Ascendant Moon

Chapter Nine: Baiting a Wolf

Marwen glanced at the Alpha with vague disbelief as her fingers remained clenched around the water spraying device. Jets of water were still blasting from it, soaking the floor and she still had no idea how to turn it off. That blasted Beta, he makes a mockery of me! "This thing," She shook the device, "is still operational." The Alpha set the plate down on the bed before stepping across the floor to her. 

    "Here," he murmured, reaching out for the device and directing the spray of the water at the floor. Marwen released her grip on it, content to relinquish responsibility of it to the Alpha. Marwen's gaze tracked him as he took the thing back into the bathroom, pressing some buttons on the big white box affixed to the wall above the bath. The water stopped flowing instantly and he set the device back into some kind of holder. Fascinating. There was nothing like that in the Fae realm. It had to be some kind of tap, like the ones they'd shown attached to the strange bathtub. Though why a tap needed to be that forceful with the water, she had no idea.

"See? All fixed." The. Alpha smiled, stepping back out of the tub. 

She eyed the device warily. "It will not start up again?" 

"Not unless you press the button." The Alpha shrugged.

    "Very well." She conceded, though keeping her stare fixed on it as she backed out into the bedroom once more. Her boots immediately squelched as they slightly sank into damp carpet. "What of this?" She gestured to the large pool of water, the dark patch clearly visible to any and all who were in the room. Including the Beta. She narrowed her eyes at his bedraggled form.

"We'll just have to put towels down for now, see how much of it we can soak up. It'll be alright for the night. In the morning I'll get the clean-up crew in here to see how much damage there is." 

"Is he in the clean-up crew?" She asked, pointedly staring in Dex's direction. 

     "No, but he is going to put all the towels down. Right Dex?" Marwen could hear the underlying tone in the Alpha's voice. She had heard it enough times in the Unseelie Court and even in Erylis's estate. He was not asking. With his head low, the russet wolf padded towards the bathroom, gripping towels in his jaw.

    "Why does he not change? Surely both tasks would have been easier to accomplish as a man?" She could not help wonder at this fact. She had already ascertained that Dex was in wolf form as it would no doubt be more effective to subdue her with the addition of fangs, claws and extra weight if she tried something. But for something as simple as explaining the device or carrying towels? She could not fathom it.

"Two reasons, either he's still waiting for you to suddenly try and gut him or it might be to do with the fact that changing from beast to man leaves us naked." The Alpha seemed to relish in this information while Marwen noticed that for a wolf, the Beta looked suitably embarrassed at this revelation.

     "He is shy." She concluded, nodded her head with certainty. It made perfect sense. After all, how were they to know that shyness was practically beaten out of Unseelie fae the moment they picked up a blade? "Do not worry Beta. I have seen many naked fae males while preparing to train. I am sure you have nothing I have not seen before." She hoped this statement would provide some reassurance.

    Instead the Alpha raised a hand to cover his mouth as mirth danced in his eyes, while Dex seemed even more embarrassed. How odd. 

"It's fine, you can go. " The Alpha responded to Dex's imploring gaze, barely containing laughter. The wolf instantly dropped the towel from his jaws and dashed out of the room, as Marwen watched puzzled. 

"I apologise; I did not know how conservative werewolves are." She stated. Perhaps she had made some mistake that needed remedying in terms of her understanding. 

    The Alpha could no longer contain his laughter. "Wolves aren't shy, shifting back and forth when running as a pack eliminates that. But seeing pack members naked and having a stranger see you in the nude are two different things."

    How interesting. She would have to remember that. Throughout her lifetime, she'd always been preparing for training and battle with fae she knew and fae she did not. Besides, everyone had been more focused on whether or not their weapons were sharpened enough than comparing body parts. Yet another difference between her world and this one.  

    The Alpha finally ceased his laughter and strangely, Marwen found she missed the sound. Perhaps because it had been a long time since she had heard such unrestrained glee. The Alpha sat down in a chair while gesturing towards the plate on the bed. "It's steak and chips. I hope you like it." 

    If she did not eat now, she may not get another chance. Cautiously, Marwen stepped towards the bed, perching on the edge and picking up the plate. They had not poisoned her so far and this meal did not seem nefarious. Picking up the knife and fork, she cut into the meat before enclosing her lips around it. By all the Lords and Ladies in the Fae realm, this is better than roasted salamander hide! Ravenous, Marwen began shovelling the food in her mouth.

     "I take it you like it." The Alpha's voice interrupted her food guzzling. She swallowed quickly. 

"It is better than some of the meals in the Fae realm." She answered, before chomping down on... What had he called them again? Ah yes. Chips.

"I'll tell the cook. I'm sure they will be pleased to hear it." He let her finish the meal before speaking again. "I have agreed to let you train my wolves. But I want to talk to you about what that training will consist of. I don't know whether you have worked with any beings that have shifted form before. What is your strategy to combat that?" 

    Marwen put her plate down on the bed, leaning forward. "I want to see how fast they shift. It is a unique skill. If I can get them to a point where they can shift mid-battle? It would be a glorious thing. But to start, I would go through basic drills from the Fae realm. No opponent would expect a non-fae to know them. And I will not stand for anything less than perfection. I do not care if your wolves have to do those drills a hundred times or a thousand. They will be done until they can be performed flawlessly." 

     Consideration ran across The Alpha's face as he processed her words. They may be a different species, but to her, they were still new recruits. And new recruits were not someone to go easy on. 

"When can you start the training?" He asked. 

She shrugged. "As soon as the sun rises, if you like. But on one condition." Oh she had laid the trap and set the bait. Now all she needed was this wolf to bite.

 "What condition?" The Alpha questioned with care. 

The grin spread across her face, revealing her pointed teeth. He has taken it. 

"I want to fight you before any training takes place. I want to see how good you are."