The Girl Who Cried Wolf: A Novella

Seven

07 | s e v e n

Prince Lycus was the white wolf.

That explained everything. The strip being in the castle, the midnight blue eyes that were so familiar, the way the wolf knew her name. It all made sense.

"Even in your wolf form, Lycus, you are no match for me," the black wolf challenged Lycus.

"I guess we will just have to find out, Adolphus." And they both pounced on each other. Clawing and biting.

Red was still recovering from the shock, unconscious of her environment that she didn't see another wolf advance towards her until it almost pounced on her.

"Red, look out!" Lycus yelled from where he had the black wolf pinned down.

She moved swiftly and just narrowly escaped the sharp claws of a grey wolf. Once she regained balance, dark locks fell from her face to the brown sandals she had on. The claws had reduced the length of her bangs making her eyes visible.

In an instant, she was swept off her feet and seated on the soft fur of the white wolf's back. Lycus's back.

"What do you think you're doing, Lycus?" she asked him, grabbing fistfuls of his fur to keep from falling on the wet ground as he ran away from the hunters.

"Saving your life," he replied. That was true. But the wolves were still chasing them and she noticed there were three of them now.

"We'll never make it out of the woods in time. They're too fast." She was panicking and he could sense it.

"Not if you stare at them with those beautiful eyes of yours." She knew he had a wide smirk on his lips—even though she couldn't see his face.

Turning around, she took a firm grasp of Lycus's fur and stared at the hungry beasts to scare them away. She didn't need to pull up her bangs because they had been cut off already.

The wolves slowed down a little in fear and Ruby smiled proudly. The next thing she knew she was pushed off Lycus's back to the ground. Her body ached from the impact.

"Keep running, Red!"

Lycus.

The wolves had all pounced on him. They wanted to kill him. Just like they killed her parents. No, she thought, never again. She had to do something. Fast.

Red rummaged the woods with her eyes in search of a weapon-anything she could use to get the hunters off him. Something glistened in the bushes beside her and she reached for it. An axe. It probably belonged to a wood chopper.

She knew what she had to do. The blade of the axe was a little rusty but it would do the the job. It had to. She only hoped she would make the right aim. Lycus was no longer struggling and blood was seeping through his white fur. It was now or never. Raising her hand, she made her aim and threw the axe.

"Why you little-" The black wolf she had hit sneered in pain. The axe was deeply embedded on his back and blood had started seeping through. She almost felt bad. But she had to save Lycus.

The black wolf transformed into a rugged-looking man and limped away with the other wolves into the thicker parts of the woods. She heard one of them murmur something about running out of time. She didn't give it much thought though.

Lycus was sprawled on the floor, bleeding. She ran to him and knelt beside him. "Lycus, you're safe now. They're gone."

Lycus's eyes opened slowly and he placed his hand on her cheek, bringing her face down to rest her forehead on his. "Thank you." Red shut her eyes to catch her breath. She just saved the prince's life.

When she opened them again, Lycus had transformed back to his human form with his forehead still against hers. Then she remembered and pushed him away, standing up to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Lycus asked her, grunting as he got to his feet in pain. He was badly injured, with a busted lip and a few slashes here and there.

"You're a wolf," she said.

"Part-wolf."

She put a hand to her forehead. "This doesn't make any sense."

"I can explain," he pleaded.

"Then you better start talking now," Red demanded. Lycus staggered a little, and she was at his side in no time, helping him sit down on the ground. She could be mad at him later, but right now, taking care of him was more important. "You can talk while I clean you up."

Lycus nodded, thankful. "I was a very naughty child while growing up," he started. Ruby tore the end of her cloak to wipe his shoulder blade. He hissed in pain as she wiped the blood off it.

"My mother always warned me about the woods but I never listened. I was a naughty brat who disobeyed the rules. What she didn't tell me was that my father died in there." He shut his eyes as he remembered.

Red could understand his pain. She grew up without parents too. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better, my parents died in the woods, too, when I was just a baby." A tear slipped from her eye but Lycus caught it and flicked it away with his index finger.

He looked at her with soft eyes. "How's that supposed to make me feel better?" He took her hand in his. "I'm sorry for both our losses."

She bit her lip to stop herself from crying even more. "Get on with the story before I let out the waterworks," she urged him, sniffling back tears.

Even in pain, Lycus managed a faint smile that reached his eyes and then continued the story. "I went to the woods one day when I was ten. I wanted to know why the woods were so dangerous."

Just like she did. She nodded.

"That was when I met the hunters. They all advanced for me and I was certain they would kill me. But I cried and begged them to let me go. Instead, they decided to do something else." His eyes darkened and a scowl appeared on his face.

"What did they do?" Red stopped cleaning and asked.

"The hunters play a dirty game of curses and deaths. If they didn't kill their trespassers then they would curse them." He met her sad eyes with his agonized ones. "They cursed me. They made me part wolf and part human."

Red couldn't stop herself. She burst out laughing. Lycus stared at her with a frown on his lips.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing. What they did was horrible. Nobody deserves that. It's just...your story sounds a lot like Beauty and the Beast," she said. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have believed he was playing a prank on her.

"Huh?" Lycus was utterly confused.

"You know...beauty and the beast? The prince was cruel to an old woman, but she was actually a beautiful young lady who cursed the prince to become a beast for the rest of his life," she explained in the fairytale.

"I have never heard of that story before," he denied.

"What? Who hasn't heard of Beauty and the Beast? It's a fairytale classic!"

Lycus shook his head. "My case is not a classic, okay? Because if I don't find a way to break the curse before my coronation in two days, I'll become a wolf for the rest of my life."