Claiming my rogue princess

Chapter Four

Familiar Faces.

The world gradually returned to Damian in fragments.

The first thing he heard was the muffled sound of voices…urgent, and filled with immense concern. His eyelids felt heavy, almost as if they were being held down by stones. When he finally forced them open, blurry shapes began to come into view.

A group of guards were standing around him, forming a perimeter and scanning the surrounding forest like predators searching for prey. A man was kneeling by his side, muttering weird words under his breath while pressing a cloth to the torn skin along Damian’s ribs. The sting told him the healer wasn’t being gentle, and whoever he was, he was more concerned with completely stopping the bleeding than sparing him pain.

And then through the haze…he saw him.

“Damian!” Liam’s voice cut through the silence. His face was a mixture of both relief and irritation. His Beta, and best friend was coming towards him, giving rapid orders to a pair of guards who immediately disappeared into the shadows between the trees. “Check the entire area! Make sure there are no lurking threats hidden in those shadows!”

Damian tried to speak, but all that came out was a groan. He blinked again, and everything became completely clear to him. He was lying on a makeshift bed made from crushed leaves, and covered with soft blankets. His shirt had been stripped away, and his skin burned where the healer’s salve had been applied into the half healed cuts on his body. He ached all over his body, almost as if a stampede of horses had run over him.

“What…what happened?” he asked in a weak voice.

“You should be the one to tell me,” Liam shot back aggressively as he also knelt beside him. “How on earth did you end up on the edge of the forest, unconscious, bleeding, and reeking of rogue scents?”

Damian’s mind flashed back…fast and muddled images. The snarling faces of the rogues, the feel of claws tearing across his side, and then…her. The girl with the fire in her eyes, moving like lightning, tearing through the rogues like a goddess of war.

He pushed himself upright despite the healer’s protest. His head spun, but he didn’t care. His eyes swept through every one around, and he frowned immediately.

She wasn’t there.

“Where is she?”

“Where is who?” Liam asked, a little bit annoyed.

Damian motioned for the healer and the nearest guards to step back. “Give us a moment.” His tone was firm enough to earn him a wary look, but they obeyed without question, retreating just far enough to give the illusion of privacy.

When they were finally alone, Damian turned to Liam with urgency in every word he spoke. “The girl. The one who brought me here…She’s not among you?”

Liam stared at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. “What girl are you talking about, Damian? You were completely alone when we found you.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Damian protested. “She was here. A wolf…beautiful, auburn haired, fierce…she fought off the rogues. She saved me.”

Liam's face instantly clouded with disbelief and frustration. “A healer from the village was out gathering herbs, and he stumbled on you lying here unconscious. He sprinted back to call for help, and that’s the only reason we found you before…” He stopped, as if imagining what terrible things could have befallen his friend. “Before it was too late.”

Damian shook his head stubbornly. “That’s not what happened.”

Liam crossed his arms. “Alright then, why don't you tell me what actually happened.”

Damian rapidly began to spill out everything he could remember. The stag hunt, the ambush, the rogues, and the way the mysterious wolf had appeared out of nowhere, tearing through the enemy as if they were nothing but training dummies. The way she’d shifted back to her human form, and then pressed her hands against his wounds. The way she had carried him through the forest while he was drifting in and out of consciousness.

“She was the one who laid me here,” Damian finally finished, completely breathless as if the memory alone was enough to steal his strength. “And then she was gone.”

Liam was quiet for a while. His eyes drifted to the trees as if looking for a shadow that didn't exist, while wondering if it was possible that Damian had been hallucinating due to his injuries. Then he finally sighed weakly and turned to Damian.

“You do realize what you’re suggesting, right?”

“What I’m telling you,” Damian corrected angrily.

“You were attacked in rogue territory, Damian,” Liam said slowly, like he was explaining something to a child. “If this girl exists, she could very well be one of them. A rogue, or worse…a loner who plays both sides.”

“She saved my life.”

“She might have wanted something in return,” Liam shot back. “You don’t wander into enemy lands and expect your rescuers to have pure intentions do you? You were lucky enough to come out of this alive…don’t even think about pushing your luck.”

Damian’s face was tight with stubborn determination. “I have to find her.”

“No, you don’t.” Liam retorted in anger, his tone carrying the authority of a Beta who had definitely been forced to keep Damian under control more than once. “What you have to do is get back to Mistfall and let the healers tend to you properly. You’re not chasing some phantom girl while you’re still bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” Damian lied, even though the pain in his side said otherwise.

Liam gave him a look. “We’ve been at war with rogues for centuries, Damian. I don't think your father will be too pleased to hear that you have been getting close to someone who could be one of them. Do you want to give him another reason to limit your movements?”

Damian hesitated. The thought of his father’s wrath was enough to cool some of his impulsive fire, but it was certainly not enough to erase the image of the girl from his mind.

Reluctantly, he exhaled. “Fine. I'll go back with you…For now.”

Liam's face relaxed a bit, but from the look he gave Damian, it was obvious that he didn't believe him completely…not when he knew his friend too well.

“Good. Because if you collapse on the way, I’m not carrying you.”

Damian managed a weak grin. “Liar. You would carry me in a heartbeat if I did collapse.”

“Only so I can drop you in the mud.” Liam said with a mock frown.

The healer returned, giving Damian a final look before nodding to Liam. “He’s stable enough to travel.”

As they began the walk back to Mistfall, Damian kept looking into the trees, searching for any hint of movement in the dark, but he saw nothing…No trace.

But he could still smell her.

It was faint but undeniable, still clinging to his skin. A scent like wild roses mixed with something dangerous. It curled through his senses, refusing to fade.

Damian said nothing as they walked, but inside, one truth solidified like steel.

He would find her.

No matter what Liam said.

No matter what his father forbade.