The Wolf, the Forge, and Love Forbidden - Raivh & Abovetheroses

[Abovetheroses]

Alice idly followed him, trying to rub warmth back into her digits as she walked in his footsteps, making it easier on herself. But then he stopped and turned around to face her, his gaze seeming to study her face as if to ponder the integrity of her questions. Then his rough hand took her chan and Alice couldn't help the small sound that escaped her lips, nor the heat that flooded her features and turned her pale chheks a rosy hue.

Hot breath tickled her ear and neck making her hair stand on end as he whispered to her making her shiver. No one, let alone men, ever touched her so. They hardly ever got so close. Alice's heart was pounding in her ears and everywhere else including making the massive bruise on her throat throb with every heart beat. She scarecly noticed the cold or the snow anymore. When he released her, she smiled a bit nervously and cleared her throat gently, trying not to hurt the mark as she readjusted the cloak. "I um..." She took a breath. "Well, it's not hard to find someone who's company is more preferable than their's but, you do have a point. As much as I anger them I feel father would make an eample out of anyone who would do me harm." She had to look away, her heart was still racing. Why was it racing? She liked the roughness of his hands and fingers against her skin, it was strong and sturdy, so different from all the things she knew. They were all soft, violent. His were kind.

She blinked and shook her head, the chill starting to seep back in. His next question caused her head to snap back in his direction, pale brow furrowed. "A weapon? Of course not. I told you the armory is the one place I have no access to and my father has forbidden me any weapons, even simple ones." Her shoulder's sagged. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, it's the last thing that I would do. I'm here because I'm hoping that maybe with some help I can maybe find a way to stop this war. Help. Not harm." She seemed genuninly concerned and confused as she looked up at the big man before her. But after a moment she shook her head and looked ahead.

"We are heading in the right direction?" She asked simply as she started walking past him. Just because she didn't have a weapon didn't mean she was going to stop her quest and she wasn't about to let that stop him from guiding her.

That's then she heard something. A tree snap? An animal? A wolf?

As much as she wanted to meet the wolves and speak with them she couldn't deny being scared. She had no idea what to do to be prepared. She didn't know if they would want to speak with her or if they would attack her the moment they laid eyes on her. She hoped they would speak to her but realistically she had no idea.

Alice's heart leapt back into her throat as she froze for a moment. Then she slowly backed up until her small frame made contact with Ahren. She stopped, her face burning as she removed herself from him and stepped aside, putting him between her and whatever made the odd sound.

~​

Luca walked over to the wall and snatched his new sword. It was covered in dirt and grime and he swore but shoved it into his belt anyway. It did not get it's prize today, it didn't get it's taste of blood all because his sister stole it. Well he had it back now. And it was going to get it's head. Whether it was a wolf's or his sister's.

He turned and started to storm out of the garden.

"Luca?" Marco stood at the entrance. "Luca what are you doing?"

"I'm finding Alice and I'm going to make her tell me what she is doing with the wolves. She had something to do with that bitch's escape. I know it!"

Marco reeled back. "What are you going to do? Kill our sister?!"

Luca grabbed his brother by tunic and pulled him close. "If she is sabotaging out family then she deserves to die. Someone is dying tonight. It will be her or something else. So help me I am killing something." He threw his younger brother to the ground and stormed off to continue his search for Alice.

 

[Raivh]

When he heard hear answer, he immediately recalled their earlier conversation. Nonetheless, he rolled his eyes and groaned under his breath. He, too, didn't have a weapon. At least not a sword, spear, or ax. It didn't particularly surprise him that she was without a means of defense. Looking down into her puzzled expression, he decided that if it came down to it, he'd just have to knock her unconscious. There wouldn't be any way around it.

“Very well, Milady,” he mumbled as she shook her head and stared beyond where he stood.

She brushed past him and he turned to follow her, nodding in silent reply. Just as he was about to step forward, though, she stepped back. The back of her head connected with the breadth of his chest. He wasn't paying her much attention, though. He'd heard it as well. His stare was trained forward as he took a deep breath in and she stepped quietly behind him, shielding herself.

The hairs along the back of his neck were beginning to raise, and not from the cold air swirling around them. It was a light, quick step that was approaching them, one well accustomed to treading undetected through the forest. It had to have been the snow that had prevented him from hearing the footsteps before. He wondered if he'd had a shadow this entire time and just hadn't noticed it. His senses weren't what they once were, albeit heightened from his jaunt as a wolf not long ago. They were fading out, too, now that he was back in his human form.

“Milady.” His words were careful, low. “Do you wish you had that weapon now?”

He'd turned his face just an inch or two, just enough that he could see her out of his peripheral. His expression was stern.

Ahren?

He could hear the voice in his thoughts and his attention was again drawn away from Alice. He felt himself relax as the figure appeared from the trees opposite them.

Elise, what are you doing?

The wolf standing across from them held her ears forward, alert. Her wounds were still evident to Ahren, but she was doing well to hide them. Another wolf appeared, much larger than Elise and about the same size as Aldred. He was none too pleased to see his second oldest brother standing in front of him.

Alden.

Ahren shifted his weight, squaring himself off more fully before Alice. Alden bore a snarl, each tooth sharp and at the ready, bearing the brunt of his anger. A growl reverberated in the beast's chest as he shifted his forefeet in the snow, eyes locked on Ahren. Elise turned to Alden and, with a sharp yelp and a nip, hushed him. The male's features smoothed and he stood still, but he never allowed his stare to drift away from Ahren.

You're wounded, Elise. Why did Alden bring you this way?

She couldn't hold her form any longer, and so she transformed, reverting back to her human form. Elise shivered, her feet still caked with blood, but she smiled. From behind her another form appeared, and she looked back and reached out an arm.

“Aldred,” Elise said with a smile. Her legs were unsteady and her knees gave out, buckling beneath her. Alden and Aldred both stepped up and leaned in, bracing her, and she was able to stay standing. Once she was stable, she allowed most of her weight to rest against Alden's form.

Aldred, like Alden, kept his gaze pinned on Ahren.

What are you doing here? Ahren's brow hung low over his eyes.

Elise wanted to speak with the young lady. Aldred's words overpowered Ahren's mind, forcing him to avert his eyes for a split second as he looked straight into the alpha's piercing stare. Your stench was easy to track.

--------------------------------------------

At the stables, Luca commanded a young stable boy to fetch a fresh horse for riding and saddle him. He watched the boy with the eyes of a predator observing its prey before making a kill. When the horse was ready and the reins presented to him, Luca shoved the boy out of the way.

He mounted the horse with an easy swing of his leg up and clutched the pommel in a white-knuckled grip.

“My hound,” Luca demanded, once again eyeing the boy.

The young man went stark white, the color washed out of him at the thought of having to retrieve one of the blood-thirsty dogs. However, he did as he was bid and fetched one of the snapping, snarling beasts. The dog strained at its tether as they approached Luca.

“Loose him,” Luca ordered. The boy was shaking in terror, fully aware of what the lord's hound were capable of. The moment the tether was undone, the dog turned on the boy, finally free of his hold. Luca pulled lips taut and let out a shrill whistle. It was enough to get the hound's attention. The dog's ears twitched and he immediately sat.

“Now fetch my sister's riding gloves,” he told the boy. His eyes faced forward, though, through the streets and in the direction of the keep's gate. “The Lady Alice has wandered from home and I must find her before this snow worsens.”

 

[Abovetheroses]

Her heart thundered in her chest bocking out most other sounds. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she tied to still the trembling in her hand. It wasn't from the cold any more, no, now she could feel it, the power and anger in the air. She was far out of her element. Her title meant nothing out here and would do little to help her.

Then the large animal showed itself and Alice gasped. "Oh!" Her small hands covered her mouth as she peered out from just behind her human shield. She would never forget that creature, in either shape. IT was the woman she wanted so desperately to help. A heavy weight seemed to lift from her shoulders. True the smith had told her she was alive, but seeing her standing, bleeding, but breathing before her was so much more a relief than anything. Her family had not won. This was a small victory in Alice's book.

A small smile tried to pull onto her soft lips but stopped when tow more, much larger wolves appeared when the woman was forced back into her human shape. Alice's brow drew together in sympathetic distress as she stared at the nude woman, still battered and beaten standing in the snow.

Oblivious to the unspoken exchange between her unwilling guardian and the pack, Alice hastily unfastened her cloak and stepped out from behind Ahren revealing the hand shaped bruise on her throat to him and the rest. To Alice, her father was far more terrifying than any of them, they didn't know him like she did, but even still she managed to ignore her injury and tried to take a small step forward, but only succeeded in about half before the bared teeth and snarls kept her in her place just beside the blacksmith. Alice didn't want to cause more harm or offend them. She wanted to wrap the thing around the woman, but if they'd let her no closer she'd simply offer it out to her.

"Please." She extended the cloak towards Elise and offered a small smile. "You shouldn't have to endure more than you already have." She could already feel the cold seeping into her own limbs and she wore long sleeves. She couldn't imagine standing there in the snow with nothing to cover herself. "I'm glad you are well... as well as you are, given what you have gone through." The wolves watched her, Alice unaware if they even knew or comprehended what she was saying in their current form.

Alice sighed. "I was actually out here looking for you. Well, hoping I might be able to find someone to talk to is more like it. I'm so very glad it was you that showed up. I'm so glad you escaped my brother." The last part was barely a whisper, still the unimaginable weight that Alice felt being lifted at seeing the other woman alive she wasn't sure they'd understand. Too many people and things had she seen killed and been unable to stop.

~​

When the boy returned with the gloves and presented them to the dog the beast took a few deep sniffs before tearing a glove from his hand and almost a finger. It ripped the thing to shreds before Luca whistled and it took off in a dead sprint towards the forest.

Luca kicked his horse and took off after it, gritting his teeth as he whipped its flanks and hurried it along. Hooves pounded cobblestone and dirt before they were muffled by the fresh snow. "I just knew it. She's with them" He muttered under his breath as he left the city and tore town a snowy trail into the dense trees that led to wolf territory. "You will not escape me, dear sister." The cold air stung his face as he charge after the hound that seemed to know exactly where his sister had been heading. It wouldn't be long. He'd find her.

 

[Raivh]

Every muscle in Ahren's large form tensed as he struggled to force back the primal instinct to snarl at his older brother's insult. At first, he didn't notice the small woman making her move toward his brothers and sister-in-law. When he realized what she was doing, it was like having the air knocked out of him.



Aldred stepped forward, ears pricked and alert, and both men watched as she removed her cloak and held it out to the woman opposite herself. Ahren's gaze shifted to Elise. The slender woman stood with steam pouring from her flesh. She smiled more broadly as Alice held the garment out to her, but she was too weak to move. She needed to reserve some energy for the journey home, and she wasn't as cold as the woman likely thought she was.



Elise listened carefully to what Alice said as she spoke. Aldred and Alden relaxed some, but Ahren was still very much on edge. Sometime during her speech, he'd stepped forward and stood beside her as she finished her apology. His head was turned toward her, eyes studying her carefully. She was a very peculiar woman indeed.



Elise curled her fingers into Alden's fur and leaned more heavily against him for a moment before she gathered enough strength to straighten up. Her expression was one of pride and awe. “Milady,” she began, shifting her hand over Alden's fur until he lowered himself enough that she could climb onto his back. “Your brother is but a child,” she continued, settled her weight against her mate's back as he began to stride forward, head held high as he approached Alice and Ahren. Alden kept his sight trained on Ahren, holding no concern for Alice's intentions.



Elise slid a small hand over her belly and dropped her gaze to it for a moment before fixing it back on Alice again. There was warmth in her eyes. “I've been around much longer than him, and my child will be around much longer than him as well.” She let her hand smooth over her abdomen and twined her fingers into Alden's fur. “There isn't a soul in this world that Alden would allow to harm either of us without inflicting the same in return.” Her smile softened as she stroked the fur between his ears. “However, I've requested him to leave your brother wholly intact as no real harm was done, and my wounds will heal within a week's time.”



Alden snorted, looking at Alice for a brief moment. For now.



Elise's expression became very stern and she pinched a tuft of fur below one of Alden's ears and pulled until the wolf's large head tilted to the side. He didn't dare growl at her. “That's not what we agreed.”



“For now,” Ahren repeated, eyes locking with Elise's. The woman's face went pale. The barking was growing louder, closer. Ahren encouraged Elise's stare to where Aldred stood, facing away from them in the direction of the keep. His hackles were raised, nails embedded in the snow and earth, ears pinned against his head.



Stepping forward, Ahren reached out for Alice's hand. “Milady,” he said, bending to whisper in her ear. Elise immediately flung a hand forward, grabbing Ahren by the shoulder. He turned to her.



Elise's eyes were wide, “With me,” she said quickly. “Now.”



Ahren stared at her for a moment, hesitant, but ultimately nodded his head in agreement.



“Forgive me,” Ahren uttered as he swept Alice's legs out from beneath her and swung her onto Alden's back behind Elise. His eyes locked with Alice's before quickly switching to Elise's. “And keep her safe.”



Elise nodded and Alden spun around and leapt forward, rushing headlong back in the direction they'd come, back toward the mountains.



It wasn't long after that when Luca's hound appeared. The dog's teeth were bared in a fierce, threatening manner, which vanished quickly upon Aldred's own fangs making an appearance. The alpha's eyes were wild as they fixated on the hound, and he gnashed his teeth. The hound yelped and took a step back.



Aldred, Ahren walked closer to where his brother and the hound were.



Alrdred wheeled his head around, snapping his teeth at Ahren now while the hound still cowered immediately in front of him. The wolf's eyes were wide, the whites of them showing, as he glared at his younger brother. The beat of the horses hooves were getting closer, and with them the hound grew bold. It lunged at Aldred, but was met with a terrible bite clamped tightly around its throat. Blood flowed out and around Aldred's face, and he quickly flung the dog to the ground.



Even as the horses hooves thundered closer, Aldred kept his attention on his younger brother. So, what will you do, Ahren? Will you run? Will you fight me? Aldred flashed crimson teeth at Ahren, daring him to attack. After all, you're just their pet, aren't you? Your family abandoned you, and they're all that you have?



Ahren's eyes darkened as his brow lowered, and he squared his feet, preparing for Aldred to leap at him and attack out of anger. The older wolf, however, did not, and instead stopped snarling altogether.



“Well, well!” Luca shouted, slowing his horse to a halt about ten or fifteen feet off. “The smith and that brute from earlier this evening that ruined my hunt!”



Aldred kept his eyes trained on his brother, but his lips curled back into a wolfish smile and his chest thrummed with something akin to a laugh. Ahren had moved his attention to Luca, who looked first at him, then at Aldred, then back at him.



“What are you doing all the way out here, smith?” Luca questioned, quirking one inquisitive brow. “Have you seen my dear sister?”



Breathing deep, Ahren shook his head in response to Luca's question. “No, Milord, I last saw her before your hunt.”



Luca walked his horse right, closer to Ahren. The animal was jittery, being so close to Aldred, who stood calmly, just watching the exchange, still focused entirely on Ahren. “No?” Pointing a finger behind Ahren, Luca continued, “Then what's her cloak doing there in the snow?”

 

[Abovetheroses]

Alice's nerves seemed to calm when she felt the smith's calming presence at her side. When he moved there she wasn't too sure, but it was reassuring nonetheless as she watched the other woman with the wolves move and speak to her. It was curious, how calm and comfortable she seemed to be standing there naked in the snow surrounded by things that looked like beasts. Alice had to constantly tell herself that they weren't, and that the woman herself was just like them so of course she was unafraid. Yet still, it was a very trying effort for as much as she wanted to speak with them and try to find some way to make peace. It would have been so much easier if they looked less startling.

The wolf woman seemed uninterested in the cloak Alice offered so she lowered it, holding it before her in case she changed her mind. But the steam rolling off the other's battered skin didn't escape notice. She wondered if it had something to do with her changing... which only flooded her mind with many more curious and most likely improper questions about their life and ways. It was not the time for that.

She seemed exhausted and Alice couldn't blame her as she climbed atop the smaller of the two wolves at her side and slowly approached. The wolf seemed much less threatening, his attention on the smith rather than her, as the woman spoke. "They are all children." Alice muttered under her breath, but the more she spoke the deeper the furrow in her pale brow grew. Age seemed to be a different kind of concept to the wolves. It made Alice wonder just how old the woman before her was. She didn't seem that much older than herself.... But if that was the case. Then the owner of the emblem from her journal could very much be alive and well. But how would she ever know what he'd look like or how to find him? He wouldn't be an old man but how old would he be exactly? Her mind was spinning, pale lips fumbling to find a way to form proper questions. "It seems there are a great many things I don't know about your kind. But if given the chance I'd like to learn... I have so many questions." The last part was more a whisper than anything.

The wolf looked at her. Alice gave him a nervous smile. "Well, while I appreciate the kindness, I'm sure you know he wouldn't grant you or yours any of the same." She sighed, feeling a bit defeated by what she was about to say. "You would have been better off ending him. I fear he won't stop his horrid endeavors."

The smith spoke for the first time since the wolves arrival. Alice wasn't sure if he was nervous or fearful. His expression wasn't quite either so she didn't know what to make of it. She was so engrossed in the fact she was making headway in her quest for some kind of communication and potential for peace, she was unaware of what the man with her thought of all of this.

That's when she heard it. The faintest of barks carried on the wind. But it seemed that she was the last one to hear it. Her head spun to the smith when he took her hand in that familiar war and leaned in close whispering in her ear. His breath against her ear made goosebumps spread out across her skin. But before he could say another word the wolf woman grabbed him. They seemed to know one another as they spoke so few words and he just willingly nodded. Alice was at a loss. Had he led her to them because he knew them? The barking was getting closer and she didn't have time to dwell on the new surge of questions.

"What... Oh!" A startled sound escaped her as he swept her off her feet and set her atop the beast beside them. Her eyes held his gaze, sheer confusion clear on her face until he spoke. Then the wolf took off into the forest, leaving the closest thing she had to a friend to face her brother alone with a wolf. She didn't want to leave him. He made her feel safe. She finally found someone that she wasn't scared of and now she was leaving him behind.

Alice nearly fell off, but instinct took over and she had ridden enough horses she knew how to hang on and grip with her legs. Fingers held tight to thick fur as the snow stung her face. "Stop! We have to back!" She pleaded desperately as she looked over her shoulder in a feudal attempt to glimpse where they had just come from. "I... I can stop Luca." She had no idea if it was true. But at least if she was there, he's take his anger out on her instead of the Smith or the wolves. None of this was their fault. "He's going to get himself killed, all because he was trying to help me." She felt her eyes starting to burn as her vision blurred. She was going to get another wolf hurt and a man killed and she didn't even know his name.

She contemplated jumping off the back of the wolf and going back on her own but at the rate he was running, a sprained ankle would be the absolute best landing she'd do. Most likely it'd break, if she didn't land wrong and break her neck. "Please..." Her voice was shaking. "This is all my fault. I need to go back and stop him."

~

Luca's eyes drifted over to the bloody smear that was the remains of his hound and he frowned briefly before he looked back to the smith. "You know, I distinctly recall us telling you to find my sister and keep her out of our hair while we continue our tradition." He waltzed his horse around. "Yet here i find you with her cloak and one of those filthy things. It makes me wonder..."

He paused and scratched his chin before grinning. "I did find my new sword." He pulled it from his belt and flipped it around a few times. "It didn't get to taste any blood earlier so I thought I might bring it out and give it a try. Since my dear sister has betrayed my family I thought I might see if I could rid us of her problem. But since I find you here instead, perhaps you can take her place until I find her." His grin grew. "Unless you care to tell me where she has run off to? Maybe I'll just kill him instead of you and then go find her."

 

[Raivh]

Alden was running full tilt through the forest, rushing by trees at such great speed that they were nothing but a blur. His nostrils flared, pumping oxygen into his lungs as fast as they could draw it in to feed hungry muscles. He could barely hear the woman's voice over the wind in his ears, and he tossed a quick, serious glance behind him and caught Elise's eyes.



If that woman jumps, Elise, I'm not stopping.



Elise's grip tightened against Alden's fur, and she peered over her shoulder. She could see the frantic, desperate expression on Alice's face. A smile graced Elise's countenance, soft and kind. “Milady, they'll be fine. Aldred is strong, and Ahren might surprise you, too.”



Her eyes were fiercely confident. “Aldred is our alpha. He won't let anything happen to our pack, and that includes Ahren, despite how bullheaded he can be.”



- - -



Ahren felt his body go cold suddenly, having not realized that the cloak was behind him. It was a mistake he knew would only prove to anger Luca further. He remained still, monitoring the man carefully as his horse steadied and Luca's attention hovered over the dead hound.



“Milord,” Ahren said, bowing his head as he heard the horse's hooves stamp over the earth once more. “I apologize, but she escaped me in the garden. I was unfamiliar with it and so she got away.”



It was Aldred's snarl that brought Ahren's eyes back to where Luca was. He watched as the brazenly arrogant man nonchalantly played with the sword. The words that filtered into his ears were mixed with the low rumble of Aldred's audible displeasure. The large wolf's black lips were pulled back, showcasing a set of sharp fangs and plenty of other teeth prepared to rip into Luca at any moment.



“Milord,” Ahren replied, lifting his chin and fixing his stare even with Luca's. The tension was thick between them, like mud found in the swamps south of the keep. “I am telling you that I do not know where the Lady Alice has gone off to.”



The explanation was not what Luca wanted to hear. His grin faded and fury burned in his eyes. Then he sneered again. “Fine. If you won't tell me, then I'll have both your heads.” Luca lowered the point of his blade to Aldred but the wolf didn't flinch.



Ahren felt his muscles straining as he tried not to shift. “Milord, that is not a wise decision.”



“Why?” Luca quipped, urging his nervous horse closer to the wolf. He shifted his focus from Ahren to Aldred. “He's just a dumb mutt. None unlike that hound he killed before I arrived.”



Luca chuckled, amused, when Aldred snapped his teeth at him. He looked back at Ahren. “Besides, you're not going to stop me. I want my prize, and if I'm wounded or killed, and they find Alice's cloak out here with you missing. Well, what do you think my father will assume? What do you think he'll do?”



Keeping his fists at his sides, Ahren gritted his teeth. “I know what they'll assume, but what do you think they'll do? I'm the only smith within hundreds if not thousands of miles with the skills your father wants.”



“Oh?” Luca whipped out the hunting knife Rinan had made for the ceremony and flipped it into the snow in front of Ahren's feet. “I think your apprentice has learned enough from his master.”



Aldred lunged the second the knife hit the snow, fast enough to catch Luca off guard and knock him from his mount. In the same instant, Ahren rushed forward. The sword Luca had so proudly been displaying had loosened from his grip in the fall and now rested about five feet from him. Aldred's teeth were embedded in the man's arm.



Luca screamed as he watched his blood pool around the wolf's teeth and stared into Aldred's eyes with significant loathing. His cries of agony grew when Aldred clamped down tighter, severing tendons, ligaments, and fracturing bones.



“Aldred!” Ahren bellowed as he barreled into his elder brother's side. The change happened instantly, and Ahren sunk his fangs into Aldred's shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain. Wide-eyed and furious, Aldred wheeled on his brother while Luca scrambled to his knees, holding his arm close to his chest.



Hearing his brother cry out in pain, Ahren released his bite, only to receive one equally as fierce against the side of his face. He felt his flesh tear beneath fur against fang and claw. It was then that Ahren lost himself. He stopped watching Luca.



If only our father knew what you'd become! Ahren heard his brother's thoughts, full of frustration and angst, felt them burn through his mind, adding fuel to fire. Throwing his entire weight against Aldred, he knocked the older wolf off balance and watched as he stumbled back a few steps. Then he rushed forward, snapping down over Aldred's hackles and hurling him to the earth.



Again, Aldred's thoughts boomed in Ahren's mind, striking more fiercely than his bite. You're nothing but another hound for this 'Lord.'



Ahren spun, chest heaving as he prepared to leap at his brother again, but he was stopped cold in his tracks. Everything in him froze, leaving him colder than the snow falling around them.

 

[Abovetheroses]

Alice looked at the other woman, just as confused as before. She spoke of the other wolf, and of...Ahren, the smith? They were... part of her pack? But that meant the man she had been speaking to, arguing with, the one that had been leading her and protecting her was one of them? But why would he do such a thing... Her mind was spinning. Scrambling to try and piece her words together in a way that made sense. But if that was the case then... why didn't he say anything? Why lead her to others instead of just answering her questions? And Why would he work for her father? She was so confused. Was she even jumping to the right conclusions?

Her body trembled, from fear or of the cold she didn't know, she just tried to hold on tighter. "You don't understand." She tried again. "it doesn't matter how strong they are, or if they get away. Luca will come after them with more force and more ferocity. Worse, if he gets hurt, my father will get involved and so will his men. It's a no win situation if I don't try to placate him." Luca could hurt her all he wanted but their father would never let him actually kill her. Right? Maybe if she want back and just let her brother do what ever he wanted with her, the wolves and the smith could get away safely.

Hanging her head she knew they wouldn't listen. Her mission of peace was doing far more harm then good. When her family found her missing all hell would break loose. Luca showing up was all her fault. Alice's shoulders shook as she tried to keep herself from crying.This was not supposed to happen. She was trying to bring the two groups together, not let them kill one another. But at this rate, was it even possible?

Alice looked over her shoulder at the trees that were fading behind her with each passing moment. She could no longer see the smith or the wolf, or her home for that matter. She was as far away as she had ever been and at the complete mercy of the creature she rode. She had no way of even knowing how to return home, if there was ever a chance of that happening now.

 

[Raivh]

Wide, bewildered eyes stared forward, unblinking, as Aldred's mouth hung open. The lumbering wolf shuddered and heaved as a vicious cough wracked his body and blood spattered forth, staining the white snow a deep crimson. With a sneer spread across his face, Luca loomed over the wolf. He held his sword in his left hand, the blade poised and driven expertly behind the wolf's shoulder, piercing through fur, flesh, and muscle, between ribs and deep into the vital organs they sheltered.

Even as words tumbled from Luca's lips, they were barely audible over the sharp ringing in Ahren's ears which stood fully erect and forward-facing.

"I knew there was something strange about you, smith." Luca shifted his weight, driving the blade deeper and causing another bout of blood to pool before Aldred. The large wolf's eyes began to glaze over and his lids fell to half mast as he looked blankly at Ahren in front of him.

Something began to whir at the back of Ahren's mind as he watched the silver tip of the sword begin to peek out the front of Aldred's chest. Wave after crashing wave of red fell in his field of vision as he shifted his stare from Aldred to Luca. The man's words began to filter into his ears and register.

"Are you angry?" The crooked smirk on Luca's face was dangerously playful, wicked, and he egged Ahren on by roughly and sharply twisting the hilt of the sword, causing the length of it to churn inside Aldred. Ahren's eyes leapt back to his brother and snapped open wider than seemed naturally possible. For a fraction of a second, the alpha's eyes sparked back to life and his jaw clamped closed audibly as hot blood oozed out the sides of his black lips. He locked sight of Ahren and held him there.

You're just a dog after all, aren't you?

Seconds seemed to linger between them. That was all Aldred had left. His eyes were beginning to lose their focus again. His eyesight was becoming blurry. Aldred blinked, and his brother faded to darkness. He blinked again, and Ahren's stone-like figure returned, but it wasn't as crisp and clear as before.

Ahren's heart raced in his chest, thrumming against his ribs like the beat of a tribal drum, deep, entrancing.

You'd live...

With a voracious tug and a barbaric shout, Luca loosed the blade from Aldred. With it came blood that rained down over his face, creating tiny red freckles that spattered his entire face and neck as he brought the sword quickly above him. The tip of the blade toward the sky, he caught Ahren's attention again. The grin was gone from his lips, but still very much alive in his eyes. "You're right, I guess there's no point in being angry. He was dead anyway."

Ahren.

The sound of his brother's voice in his thoughts again drew Ahren's eyes from Luca, and he fixed his gaze upon his brother. Even though the last of life was draining from him, Aldred stood tall, proud.

To live, you'd let them all die.

The sword fell hard and fast, crashing down against the back of Aldred's neck. It crushed bones and tore through fine, tough sinew as though it were warm, soft butter and continued clean through until Aldred's head rolled.

Time stood still.

Ahren watched as his brother's head gathered snow, mixing with it and turning pink as it skittered across the surface of the earth. The whirring sound grew in intensity, shrieking alongside the ringing in his ears until, suddenly, it stopped. And all he could hear was the beat of his heart and the crunch of snow beneath Luca's boots.

The young Lord advanced, sword hanging limply at his side, showing no fear or hesitation to approach his trophy and Ahren, who stood but a few feet away from where it had stopped. Aldred's eyes were still alert, even in death.

"As for you," Luca said as he tilted his head to one side and the crooked, devilish grin returned. Boldly, he pointed the end of the blade in Ahren's direction. The two of them locked eyes, and Ahren's heartbeat grew steady. "You'll make a fine hound for these hunts. Replace the one your lot killed."

Luca's gaze flitted over to the lifeless form of one of his dogs lying in the snow, growing stiff and cold with the passing of time. Ahren's heartbeat began to steadily pick up pace until it was once again pounding. He felt his lips curl back into a sneer to envy Luca's.

"Is that?" Luca questioned rhetorically, letting a breathy laugh burst from parted lips. "Are you smirking? You think what I've said is amusing?"

The hair between Ahren's shoulders was beginning to raise and stand on end. Tufts of fur at the base of his tail were lifting as well. He shook his head from side-to-side as if to shake off an annoyance and it traveled down his entire body. All the while his black lips only grew more taut, revealing more of his brilliant white teeth and powerful maw. He advanced one step in Luca's direction and maintained eye contact with the man. Ahren caught fear in the man's eyes for but a second before it faded, and then he stopped moving.

"Another step and I'll have your head mounted beside his," Luca cautioned, gesturing to Aldred's decapitated head resting in the snow. Ahren's eyes snapped open.

--------------------------------

Elise listened to Alice as she made her plight, but she didn't waver in her mission to get them all as far away from that evil man as possible. Not only did she have herself to be concerned about, but also Alden and their unborn child. Aldred was more than capable of fending for himself.

Looking back over her shoulder, Elise smiled softly. "Milady, you are kind. Much kinder than others like you, but there is nothing that will placate that man's lust for the blood of my kin, including that of myself and my child. We cannot turn around. That is something I know you--"

Elise was cut off when Alden stopped dead in his tracks and spun around. His large nose sought out the scents behind them and sourced one. Blood. He looked back over his shoulder to Elise.

"--must," Elise continued, faintly, as she lowered her gaze to Alden's, "understand...Alden?"

Tears began to well up in Elise's eyes, and she quickly brought a hand up to cover her mouth as a sobbing gasp parted her lips.

We don't know, Elise.

Elise's eyes flitted back and forth quickly, as if searching for something.

"Alden!" Elise exclaimed. She felt incredibly sick to her stomach and pivoted to her right. Her abdomen heaved as she retched. "There's so much blood in the air!"

Alden averted his eyes from Elise and moved his gaze to Alice behind her. His snout wrinkled as his lips pulled back to reveal his teeth as he growled and then snorted, tossing his focus back in the direction they'd just come.

He could feel the tremors coming from Elise and growing more violent. This kind of stress was not healthy for their pup growing in her womb.

Elise, you have to calm down. I'm sure he's--

A howl broke his thought mid-sentence. It carried through the forest and seemed to shake the trees more violently than the bitter wind that had picked up the closer they had come to the mountains.

"He's dead!" Elise screamed. "Alden, he's dead!"

 

[Abovetheroses]

Alice’s brow drew together as she watched the other woman lose her voice. Something was happening. Something she didn’t understand, but whatever it was, Alice feared what would happen next. The wolf beneath them stopped and looked back to where they had come from. Could he hear something she couldn’t?

Her heart started racing as all the possibilities played out in her head. “What?” Alice whispered when Elise started sobbing. She couldn’t smell anything.

The wolf looked at her and growled and Alice had to swallow the lump in her throat. She wasn’t welcome here and she began to realize she should have thought out her plan much more. But it was too late now and she had done more harm then good it seemed. The road to hell is paved with the best intentions... Her brother voice echoed in her head. Even though she had true and honest intentions, Alice felt as though all her choices up until now were not leading them to any place good. True she wasn’t the one slaughtering them, but she led her brother right to them. Her heart sank.

The howl that pierced the forest shook her to her core. Alice trembled her gaze still behind her.

When Elise’s words reached her, Alice almost didn’t comprehend the words. “Dead?” Her voice was barely a whisper as she immediately thought of the smith. He had been the only one to be kind to her, and despite their initial meeting he failed to treat her like a burden. There was so much more she wanted to know. She never got to ask him anything. But more then her curiosity, her guilt at getting him involved seeped in. He couldn’t really be dead right? If he was gone then who would help her try and sort things out? It was clear that she wasn’t welcome with the wolves, yet he didn’t seem to mind her company. If he wasn’t there, what would happen to her in their company?

It finally dawned on her that they had left two behind. So there was a chance that the smith was still alive.

“W-what’s happening?” Alice finally managed to ask, although she wasn’t sure if either of her companions would actually bother with answering her.

She blinked and shook some sense back into herself. Alice loosened her grip and slid off the animal, her gaze on the wolf. “Take her away from here. Get someplace safe.” She set her mind. “I’m going back.” She took a step back away from them, her small feet sinking into the snow. “I refuse to let Luca kill anyone else.” She sighed. “Maybe the smith was right, maybe this was all pointless, but I’m not giving up on ending this damn war. Pointless or not, nothing is going to happen unless someone tries... something.”

Alice wrapped her arms around herself. “I know you don’t care, but I’m truly sorry for everything my family has done to you.” Her gaze shifted to Elise. “Go keep your baby safe.”

 

[Raivh]

With his eyes open wide, Ahren starred straight ahead as Luca took first one step, then another, closing space between himself an Aldred's decapitated head. He didn't howl until the man had the audacity to commit yet another atrocity, punting Aldred's head across the forest floor in Ahren's direction. It was then that Ahren threw his massive head back, stretched out his neck, and loosed that piercing, terrifying cry through the forest. It echoed on as his jaw snapped shut. His chest thrummed as he growled and snarled, showing Luca a full set of dangerous teeth.

For once, the man seemed frozen in his footsteps. He was still sneering, but now there was fear in his eyes as well, fear of what was to come. Fear of whether or not he would be able to survive it. Yes, Ahren watched as Luca contemplated one of his most significant life choices yet. One heavy, tufted paw lifted and moved in advance toward the man, stepping around his brother's head for now. There was no going back now. Another paw shifted forward. Now he could smell the terror seeping from Luca's pores like sap from a tree, and it was oh so sickeningly sweet as flared nostrils pulled it in and filled Ahren's lungs.

It had been a very long time since Ahren had taken this form, and he'd done it more than once tonight already. There was no knowing when it would fail him. He couldn't control it as well as he used to. And right now, he was running on pure adrenaline.

----------------------------------------------------------

Alden was too focused on his mate, who was sobbing with her face burrowed against the fur at the back of his neck, her fingers twisted in knots as she shook and tried to stay in place. Her grief was apparent and overwhelming. He didn't hear Alice when she spoke at first, didn't care what she had to say. Their pack had lost its leader today, and Alden, while a strong and skilled warrior, was in no place to step in and assume the position as alpha. It wasn't until he felt the human woman slide from his back that he switched gears. Fast. His eyes snapped open, lips curled back again in a snarl, and he fixed his sights on Alice, prepared to tear into her if she tried anything.

When she felt Alden grow tense, Elise turned her head and looked back at Alice who now stood in the snow coating the forest floor. Her words barely made it through the sorrow Elise was overcome with, but they did and they didn't make any sense. She sat up and furrowed her brow as she, too, slid from Alden's back. The large male whipped around and nudged his mate's hip back with his shoulder, mindful of how much strength he put into stopping her from getting any closer to the other woman.

Elise laughed, exasperated and not thinking entirely straight. She was grieving, and now she even she was irritated. "You think Ahren is going to let Luca off the hook for murdering our leader, his brother?" Her words were laced with venom and saturated with tears. Her eyes were hot as more streamed down her cheeks in channels. She tilted her head just to the left and shook it. "No, Milady, this Luca doesn't yet know the extent of his crime."

Her hand fell to her belly and cradled it. "There is nowhere safe for my child as long as your kin lives. Ahren will kill him." She nodded her head reassuringly. "If he doesn't, we will try. And many, if not all, of us may die, including my pup." Her voice hitched, thinking of the young life inside of her meeting its end before it even began.

 

[Abovetheroses]

"What do you want Marco?" Phillip closed the book he was reading and regarded his youngest brother with a critical eye across the table.

Marco sighed. "Aren't you worried about Alice and Luca?" Phillip pushed himself up to his feet and walked out of his office. Marco was quick to follow him. "Come on! You can't tell me that you aren't seriously concerned he is going to do something stupid."

Phillip pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at his brother. "Of course Luca is going to do something stupid. He always does." He turned and kept walking. "But Alice brought this on herself." He kept muttering under his breath.

"What? What are you talking about?" Marco grabbed his arm and forced him to stop.

"Look, when Alice was born, mother died. Father was too busy to raise an infant and Victor was too sick. So it fell to Luca. He was thirteen." Phillip sighed. "You were just old enough to keep yourself or bother me..." He deposited his book on a shelf and folded arms across his chest. "Luca blames Alice for many things."

"He can't seriously blame her for mother's death? She had nothing to do with it."

"You have met our brother Luca right? Of course he blames her. He also thinks she stole his childhood. He spent the majority of his teenage years taking care of her until He forced me to." Phillip leaned against the wall. "I didn't mind so much, I mostly just babysat the two of you and you entertained eachother. But as soon as Alice started learning she started trying to get involved. I don't know how, but she just... doesn't believe in things like we do. Alice has her own mind and plans and Luca isn't exactly a fan of that."

"So what? She has her own ideas? I thought that was important for a noble?"

"Maybe a nobelman, but not a woman. Especially when she is contradicting everything our father and now brother, is trying to do."

Marco ran a hand though his dark locks. "But do you really think he'd do something to hurt her? Honestly?"

"Do you remember how accident prone Alice was growing up? All the bruises, and broken bones?" Phillip frowned. "They weren't accidents."

"He's really going to kill her isn't he?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Alice's brow drew together as she stared at the other woman. She was bewildered to say the least. Was this a normal reaction? Alice had never really felt loss. Not loss of a loved one anyway. She knew fear and anger, but never losing someone close to her she couldn't relate to the feelings the other woman had. So when Elise laughed, Alice didn't really know what to do. She swallowed the lump in her throat as the other woman spoke. The situation was just getting worse and worse and now, Alice was on the recieving end of that bitterness she was tryinbg to prevent. Alice didn't like being the recipient of that malice. It scared her.

But Ahren was alive. There was a part of her that was relieved to here that it was the smith that was still living. Yet, if he was as angry as the beings before her she wasn't sure how much longer he'd be alive. The small woman couldn't keep herself from trembling. The cold was biting into her soft skin and the fear had her nerves on edge.

Then Alice shook her head. "No! that isn't what needs to happen!" She was surprised but the resoluteness in her voice. It wasn't as if she was particularry fond of her brother, but that didn't really mean she wanted him dead either. Besides if Luca was killed by a wolf, even more trouble would follow. "I don't want anyone to die!" She felt tears burning her own eyes. Was it really that difficult of a concept? To stop fighting? Why was it that every time she felt like she was taking a step forward, someone shoved her back six. She was so frustrated.

The woman grit her teeth and looked the other in the eyes. "I'm going to stop this. No one else is dying." Alice took another step away from them. "I am going to stop this if it's the last thing I do." She turned and started to hurry away through the snow. "Just take care of your baby. I'll take care of my family."

The snow was deep and Alice's feet sank with each step. She tried to follow the trail the wolf left in the snow, but with the snow still falling, the trail was quickly disappearing. But Alice refused to stop, she had to find her brother and Ahren. She had to make sure that there was no more death.