by K. Lyn
"Go away," Leon said, stepping forward. In an instant, he could be in his werewolf form. He didn't want any wild animals going near his estate or the village. Too many children played in this forest.
When Leon took one more step forward, two of the grey wolves left him and sprinted into the darkness, but a dark brown wolf remained, glaring at him from over the carcass. Leon focused on the heat within himself again and let out a deep snarl. The wolf sized him up as if deciding whether he wanted to risk attacking or not. A beat went by and then the wolf finally stepped away, turned, and fled.
As Leon listened to the wolves' progress with his superior hearing, he realized they were not far enough away from the town for him to be comfortable. Maybe a half a kilometer at most. That was dangerous. People could get killed that way. He knew firsthand what a pair of jaws could do. Letting out a sigh, a memory flooded over him as he gazed down at the bloodied carcass on the ground.
Leon woke up with his head pounding and smelled copper. What is that smell? He blinked the daze from his eyes and stared down at himself. His whole body was covered in something dark red that looked disturbingly like…like…
"Blood," Leon whispered. "What in God's name is this?"
After leaping off of the bed, Leon wobbled and peered around in fear. That was when he glanced downward and saw, to his horror, who lay on his bed. It was his gentle brother. He lay on his side, his arm draped over his rib cage, with his throat torn out, revealing a yellowing spinal cord within. There were bite marks on his neck and arms, and his eyes were wide in silent horror.
"No." Leon shook his head and took a step back into the wall. "Sweet mother of God, no. What have I done? What have I done?"
But he knew what he had done. He had killed his beloved brother, the one who had stuck by him even after the monster he had become roared to life. He fell to his knees, gazing at the bloodied corpse, and gripped his hair, only to discover it was blood soaked too. He then gazed at his hands, fought down the sour stomach acid which threatened to erupt from his throat, whipped around, and then ran for the door, unsure of where he was going or why.
The cool wind knocked him from his memory, and he was grateful for it. He licked his chapped lips and listened for the wolves again. Yes, still nearby. He would head to his estate for food and then go out and herd the beasts from the land around Harlow. If his brother's memory would serve one purpose, it would be keeping this town safe.
***
The hill to the man's estate was steeper than Victoria thought, and Stormy stumbled on the rough path after his past days of relentless galloping. She pulled on Stormy's reins and climbed off of him. The poor animal needed a break from carrying her anyway. Stormy had proven himself time and time again over the past couple of days, and she couldn't stand the way he hung his head in exhaustion.
"We're almost there," Victoria said in determination. "Come on, boy, let's go. I'll walk the rest of the way."
As she gazed at the top of the estate which peeked out from over the tips of the trees like a rabbit pokes its head from its hole, she frowned and tried not to think of what would happen if the master of the house did not want her as a servant. It would be a long walk back to town.
She girded her loins and began to climb with Stormy alongside her. After the two of them had lurched up the hill for five minutes, Stormy threw up his head and began to nicker in panic. He gazed in warning through the trees and then reared up on his hind legs and let out a frightened cry. Her heart pounded. Stormy wasn't the type of horse who panicked for no reason.
What should I do? She gazed desperately at the estate on the top of the hill and wondered whether she should keep going. Stormy began to knead the ground with his front right hoof and then half reared again, appearing tempted to run away. That was enough of a warning she needed. She trusted Stormy's intuition and knew she could trust his senses to her own.
Turning, Victoria began to lead Stormy back down the hill when she heard the sound of loud growling to her right. She stared through the arms of the undergrowth and spotted the dark brown eyes on a snarling face. A wolf. She gasped, took a step back, and dug around in her bag. She found the hilt of her sword and pulled it out with the cloth still wrapped about the blade. She removed the cloth, and with her heart pounding, glared at the wolf.
When Stormy reared again, the wolf charged at him. Victoria rushed forward, swung her sword wildly, and was shocked when she heard the wolf's pained scream and felt the sword vibrate as she sliced through flesh. The brown wolf bared his teeth, as a second wolf, this one grey, charged out of the woods from the opposing side, this time going after Stormy. Victoria expected Stormy to flee from her like any other horse would have, but instead he reared up on his hind legs and struck the wolf on its head with his front hoof. The wolf lay on the ground, its skull crushed.
The brown wolf snarled, darted around and charged at her again, and this time it managed to sink its teeth into her leg. As white hot pain filled her flesh, she let out a scream of agony but brought down the blade of the sword straight between the wolf's eyes. The wolf let out a muffled groan and then fell to the ground at her feet, dead. Victoria felt blood trickle down her leg.
Another pair of wolf eyes appeared at the edge of the wood, but this wolf did not advance. Victoria waited, panting, sweaty, and shivering from pain, waiting for the wolf to spring out. The wolf instead turned and fled into the underbrush. Victoria silently waited for more wolves to appear, but she saw no more.
Victoria, shaking so bad she almost fell over, turned and headed toward her horse and wrapped her arms around his neck. Blood ran down his right fetlock, but he appeared to be okay because he nuzzled her shoulder.
That was when she heard a loud, angry male voice.
"What on earth do you think you're doing, woman?"
Leon could not believe it. After he left his estate, he had charged down the hill mid-transformation but had then heard the sound of a woman's cry and a wolf's squeal. He had tracked the sounds here but had halted his transformation. He wasn't sure what he had expected to find after hearing those odd sounds, but it wasn't this.
A lone young woman with curly hair the color of fire that was a tangled rat's nest stood clinging to a bloody grey horse. There was a bloody sword at her side and the corpse of the aggressive brown wolf lay on the ground with his head broken open and blood and brains spilling through. In front of the horse, the remains of a second wolf, one of the alpha male's grey followers, lay with his bloody face crushed in. It was probably the horse's doing.
"There were wolves," the woman said. "Wolves."
"I can see that." Leon stepped toward the woman and frowned at her. For the first time, he noticed that the bottom of her dress was soaked with blood. "What are you doing here? This path only goes up to my estate. It's dangerous here."
Just as he reached for the woman, her horse did something he had never seen a horse do before to a human. The horse reared up on his hind legs, mouth frothing, and attempted to club Leon's head with his hoof. Leon dodged out of the way with time to spare with his superior senses as the woman attempted to pull at the reins of her horse.
"Stormy," she said. "Stormy, easy boy. What's the matter? It's just a man. Not a wolf. It's okay."
"He's trying to protect you." Leon frowned at the strange woman and her even stranger mount.
"He's never done this before," she said quietly, placing her hand on the horse's face. "It must be the wolf attack. He's shaken. Please, sir, will you…will you help me? My leg is hurt, and my horse was bitten too. I'm sorry he reared at you."
It isn't good to get involved with a woman, especially one as beautiful as this. You swore off any association with females a long time ago, after you were affected by this curse. But as he stared at her worn, pale face and took in her bloodied sword and tattered dress, he realized he couldn't just leave her here, no matter how attractive she appeared to him. It wasn't like she would be around for any length of time, and women were not poisonous, thoug
h he had treated them like they were in the past.
"Fine," he said. "Just for now, though. Come with me to my estate."
"Thank you, sir," Victoria said weakly, pulling the reins of her horse and then putting her sword back into her bag, the bloody blade uncleaned. She then attempted to limp up the hill. He surveyed her bad leg and grimaced. Oh, hell, this woman can't climb my hill like this. He bent down at the hip and glared at the woman.
"Climb on my back," he demanded.
"I'm quite all right." She frowned at him. "I can walk."
"You obviously can't." He bent down so she could climb onto his back. "Just quit being so stubborn."
The two of them glared at each other, and he began to feel ridiculous in his crouched position. Finally, the woman sighed and stumbled toward him and then pulled her dress around her thighs. She then wrapped her legs around his waist and he was able to stand up straight and get her situated. Once she was upon his back, he was able to stare down at her leg, which now was no longer uncovered by dress.
The bite was deep, and he could make out where every one of the wolf's teeth had pierced her fine pale skin. Furthermore, she hadn't said a word about the pain, even though a bite like that would have made even him growl and gripe. This woman was not only beautiful, she was tough too. The thought disturbed him if only because it made him respect and like her all at once.
"Is something the matter?" she asked.
"The bite is deep," he said, stepping forward.
He noted that the woman still held the reins, even though her hands wrapped around his neck. The horse followed behind them.
"I'm alive and that's all that matters." The woman sighed. "If it wasn't for Stormy killing that second wolf, I would have died because they would have come at me at once. Most horses would have run away, but not him."
Silence fell and he tried not to focus on the woman's soft breasts burying into his back or the fact that her legs were revealed to him. While the one leg was bloody, she still had a fine body and smooth, creamy skin. He wondered how disgusting it made him that he thought about the woman's bosoms now when she was hurt.
"I'm Victoria, by the way," the woman said as he inwardly kicked himself.
"Leon," he grunted.
"Thank you for this." She put her head on his back and let out a shaky sigh. "To be honest, I wasn't sure what to do after I got attacked. And poor Stormy…"
He frowned at his feet. His question was, what was she doing heading down this road to begin with? She had never answered that question.
"You shouldn't have been here," he said. "What were you thinking?"
"You left a paper in the bar." She gripped tighter onto his neck and almost choked him. "You wanted a servant. I was coming up here to see if I could have the job."
That almost made him choke. Victoria was the exact opposite of what he wanted in a servant. He wanted somebody he could have no attraction to whatsoever, a man or woman old and plain enough so he wouldn't have to worry about his urges getting in the way. Plus, while the servant was there to aid him and ease his lonely heart, he also needed someone he could afford to lose.
"You can't have the job." Leon shook his head violently and caused Stormy to snort. "You're not what I'm looking for. I'm bringing you up to my estate to clean your leg and that's all. You'll spend the night and rest at most."
Once again, her hands tightened around his neck.
"Why not?" she asked indignantly. "I'm a hard worker. Have been all my life. You couldn't ask for a better servant than me."
Well, at least she is strong enough so she can fight me. He grimaced and gazed at his estate. Almost there. Ten more minutes of walking and then he could lock her in a room all night and shove her out the door the next morning.
"You aren't going to answer me?" Her voice was shrill as she began to struggle. More blood trickled from her leg. "At least give me a response. I can cook, I can clean, and I can wash clothes. Plus, I'm desperate. I'm willing to do nearly anything in order to get this job. That has to count for something."
"It doesn't in my book," he frowned. "Those aren't the qualities I'm looking for. I'm searching for a manservant."
"A man?" Her anger grew. "Why on earth would you only want a man?"
"I don't want somebody I'm attracted to, all right?" he growled. "Now if you want to keep your dignity intact, we should end this conversation now. It is not for a lady's ears."
To his shock, she did fall silent, but the silence was just as hard to bear as her angry voice. In the silence, he took more notice of her breasts thrust against his back and the heat of her thighs. He shuddered and felt his cock react, and he tried to fight down the vision of Victoria lying on his bed with her legs open, showing off her gorgeous womanhood for the world to see.
The inside of the estate was filthy. Rancid. Disgusting. Everywhere Victoria looked, there were cobwebs and dust. No wonder Leon needed a servant. Victoria was used to large estates because of Sir William, but she had grown accustomed to cleanliness. Sir William never would have stood for such a mess to occur within his own home.
A grin crossed Leon's gorgeous face as he acknowledged her disgust. "You don't like it? Any servant I have would be forced to clean this place from top to bottom every day without complaint. It's been a long time since it has seen a good cleaning."
Oh, good heavens, am I really desperate enough for a job to argue with him? As she looked around the dust filled halls, she bit her bottom lip. She fought down the desperate urge to sneeze and did her best to ignore the throbbing of her leg.
"Are you hungry?" Leon asked. "Thirsty? I fed your horse, now I suppose it's time for you. And of course, I'll bandage your leg first."
The ale she had in town felt like ages ago. "I'm famished."
Leon nodded, grabbed her arm, and began to lead her down the dust filled hallway. Victoria swore she could see an upheaval of dirt appear behind her as she walked, but she chose not to acknowledge it. To distract herself from her surroundings, she turned toward Leon, who was a lot like the house. He was covered in a layer of grime, mystery, and darkness, but underneath that, she could tell there was a glorious being.
"What?" Leon raised an eyebrow at her.
"Nothing." She tore her eyes away.
Even after she peered away from him, she had Leon's face ingrained in her mind, his gorgeous dark brown hair and chin covered in a rough layer of hair, his gorgeous blue eyes which shone like pools of water and, of course, his strong body which had carried her all the way up here without breaking so much as a sweat. I shouldn't think of him in such a way. It is bad. I'm either leaving here soon or I will become a servant if I can convince him I would make a good one. He is right in saying that it would not be a good idea for us to become involved with each other.
Leon led her out the end of the hallway and into a room to the right, which was another hallway equally as dusty if not even more so. That was when a sour stench assaulted her nostrils and she slowed her pace. What is that odor? She stole a concerned look at Leon and swore he grinned. But why would he grin at such a smell?
At the end of the hall, Leon led her into the door to the left and straight into the kitchen where the heart of the bad odor was. There was a mess of pots and pans everywhere covered in thick layers of sludge she assumed had once been food. Victoria stifled a gasp and put her hand over her mouth in disgust. The only thing edible lay out on the table. It was a loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese, and some dried meat. A plate with crumbs lay on the table but had not been taken away.
"It is filthy," Leon said cheerfully. "See. You don't want anything to do with me or this job. I am horrible."
His cheerfulness annoyed her. She realized what he was doing. He was trying to make it so she would stop pressuring him about the job. Well, tough. She still wanted it anyway.
"I could clean it," she said, and watched the smile slide off of Leon's face. "I could do it easily. All this place needs is a good scrub down."
"Hmmph," Leon said.
There was once again silence between them, and Victoria tried hard to fight down the water which filled her eyes because of the awful stench. Leon must have been so used to it that he didn't care, because he led her over to a chair and she sat down.
"Lift up your skirt," he said. "Let me see your leg."
She hesitated at his demand but then thought, the man has seen it already. What is the point of being careful now? She lifted up her skirts and showed him her leg. He bent down and frowned at the gaping wound.
"I am going to get water for you," he said, grimacing at the sight of the injury. "I'll go get a tin of it and be back to clean your leg."
"That's fine." She blinked at him tiredly.
With a grunt, he turned and went toward one of the kitchen shelves and retrieved a metal tin. He then headed for the door.
What is with that woman? Leon thought as he walked over to the river which ran by his estate. He bent down and allowed water to fill the tin and then straightened up again. He had thought that leading her into the kitchen was the thing he needed to make her want to leave his house as soon as possible. The kitchen was noxious. With his superior smell, he could make out the rotting stench even from his bedroom all the way at the other side of his estate. He was used to his servant cleaning the kitchen, though, and he hated scrubbing dishes more than anything else.
With an annoyed grunt, he spun around and headed back for the door to head inside. Once he entered the kitchen, he heard the loud sound of guttural snoring and stopped in his tracks. There, with her head in her arms on his table, sat Victoria, her hair covering the dirty plate and his cheese lump. As he watched, Victoria let out another manly snore which filled the kitchen. He couldn't help himself then – he chuckled. How could such a small, beautiful creature let out such ugly snores?
I suppose one night will be all right. I did say I might let her stay. After walking over to the table, he placed the tin by the plate and then put his hand on top of Victoria's back and put his other hand underneath her knees. With a grunt, he lifted her bridal style and then stared into her face as she let out more manly snores. A line of drool ran down her red lips and he winced. Yet there was something oddly attractive about her, even when she snored like an old man and drooled like livestock over feed.