Before a Once Upon A Time

Wolf Of Man - A Time Of Parting

Story 3 - Wolf Of Man

Part 9- A Time Of Parting

            In the following months, the love deepened greater and greater each day, until both of them wanted to confess to it but couldn't. She still waited for the beast and knew that after she found him, she would have to leave. She had to. And she would never be able to accept Lupe for what he was. They continued to cohabit the same house and Lupe began to draw away more and more, becoming more and more depressed- for by now he knew that he loved her but he also knew that if she knew either of his secrets- that he loved her or that he was the wolf- she would most likely kill him. Especially if she knew the second. Yeah. Best keep that secret. But he couldn't. He felt the need to tell her, to be honest with the one he loved.

            And even with her incredible love for him, she could not force herself to tell him about her past- the past involving a mother who was killed by wolves in her home after she opened the door as she cleaned to help air out the dust. She had been killed and stories of the past had resurfaced, a story of pigs warning against opening the door and promoting living in a safe, stable, sturdy home- one that could withstand rain and storms, the huffs and puffs of nature that would so aid the wolves in finding and attacking you (if you're house fell in that is.) and a story of a girl out to see her grandmother, eaten by wolves. Her village had an alliance with another, fighting village that taught the members of both to fight. She hadn't taken them very seriously until her mother died and then she launched herself into it to fill the hole in her heart. She needed something, and having nothing else she could do and realizing there was nothing that she could do that would bring her mother back, it became her only outlet. And so she had become a hunter of all things that people wanted gone- especially the mystical since she had a powerful spell placed on her by her mother's dying wish that she would be safe from harm- it prevented people and even beasts from wanting to hurt her and made magic slide off her like water off a duck.

            And there was one other thing between them- Lupe still had to change every full moon. To counteract her suspicions of a specific night, he went on strolls every night of the week of the full moon and was free to run as a wolf on the full moon without worry. Though, she did think he was a little strange and took walks randomly- but that worked, as long as she didn’t suspect he was a monster. Sadly, if they spent a large amount of time together then the truth would come out at some point, and this kept them apart also.

            Until now, Lupe had never asked her name, always following the rules of society with servants. He had never asked and she had never told, so he still did not know her name, the name of the woman he loved. He worked up the courage bit by bit and eventually asked, one night at dinner "Miss, I've yet to ask you, but could you please tell me your name?"

            She was startled, realizing this. He was right of course. Sh never had told him her name. "Belle." She said softly.

            "Belle" He repeated, a bit stunned. He recognized that from somewhere, but where, where....Aha! It was from his books. He had read French before and knew her name from that. "Beauty. Fitting." He said without thinking and she blushed a bit, trying to hide it behind a big bite of her food- another reason he loved her- she ate big and wasn't afraid to show it like so many of the girls in his books who he knew must be starving after their adventures but never seemed to eat really.

            She shook it off and they returned to a normal routine except that a few weeks later she asked him to call her Belle. After that, they began to talk informally to each other about all manner of things. It wasn't until half a year had passed that Belle decided the beast was not going to return. "I'm going to leave tomorrow" She announced at dinner.

            Lupe was speechless. She was leaving him? Why? He didn't understand. Had he done something wrong? Did she know his secret? No, that was stupid. She would just kill him if she knew. Maybe she knew that he loved her and she didn't reciprocate and it was awful for her to be here with his expectations?

            "Why, Belle? Why are you leaving?"

            "It's obvious that he's not coming back, and if he's not going to I can safely tell the townspeople that my job has been finished and they can pay me- if they even will pay me after a half a year of no contact at all. I can leave now and I need to go home." These were all just excuses really. She was such a strong person that she didn't understand why she felt so weak in his presence and at the same time so much stronger. She wanted to get away from him before he permanently changed her. She couldn't be soft in her line of work- it could get her killed. And if he loved her at all, he would let her go because she couldn't, couldn’t love him back. It made her too vulnerable. And weak. And sad because she could never have it no matter how much she craved it.

            Lupe looked at her and knew that since he loved her he would let her leave- he couldn't really even force her to stay. Unless he became the wolf and…he wouldn't do that now, not in front of her, not after all this time. All the trust that they had built up would come crashing down and he couldn't stand to see that. So he let her go. And that was the beginning of the end for him