5. The Mystery
CHAPTER 5
The Mystery
ALIA
I snuck through the passageways, blades in hand. My eyes adjusted to the dark; a glow was coming from around a corner that wasn’t sunlight. Flickering lamplight preceded voices. They came around the corner, and I paused.
Hood worked alone.
Great. Whoever this was, it wasn’t my target.
They stalked forward, silent, but not quite werewolf silent.
“You certain about this? They took it here?”
“Of course I’m sure. The tracking spell led us here, didn’t it?”
“Quiet,” hissed another.
I froze. That voice was familiar. I dropped to a crouch and stuck my nose around my little niche in the side of the cavern to look. He was wearing a long cloak which concealed well in the woods since it was a deep green mottled with gray and brown. It was a cloak I’d know anywhere because I wore one now. He was a Red. But I couldn’t determine which one, only that the voice was familiar.
They were going down the wrong passageway. Eventually, they would have to branch back. That’s the thing about tracking spells: they lead you to the target, but they couldn’t tell you the best path to take. And if the target was in a maze, it could only tell you what direction the target was in, not guide you through the maze itself.
We were in a maze of tunnels that I knew like the back of Ran’s head. I’d prepared this place for weeks. But now, the wrong enemy had sprung my trap.
I quickly retraced my steps, going back to where the werewolf was snoring and the puppy was jumping and growling in his sleep. The pup had crawled even closer to the intimidating werewolf, his cute little nose resting on the werewolf’s chest. It was adorable. If only it wasn’t a werewolf who would’ve killed me in a heartbeat, I might have been able to appreciate the cuteness.
I changed from my Red cloak and cowl, quickly putting it in Ran’s saddlebag. I donned a normal green cloak, adjusting it and using it to cover my brown hair. Then I rolled the werewolf to Ran.
Am I to be the pack mule of a stinking mutt again? she asked, drawing up her neck into an imperious arch.
“How dare I, I know. I’ll pay later, but we need to get him out. Now,” I hissed, looking back up the tunnel.
She clacked her teeth and pinned her ears, but laid down, allowing me to laboriously get the werewolf on her back. I put the puppy in one of her saddlebags. He didn’t even twitch, he was just a little floppy weight in my arms. I gave him a quick kiss on his forehead before settling him in there with a blanket.
Ran grabbed my arm, her teeth gentle despite the flash in her eyes. “I know. You could dismember me in a moment. No need to remind me, you big hunk of muscle and killing intent,” I said, kissing her soft, feathery nose.
She grumbled but released me, standing with the grace of an elephant. That was one thing she was not quite good at.
She turned and glared at me. Were it any other situation, I’d have laughed and goaded her to attack. But right then, we needed to get out of there.
Ran clopped out as I made my way behind her, keeping an ear out for the strangers behind us.
We reached the exit and stepped into sunshine. I glanced around, careful to watch for any movement.
I was about to mount when a snapping twig drew my attention. I spun, knives in front, just in time to see a man with buck teeth and arms of corded steel step out from beside the gaping entrance with a crossbow. He grinned, hacking up phlegm as his fingers tightened on the trigger.
He was too close. It happened quickly. One moment, I was staring down death by crossbow. The next, I was enfolded in warmth with the scent of rain and knife oil mixed with lemons surrounding me.
A grunt and then my eyes cleared and I realized I was on the ground, laying on a… man? I glanced up, meeting deep brown eyes twisted in a slight grimace. Those eyes caught the sun sprinkling through the swaying boughs overhead. The sunlight made them gleam with an inner light, showing hints of gold and amber.
His breath teased the baby hairs on the top of my forehead. I realized my hands were splayed on his chest, and I felt his heart hammering beneath them. I was straddling the freakin’ werewolf I’d kidnapped. And he hadn’t snapped my neck. I shoved upright, spinning around and trying not to blush and wondering how the heck I was still alive.
But I wasn’t about to risk death again.
The guy who tried to shoot me was working to reload the crossbow, but he was too slow. His eyes grew wide as I stalked him, twirling my blades and flashing white teeth from beneath my green hood.
The need of his alcohol poisoned liver brushed over my soul before I kicked his chest.
He stumbled back, staring me down with a sneer and swinging the crossbow like a mace. But the thing with crossbows is that they’re extremely end-heavy. I merely stepped back and watched as the weighty end carried him in a complete circle that even his heavy frame couldn’t stop. I grinned when he stumbled.
I kicked his knee, bringing him down to eye level, and clocked him in the temple with the hilt of my blade. He went down face-first with a crunch I hoped meant he broke his nose on impact.
I glanced back at the black-haired werewolf who was getting up and dusting himself off.
“I had it handled,” I said, my voice sharper than intended.
He met my eyes, a tiny grin turning the corner of his lips. “Sure you did, princess.”
I clenched my teeth. “Sure thing, mutt.”
“Are we in an insult war?”
“Better a war of wits than of blood.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough, princess.”
I gritted my teeth, trying not to snap. There were three men still in that cave. We needed to go before they?—
Too late, Ran hissed.
They erupted from the mouth of the cave. I hopped up on a snorting and pawing Ran, holding my hand out to Wolfie.
He studied me, his eyes seeing more than I wished. “You would give me access to your kidneys?”
I growled low in my throat. “Get your butt up here now !” I hissed.
He full out smiled, the cur. Then he grabbed my hand and swung up behind me. He kept his arms at his sides, giving a healthy amount of space between us. For being in a saddle made for a single person, he somehow touched me the least amount possible. Did I stink?
The back of my neck prickled with the knowledge of the master predator at my back, but there was no other way. At least none I’d choose. He’d saved my hide—I’d never say that to his face, but it was true—so there was no way I’d leave his sorry mutt butt behind to die. Even if it would be safer, I wasn’t without honor.
“You better hold on, Wolfie,” I said.
“Wha—” He cut off with a grunt as Ran lurched forward with her massive gait. Wolfie leaned forward, wrapping his arms around my waist, being extremely careful not to squeeze too hard. His touch was light as a feather, his breath brushing against my neck as my hood had flown off during our flight. His warmth wrapped around me. It felt weird. I didn’t let people get close, and yet I was breaking my rule to keep people at a distance. To trust no one. I’d only trusted Ran to guard my back for a very long time.
But here we were.
Ran gathered her legs, leaping over a log. We had long since lost any sounds coming from behind us. They likely had horses, but no horse on the planet could outpace a unicorn.
Darn straight, Ran said.
We slowed to a trot, coming to a winding stream. Ran’s sides heaved, and I was feeling mighty cramped. I get what Wolfie was saying about carriages and whatnot. This saddle was not made for two, and although the warmth at my back was oddly not super uncomfortable, my thighs were aching and my legs were nearly asleep cause little blood flow could make it through the pinching confinement of the cantle.
Wolfie got down first, holding out a hand to me. I stared at him, but I couldn’t get myself to take it. To accept help is painful. Either you hurt the other person or they expect something in return. Better to be self-reliant. I gave him a slight nod, but got down myself. He gave me a nod of understanding, going over to the river. My legs quivered when I hit the dirt, the tingling of blood flow made me grimace.
You should ’ ve accepted his help, Ran said helpfully as I tried not to fall on my butt by leaning against her shoulder that was still dark with Wolfie’s blood.
Thanks. So much, I replied, slapping her shoulder teasingly and grimacing when the blood flaked off on my hand.
I turned, keeping my eye on the werewolf washing his hands in the river. His broad back and towering figure weren’t quite as intimidating when he was crouched down, though I saw the tension in his shoulders, the way he was ready to pounce at any moment. It reminded me that he was still dangerous even if he didn’t look dangerous. And that was perhaps even more terrifying.
I blinked. Then blinked again. But no, it was still there. White, goose-down fletching was sticking out from his back, the arrow broken at a ninety-degree angle where I guessed he’d rolled on it.
I sucked in a sharp breath. I shuffled over and grabbed his arm and then I sensed it. A vast need so deep it nearly consumed me. A begging, a wanting, a needing… Before I’d fully sensed it, he shrugged me off, not taking his eyes from scanning the surroundings.
I swallowed, kneading my hand on one of my daggers. “Why?” I whispered, my mind begging the question I’d had ever since he rescued me—at cost to himself. He could have been free of me. He’d nearly killed me multiple times. I’d stabbed him, for goodness sake. And now this? It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.
He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine. The mask fell for a split second, and beneath it was something I knew innately. Sorrow.
“I am a werewolf,” he said, feeling around behind him for the arrow. He couldn’t quite reach it and let out a frustrated grunt.
The arrow was close to his spine. A few inches more and he’d be paralyzed. I didn’t know if a werewolf could heal from that. I’d never personally done such a thing. I just killed werewolves. I didn’t try to scar them for life.
I huffed out a breath, about to ask what he meant, but his hand searching for the arrow was frustrating the heck out of me.
I touched his hand. “Let me.”
He froze, his eyes tracking me from over his shoulder as I touched the splintered end of the arrow. My knife made quick work of notching the arrow closer to his skin to prevent further splinters. I snapped the arrow with a quick movement, the sharp sound making him flinch. I felt around the arrowhead, grimacing when my hands came away red. But then his soul opened once more, and I tried to push away the massive need screaming at me. I needed to find his other need , the lesser one— there . His body needed the arrow out so it could heal, but it also needed the poisonous wolfsbane out of its system and lots of liver and heart and water to resupply his blood from the stab wound. I grimaced again. It was my fault. He’d be home right now if not for me, and it was all for naught. I knew by now Hood wasn’t coming.
I couldn’t get the poison out of his system, but if I got the arrow out, he’d live.
“What made you do this?” I asked, standing and rummaging in my saddlebags.
“Do what exactly?”
I came back, sitting cross-legged behind him as I grabbed the shaft of the arrow.
“Are you purposefully obtuse?” I asked, biting my lip as I worked.
His eyes crinkled in a tiny smile that made the gold flakes twinkle in the darkness. “I am a werewolf,” he said. I almost twisted the arrow inside him for stating the obvious again, but he continued. “I would survive. You are human. You would not.”
“I was doing just fine without your help, cur,” I said, minus the heat.
I waited until he released his breath and opened his mouth to reply before I pulled. The arrow ripped from his skin, and I immediately pressed the makeshift bandage to the hole. He didn’t say a word, but his breathing did hitch. So, he felt pain after all. I was beginning to wonder.
“Of course you were fine. You were merely the brightest fish flopping around on the most pristine palace waiting for the cook to catch up.”
I blinked at him. His eyes were dulled with a hint of pain, but they also danced with mischief. “At least I’m not a werewolf who let himself be kidnapped," I replied.
His brow rose. “Let myself? You were quite determined and prepared. A few guards will be punished?—”
“Hey, don’t punish the guys who were knocked out.”
The brow rose further, the white hair in the center feathering into the dark edges. Were his eyebrows somehow flexible? “Do not punish the guards who did not do their jobs?”
Well, when he put it that way… My cheeks grew hot.
I took my hand away, and when I wiped the area, there was only a small amount of blood coming from the small hole. I could stitch it, but I didn’t think he’d need that. He’d heal completely within a day. I coughed, backing away from his broad back. He rubbed his hands together and turned to face me. His eyes searched my face, as if looking for an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted to find.
I needed to be rid of him and all the weird thoughts he was putting in my head. He was likely a manipulative dragon’s fenbutt, just like Grandma always told me. She was right, trusting anyone was dangerous. Especially werewolves.
But as I stared into his eyes, I saw something terrifying within those depths. Understanding. I didn’t need to be understood. I was fine as I was. I just needed to kill Hood and take my place as heir apparent.
"The white werewolf with the black-tipped tail… you know, the one you were playing with before I…”
"Kidnapped me?"
"Yeah, that. She's sick."
He turned to stare at me, his eyes glowing golden for a split second as his lips pulled up to reveal lengthening fangs. "Did you poison her?"
There was a low growl in his voice that made me step back. Fear flushed cold through my veins as I remembered his vice-like grip around my neck. "No, nothing like that. I shouldn't have said anything?—"
"But you did. Explain," he said, his voice a command which made my hand twitch to salute. Or grab a blade to defend myself. I clenched it behind my back.
"She needs help with her heart. A mage stone should take care of it, or hawthorn berry tea day and night for at least three months."
He stared without blinking. "How..."
"Please don't ask," I said, my voice dropping into a near whisper.
A low woof came from Ran’s saddlebag. It broke me free of whatever awkward trance we'd gotten into and I went to free the pup. He licked my face and squirmed, nearly falling from my grasp. I chuckled, kissing the little guy on the forehead, happy to see him so spry. I set him on the ground. He tottered over to Wolfie, nearly falling on his face as his paws didn’t want to keep up with his momentum.
“My target isn’t coming. You’re free to go.”
I would’ve considered Shen being Hood because he oozed a killer’s confidence that made my skin prickle, but I’d seen the Prince of Wolves in a parade when Hood killed the Twenty-Fourth Blade.
Wolfie paused in dusting off his jacket as if it were giving him something to do other than face the pup gamboling at his legs and licking his feet. “Care to repeat that?”
I stared at him. “You. Are. Free. To. Leave.”
His eyebrows furrowed, confusion gracing those otherwise dark eyes. “What?”
I threw my hands in the air. “Are you a few prickles short of a mulberry? Leave. Scat. Get out of here!”
“I am not a mule to be prodded to pasture,” he replied, sitting on a rock and throwing a leg over the other as if it were some throne.
I stared at him, my mouth open. “What are you doing?”
“Did you not say I am free?”
“Yes?”
“Good. Then I am staying.”
I choked on my spit. “No, you can’t!”
He raised a brow. “Oh?”
“I-I—” My brain scrambled for a reason. I thought he’d immediately jump for freedom, wanting to get rid of the pesky Red who’d kidnapped him. Or that he’d try to kill me. This? This is the last thing I expected.
“You are entertaining. I do believe I shall stay awhile. Besides, who will feed the pup should I leave?” We both glanced down at the pup, who was gnawing on a bone—where’d he find that?—beside a curled up and sleeping Ran. Yes, unicorns apparently sleep laying down and curled up like a cat. Odd, that.
I swallowed a hint of bile. He had a point. “Take the pup with you. I’ve no use for it.”
The pup paused his gnawing at my words, blinking up at me with soulful eyes. I tried to stop my heart from breaking at the hurt there, but gosh did it stab into my chest. It’d be better this way. I’d brought enough wild animals home, then released them. My parents wouldn’t allow another. Especially not a wolf pup who seethed of magic even if I wasn’t sure what he was.
“You—an assassin of magic—would let a werewolf and a magical creature of interest waltz out that metaphorical door without a second glance?”
I shrugged, pricking at a mole on my arm with the point of my blade. “You aren’t my objective.”
He leaned back, and I felt those hard eyes boring into me. “You are a strange creature, Red.”
“I’m nothing. Now please, leave,” I said at long last. I was tired, bone weary, and ready to go home and take a long nap. I’d have to reevaluate my plans and figure out another way to find Hood. My shoulders nearly slumped in disappointment, but I held them up through sheer force of will. Plans always had a way of falling through. It was how you dealt with it and grew that mattered.
“No.”
The one word broke through my haze of wishing for my bed. I blinked up at the werewolf still lounging on his stone throne. “Pardon?” I asked.
“I am staying here.”
“Fine. You stay. But I’m leaving.”