The Cruel Prince of Wolves

14

Well, it's been a while since Ramona has been treated on a nice night out. So why not? She stepped up to the entrance of the brothel, a lush velvet curtain parted on the way in that led them to a large room with theatrical stage. Lines of polished chairs arranged in front for the audience. The ambiance was romantic, a large crystal chandelier took center stage, it hung on the mural painted ceiling. Waiters and waitresses dressed in black uniform going back and forth serving drinks on a tray. She heard smooth laughter and silent conversations, there was a spiral stair that led to the second floor and balustrade to allow for viewing of the stage. Patrons of all kinds dressed elegantly and she found herself underdressed and out of place.

"Ah, your highness, my apologies, I was not expecting you tonight." An elegant woman strode towards them in greeting. She wore a form fitting hunter green dress made of fine silky materials and lace trimmings around the chest. She was beautiful, her long black hair was coiled and pinned on her head like a bouquet of flowers. She made a perfect curtsy in front of Renin then turned her polite attention to Ramona. "And who might this beautiful young woman be?"

"This is the human mate of the Prince of Wolves, my sister in law lady Ramona." Renin said, introducing her.

The female werewolf gasped, her eyes widening in thrall, her hand reached out but stopped herself from touching Ramona. "It's a pleasure. I have heard about the Prince's human mate but I've never seen her. In fact, I don't think anyone has seen her at all, which made me wonder if you are real or just a myth." She giggled softly. "It does seem to be dangerous to allow his human mate around werewolves that could snap her bones and kill her so easily."

"Laika!" Renin admonished.

Laika jumped, losing her color as she glanced at Renin glaring at her. She cleared her throat nervously. "Ah, forgive my ill attempt of humor, princess. It's not often I'm in the audience of a human."

Ramona chuckled. "No worries, the prince likes to make sure I'm either locked away or thrown in the streets."

The woman's jaw slackened.

Renin laughed nervously. "Ah, enough humor ladies." He shot Ramona a darkened glare.

Laika laughed. "Well then, don't let me hold you, your highnesses. Please enjoy yourselves and let me know personally if you need anything." She slowly backed away gesturing her slender arm to the floor.

Renin and Ramona walked to one of the chairs situated in front of the stage but Laika who kept an eye on them hurriedly insisted they occupy the VIP booth on the second floor free of charge. One of the perks of being a prince is he gets treated as royalty everywhere and never had to pay for anything. His appearances alone can boost a business a hundred folds so he gets invitations and gifts from business owners constantly. Laika led them towards the stairs passing patrons who stared at them wide eyes. Renin was like a superstar surprising his adoring fans with his unannounced appearance. Then, a commotion happening at the front door stole their attention. Loud yelling, and some scrambling, and shoving people out of the way. Two men appeared by the door taking Ramona's breath away. One is red as a grape and the other one is pale as a ghost. Ramona had to blink numerous times just to be certain what she's seeing is real. Renin stood by the door, pale as if he'd seen a ghost while Lucian was huffing and heaving, catching his breaths like he'd been sprinting during a marathon. Maybe he had been because he had followed Val into the night in pursuit of the demon.

There's two Renin in the room right now. Exact replicas of each other down to the blue linen shirt, black breeches and long boots. There was gasping and murmurs around them. It appeared most of the people inside the establishment couldn't believe what they were seeing either.

Ramona swallowed and turned back to the Renin beside her except he wasn't Renin anymore. He is a blanket of smoke and darkness. Visible but untouchable. The same demon that had haunted her in her bedchamber. How he had evaded Val and Lucian and still managed to trick her was beyond she thought was possible. It wasn't easy to elude Val at all, not with his excellent tracking skills. This demon must have been pretty strong and powerful. Her first instinct was to run away. So she did, scrambling to get away from the imposter. As soon as she fled, Lucian was moving towards her. He made a dash for her, grabbing her waist and getting her out of the way. She wheezed at the strength of his arm feeling like steel on her skin.

At the same time, the wall of the brothel exploded, bricks and pebbles rained down inside as Val's wolf crashed on the ground. The crowd began to panic, screams and cries erupted everywhere. People scrambled, shoving each other and stepping on each other's feet trying to get out of the room in a hurry. Val lunged for the demon, snapping his jaws lined with sharp canines. Then she saw it, the way the demon moved so fast she was barely able to keep her eyes on him. But Val is just as fast, he nipped at the demon's cloak, tearing it from him. The demon hissed, caught. He quickly unfastened what remains of the shredded fabric from his neck. The act slowed the demon down enough to allow Val to knock him down and trap him between his paws. He snarled and snapped at the demon on both sides of his head trying to bite his head off but the demon's head was a blur dodging his bites. They wrestled. Val being a lot larger held the demon down but demon's strength rivaled Val even in his wolf form. The demon kicked his feet, landing a blow on Val's stomach. Val grunted and was thrown back, breaking the wall on his impact. More bricks crashed on the floor while Val landed on the other side limber and on his paws. As big as he is, Val is agile and pliant, being able to move around quickly and freely as though his size is not a factor. The demon did not wait to see if Val was hurt and took this opportunity to scramble to his feet and flee.

Lucian who still had his arms wrapped around Ramona protectively suddenly let go. He ushered her to Renin, "make sure she stays safe." He said. As if Renin hadn't lost Ramona the first time and handed her over to the company of the enemy. Lucian seemed to hesitate after realizing his bad decision to leave Ramona into Renin's care but he didn't have much of a choice right now. He must chase after Midnight no matter what. He'll have to deal with the consequences later, cursing at himself while taking off.

"Val! Are you alright?" It was the first time Ramona had let her concern show for her husband. She ran towards his wolf frantic that he might have been hurt even though she knew it would take a lot more than kicking him through the wall to hurt him. His eyes found her and surveyed her for any sign of injury. Relief took over when he found her unharmed. Ramona threw her arms around his neck burying her face on his soft fur. Val felt an overwhelming reprieve to find her safe and out of danger. How stupid and careless he had been to chase after Midnight leaving her alone. He should have known better not to entrust her safety to anyone else, especially not Renin of all people. Val nuzzled his head on her, inhaling her scent into his lungs. He promised he would never make the same mistake.

He knew it was time to take his wife home. It was almost day time anyway and he had spent all his evening chasing after Midnight. He'll have to talk to Renin later on about putting Ramona in danger, how reckless he'd been taking her outside the palace. As a matter of fact, there's a lot of security personnel he'll have to punish for allowing Ramona in danger. He pulled away from her, hating having done so. He can't remember the time when she had freely let her affection toward him show. He could stay forever in her embrace and be satisfied with the rest of his life.

Val's wolf lowered himself to the ground, an invitation for Ramona to climb. He can't remember the last time they had done this also. Walk in the woods in his wolf form with her riding on his back. He had spent half a decade protecting her that he had missed so much of just living, just being married. Being happy. It has been so long that he's exhausted, he feels it in his bones, in his soul, the kind of toll this curse has inflicted on him.

His wolf groaned happily as soon as Ramona grabbed on his furs and pulled herself to climb. He was thankful to her for allowing him so. Ramona smiled as she climbed, she remembered how much she enjoyed this as well.

This time, she wasn't even thinking of the awkwardness of letting her crotch touch his back.