Chapter 51

Arthur woke at first light, prepared to leave Brown Valley. Daphne watched from afar as he designated one of the members of the pack as the alpha and said his final goodbyes. The new alpha and his wife seemed honored to take on the responsibility and happy together.

“Perhaps next time you come to visit, you’ll introduce us to your wife?” The luna said with a kind smile at Daphne.

Daphne’s face burned with embarrassment and she ducked her head.

“If I ever come back,” Arthur said, stiffly. “It will be after she is my wife.”

Daphne gasped at his words as the alpha smirked and nodded. They had talked about many things, but marriage wasn’t one of them. While she wanted him to start thinking about what he wanted for the future and making decisions for himself, wasn’t there a better way to broach the topic of marriage?

Arthur turned and transformed into his wolf form. The crowd nearby gasped as Daphne climbed onto his back and she smiled. Their shock wasn’t surprising. She didn’t think there was anyone who could see a wolf with such golden fur and stature and not be surprised.

He set a near leisurely

“Daphne.”

“Yes, Arthur?”

“… If I become king, wouldn’t I have to manage Brown Valley as well?”

Daphne swallowed, “Why do you ask?”

“There’s a map in… the late king’s study of the werewolf kingdom.” Arthur sighed, “The Royal family unified all the territory out to the Brown Valley…”

Daphne remained quiet as he went on explaining how he’d poked around in his father’s study and a room that had appeared to be a hall of records before they left. He’d found records about taxes, tribute, and correspondence to as far out as the sea. Brown Valley was remote, but it wasn’t the smallest or the most remote.

“There’s a pack near the sea, Blue Shores, and they have a lot of trade, but they’re so small because of the weather there…. Nearby them, there’s Black Docks…”

Daphne smiled, relaxing against him as he continued. It was an oddly thoughtful ramble about remote packs and the troubles they faced. Maybe Arthur was coming around to the idea of being king in his own way.

“Some of them just need a little help to grow, I think… It would be nice if more packs were like Sharp Armor.”

“Like Sharp Armor?”

He nodded, “With a good alpha… a good patrolling force.”

“You seemed to be thinking about it a lot.”

“…I promised you to think about it.”

Daphne chuckled, “You did, and I promised to support you in whatever decision you made.”

He bobbed his head and turned, walking over a fallen tree, “I want to make it back by nightfall. Hold on tight, okay?"

Daphne tightened her grip and nodded. Arthur took off into a run as soon as he was sure she would be okay. He had wanted to talk to Daphne. He’d thought it would help this uncomfortable sense of change he was feeling.

Being back in Brown Valley had brought memories back that he hadn’t tried to suppress, like all the days members in the pack had gone without food and the lax patrol management. He understood now that if the patrol had been better, the rogues would have never been able to get near enough to attempt to kill him, let alone Alma.

If they had better food storage, Arthur wouldn’t have had to take them on the picnic to go foraging for food either.

How many packs faced similar issues? Were any of the alphas who sat at the table and expected him to be king like Haley and Irene? Did they refuse to send help to Sharp Armor because there was no one they could send or did they just not care?

It was troublesome to think about any of it, and more troubling to realize that his thoughts were constantly turning that way.

If there had been a king of any kind to unify the werewolf kingdom after his parents died, would Haley and Irene have been able to get away with all the things they had?

Arthur slowed to a stop near a small river and let Daphne slide off his back. He sniffed and strained his hearing, but there was nothing nearby.

“How about lunch?” Arthur asked.

She nodded with a bright grin, “Sounds great! I’ll get a fire started.”

Daphne watched him leave, grinning and shaking her head. He didn’t realize it yet, but he was changing, shedding the pain of his past and growing into his real personality.

She had been speaking with the servants in the castle about Arthur. The head maid had been delighted to tell her anything she wanted to know about Arthur’s childhood. He had been a precocious child, eager to learn more about the kingdom and what his father did as king. King Dean and Luna Sabina had high hopes for him.

She could only hope that Arthur would develop high hopes for himself. She sighed, gathering kindling for the fire and to build a spit. Arthur, while more conscious of the amount of clean up required to

Arthur nodded and turned into the woods to go hunting. He hadn’t gone far when something seemed off to him. There was the faintest scent of blood nearby, but the animal’s body and remained intact save for the two puncture wounds in its neck.

He drew closer and sniffed the corpse. A lingering scent burned his nose, acrid and sharp. He didn’t recognize it and he certainly didn’t like it. He turned away from it, listening for something nearby that may have been responsible, but he heard nothing.

He turned back towards the clearing where he’d left Daphne. If there was something out there that he couldn’t hear and could barely smell, he didn’t want to leave Daphne alone.

A shriek sounded through the forest and Arthur’s heart lurched in his chest as he rushed back towards the clearing.

“Daphne!”

He leaped into the clearing as Daphne managed to pull away from the man and pounced on him. Before he landed, the man darted aside, faster than he’d ever seen a werewolf move.

Arthur turned to face him as the man leaped at him, snarling and furious. Arthur tumbled him over his shoulder and pinned him, biting down on his head tearing his head for him his shoulders with a sharp vicious crack.

His blood burned in Arthur’s mouth, he choked, spitting it out and stumbling away towards the brook to wash his mouth clean as he shuddered.

“D-Daphne?” Arthur called and spat out the rest of the blood. “Daphne, are you hurt?”

She shook her head stiffly, looking at the beheaded corpse still twitching. The scent of blood hung thick in the air.

Arthur came to her, the fur on his chest was splattered with blood, but his mouth was mostly clean as he pressed his head against her, nuzzling her gently.

“I-I’m fine, Arthur…” Daphne whispered. “Wh-Who was that?”

What was that? Daphne staggered to her feet and approached the corpse. The man hadn’t made a sound, not even a rustle in the underbrush before he’d grabbed her and started pulling her out of the clearing, but he hadn’t been violent about it. He was pale, paler than she was, with fanged teeth and a way of moving that felt odd. He was fast, but the way he held his body seemed oddly stiff like a statue just waiting

She shuddered, not wanting to think about what the man could have wanted with her.

“W-We should go,” Daphne said. “Lunch will have to wait.”

Arthur kneeled, straining his hearing for sounds beyond the clearing as she climbed onto his back.

“We’ll head back to the castle. If we have to, we’ll take a break at the top of the waterfall.”

Daphne agreed, clinging to Arthur before he took off into the forest. A shrieking sound came from behind them and Daphne clung tighter to Arthur as he sped up to escape. She felt someone, like a prickle of awareness up her spine before Arthur darted aside sharply, evading a human figure lunging out of the trees.

Daphne shrieked as the figure flew overhead and Arthur picked up speed.

“Where are they coming from?” Daphne yelled.

Moreover, what did they want?

She glanced back, seeing the man chasing after them, gaining on them with an unnatural gait.

For a moment, she thought back to the wolves who had chased them down nearly the same path and her stomach churned with anxiety. She turned back and clung to Arthur, praying that they’d escape.

Arthur leaped and Daphne felt something grab her and pull. Her grip held tight to Arthur and let out a yowl of pain as patches of his fur were ripped out.

“Arthur!” Daphne screamed as he turned around, his eyes glowing bright red as he snarled. She tumbled to the ground with the person who had grabbed her.

The man looked down at her, his gaze searching and aware as he tried to get her on her feet.

“Let go of Daphne!”