Page 11 of Wolf Trap

I didn’t fancy waiting inside of those caverns for the tide to go back out, so with a vigour to get the hell out of there, I strode faster.

“Elsa? Can we talk? I realise we had to act indifferently back there, but you’ve hardly acknowledged me. I am sorry… I...”

“Can it wait, though? I know you were under their enchantment, but right now, I can’t deal with this. There’s an ocean at our backs and drowning is one of my least favourite ways to die, apart from being burned at the stake. We need to rein back on our emotions. Everyone, well, nearly everyone believes that Loren and Zale’s union caused all this chaos. I don’t believe that, but I don’t want to die at the hands of those who are willing to help.”

I probably sounded cold.

"You're pushing me away,"he said, his voice cracking with emotion.His eyes reflected the turmoil within.“I can’t lose you,” he confessed, his words hanging in the charged silence.

I swallowed hard, glancing away.“I don’t want to lose you. If I did, I would have left you behind.I know they possessed you, but still…”

Tentatively, he stepped forward.His movements were stiff. “I understand you’re afraid of me, but speak to me?I am beyond mortified at what they did to me.I was powerless, acting without control, without my mind.”

His gaze, intense and searching, made my heart race."I never believed in love until I met you," he whispered softly, his words gently tearing down the barriers around my soul.His words echoed in my mind, resonating with the blood magic that bound us together."We’re destined, connected by forces beyondour understanding.The wolf spell, our bond in blood.Elsa, I would die for you. This is what they wanted.To fill you with doubt, for you to push me away.There’s more to this than you know,’ he warned, his eyes holding a secret.“The past has a way of catching up, and we’re in the midst of something bigger than us.”

He reached out to me. The air around us crackled with magic as he touched my hand.His fingers traced an invisible path, sending shivers through my body.“Our connection goes beyond this world.”

"I do feel the same..." I glanced away, avoiding his intense gaze."I need time," I whispered, my voice filled with longing and exhaustion.“They failed if they thought I would abandon you, even after they had taken hold of you.I, we, will need to prevent that from happening again, but who knows, maybe next time they'll attempt the same with me.Control me to hurt you? But for now, know that I am here, standing beside you.And I agree, all of this makes no sense.I mean, why didn't they get rid of us when they had the chance?They obviously need us. Or perhaps they're putting us through a test.But Lycaon, I am here. I just need to take a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts.I don’t want to push you away.”

He nodded, the smallest smile on hislips.I wanted to hold him, to feel his lips on mine.But I needed some space. I knew he hadn’t wanted to hurt me.I knew it was Adara, for whatever reason.But the fear was still there in the cave with us.Like a looming shadow that was eating at my soul.I had to think of something so they could never do that again.And hope that I never found myself controlled by Adara and lashing out at mylover.

After what seemed like hours,as we were edging at a snail’s pace uphill, I had an idea.

As the waves crashed, and the noise of water wasn’t subsiding, I said, “There is something you can do.”

He stopped, his eyes wide, lips parted with the look of expectancy, of hope on his face.

“If you turned here, could I…”

“Got you. Yes. We couldn’t use the torch though, but with my lupine sight, we wouldn’t need it. Will you carry my jeans?”

“Of course.”

He dabbed out his torch and stripped naked, handing me his clothes and boots. I stepped back. I swear the sea sounded closer. I shuddered. I loved the sea, but when I was a kid swimming in the sea, the tide came in. Now it always gave me a lot of fear about it. That and nearly drowning on holiday.

The air suddenly filled with blood and flesh. I winced as his bones snapped, elongating, changing, turning into the wolf. I hoped to Hecate that Adara had left no lingering spell on him. I doubt he’d be able to hold back as a wolf.

His massive jaws open, he cast me a stare over his shoulder. The grey wolf. The fear subsided quickly. He was, after all, my wolf, and his energy was different from when he was under Adara’s spell. Putting out my torch, I slung the rope around my body with the makeshift anchor on my back. I held his clothes and boots in front of me and climbed on his back just as the roar of the sea swelled through the caves.

The sound of the tide coming in was deafening, echoing through the tunnel. As fast as I could, I wrapped my legs around his belly, my arms around his chest and linked fingers as the wolf, Lycaon, ran.

5

DUNGEONS

With my eyes closed, I clung to his back as Lycaon ran and ran in wolf form up the inclining tunnels. I felt the saltwater in the air, the damp settling on my skin as his heart, his panting, grew ever faster. I can’t say it was comfortable, but neither was the alternative.

The water grew louder, and my wolf lunged quicker. I could feel his head, his neck move as he surveyed the way ahead. I couldn’t stop trembling, finally opening my eyes to peek out. He slowed, then stopped, but the noise behind us was still blaring. Sliding off his back, I looked behind him, sweat on my back, then the sound, the smell.

Glancing before me, he pawed at the wall. In the darkness, I couldn’t see much. A dead end?

But as I moved closer, running my hands on the solid stone, I noticed a small crevice and the scent of something putrid coming through it.

Bloody hell, had the gargoyles really sent us to our graves?

With a sudden burst of speed, the wolf squeezed through the crack in the wall, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

Slack jawed at the incoming tide, I followed the beast. Behind me, foamy waves came rushing into sight. Then stopped, lapping a few feet before me. Relief flooded me. The sea didn’t come up this far.

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