Oceanum Collis

•Chapter 10• Wolves

The young werewolf held a tight grip on Serena and Orlando's arms as he lead them deeper into the forest. A few other wolves appeared behind them. Their eyes were focused on the she-elf and human walking in front of them. "Where are you taking us?" Orlando asked. Asher didn't respond. The young man looked at Serena. "Somewhere that stinks I bet," Serena said. Asher pulled on her arm harshly. "You have no manners." He tells her, "I thought you elves were supposed to be the nicest, most caring creatures in all the realms." He continued. Serena rolls her eyes at him. "We are, but you annoy us," Serena tells him. She looked at the young werewolf. He glared back at her and tightened his grip on her arm even more. Serena inhaled sharply at the pain. "I'm not one of your dog friends, brat." She said sternly. The young werewolf stopped walking for a second. He turned his full attention to the she-elf on his left. His claws slowly started to come out of his fingers. They dug into her skin harshly. Small drops of blood started to trail down her arm. "Dude, stop it." Orlando started. Asher snapped his head towards him. His eyes lit up slightly. "I'm not afraid of you," Orlando tells him. The young werewolf growled at him. "You should be." He said. Serena eyed the werewolf up and down. "You're hurting me," Serena said with a poker face. Asher turned his head back to her. "You elves are too soft," Asher replies. The she-elf tilted her head slightly. "At least we take baths." She snapped at him, "And we stay away from each other's butts." She added. Asher groaned again. He pushed Serena away from him. She bumped into another werewolf's chest. "I'll have a chat with you later," Asher said. The werewolf behind Serena pulled her away and into the darkness of the forest. Asher grabbed Orlando's arm again. The young man looked at him. "You two seem to get along nicely." He said sarcastically. Asher pushed Orlando forward slightly. "Keep moving, my father wants to see you." He tells him.

Hidden deep in the woods, was an open area. The trees around it were bent so the light from the sky was blocked by the branches and leaves. The trees were also larger than anyone could ever imagine. Asher pushed the young man into the middle of the open area. Orlando glared at him. He turned around again. His eyes scanned his surroundings. He spotted a pair of golden glowing eyes in the distance. He frowned at them. He blinked a few times, but the eyes didn't disappear. He turned to look the other way. He looked into another pair of golden, glowing eyes. He took a step back slightly. More eyes started to appear. Right in front of him, upon a little hill, was a big, black wolf. He growled at the young man. The wolf jumped up into the air. Before he landed on the ground, he changed into his human form. He appeared quite handsome, but also dangerous. Orlando's eyes widened slightly. "Wow." he said, "I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty cool." He added. The man let out a chuckle. "Thank you," he replied. Orlando glanced around. "So, what's up with all the eyes looking me up and down as if I'm some sort of snack?" Orlando questioned. "They don't see humans around here often." The man tells him. "Oh," Orlando said quietly. The man's eyes lit up slightly. "Who are you?" He asked. Orlando stayed quiet. "He clearly wanted you for something. Otherwise, he never would've let you into his realm. You wouldn't have been alive right now if he didn't need you for anything." He said sternly. "What? Who?" Orlando asked him, "The guy with the antlers?" He added. The man in front of him nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what he wants. He thinks I am some part of an important bloodline, I think." Orlando replies. The older werewolf frowned at the young man. "An important bloodline?" He questioned. Orlando nodded in response. The man walked past him towards his son. "Who was with him?" He asked. "The princess," Asher replied. The man folded his arms together. "Where is she?" He asked. Asher bit his bottom lip slightly. "Asher." His father said in a warning tone. "We're beating her up." Asher sighed. Orlando's eyes widened. "What?!" He exclaimed, "She didn't do anything! You're just beating her up?" he continued. "Get her here!" The man exclaimed.

The young werewolf ran off as fast as he could. Orlando looked at his feet as everyone waited for him to return. He heard a loud scream coming from the direction Asher ran off to. The young werewolf soon returned. He was dragging the she-elf by her hair. "Hey, stop that!" Orlando called out. Serena got pushed onto her knees in front of the older man. A small trail of blood was coming down her nose and she had a small bruise on her cheek. Her lip was split open as well. "What the hell did you do to her?!" Orlando asked. Suddenly, he noticed a girl walking up towards them. Her knuckles were slightly bloody. "Well, well, well," The older man spoke up, "What do we have here?" He continued. He grabbed her hair tightly, pulling her head up. Serena put her hand over his, trying to release herself from his grip. He looked into her green eyes. "What were you doing in our territory, sweetheart?" He asked her. "I could ask you the same question. Your son was in my territory, Remus." Serena said. The older wolf let out a chuckle. "He wasn't." He tells her. Serena just glared at the man. "Fine," Remus sighed, "Let's say he was. That still doesn't explain him." He said. He pointed his finger towards Orlando. Serena looked at the young man before looking back at the older werewolf. "What about him?" She questioned. "He's human, sweetheart." Remus started. The she-elf opened her mouth to speak. "Come on, sweetheart. I could smell him from a mile away." Remus continued. "He's nothing special. He was lost. I am escorting him back to Andillar where he can be with his people." She informs the wolf. "Save the lies for someone who can't see through them," Remus tells her. He leaned down to her ear. "Adelio?" He whispered. "Why would I tell you?" Serena asked him. Remus looked back into her eyes. "Look at you." He whispered, "Courageous, stubborn." he added. He smiled at the she-elf. He lets go of her hair to put his hand underneath her chin. "Just like your mother." He said. Serena, unnoticeably, bit the inside of her cheek. His hand slowly trailed down to her neck. His claw carefully brushed over the skin. "Oh, I can't imagine the look on your father's face when he sees your neck scratched open by my hand. Just like your poor old mother." He said, "So delightful." He added. Serena kept looking back at the older man with a poker face. A smirk formed on his lips. He leaned down to her ear again. "I'm going to ask you one more time, sweetheart." He whispered, "Is he an Adelio?" He asked her. His claws slowly started to force themselves into her skin. Not a word came from her mouth. She just gave a slight nod, earning a gasp from everyone around them. Then, all eyes focused on Orlando, including Remus'. "Get him." He ordered.