The Royal Wolf and Hades' Daughter

Chapter 10 - Scent of a Witch

A fortnight. It would not be enough to prepare himself for the role that he had to take. It was too early, too soon.

Prince Samuel watched the grounds from the comfort of his room, hands on the window sill. Everything seemed so peaceful, then. It was Queenspell, after all, the center of Mogochislenia. The grass was always green, and the rains only came when needed. As for the snow, it only came in little flurries, not like snowbound Cathrona that was often winter white.

In a way, the prince felt responsible for the hounds. The shifters might have smelled his scent and came to investigate. Of course, something inside him knew that something bigger than himself was making itself known to the whole continent. It was just difficult to shake off the feeling that he had something to do with it.

He had to settle his affairs in two weeks. He was glad that at least he did not have to worry about Raylana. She might not have been his only bed warmer, but she was the only one he managed to care for. Perhaps he felt guilty about how she felt about him. The others just wanted to bed a prince, but Raylana cared about him. He knew it, and he squashed her feelings by giving her coin. Like payment for a w***e. But he had tried to make her feel better by telling her that he only did that because he knew that she needed help with her family’s finances.

It was a secret, mostly. Her family had served the Albrechts for generations, and her father was a servant when King Adrian was a stablehand in what was then called Kingspell.

It was Samuel’s biggest shame that he had taken advantage of a young woman’s love. His mind had moved on to something else. Someone else. One of his greatest concerns about leaving Queenspell was the young woman he had just saved from hounds.

Would he see her again?

He wanted to find her that night, and he would come as a man, not a wolf. He quickly rose from his bed, unable to sleep, anyway.

Would she be running in the forest that night? He had not seen her during the day yet. Therefore, he would take his chance.

The transactions at the gates had become quicker, more natural. Dunstan had a resigned look on his face as the prince explained that he would not be too far away from the gates. Coins were left on the palms of the guards. Samuel knew that he had to do something about Shadowcreek’s guards when he reached there. It was going to be an entirely different setup.

But one of the things that Samuel wanted to be part of his new life was the shifter in the woods. He could not get her out of his mind for some reason. He persuaded himself that it was the first time he rescued a damsel in distress. It was a moment of pride, which lingered. At least in her case, he was not the big bad that everyone warned the ladies about. He helped her without asking for anything in return.

It made her think of himself as a young boy before he realized what he was. Perhaps he just needed someone like himself. Melinoe was half-witch, half-shifter. She knew him in his other form and could communicate with him through her thoughts.

He was not in the forest to stroll, but he was not there to hunt, either. His quick pace found him near the lake where he rescued Melinoe.

She was not there.

What was he thinking? Of course, she should have a place to call home. Was she a forest creature or someone like him who went home to a walled house, well, in his case, a castle?

Samuel remembered her scent. It was like a heady mix of jasmine, rose, and sandalwood. It was sweet enough to get intoxicated with, but it also promised something more mysterious. It was like a fairytale in the forest, which she apparently belonged to.

“Samuel, why are you here?” The voice was confused but also pleased.

It was her. It was almost as if they had arranged for a tryst. She was in her human form. For the first time, the prince saw her as clothed. She was not a peasant, this one. She was wearing a long silk scarlet gown. Instead of the usual wide sleeves, her gown did not have any. Melinoe seemed to belong to a less than traditional family.

“I was looking for you,” he said, huskily, bewitched by her beauty. The moonlight fell on her figure as if she was one of those actresses on the stage that his sister Luella loved to watch.

“And you are looking for me as a man, not a wolf? Wouldn’t you want your senses to be heightened when you are on the hunt?” she teased.

“I am not on a hunt. At least, I do not believe this is one. I could smell you from afar. I do not need to be a wolf to know your scent.”

Melinoe seemed to flush at that as she bowed her face as if to hide it from him.

“I am not aware that my scent would be that potent, so much so that you will sense me in your human form.”

“But isn’t that the way it should be?”

“I do not know, either. The hounds hunted me not with my scent but followed me around, hiding in the shadows only to pounce when it was too late for me. I was fortunate that you were there.”

Samuel’s nose flared at the thought of the hounds.

“Had the other one returned to find you? Why are you here again, in this place, like a lure?”

She smiled at that. It was a mysterious smile, almost bittersweet, but what did Samuel know about this young woman?

Nothing much.

“I want to know where you live, Melinoe,” he prodded.

“Why? Are you going to ask for my hand in marriage?” There was that teasing tone again, but her eyes seemed sad.

Samuel just looked at the beautiful heart-shaped face, the emerald green eyes, and the long black hair. He wanted to remember as much of her as he could if there was no other way. The prince was a reasonable man. He thought that it was just infatuation. Having his own damsel in distress was exciting, and her beauty was a bonus.

“No. I am here to find out where you live,” the prince answered honestly, though he knew that it did not make sense. Why would he look for her in the forest and track her home?

“I cannot bring you to where I live,” the prince felt the honesty in her own response.

“Do you live with your family? A mother? Father? A husband?” Samuel’s heart twisted at his own last word. He had assumed she was a maiden, but she was a grown woman. She could have been married or betrothed.

“I live with my mother,” she said. The next few words made him smile, “I am not married.”

“I came here to tell you goodbye,” Samuel confessed.

“Goodbye?”

“Yes, goodbye. I will be leaving Queenspell soon. I would be taking my father’s place in Shadowcreek,” the prince inwardly kicked himself for revealing too much. Still, it was too easy to say the words in front of this mysterious young woman.

It was her turn to look melancholy, but she tried to hide it with a wide smile.

“An abdication? That is a happier way to rise as king. Your father must be healthy still?” she asked.

“Yes, he is. He wants me at Shadowcreek. It has to do with wolves. Therefore, a wolf must be sent there to do something about it,” the prince gave the shifter maiden a crooked grin to make it clear he was half-jesting.

Melinoe did not smile. She was thinking hard about something, Samuel could tell.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. The hounds and some rebel wolves seem to be getting out of hand.”

“Are you afraid of them?”

“No, I am not afraid of them,” she said indignantly.

“Come with me, Melinoe.”

Samuel did not know where that came from, but he felt the urgency to tell her those words.

“My mother needs me.”

The prince was surprised that she did not laugh or protest. It almost seemed that she would come with him if not for her mother.

“Is your mother old and ill?” he asked, concerned.

She scoffed at that. Then, she held her mouth with a hand as if it had already given too much away.

“No, she is not. But she controls me and everything that I had to do.”

“Is that why you are still not married?”

“At my age? A spinster?” Melinoe was now openly laughing. There were tears in her eyes, from mirth or something else; the prince was not sure.

“Melinoe, you do not look like a spinster at all,” the prince said, closing the gap between them. He did not know why he was bold enough to hold her on both shoulders, but that was what he did. She looked up into his eyes, wondering what was going on. She did not protest when his lips descended on hers for a kiss.