by Cara Wylde
“Do you like it?” asked Max.
“I love it! Damn, it’s so good to be out of that room!”
Max laughed. He was leaning with his back against a tree, watching her enthusiastic reactions to all the little, insignificant things which assaulted her senses. “No, I mean everything. Do you like the Schloss, the courtyard, the garden…?”
Avelyn turned to look at him. “Yes. It’s more than I could have ever wanted.”
“I’m glad. It’s your home now.”
Avelyn swallowed heavily and forced her smile to stay on her face. “I couldn’t ask for more.” She was truly happy to be out here. Ecstatic. But not because she liked the idea of spending the rest of her life in the middle of nowhere, even if the middle of nowhere was incredibly comfortable and luxurious. It was because she knew she was now free to move around and try to find a way out. Her home? No, her home wasn’t the Schloss. The cool, fresh air helped clear her mind, and she now realized the one week confinement had messed with her head. Because Max and Christine had been the only people she saw during this time, she had almost gotten used to them and the idea of being here. She saw everything clearly now. What was it called? The Stockholm Syndrome? The idea of sympathizing and, worse, falling in love with her captor was sad and insane. Avelyn liked to believe she had a better grip on reality.
“There’s another thing I want to show you, but only if you agree.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Don’t say ‘yes’ before I tell you. You never know what you might get yourself into,” he said jokingly.
That piqued Avelyn’s curiosity. “Okay… shoot.”
Max moved away from the tree and took a few steps towards her. “My wolf form… would you like to see it?”
Avelyn wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. It was true that since she got here she never had the occasion to see Max as a wolf. She had seen Caleb turn in front of her eyes in the forest behind Alma Venus, and she remembered how fascinating that had been. Then, she had ridden on his back and they reached the school in less than 15 minutes. She had lost her footing when she climbed off his back, and he supported her with his strong, long snout. She had spent long hours at the window, looking down in the courtyard, and she had seen many wolves playing, or going about their business, but she had never thought she’d like to see Max in his wolf form.
“Sure, I guess…”
“What happened tonight… I know it was your way of letting me know that you trust me and I can trust you. You’ve given yourself to me, but I haven’t completely given myself to you yet. I want you to see every part of me, including this one. I want you to… know the wolf.”
Avelyn walked closer to him and looked up in his eyes. She caressed his perfectly-trimmed beard, marveling at how soft it felt under her fingertips. “Yes, please. I want to see the wolf.”
Max turned his head to kiss her fingers, then stepped away and started taking his clothes off. Avelyn shuddered at the sight of him exposing his naked skin to the cold air and sharp wind. Her eyes took in his sculpted chest, traveled down his abs, his soft cock, and his strong thighs. He was undressing slowly, allowing her to admire his body. She knew he could move so fast that the only thing she’d have been able to see would be a blur of clothes and white, pale skin, so she appreciated his choice of moving at human pace. When he was completely naked, he straightened his back, and looked her in the eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile, then the first bone cracked in his body. Avelyn’s heart jumped at the sound. She willed her tense shoulders to relax. It didn’t hurt him. She was sure it didn’t hurt him.
Max’s back arched in a way that looked very painful to Avelyn, and he fell on his hands and knees. The bones in his legs and arms snapped, his face contracted in effort, and his features started to change. Black fur sprouted from his pores, and he was soon covered in a shiny black coat with bluish hues. The transformation didn’t last more than two minutes, but Avelyn had the impression that she saw everything in slow motion. She watched as each part of that amazing body trembled and convulsed, her heart beating wildly in a mixture of fear and excitement. Soon, she was standing in front of the biggest wolf she had ever seen. She realized that Caleb and Daniel were of rather average sizes. Max’s wolf body was massive, covered in long, black fur that glowed blue in the moonlight. His paws were almost as big as her head, and he was slightly taller than in his human form. The only thing that could tell her this was Max were his eyes, green and kind, watching her like the eyes of a puppy would watch its master. She took a tentative step towards him. Seeing that he didn’t step back, she got bolder, and approached the wolf.
“Incredible,” she whispered. “So majestic, so beautiful.” She touched his cold, wet nose, and giggled when Max nuzzled her palm. She rubbed his cheeks and marveled at how soft his fur was. She threaded her fingers through it, slowly, carefully, not sure if what she was doing was acceptable. After all, this was a werewolf, not some cute puppy she could pet as she liked. She reached his ears, and scratched them lightly, earning a satisfied sigh from him. “You like that?” The wolf shook its big head and growled in disapproval. Avelyn laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Hey, I can rub your belly, if you want.” She gave him a wink. Max stepped away and ruffled the fur on his back, making Avelyn laugh harder. When she could finally catch her breath, she started examining him closer, admiring his strong muscles and the way they flexed underneath his skin and fur when he moved. She circled him once, her hand touching his shoulder, pressing lightly against his ribs, rubbing his hip, and smoothing down the long hairs in his tail. That, he didn’t like. He immediately snapped his tail away from her and changed his position. “What?” said Avelyn, surprised. The wolf simply shook his head, and Avelyn made a note to self to ask him later what that did to him. Maybe it made him horny? He leaned on his forelegs, lowering his upper body to the ground, and she understood the message. “Just let me grab your clothes, and then we can go back to the Schloss.” She folded his jeans and pullover, wrapped them in his jacket along with his socks and boxers, and took his shoes in her other hand. She climbed on his back, careful not to drop anything. “Oh, please go slow, okay? Last time, Caleb ran so fast that I could barely breathe.” He looked at her over his shoulder, and blinked his eyes once. Avelyn guessed that meant “yes”. At Alma Venus, she had learned how to ride with a harness. A horse, that was. No one rode shape-shifters for pleasure. Riding on the back of a werewolf was very different, and rather scary. With Caleb, she had honestly feared for her life, but this time she was completely relaxed. She trusted Max now. She knew he would never do anything to put her in harm’s way. So, she enjoyed the ride to the Schloss, the cold wind in her hair, and the feel of Max’s powerful muscles moving between her legs as he walked.
CHAPTER THREE
Almost Free
Avelyn closed her book and headed back to the castle. If she could, she would have avoided the three werewolves who were chatting on the porch, near the heavy wooden door of the main wing. But that meant she would have had to take one of the side doors, which provided easy access to the left wing and the right wing of the Schloss. She didn’t know the castle well enough to use a different entrance without the risk of getting lost. The man was leaning with his lower back pressed against the stone railing. He was taller than Max and so buff that Avelyn almost expected his muscles to pop like balloons. The women were young and beautiful, one with short black hair, the other one with light blond locks that almost touched her waist. When she went past them, they ceased their chatter and nodded their heads in greeting. None of them offered to open the door for her. Avelyn gathered all her strength, concentrated it in the weak muscles of her arms, and pulled as hard as she could. “Friggin’ gate of Mordor, dammit,” she whispered under her breath. The door budged, making it easier for her to pull it just enough to squeeze inside.
The immense entry hall was empty, and Avelyn stopped in the center to admire the majestic staircase and the old, gold chandelier.
On both sides of the staircase, there were two other doors, smaller than the front one, which led to long corridors, more doors, locked rooms, a labyrinth in which Avelyn could be lost for hours. She was determined to break the mysteries of the Schloss and learn it by heart, but today she didn’t feel like exploring. The silence didn’t last long because Daniel entered two minutes after her, maneuvering the door with obvious ease. Avelyn answered with a bright smile to his whispered “Hello, Miss”, and sighed in frustration.
She had spent the first part of the day in the courtyard, on a bench, pretending to read her book. Across the court, she could see Caleb doing something on his laptop, under a beech tree. On the stone table in front of him, next to his laptop, he had a plate of sandwiches and a mug of… something. Avelyn couldn’t have known what. From time to time, he would lift his light green eyes to look at her, but he quickly dropped them back to his screen each time she caught him staring. After she had come back from lunch, she saw that Caleb had disappeared. She had been preparing to make herself more comfortable and study the activity around the gatehouse, when she caught a glimpse of yellow fur in the corner of her eye. The werewolf crossed the courtyard and approached a girl who was just walking out through the door of the right wing - The Lunar Wing. She told him something Avelyn couldn’t hear, laughed lightheartedly, then walked past him and went through the iron gates. Avelyn had noticed how she pulled her shirt out of her jeans and started unbuttoning it. She was probably going to turn before she went into the forest. She knew the yellow wolf was Daniel, so she was not surprised when he strolled lazily to a patch of grass and plopped his heavy body on it, letting the spring sun warm his fur.
It had been like that all day. Max had gone to his office in Dunkelstadt in the morning, but not before kissing her forehead and telling her she could explore the Schloss as much as she wanted.
“Oh, one more thing,” he had said before walking out of the room. “The right wing is Jocelyn’s, and the left wing is Karl’s.”
“So, they are off limits.”
“No, not at all. You’re the lady of this castle now, so nothing is off limits to you. I just wanted to let you know. Karl’s wing is almost deserted anyway.”
The only thing he forgot to mention was that Caleb and Daniel would be taking shifts shadowing her. What kind of freedom was that supposed to be? However, she tried not to be absurd. Each time anger boiled in her chest and threatened to explode in a scream or a punch to the wall, she inhaled and exhaled deeply a couple of times, reminding herself that he was, in fact, right. Since last night, when he had taken her out and took her to the glade, she couldn’t stop thinking of finding a way to escape. The fake ID was in the inside pocket of an old jacket, patiently waiting for her to get the hell out of this mess and put it to good use. Max was right not to trust her. To some extent, the fact that he proved to be so careful and calculated pleased her. Most certainly, he was not an idiot. “Good. Because I don’t like idiots.” He wasn’t making it easy for her, was he? No matter, Avelyn had always been a resourceful woman.
Daniel’s T-shirt was crumpled, and his jeans hung low on his waist. He was barefoot, and his dirty blond hair was disheveled, as if he’d just thrown his clothes on without paying much mind to how he looked. “Where do these people stuff their clothes before they turn? And why do they even go through such a hassle when they could simply stick to one bloody form?” Avelyn had many questions about many things. After Max left, Christine had shown her around. She had taken her to meet Harold, the cook. The kitchens went two stories below ground, and the narrow staircase had almost made Avelyn claustrophobic. Harold was a lovely middle-aged man with a belly as big as a church bell. Also, his eyes were of a pleasant, human brown. She wanted to ask him why a human would ever want to work for a clan of werewolves, but she thought it might be inappropriate. She decided to save it for later, when she’d know him better. Then, the old woman had shown her the library, which was on the fourth floor, and taken her up in the Crescent Tower, from where the view was much wider and more revealing than what her bedroom windows offered.
Daniel went through the door to the right. “It must be one hell of a job to follow someone around and try not to let them know they’re being watched.” Daniel was doing a much worse job than Caleb. Avelyn decided the only reasonable place to go was the library. She climbed up the stairs slowly, lost in thought, trying to analyze the possibilities. It was improbable that she could ever go through the front gate without being seen. She was sure there were at least two werewolves up in the gate towers, guarding the entrance at night. And the damn castle was like a maze. Christine had pointed to some parts of the property which Avelyn didn’t even know existed, like the smaller, inner court with its rose garden and romantic gazebo, and the city of Dunkelstadt, vaguely visible through the thick fog, at the foot of Mount Halbmond. Avelyn had made a note to self to go up there again, alone, and take her time to study her surroundings. However, there was one thing she had to do first: browse the library for any book or document that could offer her a map of the castle, or, even better, of its famous dungeons. “If my little trick worked at Alma Venus, why not try it here as well?” She couldn’t know if the tunnels under the Schloss had been designed to lead anywhere outside of the castle, but she could only hope. There was a fair chance they had only been intended as a sort of prison.
Avelyn had reached the landing on the second floor when she almost bumped into a woman she had never seen before. She had very good visual memory, and she could recognize most of the wolves she had seen in and around the castle.
“Watch where you’re going!” the woman yelled at her, annoyed. She was so tall that Avelyn had to throw her head back to see her dark green eyes. She was one angry she-wolf. Her hair was black, cut very short, and her red tank top and skinny blue jeans outlined her athletic body and complete lack of curves. She almost looked like a boy.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” apologized Avelyn pleasantly. Then she added: “It might be because you were moving at werewolf speed.”
“So it’s my fault you’re a halfwit?”
“Oh, wow. She doesn’t like me much. Who is she anyway?”
It was like the girl read her thoughts. “I’m Jocelyn.”
“Oh my! I’m so pleased to meet you!” Avelyn was genuinely excited to finally meet the infamous Jocelyn, even though she was suddenly feeling so nervous that her hands started trembling. “I’m Avelyn.”
“I know.” Jocelyn never smiled back. Her body had taken a straight, imposing posture, and her arrogant eyes studied Avelyn from head to toe as if she were some kind of parasite the she-wolf was trying to decide whether to crush under her boot or not. “Max kept talking about you so much that I was forced to make up a new rule and impose it even on my own wolves: no one is allowed to mention your name around me. You just broke it.”
“Well, how was I…,” started Avelyn, confused. “What?” Indeed, what was she apologizing for? Jocelyn intimidated her so much that it took her a few seconds to realize she had been insulted. “I’m sorry you don’t like the sound of my name. It’s Latin.”
“I couldn’t care less about your name. I don’t like you.”
“I… err… don’t know what to say to that.”
Jocelyn folded her arms over her chest, and fixed Avelyn with her cold, piercing eyes. “Just make sure you stay out of my way, okay? You’re moving so slowly, that you’re making me feel tired. And stay out of my wolves’ way too.”
“What have I ever done to you?”
Jocelyn raised a thin, straight eyebrow. “You… are. I’ve no idea what Max sees in you, because it’s sure as hell that you’re neither pretty, nor very smart. What do you even do all day? Eat? He was supposed to bring home a bride who would offer Clan Blackmane some sort of political advantage, or, at least, a bride he could take out in public without any fear that she’d embarrass him. You’re clearly none of that. And, to make things worse, you’re a vixen. I mean… what the hell? I almost kille
d him when he told me.”
“I’m not a vixen,” whispered Avelyn, trying to hold back her anger. “I never chose to be put in House Vulpes. We don’t have a say in that.”
“Does it fuckin’ matter?” Jocelyn rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You are what you are, and you’re going to be trouble for this whole clan. I don’t even want to think of what the fox-shifters will whisper around corners and behind Max’s back when they find out you’re a Vulpes bride. It’s going to be beyond humiliating.”
Avelyn simply looked at her, hands squeezed into painful fists at her sides. There were so many things she would have loved to spit right to her face, but she had to keep her temper under control.
“Hah! You’re either more clever than I thought and you see my point and agree with me, in which case, yeah, there’s nothing you could say right now. Or, you’re so stupid that you can’t even come up with something decent to defend yourself.” The she-wolf threw her another disgusted look and went past her, down the stairs. “Just make sure you dig a hole and crawl into it every time you see me around, and we won’t have any problems,” she screamed before disappearing in a blur.