Chapter 15

Just before dawn, as promised, Daphne sent Arthur off to the training field. It was nerve-racking to let him go alone, but she did because Arthur was adamant that he wouldn’t risk her getting hurt again. She made him promise at least three times to keep in control of his anger, behave, and remember that they needed the safety the pack could give them.

Despite the promises, she was still uneasy. She spent the morning cleaning the house and organizing things to keep herself calm, but the cottage wasn’t that large. She wandered around the house and took stock of the little bit of land behind the house that was fenced in. Maybe it had been a little garden.

She poked and prodded the earth and weeded the area. Soon, she lost herself and her worry to the work. It was about lunchtime when she heard the front door open.

“Daphne?” Arthur called.

“Coming!” She washed her hands and hurried around the side of the house until she entered the house.

Arthur had transformed and slipped into some clothing. He was looking out the window that faced the back of the house.

“What were you doing outside?”

“Weeding. How was—” Arthur turned to her and she gasped, crossing the room to him, “What happened to your face?”

The bruise was large, but it seemed to be the only new injury he had. She cupped his face gently, turning it so she could look at it and he growled and turned into her hands, breathing in her scent deeply. He shuddered and lowered his head as his eyes fluttered closed.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing. I promise.”

It didn’t look fine, but she supposed that he’d had worse injuries, so she let it go. They stayed that way for a while before she grew a bit embarrassed and withdrew her hands.

“You should get cleaned up. I’ll get a meal together.”

He nodded and turned from her as she went back to where she’d stored the leftovers. He settled across the table from her as she set the food out. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for lunch for the two of them.

At least, that’s what she thought. Arthur’s expression seemed disgruntled about the meal.

“What’s wrong?”

“When I join the patrol, I’ll be paid,” Arthur said and picked up the loaf of bread. “So we won’t need to ask Blade’s wife for food anymore.”

Daphne nodded. It would be nice to be able to buy food on their own, but Mamie had assured her that it wasn’t a problem. She seemed happy to help them.

“It’s fine, but that was the last we had. We’ll have to find something for dinner.”

“It’s not enough,” Arthur shook his head. “I’ll go hunting before I come back.”

Daphne grimaced at the thought. She hoped it wouldn’t be as gruesome as the last time Arthur went hunting, but she said nothing. They ate, he stayed with her as she washed dishes, and left soon after.

While he was gone, she walked around the village, familiarizing herself with the village. It was strange to be walking among them so freely. Her experience with the human village left her unprepared for being able to walk around leisurely. She returned home just as Arthur was returning with his kill. She had him skin and disembowel the deer outside of the house before setting up a spit to cook it.

After dinner, they entered the house and Daphne ushered him into a seat.

“Let me see your wounds.”

Arthur obliged, removing his shirt without shame. She removed the bandages carefully, not wanting to hurt him. She’d only been able to treat the worst of his injuries, but now that they were in a safe place, she could take stock of how he was healing and treat the rest properly. She expected the injuries to still be bleeding a bit, but they were already healed.

How was that possible?

“Do werewolves' wounds always heal so quickly?”

Arthur shrugged, “My wounds heal faster than others. It's been like that since I was very young, so I've always been stronger than others.”

Daphne didn't quite understand, but she was grateful for his strength.

“It's better this way; I don't want you to always use your blood to heal me...”

Daphne gasped, casting a nervous glance around. They were alone, of course, but werewolves had great hearing.

“Keep your voice down!” She hissed. “Don't let the others hear you...”

“You don’t need to worry.” Arthur smiled at her. “I'll keep this a secret until I die.”

Daphne sighed with relief. At the least, she could trust that he would do everything to keep his word.

She put all of the bandages aside to wash later and got ready for bed. Daphne crossed the room to the small bed they’d brought and Arthur looked at her awkwardly.

“What is it?”

“Well… could we… Could we share a bed?”

Her face heated and Arthur flushed, “I didn’t mean anything by it! I just want to sleep next to you. I promise.”

“You have your own bed. Why do you want to sleep with me?”

Arthur shifted to his wolf form with a little whine before turning his gaze on her, pleading and pitiful.

“I just… want to sleep beside you.

“You can't! You’re too big in your human form, and you’re definitely too big as a wolf!” Daphne turned her head sharply and turned over. “Good night!”

Daphne woke up warmer than she had been when she’d gone to sleep and sighed. It seemed no matter what she said, or how many times she said it, Arthur would always end up in her bed by morning. One morning, she woke up to see Arthur’s wolf form sprawled on the floor beside the bed, having fallen out because the bed was too small to share.

He hadn't seemed bothered by waking up on the floor, but she was bothered by him climbing into her bed every night.

“I’m sorry,” he’d say in the morning with a little flush. “I really don’t mean to.”

Daphne didn’t have the heart to scold him, as it was clear he wasn’t doing it on purpose and he was making such progress.

Within the week, Arthur had passed his training and officially joined the patrol. While Arthur was out with the patrol, Daphne went to Mamie and Blade’s house. As the wife of the patrol leader, Mamie was responsible for distributing supplies for the patrol, providing food and other help, but she was pregnant, so she couldn’t keep up with all of her duties easily, so Daphne helped her as much as possible.

Once Mamie found out that Daphne had lived alone for a long time and was very self-sufficient, she welcomed the help with open arms and they grew closer. Mamie answered all of her questions about werewolves, and slowly, Daphne began to feel more prepared to live among them.

“You’re a bold girl,” Mamie grinned at her. “To live among wolves. Most humans are terrified of us.”

Daphne smiled at her. She was still terrified, honestly. The rogues, Owen, and Arthur were all terrifying, let alone the unit of wolves who had chased them to the waterfall. She still had occasional nightmares about their escape from her cabin and the night she’d tried to run away. She knew now that Arthur would always protect her because she was his mate, but she feared that he would tear her apart if she ever wanted to leave him.

Arthur told her often that he found great peace in being with her, but she seemed to find none. His devotion and near-obsession about her safety were sometimes too heavy for her to bear, weighing her down, crushing her sometimes. She didn’t know how to handle it, or how to explain that to him.

Their relationship felt so unbalanced emotionally. She didn’t bring it up to Mamie as she seemed to have such a happy marriage and Daphne wasn’t sure if these feelings were just because she was a human mate to a werewolf.

“Here’s the last box!” Daphne said with a huff, setting the box down.

“Thanks—”

She heard something coming from the training ground then a voice cried out.

“Doctor! Someone get the doctor; he’s hurt!”

Arthur was on the training field today, as was Blade. Mamie ran for the door, and Daphne followed as fast as she could manage. She couldn’t keep up with Mamie, but she didn’t need to. There was a crowd and waves of chatter. Standing above the crowd, Daphne saw Arthur’s head of golden hair. It was the first time he had shown his human form to the pack, so she was a bit shocked.

She fought her way through the crowd, following Mamie. She broke through the crowd and saw blood smeared across Arthur’s chest. Her heart lurched in fear until she saw the body in his arms.

Mamie shrieked, “Blade!”