Chapter 220

King Luke sat with his back against a tree. The rope that Daryl had used to tie his hands together behind his back was tight. Feeling too exhausted to struggle he could only endure. In his current state there was no way for him to fight back if he tried.

"Ah.." King Luke flinched as he felt Daryl tighten a piece of torn cloth around the king's injured leg to temporarily stop the bleeding.

"Too much?" Daryl asked while watching the king flinch.

"Do you really care about my well being?" King Luke asked in return while observing Daryl's actions closely. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Vorbuk had returned to his wolf form to rest. The wolf was curled up to sleep. Freshly torn cloth was wrapped around the wolf's shoulder wound carefully. The king had watched Daryl personally bandage the wolf's wounds before coming to tend to his.

Daryl silently glanced at the wolf sleeping after hearing the king's question. "Not in the slightest."

"Your honest." King Luke wanted to laugh at how honest Daryl was towards him. Kings were not someone people would usually be this honest with. However he understood that they were enemies and since he was captive. There is no reason for him not to be right now.

Without a word in response to the king, Daryl turned to walk towards the sleeping wolf. Beside Vorbuk was the tiger, Chase, laying down to keep the wolf warm. The large tiger's body radiated a large amount of body heat. To Vorbuk it felt as if he was curled up in an electric blanket. As long as Chase was in his tiger form the cold night's breeze could not affect Vorbuk as he slept. It was a deep slumber that he needed to recharge himself for what came tomorrow.

The place they were resting was where Vorbuk and King Luke had fought. There was no such place as somewhere safe while there was a battle going on. Daryl would be keeping watch while Vorbuk slept. Someone had to keep watch that enemies did not sneak up on them.

King Luke could not fall asleep easily. In his position there was no way he could feel like resting. The only thing he could do was watch Daryl protect the wolf during the night. "I thought he was the companion of the prince I saw before, but perhaps not seeing he came with you instead."

"What are you talking about?" Daryl retorted. Seeing the king talk about Vorbuk like an object made him feel annoyed.

"Am I wrong?" King Luke asked seriously. He thought the wolf would be at least considering one of them to become companions of since he seemed so close with them.

Daryl snapped a piece of dried meat in half before answering. "You're wrong. He doesn't belong to anyone."

Munch.. Munch..

Daryl chewed on a piece of the dried meat as he stood there. His eyes watching over the wolf and tiger carefully. Since he had trained in swordsmanship his senses were heightened even if they weren't as perfect as someone who practiced in mana. He could still hear the distant cries of the battlefield. Things seemed to have gone chaotic since King Luke was missing and their general was dead. The king's camp was in a panic.

"If he's not interested in you then it must be the prince.." King Luke muttered to himself under his breath as he thought to himself about it. There was no reason for a beast to be so close to mortals unless he has taken in interest in one of them.

"Why are you so fixated on if he is interested in becoming one of our companions?" Daryl asked in return.

"Why? Should I not be interested? He will be entrusted with my daughter when all this is over. I at least have the right to know who's behind the beast." King Luke's response left Daryl in silence. The king's words made sense but at the same time Daryl did not consider the wolf as a beast that needed someone to control him. They had traveled together this far without a problem. If the wolf did not intend to entrust his life to someone else that was simply a choice for it to make alone.

King Luke watched the expression on Daryl's face become complicated. "I see, you're uncertain what the wolf wants."

"What are you talking about?" Daryl's expression distorted as he listened to the king's words.

"It's simple," King Luke said. "you're interested in making that beast your companion. The problem is that you don't know what that beast wants. I think you've got a bit of jealousy towards the prince for being close to that beast... Am I wrong?"

Jealous? The king thinks I am jealous of the prince? Daryl pondered what he had just heard from the king. He could not find the words to deny the accusation. Finding something to say he finally opened his mouth to speak, "Go to sleep. You'll become useless if you're too exhausted to move for us tomorrow."

I struck a nerve with him. King Luke thought to himself as he realized Daryl was trying to avoid the subject going any further when it came to the prince and the wolf. It was clear to him that Daryl wasn't willing to admit that he was jealous of the prince.

The night grew long as Daryl stood guard. Every word the king had spoken to Daryl lingered in the back of his mind. Uncertain if the king was trying to rattle him he could only ponder everything more deeply. It was true that he had met Vorbuk first however that did not mean the wolf belonged to him. Daryl liked the fact that Vorbuk would openly display his desire to belong to no one. The wolf's love for freedom gave him an aura that could draw anyone in. However that worked in a different way as well and gave people a desire to obtain the wolf, to make it theirs to control.

The more Daryl thought about it the more he realized he did not know what he wanted. He cared about the wolf. At the same time he became aware of himself. That pent up jealousy that he had unknowingly been expressing towards the prince all this time. Somewhere along the way he had been treating the wolf like an object himself without realizing it.

Yes, it was true that Daryl had treated Vorbuk with care. Knowing well that the wolf was smarter then average beasts. That care was something that Daryl expressed towards everyone in the group. He treated them all as if he was a mother taking care of children. That was how the others had seen his actions all that time.

However for Daryl when he thought about how things had gone so far he came to realize it. The way that he treated the prince was not always kind. Whenever he thought about the prince before he'd always felt annoyed. He realized the way he felt was not right at all. The cause was of that feeling obvious for him to notice. After all this time he realized that he'd been subconsciously considering the wolf an object that the prince had taken from him.