Chapter 9
1536 Words
Exploring freedom
Farlan and Tavish ran for days. The weather was cold and wet, but their thick fur kept them in comfort. They hunted when they were hungry, and their rest was when they stopped to eat. Only sleeping was a little difficult, as they did not dare to sleep at the same time. They were afraid another creature was going to attack them, so while one of them slept, the other guarded it. When Tavish slept, Alastair often thought of Grace. The only thing that he regretted was he did not shift back to hug her fragile looking figure. But as soon as this thought appeared in his mind, he was instantly angry at himself just because of thinking about that. That would have been unrespectful. He will be Grace’s Beta soon, and he must respect his she-alpha. He thought. But then his heart went mad again, thinking about the necklace that she had given him. He knew that he should have given it back to her, but he liked the fact that she wanted him to go back so much, so she gave him something that she wanted to get back.
Tavish woke up soon, and he told Farlan it was his turn to rest. Farlan made himself comfortable and fell asleep soon. When he woke up, they hunted, they ate, and they continued the route. The next human town was not far, and they hoped they could stay there for a few days.
They started running fast. They ran for a few hours, when they finally saw the town from the top of the hill. Before they reached the gate, they shifted and dressed up normally. They both felt weird to be in human form again.
Alastair made sure Grace’s necklace stayed on his neck, and then they walked closer. When they stepped on the first street in the town, they looked around in surprise. They had a few books and maps and learned about how humans lived, but they never thought that it looked like that. They walked through a market street first. Some humans looked at them in fear, some of them looked surprised.
Humans understood that werewolves were generally harmless towards them, but they were still wary of their power and temper. Therefore, they didn't appreciate it when a few werewolves showed up in their towns occasionally.
Werewolves never attacked them, unlike vampires and witches. Vampires wanted them as their food, and dark witches wanted their souls to serve them as slaves.
While they walked along, no one dared to talk to them. Finally, they stopped at a vendor, who had a scared look.
“Vendor, would you help us out, please?”
“What do you need?” He stuttered.
“We need a place where we could stay for a few days.”
“If you walk through the street, at the end of it there is an inn. I’m sure you can find a place there.”
Alastair put his hand in his pocket and pulled a gold piece off of it. He gave it to the vendor, who looked at him in surprise.
“Isn’t it enough?” Alastair asked him.
“No… I mean, it’s more than enough.” He stuttered again.
Alastair nodded, then left the vendor, who just stood there surprised, still did not believe he had got a whole gold coin for the answer.
“What was so weird about it?” Alastair asked Lennox with a frown.
“Maybe they don’t ask for payment if they answer a question. The books only said that you have to pay for goods, like food and drinks.”
Alastair still looked at him with a frown.
“What a weird society.”
“Yes, material goods are one of the most important for them, and there is nothing you couldn’t have if you had a lot of these metals that they call gold.”
He shook his bag at his side, letting the gold coins rattle.
“Well, then we’ll never tell them there are lots of them in the river next to the hill.”
Alastair laughed like Lennox did.
Alastair stayed silent after the conversation. They just walked together quietly, avoiding strange and fearful glances.
They were taller and much more muscular than humans. Their body shape resembled that of a vampire, but with soft, normal-colored skin instead of the pale, stone-like skin that vampires have. Humans could easily identify them as werewolves at first glance.
They did not need to walk a lot to see the Inn that the vendor told them about. When they walked in, all the gaze landed on them. They went to the bar. A short man with a big tummy greeted them, apparently, with no fear.
“Welcome. What can I get you?”
Alastair looked at Lennox. He smiled at the man.
“Do you accept gold?”
“Of course.”
“Can we have two pints of ale, then?” Lennox said, while his smile went wider. Alastair smiled as well and shook his head in disbelief while looking at his brother.
“What is it? I always wanted to know how it tastes.”
As soon as he finished the sentence, the bartender slipped the two glasses to them. They watched it curiously.
“I thought it would be bigger.” Lennox looked at Alastair displeased, but Alastair only laughed at him.
“You can have another if you like it. Just don’t get drunk.”
Lennox only smiled at Alastair. He turned back to the glass; he lifted it to his mouth, and he drank it all with a few sips easily.
“So?” Alastair looked at him, watching his expression. Lennox smiled.
“Not bad, but let's see how the second one tastes.” Then he turned to the bartender.
“Sir, have you got a place where we could sleep for a few nights?”
“I have only one room.”
“That is fine for us,” Alastair said.
The bartender nodded and looked at the two werewolves. “But, I don’t want trouble.”
Both Alastair and Lennox looked at him seriously.
“Don’t worry, sir. We have no intention of harming anyone. We are just traveling through your town, and just want to have some rest.” Alastair reassured the man.
“Deal.” He said.
“Thank you.” They said that, but when the bartender turned around, ready to leave, Lennox shouted after him.
“Excuse me, sir.”
The man stopped and looked at them.
“Can I have another?” Lennox asked him with a smile. He nodded and gave him another pint of ale. When it was in his hand, Alastair lifted his glass.
“For the adventure.”
“For the adventure,” Lennox repeated, and they both drank their ale. Alastair made a face after he put his glass down, and that made Lennox laugh.
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not too bad, but I think it won't be my favourite.” When he finished the sentence, two attractive women stepped up to them. One of them had blonde hair, the other one was a brunette.
“Sorry for disturbing the gentlemen. We just wondered if you wanted to experience dancing with humans.”
“You might be too soft for that. We might break you.” Lennox said with a laughing tone, but he apparently liked the situation.
“Well, handle us gently.” One of them said with a smile, looking at Lennox seductively. Alastair laughed and stepped towards the blonde one. He held her small hand and leaned closer to her.
“Let’s see if you can follow me.”
The woman only laughed and followed Alastair to the dancefloor. Lennox followed them, holding the other woman. Seeing this, the musicians started playing music and the two werewolves danced happily with the two human women.
Alastair and Lennox danced and drank for hours. They did not even realize a long time had passed when they finally stopped. They both enjoyed the two women’s company. Lennox may have liked to be with them a little more than he should. Alastair thought Lennox might spend the night with the woman, but hoped he would make a responsible decision.
While Lennox disappeared with the woman, he walked outside with his partner. While they were dancing, he got to know her name was Hilda. She was twenty years old, and she was from a merchant's family.
“Why did you leave your home, Alastair?” Hilda asked him, showing genuine interest. Alastair smiled.
“Our mission is confidential.”
“Oh, I see.”
After they remained quiet for a little while, the woman tried to start a conversation again.
“Is this the first time you are out of your pack?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like it?”
Alastair’s smile widened.
“Yes, but I have to admit that I imagined it differently.”
Hilda smiled. They walked next to a bench, and she took Alastair’s hand to pull him to sit down.
“Do you really have a wolf?”
- Writer
