Chapter 4

During the trip Maryanne and Michael finally had plenty of time to talk and be together.

«I didn't know your parents knew mine… » Michael said.

«They were friends. But then when the mysterious and dark stranger arrived in the village, everything changed. It was then that the rumors about werewolves in the forest spread. Many men were found dead and others claimed to have seen large wolves wandering among the trees. Of course the blame for those deaths fell on the newcomer.»

«My father isn't a killer!»

«No of course not.» Tomas interrupted. «But even when we found the real culprit of the murders – a resident of our own village – nobody wanted to believe it, they didn't listen to reason. They blamed all those wolves who lived in the dark, and that they would devour us all. Your mother and Ash ran away, but the villagers ran after them and along the path they found bloodstains and your mother's cloak. So we all believed her dead. As for the wolf, we thought he had gone to sow death elsewhere, as the trail of blood in our village ended. But it was over because obviously the culprit had been caught, the wolf had nothing to do with it.»

Stephanie walked over to her son, sitting next to Maryanne. «It has gotten dark and you will be tired. Try to rest. This is no time for tales of the past.»

«Fine.»

Maryanne and Michael went below deck but started to talk and ended up staying awake, sitting on the ground, illuminated only by the light of the half moon, coming from a single small window behind them.

«You won't regret following us?» Michael asked at some point.

«Leaving that village was the best choice we could have made. I am happy that my father took it. That place is so… so oppressive. I would have run away sooner or later. At least this way he knows where I am and he doesn't have to worry.»

«What about your mother? She wanted you to marry that guy, Gerard… »

«She gave up.», Maryanne smiled. «After all, she knew there would be no wedding.»

«And what about what my father and I are? Isn't she worried?»

«All mothers would be worried about their daughter being next to a werewolf. My father is too. But they know that if Stephanie trusts you, they can too.»

«And you… are you not scared?»

Maryanne approached him. Michael blushed. «I won't lie. Yes I'm afraid, I can't hide it from you. But I feel you won't hurt me. I feel there's something... since that night in the woods. You could have torn me apart but you have not, you're already able to control yourself. You should have more confidence.»

«I know I can, but I also know if I get angry I… », he couldn't finish the sentence.

Maryanne grabbed his face in her hands. «Then I will be careful not to make you angry.»

When her lips touched his, Michael froze. Everything was totally new to him. He didn't even know what he was feeling. He felt all kinds of emotions. But he knew they were all happy ones. He forgot his worries and surrendered to that moment. He held her close and kissed her back.

When Cécile went downstairs to check how they were doing, she found them still sitting on the floor. Maryanne had her head leaning against the window and Michael was sleeping on her legs.

«What's happening?» Ash asked as he went down the stairs.

«Ssh…» Cécile whispered. «Aren't they adorable?»

Ash smiled happily for his son. «Yes… they are.»

«Gerard was never going to be the one for her. Now I see it too. They were really meant to be together.»

«I had the same feeling when I saw them together in the woods. There's an aura around them, something I can't explain at all… »

«I do. It was the same for you and Stephanie, since your first meeting, and it still is now. It's love, it always has been.»

«Tomas loves you, you know this right?»

«I know. That wasn't what I meant. But what you have is different, special. Maybe because you are magical creatures, who knows.»

«Let's go back up now. Let them rest.»