Throwing the Gauntlet

Chapter 2

Frey let out a manly squeal and ducked behind a bunch of archery dummies. He could hear Lain sighing from across the room and he resisted the urge to poke out his tongue in case she decided to cut it off. That would take him at least a week to grow back, and he hated not being able to talk.

“Frey, get out here and fight.”

“No,” he yelled. “I like my head where it is.” And my tongue.

“Pathetic vampire,” she muttered.

“I heard that!”

“You were meant to!”

Frey ran the length of the room as soon as she was within reach of him.

“Seriously, Frey, what are you going to do if someone actually attacks you?”

“Isn’t that what you’re for?”

“I won’t be fodder for you.” She rotated the sword in her palm. “And you’re not leaving this room until you’ve landed at least one hit.”

Frey glanced at where the weapons were hanging on the wall. Three different swords – one curved, one broad, one rapier – a battle-axe, a smaller axe (and what the hell was someone supposed to do with that? Throw it?) star looking things – they were probably to throw -, and something small and curved like a half moon that looked wicked sharp. And that was just one side of the wall.

Yeah, no way.

He ran again when Lain came within slicing distance.

“All right, time out.”

Frey narrowed his eyes and poked his head out from behind his newest shield – a rack that held clean towels for after training. Lain had put the sword on the ground beside her, and stepped two paces to the left. She looked right at him, her hands upright in surrender.

He tentatively stepped out, moving closer.

“Frey, you need to start taking this training seriously. Yes, I am here to protect you, but what happens when I’m not?”

“I’m safe within these walls.”

“And what about outside of them? You’re just never going to go anywhere else, your entire existence?”

“That is the plan,” he muttered.

Lain put her hands on her hips, looking exasperated. “Frey.”

“What?” He flopped down on the floor and crossed his legs. “I don’t want to fight. I’m s**t at it.”

“You’re s**t at it because you don’t try. You have warrior blood, and you could be amazing. I know you could.”

“That pep talk crap stopped working on me when I was five.”

“Well maybe after one-hundred and twelve years you’ve grown up a little.”

Frey snorted and Lain shook her head. “A half hour more, that’s all I’m asking for,” she said. “Please. Then I’ll regale to your father tales of your heroics, and maybe you won’t have to deal with him for a few days.”

Frey sighed and got to his feet. “Fine, but I want your sword.”

Lain crossed her arms. “No.”

“Bu-”

“No.”

It was more like an hour more of training, but Lain finally put her sword down and declared them done. Sweat was pouring from Frey and he was pretty sure if it was possible to die from a heart attack as a vampire it would have happened to him by now.

“Your stamina is terrible,” Lain remarked.

Frey merely flipped her off as he grabbed a towel from the rack and wiped his face.

“So where’s the wolf?”

Frey shrugged. “I think they put it downstairs.”

“Downstairs? Not in the taming area? …wait, you think? You haven’t visited it?”

“Why would I?”

Lain grabbed Frey’s shoulder and forced him to look at her. “Frey, your father expects you to tame it.”

“I have no intention of taming anything.”

“This is not an order you can ignore.”

Frey shrugged her off and threw the towel on the floor. “I’ve got more important things to be doing.”

“Frey, go and see it. Now.”

“I already said no.”

“Frey.”

He ignored her and walked out of the room. He couldn’t care less what his father expected of him. Frey would not dance to his tune, or play the obedient fool.

--

A loud yell outside his door had Frey jolting awake. A few of his paintbrushes fell to the floor from where his head had been resting on his desk.

He looked around the room blearily, but all was quiet. He yawned and stretched his back. He wiped the side of his cheek and grimaced when he felt the wet paint slide across his face. Damn, he must have fallen asleep before he could put his paints away.

He moved across to his ensuite and tried to get the paint off his fingers, without much luck. He looked at his face in the mirror and sighed at the streak of blue paint on his cheek. It would be just his luck for his father to summon him before he could get the paint off.

He pulled the back of his collar and ripped his shirt off over his head and was just about to unbutton his pants when he heard his mobile ringing from his room. He padded over to where it was sitting beside his bed and flipped it open.

“Hello?”

“Frey, thank the fang. Are you all right?”

“What? Lain? Why wouldn’t I be all right?” He sat down on the bed and pulled his left sock off.

“Just stay in your room, okay? Lock the door and don’t come out for anything.”

“Lain, you’re being dramatic. What the hell is going on?”

“Just stay in your room.”

“All right, all right.” He pulled his remaining sock off and raised a brow at the phone as Lain hung up on him. What the bloody hell had that been about?

His head lifted as raised voices came past his room. He couldn’t hear what they were saying as they moved further down the hallway.

He dropped his phone on the bed and opened his doorway a crack, looking out. What was going on out there?

The hallway was empty. He took a step out, hoping someone would come past so that he could find out what was happening. He closed his door shut behind him and ventured further out into the hall. The voices had been going left, so he assumed that’s where the excitement was.

He headed in that direction, and it took him a moment before he realised he wasn’t alone in the hall anymore. A growl came from behind him and the hair on his arms stood on end.

Frey swallowed hard, and turned slowly.

A large black wolf was standing at the end of the corridor, blood dripping from its fangs. It was looking straight at Frey, its teeth bared.

Holy f*****g s**t. What was a wolf doing loose in the castle?

Frey turned to run but it came on him faster than he thought possible and he was shoved face first into the floor before he could take more than a few steps. He swung with his elbow and a satisfying yelp sounded. He twisted and tried to get leverage to get up and away from the creature.

He cried out when teeth gripped onto his arm and shook him like a rag doll. The cuts went deep, down to his bone, and he saw the blood pouring from the wound even as the teeth let go. He kicked out and sent the wolf flying into the wall.

He tried to scramble backwards but his wounded arm was limp and useless and he did a pathetic crab walk, his legs slipping on the blood pooling beneath him. The wolf growled again, baring its fangs.

Frey looked into the creature’s eyes and his own widened. Liquid gold. Was this…? Before he could finish his thought the wolf was on him again, ripping across his chest with its giant claws, blood splashing across the wall. Frey tried to grab hold of it with his good arm but the wolf swatted it away with his paw like it was a mere annoyance, and went for his jugular.

Frey squeezed his eyes shut, knowing this was it. His throat would be ripped out, and his head would be severed and he would be gone.

The wolf yelped and the pressure on his chest eased and Frey’s eyes flew open. Lain was standing over him, and several Elite Guards were holding the wolf down, cuffing him in irons even as he snarled and fought them.

“Is this what you call staying in your room?” Lain said through gritted teeth.

“We have him secure,” one of the guards said.

Lain nodded. “Take him below, and make sure he’s chained properly.” He knelt beside Frey and checked his wounds. “Come on, we need to get you looked at.”

Frey tried to stand but stumbled as his head spun and his sight blurred. He heard someone calling his name, and he tried to reach for the hands moving towards him but he tipped forward and blacked out.

--

Frey winced as he opened his eyes, and shut them again. Bright, bright, bright. “Turn the f*****g lights off.”

After a few moments, he opened one eye to check, and sighed in relief when the light didn’t try and burn out his retina.

A chair scraped against the floor and Lain came into view as she sat down. “His highness awakens.”

“I don’t think you’re allowed to use sarcasm on injured people.”

“Since the i***t got injured because he’s an i***t those rules don’t count.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Why did you leave your room after I specifically told you not to?”

Frey rolled his eyes and turned away from her. “Maybe if you had told me a psycho wolf was on the loose I might have listened.”

“Or you could have just trusted that I had your best interests at heart and listened to me!”

Frey looked down at his arm. There was a slight scar that would heal in time but otherwise the skin had knitted together perfectly. He shoved the blanket down and off his chest but there was nothing to suggest that a wolf had tried to carve his organs out. “How long have I been out?”

“Almost two days.”

He smirked. “Were you worried about me?”

“I’m about to hit you.”

Frey chuckled and flung the blanket off him. Not completely naked then. Though the hospital scrub like pants were not exactly flattering. He swung his feet off the bed and stretched his back. He placed a hand on his forehead when his head spun a little.

“You need to eat something.”

“Mmmm.” Frey ran a hand through his hair and slowly stood. When his head didn’t try and do the tango he looked around the room to see if there was some proper clothing somewhere.

Lain picked up a backpack that was beside her and threw it at him. He barely caught it before it smacked him in the chest.

Opening it up he noticed it had a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved grey shirt inside. He fingered the shirt. Thick cotton; warm and comfortable, just how he liked. He grabbed the items out of the bag and threw the bag back, aiming for Lains head.

Her instincts were far more honed than his and she snatched it mid-air, giving him a dark look.

He stuck his tongue out before he pulled the shirt on and tugged his pants off, replacing them quickly. “No underwear?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to go through your underwear drawer.”

“Has my father come to see me?”

“He asked for updates, but no, he hasn’t come down here.”

“Figures.” He left the pants in a crumpled mess on the floor and headed for the door.

Lain dumped the bag on the bed and followed. “He’s furious at you, Frey. You need to step carefully for a while. At least until his temper has cooled.”

“I’m not afraid of him. So, what happened?”

“It’s a pretty simple story, actually. Someone didn’t keep an eye on his pet and it escaped. End of story.”

“I told you I wasn’t going t-” He grunted as Lain shoved him into the nearest wall.

“Two soldiers were killed, and three others were injured when your wolf got out, you selfish prick,” Lain growled. She gripped Lains shirt in her fist and crowded him. “I don’t care what kind of power play you’re trying to win with your father; people got hurt and you need to take responsibility for that.”

Frey blanched. “Lai-” He tried to get out of her grip but she tightened it and shoved him back against the wall.

“You will go and see that wolf, and you will f*****g tame it until it’s licking your feet in gratitude, do you understand me?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Frey choked out. “Now get off me.”

Lain pulled back. She cupped his chin and stroked his cheek with her thumb. “You were almost one of those casualties, Frey. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

She was gone before he could say a word.

He let out a breath and lent his head back against the wall.