The Angel's Fate

Chapter 7

“Kiss you?” I shout so loud that several nearby werewolves stop their conversations to look over at us with raised eyebrows.

“Yes,” he says with a mischievous smile. “Maybe that’s what it will take for you to realize how connected we really are.”

I rest my chin on the heel of my hand, but don’t break eye contact with him, then take a seductive sip from my drink, then gently place it back down. “So you’re absolutely sure about this ‘mate’ thing?”

He nods seriously. “It’s not something a wolf can be uncertain about,” he says with a wistful sigh, looking at me as if I’m responsible for raising the sun itself. But he has no idea about the evil within me.

“So you honestly think that I would fit in here, among your people?” I ask. “Knowing what I am... and what I’ve done?”

“What if I could convince you?” He says with an impish grin that makes my heart flutter a little. “You interrupted my hunt when you arrived. Come hunting with me. You can show me your true form... and I’ll show you what it means to feel truly free.”

“Hunting?” I ask, almost in disgust.

He laughs at my reaction. “Not humans,” he says. “Deer, rabbits, things like that. We don’t go hunting humans.”

I sit back, blinking my eyes away from his. I scan the room, watching the werewolf children wrestling and laughing, the mothers giggling as they talk amongst each other in the corner.

I could see myself among them. Moreso than the fairies anyway. They sure don’t seem bloodthirsty or violent at all.

But I can’t let all of this distract me from the task at hand. “Fine,” I say firmly. “I’ll come hunt with you. But you need to tell me why so many humans have been killed and turned at your hands.”

He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “It’s mostly self-defense, actually,” he answers with a touch of frustration in his voice. “The vampires began turning humans first, so we had to prepare for an attack by reinforcing our own army. I have to protect my people, Mariel.”

“What about the killings?” I ask.

“Turning doesn’t always work,” he explains. “Some humans react... poorly.”

The thought makes my stomach do a flip-flop. These innocent humans are being slaughtered and cursed to life as a beast. And it’s my fault.

As if Eric can read my thoughts, he rests his hand on top of mine. “Mariel, it was the only way to keep them safe,” he gestures to the children running around. “I don’t want to be doing this, but the vampires forced my hand.”

I nod, lost in thought.

Get it together, Mariel. Don’t let him see weakness.

“I see,” I say, sucking in a lung full of air. “But you must understand that I can’t let this bloodshed continue. We need peace. All of us do. Come to the council meeting in two weeks at the Fairy Woods. If you show up, I will kiss you.”

An enormous grin spreads across his ruby red lips. He can barely contain his excitement.

“Do we have a deal?” I ask.

“Anything for you, my future queen,” he answers.

The title makes my heart skip a beat. I break eye contact with him and begin to scan the room full of laughing children and carefree werewolves milling about. They sure don’t seem savage or bloodthirsty.

There has been so much on my shoulders since I was a little girl, ruling a place like this would be a piece of cake, right?

But what am I thinking? This is crazy! I have to get home to my parents.

Let’s just get this over with.

“Are you ready to hunt?” I ask.

The expression on his face is like that of a child on Christmas morning. He practically leaps out of his chair, takes one last swig of his drink and turns to frolic out of the room.

“Let’s go!” He exclaims.

I follow behind, doing everything I can not to stare at his perfectly defined backside.

He practically skips through the courtyard and straight through the giant wooden doors. The drawbridge automatically lowers once again as Eric bounds across. He tears off his shirt while running toward the nearby tree line, and I have to jog to keep up.

Then he freezes in his tracks, turns around and smiles broadly at me. “Ready?” He asks.

I nod hesitantly. I’m not sure if he’s ready to see what I really am, but I don’t have a choice at this point.

He looks up at the sky and releases a chesty howl from his lips. When he does, his body immediately begins to shift back to the silver-haired wolf I had met earlier.

It’s so refreshing to watch another person shift the way I do.

So I look up at the sky, then close my eyes and take a breath. I feel myself beginning to change. The talons ripping through my fingertips and the scaled wings tearing through the flesh of my back.

It used to hurt a little, but I’ve gotten used to it.

I open my eyes to see Eric standing frozen in shock before me. His golden eyes are as round as saucers, and a nervous high-pitched whine echoes from his chest as he stares up at me.

To soothe him, I bow down and give my wings a gentle flap.

With that, Eric’s enthusiasm begins to return little by little. He sniffs my fur cautiously, then backs away a few steps. He c***s his head to the side, looking me up and down while I stand completely still.

Then I hear the distant c***k of twigs under a hoof.

A deer.

We both look toward the tree line, then back to each other. With a big grin, we take off running into the forest.

As much as I hate to admit it, the wind blowing in my fur and the wet grass under my paws makes me feel more free than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

I could get used to this.