Last Resort

Chapter 7

After a few hours of milling around, talking to my Yowlumne, meeting them all, and eating those scrumptious pastries from earlier that Keegan so graciously bought and offered me, he suggested that I retire early. I had been through a lot that day; almost drowning, finding out that I was a princess and that I was mated to a prince and that he wasn't really my mate, Channing was, but he didn't know that... He didn't need to know that. He took me to the edge of Sköll's territory to drop me off.

"Well, this is where I have to stop. I'm not allowed to cross over to Sköll's territory until we are fully mated," he put simply. I had a questioning look on my face when he said 'fully mated'.

"I'll explain it tomorrow, but now you have to get some shut-eye." He picked up my hand before he kissed it gingerly. I blushed a deep scarlet and he chuckled light-heartedly.

"To get to the palace from here, just trust your sense of smell. As a werewolf, your senses are heightened, so that means you can see, smell and hear better than the average human, but basically, all sensations are increased. For now, goodbye, my love. Until tomorrow." As he walked away, I couldn't help but stare at his back. The muscles that rippled under his shirt were easily visible. That started me thinking about Channing. I was to meet him tonight at midnight. I needed to ask someone where Sköll's Gardens were when I found the palace.

Trusting my sense of smell and direction., I concluded that the palace should be northwest of my position now, so I lifted my nose in the air and followed the trail trekked by many a wolf.

About half an hour down the path, I picked up a different scent moving at an alarmingly fast pace. This wasn't a scent of Sköll's, or Hati's. It smelled rugged, and... wild, like it didn't belong in a pack. The feeling of rage also accompanied the wild scent. Before I could pinpoint the exact location of the fast-approaching object, I was tackled to the ground by a huge, brown mass of fur, teeth and claws. The air was knocked out of me as I hit the ground, pinned by the monster, with no escape. I tried struggling, but even with my increased strength, I was no match. I was too dizzy and seeing .stars. The werewolf, I assumed, had pinned down my shoulders with muscle-ridden arms and his knees held my legs in place, which had rendered them useless. I stared at the beast, knowing it was of Werekind, but this specific Were didn't walk on four legs. It's front arms were human-like, with brown fur, and it's legs had been placed underneath it's hips, so that it could stand on two legs. What. scared me the most were the eyes. Its eyes were a tainted gold, filled with sorrow, rage, and abandonment. It snarled loudly at me, spittle flying from its open mouth and landed on my face. The wolf-man leaned its ugly head down to my neck, mouth salivating for my flesh. I stared into the eyes of the beast and it kept eye contact with me; I knew I would die with a simple snap to the neck, accompanied by razor-sharp teeth.

Something flashed across the tainted gold eyes of the wolf-man. It seemed like familiarity... it recognized me. Before I could register it, the wolf-man was off of me and leaning against a tree for support. It was shaking its head as in, "No,this was a mistake!" Its eyes came back up to meet mine. It lurched towards me, determination in every step. I backed up, only for my back to meet a tree, and I was trapped. By now, it was in front of me, towering above me, my head at the middle of its chest. Its breath reeked of rotting flesh as it growled lowly, more softly than it had before, and I flinched in fear. Seeing me flinch, the wolf-man backed up a couple of steps and glared into my eyes. It recognized me and I knew it. The wolf-man let a howl of sorrow drift out of its mouth. It turned to look at me, the tainted gold flashing the deepest shade of blue for a split second before dropping on all fours and racing out of the clearing we had been in.

No sooner than two minutes after the sorrowful howl had sounded, I hadn't moved from my place against the tree, still staring into the darkness where he had gone, and a group of warriors, bearing a sun on their breast plates, had found me.

"Princess! Oh dear, Sköll! We heard the howl and we raced to where it had been heard last. Thank Sköll you're still here!" A young man with light blue eyes had burst out when they came into the clearing, weapons drawn.

"We are here to escort you back to the palace." An older man with stormy, grey eyes pointed out. He glared at the younger man, and if looks could kill, the younger man would be a pile of bones, picked clean. A shifted wolf came out from behind the group of warriors and padded over to me. He knelt down, offering his paw to me, and putting the least amount of weight I could, lightly stepped onto his paw to climb on his back. His shook his head out like a dog, before following the other men out of the clearing and to the palace.

When we got back to the palace, thousands upon thousands of my Yowlumne were cheering for me! They were screaming, "Sköll! Sköll!" And a few were saying, "It's the Varg! She has come finally!" I didn't know how to respond, I just sat on the back of the shifted Were, staring with wide eyes at what was unravelling before me. Keegan hadn't prepared me for this. What was I supposed to do?

A female warrior on my right, her face covered by her helmet, spoke up. "Wave to them, Princess Accalia. They love it." When she said this, I looked to her, only to be met with blue eyes like my own. I couldn't see the colour of her hair, but she reminded me so much of myself.

"Wave to them." She said again.

"What is your name?"

"I cannot tell you. You will find out soon enough, Varg." Her word confused me and my curiosity was getting the better of me.

"Why?" I accused.

"Princess, no one knows her name. She hasn't told anyone before." The young warrior with blue eyes told me.

"And what is your name?"

"Warrior Farkus." He grinned proudly.

"Well, young pup, I intend to be the first!" I snapped. His gaze soon flashed forward, his face flushing in embarrassment. He couldn't be much older than I, perhaps seventeen or eighteen, but as the Heir of Sköll, he obeyed me and only me.