Andor.
"Do you plan on avoiding me forever?" I asked Iris aloud. We were at the feast that I threw in preparation for the run. It was dark outside, and only the moon and the torches that lit the great hall provided light.
Iris still refused to talk to me, which put me in a foul mood. I did not waste any time rushing to her immediately after she showed up at the feast.
"Yes." She answered. "Or do you intend on screaming at me until I listen to your apology?"
My shoulders slumped. I knew what I did was wrong, but I did not expect her to stay angry this long. I apologised in every way that I knew, but she refused to hear me.
"Do you even know what you did wrong?" She asked.
I shook my head.
"You refused to listen to me. Is that how we are going to live life together?" Iris wondered aloud.
The moonlight glistened her eyes; I could notice the tears gathering. She stormed out of the hall, and at first, I was hesitant to follow her; my pride would not let me move my foot. But, I found myself dashing after her; I shoved the drunk people in my way and made it outside.
Finding her was easy as I followed her scent to the back of an open field. She sat on the floor and sobbed. I crept towards her slowly, careful not to startle her.
"I said that I am sorry," I said quietly.
"I know." She replied.
"Then why are you crying?"
"I don't know," Iris replied as she burst into tears.
I held her tightly, and she sobbed into my shoulders. "I'm never going to do that again. I'll never yell at you again."
"That's not why I am angry. Is that how our marriage is going to be? You barking orders, and I have to listen, or are you saying I should be scared of you?" She sobbed.
I had no idea what to say. I felt like she was overreacting.
"I don't want a marriage where I am not listened to. I do not want to be miserable like my mother."
I sighed.
"I understand that."
"You do?"
"Yeah. You're scared that you'll become like your parent. I spend every working moment trying not to do things that would remind people of the parts of my father in me. It's creating a tug of war in my head."
Iris dragged her nostrils and cleaned it off with the helm of her dress."You've never told me that."
I shrugged. "All my life, I have hated him for not wanting me. And now I keep wondering if he made the right choice. I probably reeked of so much death that he knew he made a mistake, and I will continue his cycle of mistakes by making mistakes with this position that fell on my laps because my father made a mistake."
Iris laughed softly. "Did you suddenly start to doubt yourself because I was angry with you?"
I chuckled. "Maybe."
"Well, I forgive you," Iris replied.
I laughed softly."Thank you.
"And people fear your power. And if it were given to a weak man, I would be scared as well. But you are a true leader, and you lead with your heart. Your power is yours to determine what to do with." She said.
I wanted to bring her face closer for a kiss, but she turned and looked at the Moon.
"It's time." She said shakily. Her eyes glowed yellow, and her bones began to break. She screamed as her limbs started to transform. Like the others, she could only transform once a month, so she was not used to the pain that followed.
I took a deep breath and began to shift as well. My bones crunched, and my clothes tore off my body. I completed the transformation this time; my back split as I went down and became a full wolf.
Iris was done transforming as well. We both had black fur, but I was three times her side. I howled loudly to the moon, and Iris did so as well. We walked back to the main hall, where the other pack members had transformed.
While in wolf form, we could telepathically communicate. The pack shared one mind. The air blew against my fur as I dashed forward to the forest. In excitement, the rest of the wolves followed suit, sticking their tongues in the air as they ran free.
I ran through the thick forest, jumping over broken tree stumps and feeling the wind in my face. While in wolf form, my senses were super heightened, and I could smell prey nearby. I ran towards the direction my nose led and came to a mountain lion.
I was thrilled by the prospect of the kill. In a killing frenzy, I alerted other members of the pack.
"There is a mountain lion. I'm going for it."
Without warning, I pounced on it and immediately went for it; it managed to shrug me off and tried to make its escape when another wolf cornered it. The lion roared at the wolf, and I growled back at it; I was about to finish the lion myself when the rest of the pack showed up.
They surrounded the mountain lion, giving it no chance to escape. And one by one, they began to bite the lion at the heel and then its back, and then its legs. The lion groaned in pain as the onslaught continued.
Satisfied that the lion was weak, the remaining pack members, as a sign of respect, allowed me to deliver the final blow.
I stalked the lion and sunk my teeth into its neck. It winced as it fell to the ground, and we are its carcass together. The following day, they all changed back to human, and I picked up the iris and took her to my room to rest.