Shadows Of Desire

“I think I heard something this way.” Rowan’s head snapped up when he heard a man’s voice call out from the field ahead. He leaned forward to get a better view, wondering if it was another wolf. He sighed in frustration, wondering just how many more packs had been alerted to his presence.

As the man came into view though, he saw that it wasn’t a wolf but rather a man on horseback. Behind him, four more men came into view, all on horses, all of them dressed as nobles, and all of them armed with very large swords.

“Probably just a deer.” Another man said, drawing up close to the first rider.

“Maybe, but we should probably check it out. Just to be safe.” The first rider said. He inched his horse closer to the edge of the wood, cautiously searching the area for any sign of danger before leading his horse slowly in. The others followed closely behind, each of them keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

“I don’t...” The first rider was silenced when a wolf darted out between two large trees, frightening the horse which reared up and whinnied.

“Wolves!” The man behind him gasped, reaching for his sword.

“Hold!” The first rider warned, raising his hand.

“What are they doing this close to the city?” Another rider frantically asked, his eyes darting around the woods, looking for more hidden wolves.

“That’s what I’m about to find out.” The first rider told his companions. Rowan watched as the man climbed down from his horse and stood beside it, stroking it’s mane as he spoke calmly to the animal. The man was tall and slender but with sinewy arms covered by the sleeves of a black shirt. His slacks were also black and he wore a leather cuirass over his chest, as well as a long black cloak. His long, black, hair fell well past his shoulders, and the sides were pulled back and tied into a small pony tail. The tips of his pointed ears peaked out from beneath his mane of flowing hair and that was when Rowan realized that what he was looking at was an elf.

The elf stood beside his horse looking around him as the wolves who had been hunting Rowan slowly began to surround the elves. The black haired elf, who seemed to be the leader of the group, didn’t appear frightened of the wolves at all. In fact, he seemed a bit annoyed with their presence. He watched, silently, as one of the wolves stepped forward and then immediately shifted to his human form. Rowan had to put a hand over his mouth, suppressing a gasp as he realized that the wolf, now human, was completely naked. The elven riders didn’t seem shocked at this as they regarded the man with minimal interest, as though this were a daily occurrence for them.

“Hugo.” The black haired elf sneered at the naked wolf. “What are you doing in these woods?” He asked with contempt.

Hugo, the wolf, grunted then spit on the ground. “We’re tracking a fugitive.” He said, his voice deep and husky.

The black haired elf raised an eye brow. “And what was this fugitive’s crime?”

“None of your business, elf.” Hugo growled.

“Oh, but I think it is.” The elf told him, growing more impatient. “Or has it failed to register to your tiny wolf brain that you’ve crossed into our territory?”

Hugo smirked, folding his large, burly arms, across his bare chest. “The treaty gives us the right to hunt criminals on your land.” The wolf sneered. “So, it’s completely within our rights to be here.”

The elf narrowed his eyes then took a small step closer to the wolf who didn’t appear intimidated in the slightest at the elf’s show of authority. “The treaty also states that you must inform the royal guard of any escaped prisoners that cross into our territory and get permission to track them down. Being the head of the guard, I gave no such permission for you to be here. So, I will ask you again. What crime has this fugitive committed that warrants you trespassing on elven soil?”

Hugo took in a deep breath then snarled. “Alpha wants him for questioning.” He growled.

“I see.” The elf sighed, pursing his lips. “So, he’s only suspected of a crime.”

“He’s suspected of being a vampire.” Both Hugo and the elf turned to see Connor, now fully clothed, walking through the trees towards them.

“Alpha.” Hugo bared his neck to Connor as the alpha wolf stopped beside him. Connor looked down at Hugo’s naked form and frowned.

“Get back to the pack.” He commanded. Hugo bowed then turned and quickly shifted back into his wolf form and rejoined his pack mates. Connor then looked to the black haired elf and nodded a greeting. “Brandyn.” He acknowledged him, but the greeting sounded anything but friendly.

“Connor.” Brandyn returned the greeting with the same amount of animosity that the alpha had shown him.

“Now you know why we’re hunting the coward.” Connor sneered. “Will you give us permission to retrieve our fugitive? The sooner we have him in custody, the sooner we can get out of here.”

Brandyn smirked, glancing to the countless eyes peering out at him from within the trees. “This must be a very formidable vampire.” He laughed. “If it takes your best warriors to hunt him down. Tell me, how many of your wolves has he killed?”

Connor crossed his arms over his chest. “None.” He spat.

Brandyn raised an eyebrow. “None? Did he attack one of your villages?”

Connor growled under his breath, growing tired of the questions. “No.”

“Then, what exactly, did he do?”

Connor huffed. “He crossed into our lands, isn’t that enough? We are sworn to kill all vampires on sight and that is what I intend to do!”

“So, you’re not going to question him?” Brandyn asked.

“I’ll question him.” Connor told the elf. “After I torture him. And when I find out why he is here and what the blood suckers have planned, then I’ll kill him.”

“But, what proof do you have that he is a vampire? I mean, it seems odd that one rouge vampire was caught trespassing in Wolfhaven. Unless he’s a scout. What was he doing when you spotted him.”

Connor sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was ready to say to hell with all the questions and just order his wolves to attack but the elven Crown Prince would undoubtedly respond with equally deadly force and Connor couldn’t afford to start a war with the elves. The wolves strength and claws, while powerful, were simply no match for elven magic.

“He wasn’t doing anything.” Connor answered with a snarl.

Brandyn cocked an eyebrow, demanding clarification.

Connor sighed. “He was traveling with a bog giant. They said they were headed to Rosegate, to join a caravan headed to Millbarrow.”

Now this was interesting. Brandyn scratched the back of his neck as he considered this new information. A bog giant, escorting a vampire to Rosegate? Of all the scenario’s that he could have come up with, that one had never crossed his mind. He realized in that moment that the situation bared some looking into.

“And, where is the bog giant?” Brandyn asked, a little too politely. His calm and cool demeanor irked Connor greatly.

“We have him.” Connor grumbled.

“I see.” Brandyn turned to his companions and waved a young blond elf over to him. The young elf dismounted and walked to his commander. “Daire.” Brandyn addressed the young soldier. “Please accompany Alpha Connor back to where they are holding the bog giant. I want him brought to the palace for interrogation. As for the suspected vampire...” He turned his attention back to Connor. “My men and I will deal with him. Your request to hunt the fugitive down on our lands has been denied.”

“Now just you wait a minute!” Connor growled.

Brandyn put his hand up to silence the wolf. “This is too important an issue not to be brought to the attention of the Crown Prince. If the vampires are planning something, we need to be made aware of it.” It wasn’t just the fact that a vampire had somehow found its way into Rosegate that concerned Brandyn. He wanted to also know what role the bog giant had in the vampires plan and why he was helping their enemy.

Connor scoffed at Brandyn, shaking his head. “You want to interrogate the vampire? Fine, be my guest. You’ll have to catch him first though.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Brandyn smirked. “Now, if you would kindly lead your wolves out of our territory, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“Right.” Connor growled. “And I’ll be sure to let your Prince know just how hospitable you’ve been, when he comes to me for help.”

“You do that.” Brandyn told him. “I’m sure he’ll agree that I’ve been more than accommodating.”

The Alpha wolf huffed then turned his back on Brandyn and ordered his wolves to return to Wolfhaven. When they were completely out of sight, Brandyn looked up into the tree to the cloaked figure perched on a branch above him and sighed. “Your friend is being brought to the Palace for questioning.” He said. “I suggest you make things easy on yourself by surrendering now. If I have to come up there and get you, I’m not going to be very pleased.”

Rowan looked down at the man, not sure what to do. If Bhalor was truly being taken to the elven palace, would he tell the Crown Prince about Rowan and their plan to escape to Millbarrow? He didn’t think so but he was still worried. What if they tortured him? He really didn’t want Bhalor to suffer anymore than he already had. If Rowan could save him, he would.

“If I surrender myself to you, will you let the bog giant go free?” Rowan asked.

Brandyn shook his head. “Probably not.” He answered, truthfully.

“Then you can go to hell.” Rowan growled.

Brandyn had to chuckle at that. The vampire had spunk. “Very well.” He said with a slight shrug. “Have it your way.” Brandyn turned back to his men and addressed them. “You had better call for Nasir.” He said with a smirk. “Tell him we’ve chased a fox up a tree.”