Wolf-Shifter

Dancing among the Stars 48

After Namid had changed into her new clothes, she caught Salem kissing a woman and smelt the heavy perfume again. Vexed, she quietly walked over to Salem and pulled—wrenched him away. In a heated whisper, she demanded to know was going on. "What in Ylva's sake were you doing?" she asked.

Salem, realizing what Namid must've thought, placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It is how the serpiente act, they aren't reserved as avians, and willingly will kiss each other in public, as a friendly way of expressing gratitude or greeting each other."

Namid grudgingly accepted the answer, he knew more about the serpiente then her, despite her thirty-two years of living at the Court, and knew the serpiente were more open with showing gratitude or appreciation so who was she to judge?

That night, after the Namir-da, Rose retired to her rooms. Nyesh had promised to meet her tomorrow and Namid and Salem had also planned to get some sleep that night.

Changing quickly into a white nightgown, and climbing into bed, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow…

Late into that night, Ralon shifted back to human form, grinning as he stalked through the room intent on finding his prey. Ralon had carefully planned this out, with the other thieves and knew that, if he or any of them failed, it was a death sentence.

Stormy-blue eyes flickered with a vengeance in the pitch-black room, illuminated by soft moonlight as he quickly flicked out a knife, thick with a poison that was able to kill both serpiente and wolf. Somehow, he had mixed the falcon's poison with a concoction of his own and the poison had become twice as deadly. In a small vial, tucked in his boot, was the antidote, lest he accidentally stabbed himself.

The man's eyes came upon a bedroom. Ralon froze as someone was awoken and he quickly shifted into boa constrictor form, hiding in the shadows, waiting.

He watched as a woman got up from a bed, presumably unable to sleep, and softly sang to herself as she lit a few candles and went to her balcony, gazing at the stars. "Are you out there somewhere, Nyesh?" "Waiting for the dawn?" Smiling, she turned around and gasped, as Ralon lunged from the shadow. Rose froze in terror. "Ralon!" she whispered, half-shifting her body to her form of a wolf-cobra.

Ralon smirked, "So we meet again, little Rosie."

The woman growled deep in her throat and Ralon stepped back as Rose stepped forward, snake fangs bared. Ralon sneered and lunged at Rose, who lay in her human form, on the ground. Covering her mouth and pressing the knife to her throat, his chest tight with anger, "Don't you scream, or it's your life you'll be payin' with." He practically growled.

The young woman struggled in the man's grip, her heart pounding as Ralon uncovered her mouth and took her by the neck, cutting off her air. As she writhed in panic, clawing at her throat, desperate for air, Ralon held her over the balcony's edge. "You see your kingdom in peace, girl…" "That peace won't be for long, you can be sure that they will not accept your mother as queen or you as her heir. Go back to your land, savage."

Rose glared; her eyes gaining a pinkish shade in the candlelight as she gasped, eyes wide and face pale. Ralon threw her to the floor, laughing as he raised the knife to stab her in the chest.

Gasping, Rose tried to crawl away, "No, please!" she begged, "I'm innocent, I have done nothing!"

Ralon scoffed, "You are a pathetic excuse for a princess. Deformed just like your wyvern queen!"

Rose scowled and spat at his feet, "No one calls Oliza deformed!"

"Enough." The man ordered, gagging and tying her up with strips of cloth. He bent down and ran a finger up and down her exposed neck as she whimpered in fright, remembering the night when he had raped her. "Beautiful and fierce—just how I like my women."