The true blood moaned as he came to his senses after two long days of enduring his rut. Jae opened his dark eyes to see the sun rising between the trees. 'Hyuk, where are we?' The prince let out a groan as he sat up and ruffled his disheveled hair.
'Somewhere where no one will find us.' The wolf's voice was exhausted as he answered his human partner.
'Lovely. We gotta get back. Fachan will go into a rage if I don't show up to the weekly council.'
'Good luck finding your way back. I am tapping out. My job here is done.' Hyuk bid Jae goodbye as he retreated to the true blood's subconscious.
'Thanks, Hyuk. Get some rest.' Jae let out a breath as he stood to his feet and observed his surroundings. The trees were incredibly dense, and the true blood had been lying in a small clearing barely wide enough for his giant wolf form. The true blood felt the residual effects of the rut wear off as he began trudging through the forest.
The sun was high in the sky by the time the prince stumbled upon a path that wound through the trees. The dirt appeared well-trodden, indicating it was a path frequently used and would lead to a cluster of society. The true blood wet his parched lips as he began following the path beneath the hot sun. Jae swallowed dryly and realized he had not had anything to drink for the past two and a half days; he was parched.
The true blood ignored his desert of a throat and continued following the path. Sweat soon covered the prince as he had been walking for several hours. The sound of wheels turning caught the true blood's attention as he rounded a bend in the road. Jae looked ahead of him to see a lone merchant walking alongside a donkey that was pulling his cart.
"Excuse me," Jae said as he politely stopped the merchant. "Can you tell me where this road leads to?" The true blood inquired as he motioned toward the portion of the path behind the man.
"Ah, that way goes to the capitol," the man replied as he turned to look behind him. "Are ya lost, son?" The merchant asked as he saw the prince's rugged appearance.
"I was until you helped. Thank you," the prince bowed in gratitude to the elderly man, much to the merchant's surprise.
"Ya seem parched. Here, have a drink." The man was quick to walk around to the front of the cart and retrieve a waterskin.
"Oh, I couldn't," Jae declined politely as he knew that was the man's only source of water for his trip.
"I insist," the man said as he handed the prince the waterskin. "I am nearly home, and if ya are headin' to the capitol, ya got quite a ways."
The man did not retract his outstretched hand, so the prince thanked the merchant once more before gratefully accepting the waterskin and taking a small drink. "Did ya get enough?" The man inquired as the prince returned the skin.
"Yes, thank you," Jae answered as he savored the small bit of water and let the liquid work its magic on his parched throat.
The man nodded and said, "Okay, well, have a safe journey. Don't die before ya get there."
"I will keep that in mind. I appreciate your help." The two bowed to each other in goodbye before continuing in their separate ways. The squeaking of the wheels slowly faded as the two grew apart in distance, leaving the prince alone once again.
The true blood walked along the dirt path for two more hours before the hurried padding of hooves on the dirt reached his ears as the sun began its descent in the sky. Jae looked to see a steed galloping toward him at a high speed and prepared to jump out of the way when he caught the rider's scent.
"Oi! Yejin! Slow down, would you?!" The true blood called out as the vorst neared him. "Do you want to kill someone?"
The alpha's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he saw the man he had been looking for the past two days. Yejin pulled on his steed's reins and drastically slowed the vorst to a slow trot as he rode up to the prince. "Where have you been?!" The alpha asked of his prince as he dismounted and walked up to the true blood.
Jae reached his hand up and scratched the back of his head as he said, "About that...erm...my rut came early."
"Jeezus," Yejin exclaimed as he shook his head. "So, you just took off without telling me?! Do you know how worried I have been?!"
Jae backed up a step as he saw the alpha's face reddening. "Why do you sound like my mother?" Shivers ran down the prince at the alpha's cheesy affection. "Heyyy, is that how you talk to your prince?" Jae said as he regained his composure and placed his hands on his hips.
"My apologies," Yejin said before returning right back to his rant. "But do you know how concerned everyone has been?! Estan and Syri have been worried sick!"
"S-S-Syri was worried?" Jae asked as he heard the alpha's words.
Yejin let out a huff as he deadpanned at the prince. "Of course he was. What do you think he is, a stone?" The alpha let out a breath as he added, "You better hurry your ass up and go apologize to the zeta for suddenly disappearing on him."
Jae realized his action of leaving Syri while still in his heat seemed quite cold-hearted, so he agreed with the alpha. "You're right. I should go apologize."
"You can ride Tryst. You seem exhausted. I'm sure sweating out a rut is rough," Yejin said as he handed the reins to the prince. "I'll run beside you."
Jae accepted the reins from the alpha as Yejin shifted into his wolf form and began racing down the road.