Chapter 3: Morgan

It had been a week since she’d been trapped in the castle.  She looked around at the stone and tapestry covered walls.  The same walls she’d seen every day since being brought to this dreadful castle.  How did they do it?  How did they live day after day in this boring place with their boring routines?  She walked to the balcony grateful Philip had left it open for her.  She missed the breeze whistling through the trees of the forest.  She missed the hunt, though she couldn’t entirely complain about having a full stomach every day.  She even missed hiding from the wolf packs and the sense of adventure and slight danger.

The latch on the door to the chamber rattled, then the door opened. She spun her head to see a maid sneaking in to clean.  She must have been new because she didn’t close the door behind her like the others had.  While the maid set to work making the bed, the white wolf slunk across the room by the wall and out the door.

The hall was empty outside the room, but soft voices came from somewhere, bouncing off the walls around her.  With so many reverberations, it was hard to tell from which direction they came.

Glad to be out of the dark room, she pattered down the hallway in an unknown direction to see if she could find a way out of the castle.  She passed one room where a maid was cleaning the fireplace.  Past another room where two manservants talked in a joining hallway.  She quickly slunk past the adjoining hall to continue down the one she’d been trotting.  The hall turned and led to a ‘T’.  She sniffed the air.  It smelled fresher to her left, so she turned.  The hall lightened up toward the end and the scent of fresh air grew stronger making her heart leap at the thought of freedom.  One more bend in the hallway revealed an opening to a gallery with a staircase to a floor below.  She sped up her trot, now unable to control the excitement at freedom so close. But voices in the last room off the hall up ahead stopped her, cold.

They were the voices of men.  Both voices she’d heard before on the night she was brought into the castle.  Both were a deep baritone that carried without much effort, but one was gruffer than the other.

“Why do you wait, Morgan?” Questioned King Aaron, “Do you not like her?”

“Like, isn’t the issue here, Father.” Answered Morgan, “I simply don’t see a need to rush into this decision.

“What decision?  The marriage has already been decided.  A courtship beyond a year is unheard of with arranged marriages.  You should have been married months ago.  I should have a grandson in my arms by now!”

“A grandson is not guaranteed, Father.  And I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry to pass on your throne.”

“I’m not.  But I would like to know it is secure before I die.”

She wasn’t sure why, but the conversation intrigued her.  She slunk closer to the door and lay down outside it.  Here in the light, the stone walls nearly matched the color of her fur being only a few shades off, so she was pretty certain no one would notice her if she was still enough.  Unlike other wolves, she was able to see in color, so the subtle changes in hues were not difficult to identify. She learned this while hunting. She was able to see prey other wolves could not.

“I’m just not certain, Father.” Stated Morgan.

“Certain about what?  Evangeline’s father and I have already made the arrangement.  You have nothing to consider!  Just marry the girl!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“There is something about her that unsettles me.”

“It’s just being a woman.  That’s what they’re good at.  Live with her long enough and you’ll get used to it.  I felt the same about your mother when newlywed.  It goes away.”

“No.  Not that.  Something isn’t right and until I know what it is, I cannot marry her.”

At this, Aaron let out a frustrated cry that raised the fur on her entire body.  The conversation was going nowhere and really didn’t concern her, but she could agree that Morgan was right.  Evangeline was no good if he wanted a loyal wife.  She stood and dashed to the gallery.

Her countenance sank when she reached the banister.  Below her was a small crowd of bustling people enjoying conversation after what must have been breakfast.  Among them was Prince Philip and a handful of young women and other men dressed for riding.  By the looks of it, they weren’t leaving any time soon.  She moved closer to the wall and stalked along the gallery hoping to find an escape somewhere.  At the end of the gallery, she found a short hall that led to a balcony.  If it weren’t for the balconies everywhere, she’d go crazy.  She walked out onto it and hopped up on a little stone bench to see over the stone banister.  This balcony overlooked the gardens. If it wasn’t so far down, she would jump.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”  Standing beside her was Philip.  “I don’t know how you got out of my chamber, but you’re lucky my father didn’t find you, or you’d be soup.”  He patted his thigh, “Well, let’s go.  You can’t change your bandages by yourself, now, can you?” 

She knew he was right and hopped off the bench, just realizing how itchy the bandages were making her.  She was glad he remembered that at least.  He had forgotten to feed her, though, and her stomach rumbled in protest. While she’d appreciated being fed every day, she knew she was getting too used to it, which would hurt her when she finally returned home.

They wandered the maze of hallways until they found his room.  He pushed the door open and waved for her to go in ahead of him.  Reluctantly, she walked past.  The room smelled strange, offering hints of stale body odor.  She noticed that the bed had been recently lain in and the fire was dying.

Philip walked past her and grabbed a small pile of fabric strips on a table by the fireplace and lifted them.  As he walked over to her, a knock sounded on the hall door of his room.  Philip furrowed his brow and set the pile of fabric down on his way to the door.

“Who on Earth?” When he opened it, a waft of rose oil flooded the chamber making the she-wolf’s nose cringe.  “What are you doing here?” Philip whispered. 

The stranger pushed past him and gently nudged the door with her elbow causing it to close a bit behind her.  Evangeline.  Didn’t she get enough of him last night?

“I missed you.” She said in one of her little coo’s.

“You’re risking a lot by sneaking to this side of the house, you know. The hunting party is here.”  His hands rose to rest on the woman’s curvy hips.  The wolf could already smell his arousal and turned her back to the couple to walk toward the balcony.  Maybe she could avoid witnessing what was about to happen, this time.

“Everyone is outside. They’re getting the hounds.”  She heard the woman coo again behind her. 

The door to the balcony was closed and the smell of rose oil was becoming unbearable.  With uncontrollable force, the wolf sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed again. 

“What is she doing here!”  Evangeline exclaimed.

“She lives here, have you forgotten?”

“Oh, Philip, please put her out?”

“No!  Are you insane?”  He shot a look of pity in the wolf’s direction, “Someone would kill her.”

“But Philip, what if she thinks you’re hers and attacks us while we…”

“Don’t be silly.  She wants to go home.”

You have no idea.

“If she does, I’m not going to try and save you.”

“She won’t.  Now, come closer before I have reason to be cross.” 

Evangeline moaned as Philip slid his hands under her skirts. The wolf retreated to the fireplace with her back to the show.  Every muscle in her body tensed as she listed to their mumbling and groaning.  In agony, she stood and turned around trying to cover her ears with her paws when she noticed the door.  Evangeline had pushed it, but it never fully shut, and Philip had neglected to lock it.  With great relief, she slunk across the room to the door and out to the fresher air of the hall. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with everything not rose scented.

She eventually found her way to the familiar balcony overlooking the gardens and hopped onto the stone bench.  Resting her chin on the stone banister of the balcony she inhaled the pleasant aromas of herbs and blooming flowers before closing her eyes. The hunting party had left Philip behind, so there was no human chatter, leaving the garden open to enjoy the sounds of birds chirping their afternoon songs.

Her ears twitched as the sound of light footsteps grew closer.  They didn’t pass by but stopped abruptly directly behind her. Alarm filled her like the crackle of a lightning bolt and her head swung to look a pair dark green eyes belonging the older prince.  She stared back, too tired to be anxious in his presence.  Morgan didn’t seem to hold the animosity toward her that he did before and she wondered where it had gone.  This time his eyes held a softness that caused her to wonder what this next encounter with him would hold.  On closer observation, Morgan donned a nightrobe that had a thicker collar. It was then she realized that she’d slept on this bench the entire day. He held no weapon, either so he wasn’t there to kill her. Perhaps he was looking for Evangeline.

“Why don’t you run, wolf?”  His deep voice cracked a bit. 

He must be tired, too. 

“Is the free food too enticing?” 

Her stomach grumbled again at the reminder she’d nothing to eat all day.  In the wild, this wouldn’t have bothered her, but after a week of solid meals, her stomach had been spoiled.  She turned her head and rested her chin on the balcony again.  Morgan stepped closer bringing with him a lingering smell of pine that reminded her of the forest. She inhaled it deeply. He must have gone out with the riding party earlier in the day. As he got closer she closed her eyes and inhaled cedar, moss, dust. She let herself dwell in the familiar smells.  His footsteps were right next to her now. She opened an eye and glanced sideways at him.  He took the hint and stopped moving forward.

“I’ve been wondering why a wolf would save a human.”  He continued to look her over, sighed heavily and moved his attention to the stars.  “Do wolves have motives like humans? Such as, what motive could Evangeline’s family have for a marriage with me?”

At this, she lifted her head and turned to him. 

Evangeline is in your brother’s bedroom right now, Morgan.  Maybe I should show you what she’s up to and settle the issue. 

She took a long, hard look at the strain on his face and decided against it.  Why, she couldn’t say.  It wasn’t as if he’d been kind to her, but for some reason, she didn’t want to hurt him.

“I can’t believe I’m talking to a wolf.  As if you can understand anything I’m saying.”  To this, she let out a quick snort and put her chin down again on the banister causing him to laugh.  The sound was pleasant to her ears and caused her body to relax.  “What are you doing out here anyway?” 

If you only knew, she thought with a flick of her tail. 

“Are you locked out?”

Something like that. She flicked her tail again.

“Well, if you promise not to eat me in my sleep, you are welcome to follow. Philip is probably dead a sleep right now and not even a war can wake him up in that state.” 

She lifted her head and tilted it at him.  “And don’t tell Evangeline, she wouldn’t like it.”

She’s doing a whole lot right now that you wouldn’t like.  The she-wolf wagged her white, bushy tail a couple times to acknowledge his words and hopped down from the bench to follow him. 

“Hmph.” He furrowed his brow and turned to lead the way. “I know you can’t understand me.” He said more to himself than to her.

His bedroom was down a separate hallway than Philip’s and quite a bit larger than with a larger bed and grander fireplace.  Unlike Philip’s, Morgan’s fire was burning strong, making the room glow and shadows dance along the walls.  His bed had tall pillars and blue curtains draped around it making it look inviting and safe.  His room had a separate door leading to a changing room and wash tub.  The curtains to his balcony were open so the stars sparkled through the windows, but the door was closed to keep the heat in.  It was cozy and the whole room smelled like pine and woods.  She immediately felt like she was home.  Satisfied, she made her way over to a soft bearskin rug next to the fireplace and plopped down for sleep, though she didn’t quite understand how she could still be tired. The constant rest must have gotten to her.

“Hoo-old on.” Morgan interrupted, “Philip didn’t change your bandages, did he?  They’re filthy.”  She only moved her eyes to look at him, “Will you let me?” 

He slowly walked over to her, and she sat up while he knelt in front of her. He may have been offering to change her bandages, or this could be some plan of his to eliminate her now that she was used to being fed by humans. She flipped her ears back and showed him the whites of her eyes, bringing the corners of her mouth closer to her nose in a pointed warning. 

“I promise I’ll be gentle.” He spoke softly but the adrenaline was already surging through her and she could smell it on him, too.   

She fought to reason with her wolf instincts. She should try to trust this man to change simple bandages. If he wasn’t gentle, she could always bite him. Her eyes turned green against her will, and Morgan became fixated on the flecks of green mixed with flecks of gold that began appearing in her irises. 

“Amazing,” he whispered, and the sound of his voice distracted her for a moment while he snuck a hand to her chest. 

Soon, his fingers were playing with her rough, white fur until they found their way deep enough to scratch her skin and then move in circles to massage the sore muscles underneath.  Her wolf instincts continued to try to fight what was happening, but the human in her knew they needed the bandages off…. and his hands felt so nice against her skin. The pressure of his fingertips moving in slow circles began releasing the tension in her rigid body that no amount of stretching could.  Suddenly she felt a quick release of the bandages around her and the fabric fell to the floor around her paws – sneaky human!

“You’re almost all healed up, now.” He said, “You must be anxious to get home.  It won’t be long now.”

The news should have been music to her ears but the way he was making her feel at that moment dampened her enthusiasm.  If she could just stay here and have him keep touching her like this, she might be content. Her body continued to relax as he moved his massaging hand from her chest to rub where the bandages had been flattening her fur.  She hadn’t realized how much that area itched until he began rubbing there.  Involuntarily she leaned into the strength of his hands and closed her eyes. 

“See, I’m not so bad am I.”  His deep voice spoken in such a soft tone warmed her against her will.

See, neither am I, the thought came out but part of her wondered why it mattered.  Why should she care what he thought?  He stopped rubbing and stood and as he did, his robe fell open slightly, revealing a fully muscled chest beneath.  Had she been human, she’d have been attracted to it.  Being wolf… she might still be.  She shook the thoughts from her mind and watched him walk over to his armoire and pull out a tunic.  From under his bed, he pulled out a knife and began to shred the tunic into long strips.

“This should be the last bandage change for you.  Then you can go home.” 

He walked slowly toward her again and knelt down on the rug next to her, careful to keep his body language open and non-threatening.  She was impressed with his knowledge and his efforts to help her be at ease while he invaded her space.  He re-wrapped her wounds and tied them at her shoulder blades. 

“There, now.  Not so bad.” 

He rubbed her chest again with his fingertips and she resists the urge to close her eyes, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of having that kind of control over her, and yet she hoped he wouldn’t stop. 

“Even if Philip doesn’t want to let you go, I’ll make sure you get to go home.” 

With that, he quickly stood and causing her to lose balance for a moment as he pulled his hand away.  She watched him move to the bowl of water by the door and rinse his hands before removing the heavy robe from around his body.  She took note that it wasn’t just his chest underneath that robe that was worthy of gawking, but his entire body was covered in muscle.  His back looked carved from stone, edgy and chiseled.  The muscles continued through his neck and down to lovely lines shaping his hips and disappearing into his trousers. She couldn’t remember ever having seen a prince like this. Only generals and knights. In the wolf world, he would have been a well sought-after mate. As he pulled back the covers of his large bed, his biceps flexed making drool pool into her mouth. She licked her lips and forced her eyes away from Morgan and curled up on the bearskin rug. She reminded herself that she wasn’t human, and he wasn’t wolf. 

She was cursed and would forever be alone.