CAN'T SAY NO TO THE WEREWOLF

WHO IS GREGORY?

Princess Olivia got her beautiful smooth legs covered in thorn marks due to how carelessly she ran into turns without caring trying hard to escape the hyenas. These beasts were faster than she was. She was only human after all and they had four legs for their speed. She could feel my eyes get heavy with tears. The sun was beginning to go down and the cool evening breeze began its duty of the day. She had been running for twenty minutes now. What could she do to distract the hyenas? She couldn't keep running anymore. She knew she had to do something to keep them away. Finally arriving at a small bumpy stony road, she took a large stone and threatened them with it. 

"You move any closer, your head is gone for good" She tried being as firm as possible. The hyenas didn't bulge. Instead, they walked slowly towards her with their cruel smile. "Don't you understand your beast? I am with a very large stone right now. Just a drop on your stupid ugly heads will get you killed. Can't you at least get scared of that for once?" She was beginning to feel more nervous than before. She didn't realize her hands trembling and her firm look turning weak. 

"They won't listen to you. Just hit them with the stone if you have to" She heard Dave voice say behind her as she stared straight in the hyena's eyes with a nervous gaze. Hearing his voice gave her a whole lot of relief. She sprinted toward her mate and hid behind him like a scared dog hiding behind his master. By now the hyenas had already lost focus on her and were now giving Dave an angry but helpless scare. 

"You all have been warned to stop terrorizing here. Do you want to be killed like your master? Have you forgotten how I ripped his heart off his chest right at your face and ate it up in front of your children?" Dave further asked with a bully tone. It took Olivia no time to realize that hyenas were actually scared of the Alpha. They seem to be walking slowly backwards as he trods toward them. They tried stealing glances at her as if hoping to eat her at all cost but Dave's flaming gaze at them discouraged them. Realizing there was no way to outsmart this wolf and devour her, they sprinted off into the woods. Olivia sighed heavily in relief. 

"They almost got me. I was almost their dinner" She mumbled as she sat under a tree feeling stressed out. 

"Why did you enter the woods? The territory is wide enough for your thin legs to run around and still get tired. Why did you embrace the thought of hiding among the hyenas?" Dave scolded her in anger. 

"It was not my fault. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to see how amazing it would be to explore outside the territory"

"You almost got yourself killed, woman…" 

"I know but why are you scolding me? I was the one being scared to death here. I was the one terrorized and chased by wolves. Why are you being so harsh towards me now? And by the way I was stung by so many thorns in the woods, I am not even sure I which one is poisonous and which one is not"

"Do not deviate from the discussion. Your stubbornness surely got you into this. You should have by far listened to my mum and…" He stopped. Olivia was beginning to act very restless now. She had her hand on her head and her eyes were rolling back into her head. It was almost like she had no control over her body anymore. "Olivia, are you fine?" He asked with concern but she gave no response. Little did he know, she had no strength left in her anymore. She was very very weak and used the past strength she had to defend herself from his scolding. Feeling hurt by what he did, he raised her up slowly and watched her slump into his arms going unconscious.

***

That night was not a joke to Dave as he sat by his mate the entire night wondering when she would ever wake up. For the first time, he felt empathy and guilty for how he scolded her. She deserves it! Yes...but he never considered how weak she was and what she could be going through. 

"Some poisonous thorns wounded her really badly. It will take a long time for her body to get back to normal" He heard his mum say as she backed away from her with a bowl of herbal paste. 

"I couldn't feel empathy for her until now. I didn't realize how weak she is" He said with pain in his voice. "I could have killed her due to my inability to detect what she is going through" 

"Dave it's not your fault. It's actually by grace you are able to realize you did something wrong because most of the time you never lose a fight. You always want to get what you want and ensure everything happens according to how you want it to occur. You don't feel moved by anyone's emotions. It's a very big surprise you actually feel bad for your mate. This shows what a deep connection you both share" 

Dave said nothing to this. He stared at Olivia unconscious face through the dim flames and couldn't brush away how beautiful and lovely she looked. She had really long curly eyelashes and her lips looked so small and soft. His thought went back to the night they had both gotten physically bonded and for the first time, the thought hadn't irked him. He shifted himself closer towards her and began to stroke her hair slowly with a slight smile. 

***

Olivia woke up to the sound of rain droplets. She felt her strength come back slowly but she knew she couldn't feel her legs fully yet. Her legs looked red and a little swollen due to the poison. Looking round the cave, she saw no one but a small stool which was placed beside her. 

"He must have left again," She said to herself quietly. "He must have gotten really irritated about me and left". She wasn't sure why but saying these words to herself gave her a feeling of discomfort and guilt. She hadn't even told him thank you for saving her life. If the hyenas hadn't been scared of him, he would have gotten hurt himself and that would not be funny. Reminiscing all he had done for her in the past, she began having a feeling she had been really ungrateful and cruel towards him. Yes, he kidnapped her but he was never mean towards her. He was only concerned for her but his way of concern wasn't the way she would have expected from a man with emotions. He'd scold her for her carelessness rather than ask her if she was fine and figure out a way to help her feel better. How had she thought scolding her at a point of death would help her reason well. Despite all this, she couldn't shake off the idea he was a good man with a very nice heart. The way he was calm to cubs and was lenient to the hyenas really said it all. On a normal day, she'd expect him to fight them all off leaving not even one of them standing right. 

"Hey, I am glad you are awake" She heard his voice come from deep inside the cave. Slowly turning behind her, she saw him walk toward her with a bowl of mashed berries and another bowl of mashed potatoes smiling in a friendly way. "I made you some…" she hadn't let him finish what he had today before throwing her arms around him tightly. 

"Thank you so much for everything," She said. 

"Well I…"

"Keep quiet, let me finish talking" She cut him off rudely still having her arm wrapped around his neck. "I was very rude to you and I never considered being grateful for everything you have done for me and the concern you always showed towards me. Though you are rude in being concerned but still, not everyone shows me concern lately. Everyone has gotten so selfish that they end up caring only about themselves and have no time for any other person. You have lots of responsibility as an Alpha but you never ever stepped back in making me a priority. This is why you came back to the cave after leaving for two weeks. You actually cared for me. No one had to tell you to come see me before you even came. Do you know how selfless that was?" She concluded before pushing herself away from him slowly with her hands still around his neck. 

"I actually…"

"You don't have to say anything. I don't care how you are or how emotionless you are. I will learn how to understand you and accept you for who you are. It isn't because you are my mate or you are the Alpha. It's because your character is one that baffles me a lot and leaves me wondering, what wonders created from the heavens! You are really someone I have to learn a lot from your point of view" She continued smiling. 

"Can I speak now?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. She nodded. 

"I am also sorry for being so mean to you. It has never been my intention I promise. I just didn't realize you were facing a situation. I thought perhaps you were just as strong headed and stubborn as you have always been. You always drive me nuts, you know, especially with your energetic spirit and big mouth…"

"Excuse me?" She asked in shock.

"But aside from all that, you are a really good person as I have seen in you and I want us to get along better these days. No fighting or arguing, just getting to be friends will be fine" 

"Sure. That is no problem for me. I love knowing various types of people. Knowing about you shouldn't be an issue to be honest" She agreed pulling her arms away from around his neck. 

"So friends…" he asked, stretching out his arm for a handshake. 

"You don't need to ask me twice," she agreed, accepting the handshake with a vigorous shake. He smiled and brought forward the berries. 

"I made this for you. It should help you feel better" he informed her, bringing forward the bowl of mershed berries. 

"Thank you so much but I don't mind sharing it with you" 

"I don't eat veggies". She nodded indicating she understood. As she ate slowly, she noticed his frequent stare at her which made her feel a little unsettled. 

"Is everything fine?" She asked in confusion wondering what was wrong. 

"Huh… what?" He asked as if being pulled out of his thoughts. 

"You were staring at me in a weird way. Is everything fine?" 

"Yes...hmm… I was just thinking of something you told me the first day I took you from your parents. You mentioned a guy. A guy named Gregory. The one you were supposed to marry" 

***

Dave wasn't sure why he had to bring this topic up but something kept convincing him to do it. He wasn't sure of Olivia's marital status when he'd take her forcefully nor was he sure of how she felt about staying with him. He knew he shouldn't be concerned about all this at all, he just wasn't sure why he was. Was she happy in the clan with the wolves? What if he was depriving her of a man she truly loved? Would it pay for her to stay with a man she had no feelings for just for a custom?

"Gregory is the love of my life…" Olivia started as she took a bit of the berry marsh. "I mean, was the love of my life. We really loved each other and we really wanted to do all we could to bond our relationship but you came along"

"I am sorry for ruining your relationship with him" he apologized. "Perhaps he would have been a better partner than me"

"Don't. Just don't apologize now. You are 100% better than Gregory to be honest with you. Gregory is just a fat, greedy and lust prince who wanted my body. I mean, I always suspected that but I never realized this until I met you" 

"I don't understand…"

"Since we have lived together, you never even dare to touch me or even come close to me. I thought all men wanted to have s****l relationships with their partners no matter what. With Love attached or not. As long as they are both meant to be then it's an opportunity to get the lady in the bed. That was what I thought until I met you and realized, there is more to having a relationship with someone. It's more than just the physical bonding we think is important' 

"I actually don't understand what you're talking about because I have not really stared at women before. I don't really like them that much" 

"Oooo…" She exclaimed, not surprised. "It doesn't really matter though, someday you will find someone" 

"I already have you" he reminded her gazing into her pretty eyeballs.

"But we don't love each other. I want you to experience loving someone" 

"You are enough for me. I don't need any other. Love or not" he responded holding her hands in his. "You know what, I am really as emotionless as you think I am. It's just that growing up I am never allowed to make my own decisions or do whatever I wanted. I have always loved having my own territory and leading the pack with less cruel rules. I really don't like how rigid the customs are and how they consider ladies less. I mean, I am not happy they have to use you to gain authority over the other clans but to be honest I want to stop all this. The only way I can do this is start my own territory with brand new rules" 

"You can Dave. It's possible. All you have to do is participate in the annual competition. You know the one that deals with the strongest wolf duo thing" 

"Jungle Wolf? No, the Alpha is never allowed to participate in that" 

"Who cares about the rules?" Olivia asked with a wink. "As long as you aren't hurting someone or killing anyone, I strongly believe you should participate in this competition. This is a way for you to stop all this madness of traditions Dave" 

"It's easier said than done Olivia. I will be disgraced if I go against my father" 

"The Dave I know is strong and adamant. He never backs out from what's right. I knew this, the day you saved me from being devoured by the wolves the first time I arrived here. You hated me but you knew it was wrong for the wolves to attack me because it was an injustice. You can do better than this Alpha. I respect whatever decision you make though but always remember other future maidens' lives are at stake here. I might not survive this one but I want them to survive the upcoming ones" She advised him with a calm tone. 

"You don't have to worry. Nothing will happen to you"