389- A Reckless Gamble
POV Seraphine Valerian:
“Can I keep this gun, Florian?” I asked as soon as we finished training. I removed the cartridge with ammunition mixed with silver.
“Why? Thinking of playing a trick on Viktor?” The gray-haired gentleman collected the targets from the woods, and I let out a laugh.
“I don’t even have the courage to bite his finger!” I felt embarrassed remembering our playfulness in bed, him saying I had little teeth. Heat covered my skin, from all that intimacy. “I just want to have it with me, to learn how to handle it. And for safety. It’s never too much, especially with a war going on.”
“I don’t think Viktor will mind. I’ll talk to him. But be careful. Always keep it locked.”
“Okay.”
We left together, side by side.
It wasn’t for nothing that Florian married Daciana. The two of them were wonderful. The lady showered me with care at home, he taught me many things during training. And not just about shooting.
I especially loved those moments, when we finished and made the walk back to the castle. He usually told me things about the village, about their lives, about Viktor. I felt more like a part of everyone.
“Florian…” I gathered my courage to ask something I had wanted to for a long time. “Have you ever seen cases of a female being predestined for an alpha? Daciana said no, but you’re older, you’ve been outside here more.”
“Yes, I have.” He looked at me in a knowing way, well aware of my hopes. I wasn’t ashamed.
“And did it work?”
“No.”
I wilted. I even stopped for a moment, quickly recovering.
“So… she died?”
“That was the rumor. After being marked, she got very sick, her flesh rotted.”
“My God!” He saw my wide eyes and explained: “There are several stories. They say that the wolves from South America, especially from Brazil, can even mate with human women. And turn them into she-wolves. However, we don’t know if it’s true.”
“It’s a risk. It might work, or it might not.”
“Exactly. I believe it’s a matter of genetics. For example, among you humans, some people will smoke their whole lives and never get lung cancer. Others will. And there are those who never smoked and still get it. How do you explain it? Each organism is different.”
“You only know by trying,” I concluded, tense. “But did anyone say how to increase the chances of success?”
“The accounts say that the wolf needs to be in a kind of more aggressive semi-transformation, a stage between the human and lupine form. But I don’t know if it’s true. Like I said, these are rumors, Seraphine.”
I thought about that. I only saw Viktor like that once, when he killed Konrad and fought the other wolves. Much larger and stronger, with thick fur, his clothes even torn from how much he grew and became muscular. Was that it?
I shuddered just remembering how he destroyed them, ripping off limbs and heads. Thinking about having sex with him in that form was extremely frightening, forbidden. It would certainly hurt me much more than I could bear, even if it wasn’t his intention.
I walked beside him, nervous. And something occurred to me. I asked: “Do you fully transform into wolves? I mean…”
“Yes. Some look very similar to known wolves, others are larger. But I’ve never seen one like Viktor. He’s much bigger, beyond imagination. They say that, like him, only the alphas Edric and Aldren. Maybe there are others like that outside the Tharnak.”
I felt anxious to see it. It would be an incredible experience, beyond anything I had ever imagined.
“But do you lose consciousness, does the wolf take over completely?”
“No. The animal is much more instinctive than in human form. But we still think, make decisions, communicate with looks and inner voices.”
“Incredible!” If I weren’t living there, sleeping next to a werewolf every night, being his female, I would never believe it.
I would ask to see Viktor’s lupine form. Would he let me? Fear lingered, because it was too new to me, because of the times I had witnessed his rougher transformation. However, I trusted him. He wouldn’t hurt me. Of that, I was certain.
...
Viktor Averwyn:
I stayed up all night, meeting with my council.
I presented the plan I had sketched out, which only had a chance of working under certain conditions.
“So, I would stay here guarding the top, with the help of the guards. The rest would go on the attack, first in Lucian’s village, Tharengard.” Florian tapped his index finger on the map, staring at me.
“If we lost, you would drain the women, children, and elderly through the secret passage that comes out in the cave near the river. We would already leave a boat there, ready, to take them far away. Including Seraphine.” I spoke, in a calmness I did not feel. The risks were all enormous.
“But for all of this to have a chance, we return to the main point: convincing Edric and Aldren that the enemy is not Viktor,” Cezar added and reaffirmed what I had just revealed to them: “And that the three of you are brothers.”
“They will only believe with proof,” Emil pointed out. “You would have to present something beyond your word.”
He was right, and I was still thinking about that. If neither of them remembered, how could I convince them?
“I will analyze that, but for now, let’s focus on the strategies. We would descend by surprise, through the main gates.” I ran my index finger across the map. “Armed with bullets, portable explosives, and our brute force. Crushing anyone we find along the way and continuing non-stop to Tharengard. There, the next step would be to blow the gates and invade. Killing the leader, the rest fall.”
“That’s pretty simplified, isn’t it?” Lonut didn’t think it would work. “If Aldren and Edric turn against us, we’ll be massacred. And even if that doesn’t happen, Lucian is summoning many packs. He could hold out until we weaken or use Adelina as a shield.”
“But Katarina would already take her from there to a safe place, before the attack.” Florian spoke up and the debate continued.