We didn't get far before Harley landed before us on her pegasus's back, then scoffed at us with her hands on her hips.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded, "Why did you knock out my knight, you filthy scoundrel!"
Wolfe crossed his arms and raised his brow at the Princess, "I think kitty cat here should put her claws away, especially after we just helped you." he taunted.
"I never asked for your help!" she yelled, making us wince when it echoed.
I sighed, shaking my head at Wolfe, trying not to laugh when he called her a kitty cat because now I couldn't unsee it, and this was not the best situation to be smiling.
"Wolfe, please behave!" I said to him telepathically, siding him a wave of annoyance, but this just made me look down at me with a smirk.
"Um, hello! I'm talking here!" Harley hissed, stomping her foot like a child
"Umm, Princess? I wanted to ask you if you noticed that we look a lot alike, and I also wanted to ask why you are looking for the diamond pieces."
Harley scoffed again, then looked me up and down, "You think you look like me? Never in a million years! And why are you looking for the pieces of the diamond? I was the one whom the goddess herself sent on this mission."
"I talked to a man named Damien who told me about the mission; he told me to find all the pieces and to help restore the Queen and to save the Kingdom."
"Ha! A lowly wench and her fleabag can't even compare to me, the Princess of this Kingdom! Give up while you can; I will take you down if you get in my way!"
This made Wolfe growl; I could feel that his fuse was getting close to exploding. I need to get him out of here quickly.
So with a sigh, I shook my head at Harley, then said, "One of these days, the way you treat people will come back to bite you in the ass."
I hooked my arm through Wolfe's, thankful he let me guide him away. We only needed him to rip the Princess and an Imperial knight to shreds.
Kyrah flipped Harley the bird and said, "Your welcome bitch!"
The five of us just kept walking with no real thought in mind. I had to check on Wolfe to ensure he wouldn't rush back and remove Gustin's head from his shoulders.
"The full moon is next week," Said Wolfe," It would be best if we waited until after next week to find the lair."
Oh boy, now I will have to worry about Harley and Gustin being on this mountain while Wolfe's alter ego is completely controlled.
The sun was now setting, so we looked around until we found a cave where we decided to make camp for the night. I had fallen asleep at some point, but when I woke up, I knew something wasn't quite right. Wolfe, who had been snuggled up behind me, quickly rose to his feet as he sniffed at the air.
"What is it?" I asked telepathically
"I think it's a Wampus Cat," he replied
"And what the hell is a Wampus Cat?"
"They are level 20 creatures about 10 feet tall when standing on their hind legs. They look similar to a werewolf but like a mountain lion and have no human form. They are knowledgeable, fast, and hard for even me to kill."
Oh, excellent, just what I wanted to hear. I didn't know that there were any beasts that he had trouble with.
There was a low feline growl as something stalked toward us from deep within the cave. The others quickly rose to their feet as the beast moved in close enough that we could now see it from the light of the fire.
The beast looked like an extra fluffy mountain lion mixed with a sabertooth tiger and was as big as a grizzly bear.
I quickly grabbed Scorpius, who was as ready as ever for a fight, and Wolfe promptly shifted into his werewolf. Kingston readied his wand and Grimoire while Kyrah notched an arrow.
The Wampus rose on its hind legs, looming over us with its long teeth and razor-sharp claws that would disembowel us all if we got too close.
"Kingston, if you could throw a sleeping spell at it while Kyrah shoots its eyes to blind it, then Harlow should be able to go in for the kill." Says Wolfe as he thinks up a battle plan.
"What about you?" I asked
"You don't need my help, my sweet. You should use this fight as a warm-up for the dragon." He told me, obviously confident, that I could take on the Wampus without his help.
I nodded, "All right, I got this"
Together the three of us did as Wolfe said, but I made a mistake, and the Wampus's claws sliced through my abdomen. I was lucky it wasn't deep enough to kill me, but I was bleeding badly.
I felt Wolfe's worry through our bond but blocked it out as I clenched my teeth, then swiftly used the whip to slice through the Wapus's neck, spraying blood everywhere as I finally ended its life.
I fell to my knees as the adrenaline rush ran out, wincing from the pain where I was scratched.
Wolfe was at my side, removing my corset to get a better look. "I think you will need stitches," he said, pulling bandages and other medical supplies from his pack.
As Wolfe fixed me up, Kyrah, who had gone deeper into the cave, came out carrying a tiny Wampus cub about the size of a beagle.
"Ah man, now I feel horrible for killing the adult Wampus," I said, holding my arms out for the baby. "She was just trying to keep us away from her baby."
I held the poor baby close, then looked up at Wolfe, who was prepping the needle and thread to sew up my wound.
"No," he growled, not even bothering to look up.
"Please let me keep her, Wolfe; I can't just leave her to die," I said as tears filled my eyes, wincing as he began fixing my wound.
Wolfe let out a deep groan, then ran a hand over his tired face, smearing my blood all over his face.
The little Wampus mewed as I looked down at it feeling like the worst for killing its mom, who was trying to keep her little one safe.
Wolfe looked up at me, then felt guilty at seeing my tears.
Sighing, he said, "Fine, keep the damn thing! But don't expect me to take care of it!"
I smiled through my tears, "Thank you, Wolfe."
My sweet devil wiped away my tears and then kissed my forehead softly. "Your tears are my biggest weakness," he whispers, then begins to wrap long strips of cloth around my waist to keep the wound clean.
Kyrah sat beside me, "So what are you going to name it?" she asked.
"Hmmm, I will name her Cheshire, but I will call her Chess," I said, giving the Wampus a piece of dried meat that she happily gobbled up.
Wolfe just shook his head as he rose to his feet, then started cleaning up all the bloody cloth while grumbling under his breath about how the beast better not chew up his stuff.
Now that I was wounded, we decided it would be best to stay in this cave for the rest of this week and next week when Wolfe would be forced to shift during the full moon.
I didn't particularly appreciate being wounded at all... Not that anyone would, but every time I moved, I would pull on the stitches, and that shit hurt! Then it would start bleeding again; we would have to reclean the wound, then wrap it back up; soon, we would run out of extra cloth to keep me from bleeding.
Wolfe was the other pain in the ass; he was now beating himself up about letting me fight that adult Wampus without his help. I told him over and over again that it wasn't his fault, but there was no changing his mind about this.
Thankfully the week flew by, and today I had to say goodbye to the others as we prepared for Wolfe's alter ego to appear. I was somewhat excited to see him again, to be honest. He wasn't a grumpy, sarcastic asshole all the time like Wolfe was most of the time. He found humor in some of the worst things. I will never forget him calling Harley a kitty cat, even though it was pretty funny...
Now I was cuddled up with Wolfe next to the fire as we waited for the full moon to rise. I decided to ask Wolfe about what happened between him and Gustin.
"Hey, Wolfe?"
"Hmm?" he replied, running his fingers through my hair.
"Umm, if you don't mind me asking...What happened between you and Gustin? You don't have to tell..."
Wolfe cut me off as he began to explain how Gustin betrayed him.
"It was a long time ago; I was still pretty new to the knight's order, but since I was a werewolf, not many of my fellow knights trusted me not to go insane one day and slaughter everyone. But I ended up making a few friends. You have met Gustin, but we also had a young lad named Heath, who was only 18 and looked up to us, and he thought we were excellent.
Gustin had a colossal ego and thought he was the best of the best, and having Heath around fueled his ego even more. One day, Gustin decided he would show Health how strong he was; I followed them to ensure no one got hurt.
So, the three of us travel to the region of fire to find a beast called a Manticore. Manticores are beasts that have the body of a lion, wings like a dragon, the tail of a scorpion, and can also breathe fire."
"Wow?" I interrupted
Wolfe nodded, "Yes, really, now, can I continue?"
"Yes, sorry"
After pressing a kiss to my forehead, he returns to his story.
"Okay, so we traveled to the region of fire and looked around until we found a pride of Manticore. Gustin decides to challenge the leader of the pride, a huge male close to the same size as Smaug. Well, we soon learn Gustin wasn't strong enough to take down the Manticore, so young Heath decides to step in, and before I can stop him, the Manticore reduces him to ashes, ending the poor young man's life.
I went on a rampage and slaughtered the whole pride of Manticore, but Gustin's pride was wounded and wasn't even phased about poor Heath's death. Still, when we returned to the order and explained to our leader what had happened, Gustin told everyone that I was the one who went on a rampage and that I was the one who killed Heath. So, I was kicked out of the order and banned from the capital because Gustin cared more about his pride than owning up to his mistake."
I had no clue what to say after he told me what had happened, and I now understood why he despised Gustin so much. Not only did he get their young friend killed due to his pride, but he also betrayed Wolfe in the worst possible way.
I couldn't help the tears as they fell down my cheeks. My sweet devil wiped away my tears, then cupped my face.
"I didn't tell you so you would cry, my sweet. It pains me to see your tears."
"I love you, Wolfe," I told him as I wrapped my arms around his neck for a hug.
"I love you too, my sweet Harlow," He replied, holding me tight.
A few hours passed, and it was time for Wolfe to shift. Just like last time, Wolfe slipped out of his clothes, then, with a wink, he walked over to the mouth of the cave to bathe in the moon's light.
This time after he transformed, the wolf lifted his head and howled up at the moon, singing the most beautiful song that brought a smile to my lips. When Wolfe finished his music, he turned towards me, wagging his tail with joy as he hurried to my side, nuzzling me with sweet affection.
"Hello, Wolfe; how is my handsome man?" I said, scratching his fuzzy head.
"Mate... Bonded," he says, laying his head in my lap, making me giggle.
"Yes, I did bond with you" I sent him a strong wave of love through our bond, making him smile up at me with a wolfy grin that looked goofy. "Sometimes it's hard for me to believe you are the same man who sighs and growls at everything..."
Wolfe didn't seem to be listening; the big lug curled his large body around mine, then laid his head in my lap and stayed that way for the rest of the night.
The following day when I told Wolfe, I was shocked to see that this man could blush. It was the cutest damn thing! It was funny how shy Wolfe is about his werewolf acting like a puppy who wants his ears and belly scratched.