Up until then, he never even suspected they inhabited these woods. A while back, when his men just caught Lorelei, he had the woods searched. Not a single trace of a pack could be found even though Dimitri himself led the quest.
At the moment, though, not only could he smell them in the air, but they were beginning to show themselves. His horse had reached the road, sprinting at the fastest pace it could achieve with the weight of two people on its back. The trees rapidly disappeared from the side view, and in between the trunks, dark shapes could be perceived keeping up.
Struggling to keep his balance in the saddle, Tama was forced to acknowledge his mistake of seating Lorelei in the front. Instead of her sitting behind, holding onto him, he had to hold the reins with one hand and her with the other.
A couple of minutes of neck-breaking gallop, and at last he was able to spot the shape of his party's carriage. It was unmoving, the members of his household not right next to it as they should be. Their horses calmly pranced around without a rider; all but one. It stood in place, calm as the horseman riding it, who appeared to be waiting.
Getting closer, while still keeping safe distance, Tama's horse finally came to a stop, and he was able to confirm his ominous doubts. They lay dead beneath the man; his cook, the guards, the coachman, the cupbearer.
His long ginger hair and short beard, blue eyes, simple clothes gave nothing away, however, his unmistakable scent did. A musky one, combined with the smell of damp soil and hint of a wet canine that lingered even though he wasn't transformed. The rest of them caught up immediately, surrounding him as soon as they did. Five of them, all turned and evidently out for blood.
It was a terrifying sight, indeed, and one he hadn't witnessed in a long time. A single werewolf was nothing to sweat over, but this many would make even the bravest of knights thread carefully. They were entirely wolf-like, except for their humanoid posture which only made them scarier. Standing on their hind legs, their 'arms' were significantly longer, ending in deadly claws. Snouts wrinkled in attempt to show as many razor sharp teeth among which the long canines rightfully stood out, the five growled interchangeably.
Retreating in fear, his horse let out a roar, and Tama felt it was finally the time to say something. Transformed werewolves were not known for their reason, but one of them was still sober and in human form, so not all was lost.
"Careful!" He called in tone he hoped sounded nonchalant, "I've got one of you right here. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her, now, would we?"
Looking over her shoulder, Lorelei offered a horrified look, and he discreetly squeezed her waist in an attempt to reassure her, hoping it came across. The ginger's apathetic stare had him proceed to explain.
"She's only part beast, though."
Lorelei's scent wasn't so easily discernible as she wasn't a pure beast, but he did spot the glint of recognition in the ginger's gaze. His bright blue eyes moved on from Tama, falling onto the girl instead.
"You're safe now. Get off the animal. If the vampire tries to hurt you, he'll be dead before any damage is done." His deep voice rang among the trees. Joined with the proud posture – it wasn't hard to deduce he was most likely their leader, or rather alpha as they savagely put it.
"I'm not in danger." Lorelei replied tamely, although her body language gave away exactly how nervous she was.
"If you're the vampires' ally, you are in danger." After giving his blatant threat a few moments to sink in, he raised his hand to signal something, and another man came forward from the woods; unturned, yet clearly a fellow werewolf. "Take the female. Kill the vampire." His orders came, clear and unappealing.
As if she would speak again, Lorelei inhaled, clearly shuddering at that point, and Tama felt the urge to finally take control of the situation. Yes, they were surrounded, and yes, if the alpha turned they'd be in an even bigger trouble, but he's faced beasts in the past and lived to hear the songs sang about him. He could no longer allow them to think they had him cornered.
"If you value your men's lives, reconsider." He warned, dark impatience seeping into his own voice at that point. "I am no common vampire." Placing a hand on Lorelei's shoulder, gently he moved her out of the way and took his collar to show the brooch.
"Yet," The ginger offered a malicious chuckle, "As long as we keep you surrounded by morning you're done for, common or not."
Leaning closer to Lorelei, Tama whispered, "Can you fight?"
"What? No!" Her panic was way too obvious for his liking, and he simply had to make the decision.
She had to go. She was more hindrance than help anyway.
"I'll get off the horse now. You just keep on riding to the castle."
"No, I can't—"
"Do as I say." He couldn't help his agitated tone. Just as he was about to dismount, he felt her grab his wrist, forcing his hand to open and pressing something into his palm. Her axe. Wordlessly, he accepted it.
Straightening in the saddle, he took his time removing his leather gloves. His pale skin flashed in the moonlight, long, sharp claws glinting with menace. Quickly, he made a mental image of the fight that would follow if all went according to his prediction. The axe was a welcome advantage, his knife was still safely attached to his belt, his nails deadly as ever.
Finally, he got off the horse. Werewolves rallied more closely, the alpha got a hold of his sword in preparation. Using the brief time their focus undividedly lingered on him, Tama smacked the horse and it immediately surged into gallop. Before the ginger had a chance to look after her, Lorelei was already a steady distance away from them.
Yelling, he ordered one of the changed ones to go after her. By the time he turned around to the others, the untransformed one was dead and he'd gotten to witness one of the beasts get their furry throat slashed open with effortless precision of vampire claws.
The moment of distraction was gone as swiftly as it came, and Tama fell to his knees, a beast on his back, making what had to be a pretty bad gash across his loin. He'd lost the axe. He managed to turn around, only to end up with the creature on top of him, using all of its weight in an attempt to close the distance between Tama and its hideous teeth.
Keeping it away with one hand, he fished out that knife and buried it into the beast's neck to the hilt.
By the time he managed to squirm out from under one werewolf, the other was already striking. It was fast, just not fast enough. In matter of a split second, Tama's long nails were digging into the sides of its neck, pulling, tearing, while the creature squealed in pain and panic.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other two coming and had to let go, leave the one he'd just fought to drag itself away, crying, bleeding, but alas, very much alive. Taking a step back in order to prepare for them, his foot caught onto something; Lorelei's axe. Picking it up, he threw it as precisely as he could manage in all the haste, and it buried itself right into the creature's bristly forehead.
The final one jumped him, and to make matters even worse, he could see the ginger dismounting his horse. He was definitely going to turn, and that meant this one had to die that very instant.
Gathering all the strength he could, Tama rolled over until he had the beast pinned beneath him, firmly keeping its head in place while he let his descended fangs rip its throat open, doing his best to ignore the claws that cut him and the teeth that had caught his fingers. Standing back up, he saw the ginger throwing away his sword, preparing to transform, and used the few seconds he'd get in the best way he could; to run.
Sprinting over to the frenzied horses, he tugged at one's reins to force it to stay still and jumped on its back. The very same instance that it started running, a fearsome growl sounded from behind him. The ginger transformed was so large his paws made loud thumps as he ran and sadly his overbearing size took nothing from his speed.
The horse was beginning to foam at the mouth, at full gallop managing to barely keep out of the alpha's reach. Granting himself the luxury of looking up at the sky for a moment, Tama had to note yet another displeasing fact. Stars were fading, the blackness of the sky was turning brighter by the minute.
At last, the inevitable happened. He couldn't see, but from the way the horse reared it was easy to assume the alpha had managed to get it. The first time, Tama had managed to stay in the saddle; the very next, he was hurled to the muddy ground as harshly as it gets, unable to even stand up immediately.
His wounds burned, he was pretty sure he had broken something, his eyes and mouth were full of mud. Well, this wasn't a scene he'd like to hear in a song.
Slowly, he recoiled as the alpha took his time, like the predator that knew he had his prey right where he wanted it to be. Tama was a noble warrior, but he had neither weapon nor armor, and to be completely honest, that only left him the 'noble' part. Although, being covered in mud from head to toe, with his clothes mostly ripped from his body, he felt that even that remaining attribute wasn't very befitting any longer.
It's been many centuries since he's felt truly helpless, and finally, the time has come once again. His opponent was unwearied and at the peak of his strength, and had all the time in the world since he didn't mind the Sun. Tama, however, was out of both.
He wouldn't go down without dealing some damage, at the very least, and so he advanced towards the enormous werewolf before he had a chance to strike first, but found they both recoiled in shock, each to his respective side.
A spear was buried between them. Its thick handle was made of dark wood, adorned with a small black and gold flag that bore a white dragon. Daring to look away from the alpha, Tama saw as a dozen horsemen rapidly progressed towards them, immediately after left to watch the werewolf as he ran away.
"Tama!" Dimitri shouted, getting off his horse and rushing over to him. "Take my steed and go home. I'll go after—"
"Leave him." He sighed, barely gathering enough energy to speak. "Dawn is coming."
...…
"I can't believe you'd do something so stupid." Stefania grumbled from behind him, patting his wounds clean while he sat in bathtub. "And it's you!" Exhaling dramatically, she paused to wet the rag, "Risking your life for that creature. Why didn't you just trade it?"
"Because they'd take her and kill me anyway. She was able to make a diversion and get help." A low hiss escaped him as she accidentally dragged the cloth directly across the cut on his back. "Besides, I still need Frey to see her and confirm her story."
Her unexpected chuckle had him look back at her in question. Smiling, she shook her head.
"Last time I took care of you like this was while you still trained with the Legion. It's just… It takes me back." Nodding, he returned her smile.
"Me too."
Drowsy silence descended upon them, and they each surrendered to their thoughts. Tama had a hard time staying awake; the morning came a while ago and it drained him even further. Stefania soon stepped away, hanging the rag to dry, and regarded him once more as she headed for the door,
"Don't fall asleep in the bath. Nurse still has to look at you."
At last on his own, he relaxed into the hot water with a throaty moan. It prickled his wounds, as even the tiniest movements caused pain. Breathing alone became a task since his damaged ribs shuddered with exertion each time his lungs expanded to draw breath.
Still, replaying the events of the fight in his head, he found his lips subconsciously spreading into an amused grin. Adrenaline rush still hasn't completely left him, the pride and the immense understanding of how lucky he was made him… glad, somewhat. After so long, he could say he felt alive.
About an hour later, he had his injuries looked at, treated with ointment, bandaged and was safely tucked in his large bed, as comfortable as his condition allowed. Fire crackled in the fireplace, thick drapes in the darkest shade of brown kept the sunlight out, he was moments away from drifting into healing slumber, when the sound of knocking reached him. Clearing his throat, he prepared to call out,
"Come in."
At a very slow pace, the door opened and the exact person he was expecting showed up from behind it. Lorelei entered the room with easy, careful steps as if noise alone would cause him harm.
"Your men said you're alright?"
"I'm fine." He offered a gentle smile, "I'm glad to see you're unscathed."
"Thanks to you…" She whispered timidly, and he couldn't help his chuckle. Her expression remained restless, as if she would say more, but her hesitation was apparent. "Who was the red haired man?"
"Their alpha. Scary, right?" Lorelei nodded. "You're wired to conform to him, your fear was natural. However, I'd advise against going back to those woods. You're involved with my kind and he won't forgive that."
"Could I not explain myself to him?" Tama had to note to himself that somehow, somewhere, he was slowly beginning to believe her. The way she worried about the pack, as though she was certain she'd get to go back after Frey sees her simply seemed… genuine. He couldn't say he'd bet on it, but his doubts were lesser.
"You of all people should know werewolves aren't the most serene individuals." Sitting up, he patted the edge of his mattress for her to sit. As she approached and took her seat, he observed her, "Why would you go back there, anyway, Lorelei? Wouldn't you prefer to live with your father instead?"
"He made it clear I can't stay in his castle being a werewolf." Her voice bore the undertones of a grudge, but she didn't seem angry. "Besides, I'd like to be around my own kind. They could teach me how to handle the Moon and I think I would feel like… Like I belong somewhere…"
"They could, but would they?" Sighing, he made himself comfortable under the covers once again. "For the time being, my side is where you belong, and the only place you won't get hurt."
She remained quiet for a few minutes, most likely analyzing his words, and he was left to fight off sleep, and that looked like a battle he wouldn't win.
"I'm tired, Lorelei. Tell me a story."
"What kind of story?"
"The one you owe me." He grinned, "Feel free to lie down."
Taking a spare blanket from the foot of his bed, Lorelei lounged beside him, and he could feel her green eyes on him even though his were closed.
"It's not a very happy one." She warned. Chuckling, he gave a drowsy nod.
"Those are my favorite."
And she talked, introducing the beginning of her story and reminding him of things she'd already told back in the carriage. Tama's weariness quickly took the best of him, however, and he found himself catching every second or third word she said, and after that, her voice alone became background noise that allowed him to fall into pleasant sleep.
Soon, Lorelei cut her tale short despite being nowhere near finished as he was asleep anyway, and settled for quietly humming her song. Snuggling closer under her own blanket, she allowed herself to relax as well, drifting off into desperately needed sleep, by his side... where she supposedly belonged.
...…
"Isn't that slightly excessive?" Tama asked cheerlessly, observing the werewolf's head as it gaped from one of the spikes on the outer wall. It was the one that was sent after Lorelei; it stupidly chased her all the way to the castle and that cost it everything. Still, he doubted she would be glad to see one of her kind being so brutally made an example of.
"This is the only language they understand."
"No wonder you and Stefania get along. You're actually really cruel." He grumbled, glancing Dimitri's way as the man placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"It wasn't me who singlehandedly slayed half a pack." His right hand graced him with a rare grin, but soon enough, it was replaced by his usual expression, holding a mixture of concern and disapproval. "You don't mean to leave them, do you? We should turn the whole mountain upside down and eradicate every last one of the beasts, if you ask me."
"We looked for them before, friend. These aren't simple savages. They're careful, cunning – they snuck up to us out of nowhere. Entering their territory now would be foolish."
"Then what do you suggest? Forgive them?" Dimitri mocked, allowing himself to get all fired up over the topic. It was a rare thing, to see him so upset and passionate, but he was a demon hunter, specialized in werewolves. Tama could bet that not even the man himself knew exactly how many he had wiped out.
"Wait. Stay prepared. If they attack, we should be ready. Otherwise, I'd leave them be."
"By that, you mean to achieve what?"
"Well, I'd have them know we're not in favor of unnecessary hostility – hence, the head should really go." He pointedly gestured at the spike. "Maybe Lorelei could reason with them somehow? Who knows?" As Dimitri was clearly about to argue, Tama rushed to rationalize his idea. "It's not unheard of. Both Vlad and Zmay are on good terms with werewolves."
"Their circumstances are entirely different." Unsurprisingly, his friend proceeded to dispute. "Ottomans are a threat to all."
"And without the knights' union with our lycanthropic friends, they'd be a threat to us as well."
"I wonder what you sister would say should she hear this."
"You tell me." Tama grinned. "She agreed to meet Lorelei."
.....
The seating order was somewhat imbalanced, if Tama could say so. He was seated at one end of the long table, Stefania opposite him. On his left sat Lorelei, on her right sat Dimitri. The clanking of silverware rang in the depths of uncomfortable silence that weighed on the dining room. He was truly beginning to regret telling Cassandra they'd only enjoy her music later, after dessert was served.
Wiping his mouth and treating himself to a chug of his blood wine, Tama broke the silence.
"Any word from Zmay? When exactly can we expect him?" He was still strictly resting, as Stefania adamantly insisted on handling even the simplest of tasks in his stead, such as reviewing and responding to letters.
"He should be here within this week, but he won't stay the whole winter." She explained. "Oh, and he met with Vlad. They're travelling together."
Quietly, the rest of them nodded, and the heavy silence continued… Until Lorelei spoke, reluctant under his sister's grim gaze,
"What about my father? Uh," She hurried to explain, "Frey."
Seemingly having decided to flaunt her crudeness, Stefania answered, but made sure to face either Tama or Dimitri as she did so.
"Last I heard from him he was on his way. I'm not sure how far he's come since."
Turning to him, Lorelei thankfully chose to ignore his sister and scooted closer to whisper,
"Does he know I'm here?"
"Oh, no, sweet Lorelei." Tama offered a sly smile. "I want his most honest first impression as he sets his eyes on you." He gestured at empty space, as if he could see the scene happen right before them. "Sister dear?" Swiftly, he decided to jump to a different topic and regard Stefania who looked no more impressed than when the werewolf herself spoke to her. "Do you have nothing to say to our guest? We did arrange this dinner so you could officially meet her."
If the slow squint of her eyes, pursing of her red lips, they way her fingers toyed with her wine glass didn't suggest a brash response, what she said next surely did.
"Your sort killed my son, defiled myself, and since becoming vampire, they continued to be nothing but thorn in my eye. I'm very sorry I can't welcome you with open arms, but the only thing that offends me more than your presence alone is the fact my brother got hurt saving you. If this was my castle, I'd long have your head on a spike, but since it isn't… Pleased to meet you." She decided to finish with the coldest smile she could muster, and Tama sighed, drinking up the rest of his wine as well as using the act to keep himself quiet.
Lorelei held a gravely stern expression, staring back at Stefania, and he had just felt the urge to interject a few moments too late.
"Your sort raised me as his child, and then, he passed me on to the first people who'd take me. Others of your sort hunted me down like an animal, locked me up, insulted me, and are now keeping me trapped in this godforsaken place against my will!" Standing up, she made her chair loudly squeak, and looked down at the rest of them who remained sitting while pointing at herself. "I'm being threatened and ridiculed at this very moment! So I'm very sorry I can't pity you for what you went through two millennia ago!"
"Christ, Lorelei, I had no idea you were so eloquent—"
"Tama!" Dimitri stood up as well, looking as rigid as always. "You're not going to let her speak like that?"
"Why?" He questioned dryly. "I let Stefania speak freely."
His sister was quick to spring up, and so he ended up being the only one still seated.
"You're not comparing me to this creature?!"
"You're a creature! So thin and gloomy—You look like a dead tree!"
Tama's boisterous laughter rang in between the progressively creative insults the two women kept firing at one another, and Dimitri's comically earnest attempts to keep them calm. The whole ordeal did somewhat escalate when Stefania grabbed the cutting knife from her plate and started making threats.
"Disarm her." He regarded Dimitri, who looked quite appalled at the thought of doing such a thing, thus forcing him to repeat himself. "Your lord gave you an order."
"My lady," Reluctantly, the man came closer to her and stretched out his hand to ask for the weapon. "Please."
As soon as she had given up the silverware, his sister stormed out of the room, and some displeased grumbling later, Dimitri went after her, leaving him and his werewolf alone.
"Well, dear Lorelei," He grinned, finally standing up himself. "This sure was fun. I'm going to take a stroll inside my maze. Care to join?"
"I do not." Her voice still hadn't let go of zest from the fight, and he smiled at it, offering his arm so she could wrap hers around it as they went.
"Come, it will help calm you down. You wouldn't make your savior walk all alone?"
She rolled her eyes insolently, but did take his arm and followed along as he made way through the long hallways, out the door and finally, towards the large maze that appeared even more complex and looming under the dim night sky. The stars were scarce, and the moon peered behind thick clouds, reminding Tama to ask his companion a question.
"How much longer until you turn?"
"Any day now."
For a while, she insisted on focusing her gaze on things opposite of him, staying as silent as a fish, and he let her as they took different turns and slowly made their way to the middle of the large maze.
Finally, Tama broke the silence as many times before.
"You know," He paused until her attention was undividedly on him. "I never got to hear that story. I fell asleep. Would you tell it now?"
Sighing, Lorelei shrugged to let him know she cared little for telling it, but didn't outright refuse, and he found that to be good enough.
"It was about a boy, if I remember correctly." Softly, he nudged her side in a teasing manner, and she grumbled in return, although the smile she worked so hard to hide inevitably spread its way across her lips. "Hm, unhappy story that involves a boy… Break my heart, sweet Lorelei."
"Well… I'm not sure if it'll break your heart."
"Did it break yours?" Slowly, she nodded. "Then that's enough for me."
Ignoring his remark, Lorelei appeared thoughtful as she walked.
"I'm not even sure where to begin."
"Last thing I recall was that he was a blacksmith's apprentice."
"Ah, yes." She nodded her head absently, preparing for storytelling. "I met him when Roland – the farmer – sent me to fetch his order from the blacksmith. I was fourteen." Pausing in search for right words, Lorelei looked up at the clouded Moon. "A couple of days after that he came by to give me a flower… And we started seeing more of each other."
"You were very young. How serious was your romance?" He had to note, though, he wasn't one to talk. At that age he joined the Roman Legion, went to first skirmishes, and yes, found one of the many loves of his life.
Nothing ever came of that, anyway, she was Caesar's distant relative, he never even got a chance to be in a same room as her. By the time his status was high enough, she was already happily married, and he had found other loves for himself.
"He forged a ring for me a year later." He wasn't truly surprised. She lived among peasants, and they wasted no time in starting families. It's not like they had many other options awaiting them. "Roland's wife was making me a dress." She smiled, but there wasn't much joy to be perceived from it. "Almost to the very end I kept pretending everything was alright… I lived with Roland's family just fine, I thought. They never caught me – like that was the problem."
"So what was? You turned before him?"
Reluctantly, Lorelei stopped to look at him.
"No… It's… very personal."
"I told you things of my past that were personal."
"No," She argued. "You told me of your sister's personal things, not yours."
Chuckling, Tama shrugged in surrender.
"What is it about?"
Gulping, Lorelei allowed her gaze to wander away to the Moon once more. "A kiss." He smiled.
"I'll tell you a story of a kiss in return?" He offered, and quietly she agreed. "So what happened?"
"Clearly, I never kissed anyone before, and I really didn't anticipate… what I'd be like." Tama listened, able to predict exactly what she meant, but chose not to interrupt her. "The Moon was nowhere near full, I made sure. Yet…" She sighed, "I lost all control."
"What have you done to him?"
"I scratched, ripped, bit him even. Right here." She placed her hand between her neck and shoulder, leaving it to rest there for a few moments before it limply fell to her side again. Her absent expression suddenly showed traces of disgust. "I can still taste his flesh. And his face," Shaking her head, she recalled, "He was terrified. I ran away that very night, kept going until I reached these parts."
"That was a grave mistake, Lorelei." Tama agreed. "An untrained human can't handle you. I suspect you knew that all along?"
Grievously, she nodded.
"Not only had I hurt him, but I was going to spend my life lying, making him believe I was like him. We'd have children, and they'd have to hide. All of those thoughts overwhelmed me when it happened."
"Do you still love him?"
"Not really. I think fondly of him, as I always had. But I'm not sad I had to leave… Only that I didn't leave sooner. Would have spared us both that way."
"Good. You can focus your attention on me in that case." He teased, and she rolled her eyes his way.
"What is the story you were going to tell me?"
"I never said I'd tell it tonight."