stop Fenris. Unlike Alijah, who was set on destroying the world, my wolf wanted to live in it. He would bring forth children, who would give away to a new species of Lycans—something every magic user dreaded.
This means… your life will always…
A wave of cold flashed through me, triggering me to stand up from where I was before running to Fenris and throwing myself at him. The thought of something that could put him in a state beyond saving made me anxious.
If there was only an antidote… I…
"Lily?" my wolf seemed surprised by my attack as I winced, wanting nothing more than to eliminate that threat.
Can I make one? Will it be even possible?