No Choice

With his last burst of energy, Renat pushed away from the amused wolf who held him in her arms and fell to the ground. The swipe missed him entirely, and the long, deadly nails nearly implanted themselves in the tan wolf's abdomen. If not for her quick reflexes, she would have earned a very nasty scar.

"Watch where you aim those things!" the tan wolf caught the male's furry paw and deflected it before twisting it behind his back.

"Ouch, I was trying to squash the insect, not you." The black wolf growled. He was stronger than his female counterpart, but she had used his own momentum against him.

The female released the black wolf with a growl. "You harm one hair on me, and I will end you."

"See what you made me do, you worm?!" the male wolf looked with contempt at the scientist. Unable to control his rage, he lunged onto Renat with blinding speed.

Pulling his ornate knife from his belt, the lanky young man stabbed at the wolf. Even in his uncoordinated state, he managed to slash at the wolf's paw before it could rip out his throat.

The black wolf yelped and pulled away his injured paw. Blood dripped from the knife as Renat tried to stand and fight.

"You little pest!" The black wolf grabbed him by his chin and sunk his nails deep into Renat's cheek until they touched the man's teeth. The dark monster ripped the blade from Renat's hand and tossed it into the grass. "Apologize now and I may kill you quickly."

Renat opened his mouth and spat blood in the wolf's hairy face.

The tan wolf chuckled lightly. "Oh, I think I like this one," she said. "Don't kill him just yet, Clyff. It isn't very sporting with the state he is in anyway."

"But he cut my hand!" Clyff argued, pressing his fingers into the man's head as the blood trickled down his claws.

"And you cut his face. Not exactly a fair trade. Anyway, Did you hear what he said his wife's name was? Mairwen! And look at how he carries himself even in his sorry state. He seems very self important and stupidly brave. I wonder...." The female wolf looked the man up and down.

"Out with it, Hadley! What are you wanting to do?" Clyff could see the other wolf's wheels turning. He was violent while she was more calculating. He suppressed his homicidal urges while she thought.

Hadley nodded at last. "I think we need to bring this one to the boss. If I'm wrong, at least she will have someone new to experiment on..."

"Experiment? You mean torture?" Clyff was suddenly excited. His eyes became unfocused until Hadley punched him in the arm.

"No time for losing control. We have enough happening without you going feral." Hadley pried the black wolf's fingers from the young man's cheek. The newly inflicted wounds combined with his existing one were more than Renat could bear. The scientist collapsed to the ground and whimpered at his sorry state.

"Ignore him...He's a big bully." Hadley picked up Renat and flung him over her shoulder. He tried to put up resistance, but it amounted to little more than a stalk of wheat trying to stop the wind. Defeated, the prince went limp. "There there," she patted him and smiled maliciously. "Relax and enjoy the ride. Clyff is the least of your worries now."

Renat didn't respond. He could not. He was unconscious.

—————-

Water poured over Renat's face and head, bringing the young man back to the land of the living. He gasped as the cool droplets ran down his body and seeped into his wounds.

His wounds began to tingle as a soothing sensation washed over him. That is, with the exception of the wounds on his cheeks, which began to burn terribly. Renat winced as he sucked in a ragged breath.

"Drink this."

A hand brought a cup to his mouth and forced it between his lips. Unless he wanted to choke, the man would have to swallow the liquid.

Renat wasn't sure if it was just because he was dying of thirst, but the water tasted particularly refreshing and life giving. His limbs felt imbued with new energy, and even his broken ribs seemed to be mending.

His body relaxed against the trunk of the tree as he sighed in relief.

"I shall have to thank our mutual friend for the magical water. It seems to have the healing properties that he claimed after all…" a silky feminine voice said.

Renat lifted his head and squinted at the woman who had spoken as his vision cleared. She wore a cloth around her lower face and had her wavy brown hair knotted back into a bun.

Something was familiar about her eyes, but he couldn't quite place her. The woman seemed to have a noble bearing. Perhaps he had seen her at his wedding or been forced to dance with her at some royal party. Or maybe he was just imagining things. However, part of what she said caught his attention.

"Mutual friend?" The prince asked. He leaned forward only to have his arms scrape against the tree as he was pulled backwards. The ropes tying his hands to the trees only gave him a little bit of leeway.

Renat looked around at the creatures surrounding the woman. Wolves and lizards mixed with only a few humans had made a large settlement hidden up in the mountains. They were well organized and seemed to have been there for quite some time.

His thoughts clearing, the scientist began to put pieces of the puzzle together. Wolves, lizards, humans, healing water... mutual friend?...there was only one person to which the woman could be referring.

"You mean Sir Taran..." The scientist scowled.

The woman giggled. "Yes, and I am glad to see you do know him. It means you are who Hadley thought you were. Welcome to our humble abode, Prince Renat. I am sure our mutual friend would greet you if he were here."

"Taran is no friend of mine!" Renat spat.

Rather than be angry at the retort, the woman began really laughing. "Taran does seem to have a polarizing effect on people. The women love him and all the men are jealous of him. Let me guess, he flirted with your wife at some point, that scoundrel!"

Renat remained silent and glared at his captor.

"Well, Taran just saved your life. Those injuries would have killed a weaker man, so I give you credit for that much. But your benefactor sent me a barrel of special water for my personal use and I graciously decided to share some of it with you. Most of your minor wounds are almost closed already. That head wound is still a bit rough, but I say to give it a little more time. However..." The woman leaned very close to Renat's face.

She called to one of the humans, who hurried over to her side. They whispered to one another, and then the assistant, for that is what he seemed to be, returned with a vial.

"What is it?" Renat asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The woman countered his question with one of her own. "How do your cheeks feel?"

Renat remembered how the black wolf, Clyff, had pierced his cheeks. "They burn like fire," he answered honestly.

"Interesting," the woman placed the vial against the man's cheek and ran it upwards along his skin. He sucked at his teeth, but did not dare to jerk his head away. When the vial came back into his vision, it contained bubbly black liquid. "Most interesting. The healing water did not react well to whatever happened to your cheeks."

"One of your mongrels tried to crush my skull," Renat told her with an angry glance toward wolves.

"I see. That is unfortunate for you." She turned to the assistant with the vial. "Take that specimen to my tent and then bring me my notebook and a chair."

"Yes, Lady Livie," the man bowed and moved into the myriad of sturdy canvas tents.

Lady Livie looked at the prince. "Well, I suppose there is no point hiding if you know my name. I am sure you have guessed more than that anyway."

Removing the cloth from her face, the woman gave him a dazzling smile. Renat realized quickly that he had never met this woman, but she still looked extremely familiar. Her eyes, her high cheekbones and winsome smile. If she had a beard, she would look almost exactly like...

"Sir Taran is not your friend either..."

"Very clever. He is in fact my most honorable brother, yes. Despite malicious claims, I am his only sister." Livie's emphasis on the word 'only' confused Renat, but he knew better than to ask. "We are normally quite competitive, but just this once our interests align. I am so glad you have decided to join us."

"I will never do any such thing," Renat scoffed as he pulled against his bindings.

"You are confused," Livie laughed lightly. "In a moment, you will have no choice..."