Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the sight of that half smile and those charming deep green eyes. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand into his outstretched hand, amazed at the contrast between my hand to his.
"So, umm…should we add you to our team contract then?" I asked
Everyone's eyes grew wide with fear, then they quickly shook their heads.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Harlow," Kingston whispers into my ear.
"Why do you say that? Do you not want him to be a part of our team?" I asked, feeling confused and a little sad. I don't want to cause a rift between us over Wolfe, but I also didn't like the idea of being separated from him either...
"Well.." Kingston went to say something, but Wolfe interrupted him, then said, "They don't want to do the ritual with me, and it's for a good reason, Miss Harlow."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that during the ritual, you have to swap blood for the spell to work, but since I am a werewolf, swapping blood with me will turn you into a werewolf."
"Oh! Okay, I'm sorry. I had no clue." I said, looking from Wolfe to Kingston, then back to Wolfe.
Wolfe just shrugged it off, "It's no big deal, but I think it's time we head out. I need to grab my pack, then we need to get out of here before the bandits come looking for us."
A few days passed, and it shouldn't be long now until we reached Rochelle. I was ready to sleep on a soft bed and take a warm bath.
I was thrown from my thoughts when I heard what sounded like the cry of a child.
"Did anyone else hear that?" I asked, scanning the trees.
"Was that a child?" asked Kyrah
The sound came again, and without a second thought, I hurried towards the sound of the crying child.
I soon found a young boy who looked to be about 8 years old. He was filthy and looked like he hadn't eaten in days.
I stepped towards the boy, but a large familiar arm wrapped around my waist.
"Wolfe! What are you doing! We need to help him!" I yelled, trying to kick him as he lifted me from my feet.
"That boy isn't human, Miss Harlow," Wolfe warned, not even phased by my kicking and hitting, "It would have attacked you as soon as you got close enough."
"What do you mean? He looks perfectly human to me. Please let me go!"
With a sigh, he lowered me to the ground, then released me from his hold. "Well, go see for yourself then; you don't trust what I say." He said with a shrug, then made a shooing motion that really pissed me off.
I clenched my fists, really wanting to punch him in his handsome face, then turned back towards the young boy sitting under a tree with his arms wrapped around his knees, looking sad and miserable.
Ugh, I wanted to trust Wolfe. I really did... But I just couldn't leave a little boy out here all alone... And even if he wasn't human, I didn't really care; neither Wolf nor Kyrah were human, which didn't bother me.
I took a deep breath, then walked over to the little boy.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The little boy stopped weeping, then looked up at me. I was shocked to see that he had dark purple eyes that were slit like a cat's or maybe a reptile's? The cat boy back in Eria had slit eyes too, but other than his eyes, this boy looked utterly human...
"Are you here to save me?" asked the young boy.
"What happened to you? Did you get lost?" I asked, crouching down to his level.
The young boy smiled, then, before my eyes, the boy's features began to change. I gasped, falling backward in shock at the creature before me.
Where the young boy had been sitting was now something that looked like a demon cat that was the size of an 8-year-old, with large bulging purple eyes, and had a creepy wide smile with razor-sharp teeth. The demon cat was also completely hairless and had purple tiger stripes covering its body.
"Tisk-tisk, little beastmaster, you should have listened to the werewolf." the demon cat taunted as it moved in closer.
I heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind me and was happy to hear a familiar growl as Wolfe stepped up behind me. The sound of scraping metal echoed as he drew his sword, then with a quick swing of the broadsword, the demon cat's head detached from its body, falling to the ground with a thud.
"I warned you,'' Wolfe growled as he resheathed his sword, "But you just wouldn't listen. '' With a sigh, he helped me to my feet, then turned me around to cup my face in his hands. "Next time, please listen to me."
"I'm sorry for not believing you, Wolfe; I just.."
"Shh, it's okay. I understand." he said, wiping away my tears, "Copycats are level 10 beasts for a reason, so don't beat yourself up about it. I'm just glad that I was with you when you saw one for the first time."
There was a sound of footsteps moving closer. With a sigh, Wolfe pulled away as the others appeared through the trees.
"Are you okay?" asked Kyrah as she hugged me.
I nodded, "Yes, I'm okay." I told her, then looked back at Wolfe, who motioned towards the life orb that was left by the Copycat.
"You can have it; you need it more than I do."
After absorbing the life energy, I went from level 6 to level 8. The rush from a high-level orb was terrific!
"We need to get moving." Says Wolfe, "It will be dark soon, so let's look for a place to camp for the night."
That night, I sat down next to Wolfe, who was busy scanning the trees for any signs of danger.
"Thank you for saving me today, and I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you when you tried to warn me," I said, nervously picking at the grass.
Wolfe just shrugged, then wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me closer.
"You already apologized," He replied, running his fingers through my nasty hair.
"Why are you so sweet towards me? And possessive too, I don't understand" I looked up at his face, which was illuminated by the light of the fire.
Wolfe sighed deeply, then rubbed his hands over his face, obviously conflicted about something.
"You don't have to say…." My words were cut off when he began to talk.
"When real wolves find a female they want to mate with, she is the only mate he will have for the rest of his life. If his female died, he would never mate with another." He said, looking into my eyes, then lifted his hand to caress my cheek. "For werewolves, it's even worse. When they find a female that they like, they become possessive and protective… and it seems like my inner wolf has found the female he wants."
I was utterly dumbfounded by what he had just said, and I had no clue on what to say.
"You don't have to say anything right now; we can just take it slow for now. I know you are new to this world and have an important mission to save the queen. Just know that you are stuck with me, and I will do everything I can to keep you safe."
I still couldn't believe what he had just said, but I was happy that he seemed to feel the same way about me as I felt about him. I have always found myself thinking about him since the day I first saw him in Aadi. So, I smiled up at him and then said, "I would like that."
Wolfe did that sexy half smile, then leaned down to kiss my forehead sweetly. It was amazing how such a giant scary-looking man could be so gentle and sweet. I had no clue what I was getting myself into, but there is no going back now.
A few days passed, and we finally made it to the city of Rochelle, which was at the base of Mount Dead Dragon's Carcass. After checking in to the local inn called The Snoring Dragon, we all ordered wooden tubs and hot water to be brought to our rooms for a must needed bath.
I started up the steps towards my room, feeling a little anxious about Wolfe, who would not, under any circumstance, let me have a space to myself. Don't get me wrong, I was secretly thrilled to share a room with him, but I wanted just one night to enjoy my hot bath.
With a sigh, I head toward room number 5. After opening the door, I was so happy to see the bed that I felt like I could cry, but I wasn't going anywhere near it until I had a very long hot bath.
"So, why are you desperate to share a room with me again?" I asked Wolfe as I stepped into the room, then sat on one of the wooden chairs.
Wolfe stepped into the room, then closed the door behind him before pulling out the other wooden chair, but before he took a seat, he inspected the whole chair before he finally sat down. The bulk of his size made the chair creak, making Wolfe tense, just waiting for the chair to crumble under his weight.
I tried so hard not to laugh that I ended up snorting...I just wanted to crawl into a deep hole and never come out. But it was worth it when Wolfe's handsome face lit up with a smile.
Ugh, it was not fair at all... Damn handsome devil...
There was a knock at the door; when Wolfe opened it, it was the people with the wooden tub and hot water so I could bathe.
"Oh, thank god, I can't wait to bathe properly!"
After my ordeal with the Kaapa, I refused to get close to any bodies of water that wasn't a bathtub; no more ugly turtles or creepy horses for me. Nope, that incident caused me to be terrified of water; just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies.
After filling the tub, I turned to Wolfe, who tried to stand his ground by crossing his arms and puffing his chest, but I wasn't ready for him to see me naked, so I pointed towards the door.
"Please, at least give me an hour to bathe; that's all I ask." I tried my best to give him the pitiful puppy dog look; I knew I had succeeded when he let out a deep sigh,
"Fine." he growled through clenched teeth," Just one hour, though, and nothing more."
I nodded, "Of course, and if you're up to it, could you buy me some new clothes? I think these need to be burned.." The clothes I had gotten from when I first came out of the "womb" were ready to be thrown away.
Wolfe looked me up and down, scratching at his chin while deep in thought, then nodded. "All right, I think I can manage that." He said, then walked over to where I sat on the chair. "I will be back soon; enjoy your bath." After kissing my forehead sweetly, he turned and left the room.
I was exactly an hour later when Wolfe barged into the room, scaring me half to death. "All right, you had your hour," he growled, tossing a pile of new clothing onto the bed. "Get out of the bath now and get dressed; the Innkeeper will be here shortly with the food I ordered."
Wolfe grabbed the towel and held it open for me, like he was expecting me to stand up and reveal myself so quickly. "I can do that myself!" I said through clenched teeth.
"Just get out of the damn tub already." He growled, shaking the towel.
"At least close your eyes," I said with a sigh. This man could be a pain in the ass!
With a sigh, he closed his eyes, "They are closed, now, please get out of the damn tub."
With a frustrated sigh, I reluctantly rose to my feet and stepped out of the tub and into the waiting towel.
After getting dressed in the new clothes that Wolfe bought me, I was shocked at how well he could choose an outfit that seemed to fit me well. The outfit was a simple white tunic with a brown leather corset paired with brown leather pants and black knee-high leather boots that brought it all together.
"So, how do I look?" I asked Wolfe as I finished twisting my hair into a braid.
"It suits you," He says, looking me up and down, "Now come eat; the food is getting cold."
After a night of much-needed sleep, we met downstairs to discuss what to do next.
"There isn't much in this little town," says Wolfe, "After resting for a few days and restocking our packs, we should continue towards the next town."
Kingston nodded, "I think that sounds good; now that we are closer to higher-leveled beasts, we need to work on leveling up as much as possible. The journey will get harder as we make our way up the mountain, and it doesn't help that winter is closing in."
"I never did ask, what level are you at, Wolfe?" I asked, taking a bite of the beef stew I ordered; it was delicious!
Wolfe raised his brow, then with a smirk, he tapped the middle of his forehead, revealing his information screen.
I gasped when I saw he was a level 100 werewolf knight with a lot of money.
"No wonder you can fight so well; I'm glad to have you on our team," I said with a smile.
The handsome devil just gave me a wink, then closed his screen. "Don't worry, my sweet Harlow; nothing will happen to you as long as you never leave my side."
"Really? Do you have to flirt right now?" Complained Kingston, "We need to focus on the next step of the mission!"
After four days of resting and restocking supplies, the five of us left the small town of Rochelle and continued on our journey to save the evil queen.