by K. Lyn
"I need to talk to you," Leon frowned. "I want you to move to town today. You can stay at the inn. I'll give you the coins to do it. I have more than enough."
Shock and hurt crossed her face.
"What?" Her green eyes widened. "No. Please. I still have at least a week until I can walk properly."
"I will carry you down the mountain myself." He crossed his arms. "This is not a bargaining matter. I've decided that today is the day. You have to leave."
Leave it at this, Victoria. For the love of God, please don't make me say what I don't mean.
But Victoria hopped off of the bed and hobbled over to him where she placed her hand against his chest and gazed into his eyes. He once again had to fight down the urge to cover her mouth with his own, but he managed. Instead, he stared into her eyes and did his best to feign toughness. It was the second hardest thing he had ever done, the first being cleaning up his brother's body from his bedroom floor.
"You care for me, Leon." Victoria gripped his shirt. "Why do you push me away if you care for me? We can be together, you and I. You know it."
"I don't care for you at all," he lied.
Though hurt flashed across Victoria's face, she continued to hold onto his shirt.
"I don't believe that, Leon." Her mouth thinned in determination. "If you don't care, then why did you make love to me? You aren't the kind of man who beds a woman for no reason. You care for me. Don't lie. Just tell me what has you so determined to get me away from you."
Oh, Victoria, you made me do this. His shoulders stiffened as he put on his cold mask. Now he would be a monster during the day as well as at night.
"I bedded you because after I heard your story I knew you would be easy." Leon watched Victoria's mouth fall open in hurt and horror. "I don't care for you. It has just been a long time since I had carnal relations. But I have grown tired of keeping a whore in my household. That is why I want you to leave."
The silence ticked by. Victoria finally released his shirt, hung her head, and took a step away from him. Leon could tell by that silence just how much he had hurt her. He longed to reach out, to tell her he was a fool and had said all that to keep her safe, but instead he backed away, turned, and headed for the doorway.
As he left her room, he felt his legs and heart get heavier and heavier. He knew at that moment he had lost the woman he loved, and it was his fault. He shut his eyes, stilled, and then pressed his hand against his mouth and let out a deep, shaken sigh. Oh, Victoria, I'm so sorry.
The words Leon had spoken rung in Victoria's ears. A whore. He thinks I’m a whore. Maybe she was. After all, she had spread her legs for Sir William and now she had spread her legs for Leon. But she had thought that after her conversations with Leon, he understood her. She had felt as if there was a kinship between them which had not been there with anyone before.
Now she realized that she had been wrong.
A man who loved her never would have said such hurtful words. A man who loved her would not have taken to tearing out her heart in order to drive her away. Though she had few coins left, and the money that Leon would give her for the inn would have been appreciated for her survival, she did not want to take anything more from him. With tears filling her eyes, she gathered her bag and sword which lay by her bed, and gazed down at them. Tonight she would take her things and go. She would head back home to her mother's, though the danger there was great. It didn't matter to her whether Sir William discovered her whereabouts now. She felt too torn up inside to care. She began to wonder whether Leon had not only taken a piece of her heart, but the remains of her soul and fighting spirit, too.
With a shudder in her pain, Victoria spun around and headed toward the door. Once she went into the hallway, she did not look back. She couldn't bear to. There would be too many memories there.
When Leon returned to Victoria's room to give her the aid she needed to head to town, he opened the door to her room and was shocked to discover that it was empty. There was no Victoria curled up weeping under the covers like he had expected. Her bag and sword were gone, too. No, Victoria, no. He shivered as he gazed at her things in horror.
Yes, Leon had wanted her gone, but not like this. Not when she was too injured to walk far and had no funds to her name. He had planned to give her all the money she would ever need when she left. She deserved that much. But now her room was empty and he had no hours before nightfall when he would change into a beast against his will.
I have to find her. She can't have gone far with that leg. Swearing, he rushed into the hallway and then headed outside.
Victoria rode Stormy down the path with her injured leg burning. Still, she did not care. The ache of her wound could not compare to the pain in her agonized heart. She bit her bottom lip as she trotted outside the town of Harlow, and she felt as if she could barely breathe from the pain. As she sat atop her horse and gazed forward blurrily, she heard a familiar but unexpected voice call her name.
"Victoria," said Sir William, his voice so laced with anger she could feel it leak into every syllable.
She gazed to the side of the empty, though well-beaten path, and noticed that Sir William stood by the side of the road next to an old, sweat covered black horse favoring its right fetlock. In shock, Victoria tightened her grip on her reins. Just as she was about to bury her heels into the horse's sides, Sir William launched himself at Stormy, seized the horse by the bridle, and yanked. Stormy threw up his head and reared.
Under normal circumstances when her leg was strong and able to tighten around Stormy's side, she would have been able to stay on. Instead, she lost her grip and fell to the side at once, hitting the ground with an "oomph" and knocking the breath out of her. As she gasped, fighting for air, she stared over her shoulder and saw Sir William draw his sword from his sheath as Stormy reared up on his hind legs and tried to fight him, just as he had done with the wolf.
"No," Victoria barely managed to gasp.
But Sir William sliced Stormy across the neck and the horse crumbled and fell to his side, wheezing as blood gushed down over his brittle fur. Horror and agony filled her. That horse was her best friend. No, Stormy. Has Sir William gone mad? She tried to stand up, but now her side ached just as bad as her injured leg and she crumbled at once.
Harlow. Harlow is nearby. When she opened her mouth to scream, though, Sir William launched himself at her, straddled her from behind, and covered her mouth with his hand. His hand smelled of blood and was damp with it. She could also smell his sweat. After opening her mouth, Victoria sunk her teeth into Sir William's finger. Sir William yelped, released her, and she had the opportunity to cry out.
"Help me!" Victoria screamed. "Help! Somebody! Please!"
"You and your mother have a lot in common, you little witch." Sir William drew back his hand, punched her across the face, and she tasted blood and her ears rang.
As she tried to blink the stars from her eyes, Sir William pressed his hand over her mouth again so hard that her head pressed into the dirt. She couldn't even suck in air through her lips. Once again, she groaned and attempted to squirm, but Sir William kneed her side.
"So tell me, who is this lover of yours and why were you leaving him in such a hurry?" Sir William hissed in her ear. He did not remove his hand so she could give him an answer.
"Here I was, thinking you cared for me." Sir William stopped pressing her face. "I thought I would marry you once my hag of a wife died. But I was wrong. You are nothing more than a witch who was after me for my money."
She struggled, attempted to bring up her leg, but Sir William rolled off of her and seized her by her hair. Her scalp burned as if it was on fire and she screamed in agony. With a grunt of anger, Sir William began to pull her into the forest, but there was the sound of crackling near the forest's edge. Sir William released her hair and she struggled to her feet again, her head still burning, but Sir William seized her by the arm and then shoved her to the ground as pain filled her side, legs, and scalp. There didn't
seem to be a part of her that wasn't broken.
"Stay down, you little witch." Sir William stalked around her. "Somebody's here. Somebody is watching. Come out."
As Victoria lay on the ground, panting in agony, a brown blur shot out of the woods. It was Dr. Manheim on his horse. He had seen it all. As Dr. Manheim rode past her, his eyes wide, she saw that he clutched a piece of paper in his fist. He stole a wild glance at her and she realized where he was going. Leon. He is going to Leon to get help. But would he help her?
"See what you've done." Sir William leered at her. "He is going to tell on us, the cowardly little man. But I'll bring you into the forest where he won't ever hope to find you. At least, not until after the wolves have. Maybe I'll leave your body as a gift for your lover. Do you think he'll like that? Do you?"
Victoria stared at Sir William, silent, horrified, and shocked by his madness. He snarled at her, once again he swore, seized her hair, and began to pull her into the forest.
***
Leon lunged down the mountain in his wolf form, growling and sniffing, trying to catch Victoria's scent. He could tell that she was somewhere close by and he could swear he smelled blood in the air. Had Victoria re-hurt herself because of him? The thought made him so sick he increased his pace. Why was it the people he loved always got hurt because of him, no matter how hard he tried? He had tried so hard to protect Victoria that he had broken his own heart, and now this happened.
Just as Leon darted across the path right in front of Harlow, hoping to skulk around the city to see if Victoria was inside the town, he caught the scent of Dr. Manheim and went rigid. Dr. Manheim should not still be here. He should be halfway to his home by now. Growling, he whipped around just as Dr. Manheim rode his horse wildly around the edge of the forest. Dr. Manheim's eyes were the size of dinner plates and his mouth hung open. Fear was written all over his face.
In horror, Leon changed back into his human form, not caring that he was naked, and not caring that the cold air tickled his skin.
"Dr. Manheim," Leon yelled.
Dr. Manheim yanked hard on his reins as he passed him and the horse neighed in protest and then skidded to a stop, showering Leon's body with rocks and dirt. Panting, Dr. Manheim whirled his horse around, grasped his chest as if his heart might spill from his chest if he didn't, and stared at Leon with wide eyes.
"It's Victoria," Dr. Manheim wheezed.
Fear filled Leon tenfold. No. Not her. Anyone but her. He leapt at Dr. Manheim, seized his leg, and fought down the temptation to rip the man from his horse and shake the answer out of him. Victoria. What was the matter with Victoria?
"Tell me what happened," Leon demanded.
"I was riding back home when I came across a horse that had been beaten to the ground. I thought that maybe I could help the poor animal. That was when I found this." Dr. Manheim waved a crumbled piece of paper around. "It's a letter from Victoria. I thought she should be warned that somebody had it, but when I reached the outskirts of Harlow, I heard yelling and fighting. A tall man ripped Victoria off her horse, sliced the horse's neck, and went to drag her into the forest. He saw me, but I got away just in time. I knew I wasn't strong enough to save her alone. You have to help her, Leon."
"I know who it is." Leon felt his stomach sink and his heart break. This truly was his fault. If only he hadn't chased her away, then she would be safe with him in his estate. "That was the man she was fleeing from. She used to be his mistress."
"Well, we have to get her away from him." Dr. Manheim tightened his grip on the reins. "I fear we don't have much time left."
"Show me the way," Leon growled.
"If they went into the forest…"
Leon glared at him. "If they went into the forest, you know I'll be able to find him. And when I do, I'll rip his heart out and feed it to him. Nobody hurts Victoria. Nobody."
In the darkness of the forest, Victoria was tied to a log with her hands behind her back. She hung her head as her scalp burned with pain. A few strands which had been pulled loose by Sir William's yanking hung in her face, matted with blood. She released shuddering breaths as she tried to calm herself, but nothing helped. She was going to die.
As Victoria struggled to breathe, Sir William paced in front of her. There was a wildfire in his eyes as if hell itself lived within his very soul. He muttered words she could not understand beneath his breath and then he shook his head.
"I was going to get your lover and make you watch him die." Sir William gritted his teeth. "Where is he, Victoria? Or did you steal all you could from him and then flee?"
Leon. Even if he had been so cold to her, she wanted to protect him. She didn't know whether Dr. Manheim would convince him to come to her rescue, but even if he didn't, she didn't want harm to befall him. He deserved to live.
"I don't know who you're talking about." She bit her lip. "I have no lover. I came here to find work. That is all."
"You are full of lies, you evil woman." Spit flew into Victoria's face as Sir William howled at her. "I saw your letter. I saw there was a man you wrote about. I want to know where he is."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Victoria repeated. "I have no lover."
The anger Victoria predicted came. Sir William roared. "Where is he?" he demanded.
"I do not know," Victoria repeated.
"Yes. You. Do."
In Sir William's anger, he seized her by the shoulders. Her teeth clacked together and a groan escaped her throat. His rough hands caused her head, side, and leg to ache. She closed her eyes, trying to fight down the tears which filled them.
She could not believe this was the end.
The whore, Victoria, lied to him. Sir William was certain of it. There was no way she had miswritten in that letter to her mother. He knew her well enough to understand she had spread her delicious legs for some other man. The fact that she would not tell him who the man was made him want to eat her heart out with a stick.
"Tell me," Sir William roared. "Tell me."
"She doesn't have to," said a deep, angry male voice. "Because I will."
Sir William whipped around as Victoria gasped.
Leon gazed at Victoria's blood covered face and felt so angry that he could have screamed for three days and it wouldn't have been enough. In his rage, Leon turned toward the man who had done this to her, the hated "Sir William" that Victoria had mentioned to him. At Leon's side, Dr. Manheim lingered. He shot a concerned look at the sky, which was laced with red as the sun fell. At the moment, Leon ignored the concern and continued to stalk into the camp where Sir William gazed at him with fiery red madness upon his face.
"You…" Leon snarled. "You hurt Victoria."
"And you would be the man she mentioned in the letter." A malicious grin crossed Sir William's face, but some of the anger faded to confusion as he studied Leon's nakedness. "Leave it to Victoria to spread her legs for the village madman."
"There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. Victoria," Leon roared.
To Sir William's right, he heard Victoria give a concerned groan. He gazed at her and felt sweat trickle down his face as his skin burned. He felt strange, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he got rid of Sir William so he would never hurt Victoria again.
"Get away from her," Leon boomed when Sir William did not move away from Victoria.
"As you wish." Sir William stepped toward him and withdrew his sword.
A grin crossed Leon's face. A sword against him? Truly? His body was as hard as iron. Sir William could have sliced at him all day and nothing would have happened. Sir William drew up his hand, brought it down upon Leon's shoulder, and gasped as the sword let out a "ting" and vibrated. Sir William stared down at his sword in terror as Victoria let out a frightened, confused wail.
"What is this?" Sir William gazed down at his blade, open-mouthed.
Drawing back his arm, Sir William attempted to plunge his blade straight into Leon's abs, but the sword didn't so much as sting him. As a shocked ex
pression crossed Sir William's face as he stepped back, Leon glanced at the pink-crimson sky and felt his limbs shake. He wanted to change. Everything was growing dimmer.
He let out a scream of rage and then everything went black.
What is the matter with this man? Sir William gripped his sword tightly as he gazed at Victoria's lover, who was naked and beginning to convulse. He truly is mad. Or something more.
His sword had not been able to plunge into his flesh. He had not even been able to slice through skin with his hardest blow. Sir William groaned and then glanced up again. He saw the naked man throw back his head and let out an evil, deep roar into the night. His eyes glowed a deep and bloody red and his fangs elongated as blood spilled down his gums. At that moment, Sir William knew who he was meeting – the Devil himself, coming to take him to hell after all the horrors he had committed. But if he was going to hell, he was going to take Victoria with him.
With a growl of rage, Sir William stumbled over to Victoria, who shook with fear as she gazed at her lover in disbelief as he chopped the rope from her hands which bound her to the log. Using Victoria as a shield, Sir William forced her against him and pressed the blade of his sword against her neck as she cried out, chocked, and then reached toward the monster with her hand outstretched.
"Leon, help me," Victoria choked. "Leon, please. What's happening to you? Dr. Manheim, what's going on?"
"No." Dr. Manheim leapt forward just as black fur began to coat Leon's body. "Don't talk to him, Victoria. He's not Leon right now."
As if to prove his point, Leon's muscles cracked and knifepoint nails burst from his fingers as he let out one last ear-shattering roar. Dr. Manheim swore, ran toward the pair of them, and attempted to grab Sir William's arm to wrestle Victoria away from him. Sir William tightened the sword so hard against Victoria's neck that she choked.
Sir William swore, glared at the little doctor who attempted to take Victoria away from him, and began to inch his way toward the dark forest with Victoria still in his arms.
