Chapter nine

Edric

 

She laughed.

It wasn’t because what I said was funny. It was because she was doomed. Hence, the laughter of doom.

“What was it?” she shook her head, her breath becoming even more aggravated. I could feel an explosion coming.

“I helped your father prevent decades worth of famine. That’s not something you can particularly quantify, no?”

She shook her head. “I’m doomed.”

“Yes.”

We stared at each other for a while, none of us knowing what to say to the other. I haven’t been with other people enough to know what to say to start small talk.

‘What’s your name?’ Bane offered.

‘Diana,’ I told him.

‘Oh.’

We knew her name.

“You’ll get used to it,” I told her. “life here. It’s not the worst.”

“I don’t want to get used to it,” her voice was silent, but the words were unmistakable.

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t want to get used to it,” she clarified.

“Well, I don’t care,” I grunted. “You’re here now. Do something…I dunno…mop grass or scrub trees. But you’re here.”

“I’m tired of all the work.”

Ha. Spoken like a true princess.

“How much work have you done so far?” I chuckled dryly. “You’ve only been here for a day.”

“I’ll die if I continue like this.”

“Likely so, yes…but…you’re mine. You’re paying your father’s debt.”

“Why can’t you just let me go?” her shoulders squared and her face tightened – the first instance of blatant defiance. “There are maids in my father’s house that would work twice as hard in a day, as I would ever do in a week.”

“Doesn’t seem like a fitting payment for such a healthy favor.” I shrugged.

“Ten maids? Twenty? Surely, they’d be more efficient than I would ever be.”

I stood up and moved to her, closing the gap between us in seconds. Her eyes widened, and her amber eyes trembled, but she stayed put.

Her courage was astounding.

“I don’t want a maid,” I told her, reaching out and stroking rogue strands of hair out of her face. “I want you.”

She exhaled, and I felt her warm breath on my lips.

It tempted me. I really did want her, but she could never believe why. Even I didn’t want to believe it.

“What for?” she gasped.

“We shall see.” I hummed and moved closer. She still didn’t move. She let out another exhale, and this time, I could almost taste the breath…the young, innocent seduction almost let me out of a cage I had put myself in.

I could feel a tension underneath my pants, and I had to close my eyes to make sure it didn’t get out.

I had to take a step back as well because if I felt her again, I would have been inclined to taste her.

I didn’t want to do that.

At least, not yet.

“You have somewhere to be.” I looked away and put back my stoic face, hoping she didn’t see me waver.

She couldn’t possibly pick up on cues like that, though.

She was too innocent for it.

Before I looked back, she was gone, and I heaved a sigh of relief before looking down at my swollen pants.

With any luck, she didn’t notice that as well.

“I’m going to regret this,” I huffed and put my hands on my head.

‘Yes,’ Bane agreed. ‘But I won’t.’

“You never do.”

After a few musings, I decided to go for a little stretch.

She gave me the opportunity to see daylight after weeks of being locked up in my room, pouring myself into various literature and physics equations.

Now that I had seen the light, I craved it.

The sun felt good. Sometimes, it was tiring. Other times, it was infuriating. It mocked me for the 180,000 times that I had seen it, wishing I never did.

Yesterday, though, it welcomed me…and I longed to see it again.

I changed into more comfortable clothing, a loose shirt, and pants, and opened my room window – my preferred exit and entrance.

Then, I hopped out.

The sun kissed my face, and Bane wagged his tail happily, and after a few minutes of basking, myself, I let Bane out, allowing him to take control of my body.

My bones broke, dislocated, and realigned and fur sprouted out of every orifice and pore until I was a fully transformed, adult werewolf.

The process looked and sounded painful, and to some extent, it might even have been, But it was the daily life of the werewolf, so the pain was welcomed. Sweet, even.

With Bane in the forefront, and in full control, he bolted into the forest, his tongue out and his golden eyes glimmering in excitement. We ran for a while until even I didn’t know where we were. But Bane did.

It was a waterfall.

‘Uh, buddy…I don’t think...”

He didn’t listen to me. With a howl, he took the running start and leaped off the cliff into the water below.

He missed the sun, and so did I. But every day I spent under it, was just another day for me to wish it was my last.

And to be heartbroken the next day, when I woke up, discovering that my wish didn’t come true.

Stupid witch.

Bane’s happy thoughts clouded my sad, depressed thoughts, though, and soon enough, he spotted a small gazelle that he could give chase to.

‘Easy…’ I chided him as we crept closer.

For him to focus more, I needed to focus. That was the beauty of the werewolf. Both of us helped each other…in both forms.

‘I’ll go on your mark,’ Bane told me and continued creeping, while I was watching the gazelle intensely.

Every micro-expression didn’t get lost on me, and as soon as its eyelids even twitched, I gave the command.

‘Go!’

Bane leaped after the gazelle, and the poor animal stood no chance. It took a lot of strides, but virtually no animal on earth could outsmart the werewolf.

Maybe the cheetah, because it was incredulously fast, but no one else.

‘Haha! First try!’ Bane boasted as he clamped down on the animal’s neck.

‘Yeah…don’t get too full of yourself,’ I huffed. ‘And save some for dinner later. Enough for three.’

‘Aye.’