Ch. 4

It's been days, days of cleaning his wounds and making sure he eats. With every move he makes, I either wake up or become alert. He's scared me a lot, I don't know if he'll make it, but I hope he does.

I've been so tired, I can hardly eat.

"Fae, you need to eat something, I can watch him for you, get some rest."

I sigh. "Is the food ready?"

Damien nods. "It's still warm by the fire, go." He sits near Comac.

I get up slowly and sit by the fire. Its warmth is soothing with all the stress I've been under. I eat a small amount and rest for a while. This break is definitely what I needed. Once I get back to Damien and Comac I notice something amazing. Comac is awake and sitting up. He's in his human form leaning against the wall. Tears of joy fill my eyes as I run over to him. "Comac! Please don't disappear like that ever again! You had me so worried!" He was always in the back of my mind. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest.

He winces from the pain. "I won't, you have my word." He strokes my hair to comfort me.

Once I finish crying I look over his wounds. Looks like they're almost healed. He might heal faster in human form.

He lifts my chin close to his face. His lips are inches from mine. "Don't worry, I'll be okay thanks to you." He kisses my forehead softly.

My face heats up from his touch. I somehow manage to smile. "That's a relief." I feel what seems like the weight of the world lifts off of my shoulders. I'm hit with exhaustion and fatigue. I lay my head on his chest and quickly fall asleep.

I wake up on Damien's back. Slowly I sit up and yawn. "Where are we going?"

"I got an idea on how to get us a new home not too far away. You'll be more comfortable there."

I look around. "Where's Comac?"

He jumps up next to me. "I'm here! I'd never leave you, ever." He smiles a toothy smile in his fox form.

I sigh in relief. "Thank goodness. When are we getting to the place?"

"We will be there shortly, we just need to make a short stop first. I need a break." We stop at a small creek and he kneels.

I slide off his back and kneel next to the water.

We all take a long drink of the cool water and relax for a while.

Comac climbs into my lap and Damien lies in the water.

Once I finish I lay back in the warm grass, soaking in the rays of the sun. "This feels nice."

They agree with me in unison.

Eventually, we all get up and continue walking.

Comac changes to human form and hands me an apple. "Are you hungry? You've barely eaten the past few days."

"Yes, thank you." I take it gently and eat slowly, savoring the sweetness.

Damien's ears perk up. "Ah, looks like we are here."

"Oh, I've never been here before. Am I even welcome?" Comac asks hesitantly.

"Let's find out, just stay in your current form for now."

I don't see it at first but when it gets closer my eyes widen. A castle looms at the top of a hill, surrounded by tiny village homes.

"Wow." Comac and I say in unison.

Damien rolls his eyes. "It's nothing special."

We walk through the village towards the castle.

Some people stare at us as we walk by, though Comac gets glares.

He sighs. "Of course, I get the dirty looks."

"I'm sorry Comac."

He shrugs. "It's not your fault. Foxes are a dying breed, I'm lucky if they don't execute me."

Before I know it we are at the castle gates.

"Why are we at the castle?" I ask.

"I need to ask the Wolf King if any homes are available. It shouldn't take too long." He howls and a guard appears in front of us.

Shock appears on his face as he sees Damien. "You've finally returned! Open the gates, quickly!" He yells.

The gate slowly opens and we pass through.

He stops Comac. "You stay here, Fox."

"Stand down, he's with me." Damien orders.

"But, sir." He points his spear at Comac's throat.

"If he misbehaves, I'll kill him."

The man sighs. "Very well, best you be careful." He releases Comac and we carry on.

"That guy knows you?" I whisper to Damien.

"You'll find out why soon enough,"

We enter a large stone room.

As I look around there isn't anything too decorative about it. I guess Beastmen don't like to show off their wealth as people do.

We walk to a group of people. Five are sitting in a half circle and there's one person off to the side, just watching.

We stop a few feet from them and Damien changes back to human form.

He bows and encourages me to do the same. "It's been a long time, Father."

A man stands up, who looks a lot like Damien but paler. It looks like he could lift entire trees and not break a sweat.

I do see where Damien gets his looks from too. I feel my face heat up just by looking at him.

His black hair is streaked with gray and is covered in more scars than Damien. "It has, and I thought I wouldn't see you again my son."

"I have returned with a female." He gestures toward me.

His father looks me up and down, unimpressed. "I see you've won her heart. Excellent job." He steps to Damien and wraps his arms around him. "I've missed you, welcome home."

"Good to be home, father." He hugs him back. "How's mom?"

"She's wonderful, like always. I'm sure she will want to see you."

Damien nods. "Of course."

His father looks at me once more. "So, are you going to introduce me to your mate?"

Damien waves me over and I stand next to him. "This is Fae, I found her wandering the woods where I lived. Speaking of living, we would like a house of our own."

His father smiles. "Of course, you can stay in the castle for now. All the homes are being used right now. But don't worry, we will have one built for you. My son, pack leader of his own house!" He ruffles Damiens's hair and then looks at me. "How many spouses do you plan on having?"

I hesitate. "Um, I'm not sure. Is there a limit?"

They all laugh in unison.

"You've got some humor, I like that. I'll make sure it's big enough for extra spouses. Besides, we can always expand."

"Thank you so much, sir! How can we pay you back?" I ask.

"All I ask is for grandchildren, one or two litters should be enough."

My face heats up at the thought of having more than one baby at a time. Is it possible for me to do that? I shake the thoughts out of my head. "I will do my best." I stammer.

"Beavoth, please show them to their room."

The man off to the side stands up. "Please, follow me."

We follow him for a while and he stops in front of a doorway. "Here."

"Thank you."

Damien ushers me in. "Let's go."

Once we get into the room we all look around. The room is made of various stones with a small fire pit in the center. There are placemats around the pit to sit down for a meal. I think there are rooms farther back but I can look at those later. "It feels empty, doesn't it?"

Comac nods. "Yes, but we can always add new things to it."

"Just remember, this is temporary. We can't get too comfortable. These rooms are mostly for dangerous weather or bad winters."

"How bad do winters get?" I ask.

Damien shrugs. "It varies, we haven't had one in many years."

"So, the next question is am I allowed to be here?" Comac brushes against my leg in fox form.

"I'll see what I can do for now. Fae, you just get comfortable and I'll get us some food."

I nod. "Okay. Be safe, alright?"

He changes into wolf form and runs off.

I walk into one of the back rooms and I'm pretty sure it's a bedroom. It just has a bed made of moss and leaves, with straw for padding. I lay on top of it and it's surprisingly soft. It doesn't take me too long to fall asleep.

I awake to the smell of roasting meat. I sit up and rub my eyes, eventually following the smell into the main room.

Comac is sitting by the fire making the food. He looks my way. "Good morning, Fae. Did you sleep well?"

I nod. "Yes, it's weird, I feel like I've been sleeping a lot lately."

"Are you hungry?" He pulls off some of the meat and hands it to me.

I take it and nibble bits at a time. Then I notice a thing around his neck. "What is that?"

He touches the rope. "This thing?" It's connected to the wall on the other side of the room. He has some slack but I don't think it will let him go far. "It's the only way they'd let me stay here. I'm going to be treated like a slave, but that's alright. I don't care what happens as long as I'm with you." The scar on his chest shimmers in the firelight.

"I'm sorry." I sit down next to him.

He takes the rest of the roast off and starts slowly pulling it apart. "Don't be sorry, I know what I'm getting into."

I look into the fire, soaking up its warmth. "I hope everything goes okay." I rest my head on his shoulder.

"I know it will, Fae. Just wait, the house will be beautiful."