The Wolf Prince

CHAPTER 17

“I have a weapon,” Darcy said, her voice trembling.

“Maybe if you hit me this time, I’ll regain my memory,” Surlock said as he stepped from behind a tree. He watched as Darcy dropped the stick, and the clothes that were crushed to her chest. She plowed her way through the underbrush and fell into his arms. He pulled her tight against him. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he knew he’d missed being with her.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, and he could hear the tears in her voice.

“I know. So was I.”

“What happened?”

He shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

She leaned back and looked up at him. “Nothing?”

“It’s as if I lost the time from right after we mated until a few minutes ago. I could feel something trying to take over my body.” He grimaced. “I think it might have accomplished it this time.”

“But how did you get back?”

“I’m not sure. I heard a shrill, high-pitched sound, different from the humming. It was as though it came from a long distance away. I was able to make out some of the words then.” He paused, thoughtful for a moment. “‘Stop that infernal noise.’” He frowned. “Yes, that’s what the voice said.”

He looked at Darcy, but she didn’t meet his eyes. She was holding something back, not telling him what she was thinking. He had a feeling she knew what had happened to him.

“You know what’s going on, don’t you?” he questioned her.

She did look at him then, and her eyes were full of fear. His own gut clenched.

“You have to tell me,” he said.

“Get dressed first. It might be easier to show you.” She made her way out into the open, picked the clothes up, then handed them to him. “You’re probably starving. You can eat first.”

After dressing, he joined her. “That sounds good. I feel as if I’ve been running most of the night.”

“But you are hungry?”

“Starved.” He watched her, wondering why she looked relieved.

“Good.” She let out a deep breath. “I was afraid you’d be … uh … full.”

They started back toward the house. When they were almost there, Darcy stopped. “If anyone asks, you made your bed this morning and went for a walk. A very long walk.”

“Why?”

“Because they think you were out all night. I don’t want them to get suspicious if anything happened last night.”

“What do you think might have happened?”

“Why worry when we don’t know for sure? Everything will be fine,” she said, speaking almost to herself.

They went inside. Darcy opened the kitchen door a little and asked Ms. Abernathy if she could fix Surlock something to eat. The next thing Surlock knew, Ms. Abernathy burst past Darcy and hurried to him.

“You’re okay, then,” she said, stopping only a couple of feet from him. She quickly looked him over. “I was afraid you’d gotten lost or injured.”

He tried to look contrite. “I’m sorry I worried everyone. I awoke early this morning and decided to go for a walk. I guess I went farther than I planned. The countryside is magnificent early in the morning.”

“Next time leave a note,” she scolded. “Now have a seat. We just brought everything back to the kitchen, but it’s still warm. I’ll fix you a plate. Darcy, would you like anything?”

“Just coffee.”

Ms. Abernathy hurried from the room.

“She really was concerned about you.” Darcy made her way to the table and pulled out one of the chairs.

Surlock sat in the one beside her. “Ms. Abernathy and I haven’t spoken that much.”

“But you played a song that moved her to tears, and you listened when she said you couldn’t run around naked, and I think she probably sees just how much I care about you.”

“Do you care about me?”

“Yes.” She folded her hands in front of her. “I was so afraid last night when … when—”

“When what?” he prodded when she didn’t finish her sentence.

“We’ll talk later, after you’ve finished eating.”

Again, she wouldn’t meet his gaze and it made him wonder what exactly she had witnessed last night. Before he could question her further, Ms. Abernathy and two of the maids brought the food and drinks.

When everything except Darcy’s coffee was sitting in front of him, Ms. Abernathy smiled. “And if you’re still hungry after all this, there’s plenty more.”

He looked at the pancakes piled high, the saucer of bacon. On another plate were scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast. “This will be plenty,” he told her, knowing it wouldn’t be long until lunch. He might not recognize the food, but he enjoyed it.

Surlock finished off the last bite, then pushed away the plate. “Ms. Abernathy is a good cook.”

Darcy smiled and for the first time since they’d found each other, the dark shadows were gone from her eyes.

“She calls it home cooking, stick-to-your-ribs food. Her momma was from the Deep South and she taught her everything she knows. I always gain weight every time I come down here, but it’s so worth it.”

“My cook is not as good as Ms. Abernathy, but I enjoy her meals. I think I will miss Ms. Abernathy’s dishes when I go home to New Symtaria,” he said without thinking, then picked up his orange juice and took a drink.

“And where exactly is New Symtaria?” Darcy asked, placing the white napkin beside her cup.

He set his glass down. “Everyone knows where New Symtaria is,” he said, then grabbed his head as the humming in his ears increased.

“Surlock, it’s okay. Don’t try to remember.”

He felt her arms go around him; then she cradled his head against her chest. He’d remembered where he was from. Relief rushed through him. “I need to remember it all,” he said, straining for something more that would unlock the rest of his memories.

“Shh, it’s okay. You remembered a little more and that’s good, but now you need to relax. Take a deep breath, then slowly exhale. We at least have the whole name of where you’re from. It wasn’t just Symtaria. It was New Symtaria and that might make a difference when we search for it.”

The humming wasn’t quite so intense this time and it wasn’t followed by the screaming, so he supposed that was an improvement.

“Do you want me to get your eardrops?”

“No, it’s easing.” It was as if he could hear heavy steel doors slamming shut on the room that contained the rest of his memories. Frustration filled him. He wanted to know everything.

“Don’t try to force your memories to return,” she told him as she moved away.

He knew she was right, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. Something suddenly occurred to him. “If I have a cook, then I probably have money.”

“Probably,” she said.

That was good because he wanted to take care of Darcy in the style she was accustomed to. Odd, for the life of him, he couldn’t remember anything about money or ever having used it.

He needed to know more, and he had a feeling Darcy had the key that would unlock another door. “Tell me what happened last night after I blacked out.”

She swallowed hard, and her hands trembled. Surlock had a bad feeling about what she might know, but she had to tell him.

“Okay, but remember that I won’t leave you, no matter what.” Her mouth turned down. “Actually, since I’m probably part of what happened, then I don’t really have a choice.”

Now she worried him. What did she know that he didn’t?

Darcy bit her bottom lip as she went inside the media room and shut the door behind them.

“Are we going to watch another secret agent movie?” he asked.

She shook her head and went to her father’s cabinet. What if she wasn’t right? What if it was just a trick of the light when clouds had moved in front of the moon?

No, she knew what she’d seen had been real. Besides, she was pretty sure Surlock had changed back when she’d blown the dog whistle. She’d forgotten that humans couldn’t hear the sound. He’d said as much himself. That he’d heard a shrill sound, and then he came to.

They were werewolves and there was no denying it.

She ran her fingers over the titles until she came to the one she wanted. She pulled the case from its slot, then trudged to the DVD player and inserted the disk. After dimming the lights, she took the seat next to Surlock.

The movie began to play. At first nothing seemed to happen. The pace was kind of slow.

“I don’t understand,” Surlock said.

She sighed. “Just wait. There’s a full moon coming up.”

In the next scene the sexy hero of the movie was walking with his girlfriend down a quiet street. The moon was bright, but everything around them was shadowed in mystery.

Suddenly, the man grabbed his head. The girl wore a shocked expression and asked what was happening, but the hero only shook his head. She tried to pull his hands away, but couldn’t. Her eyes were wild now with terror.

Okay, it was a pretty cheesy movie. Darcy would admit to that, and probably not one of the gorier ones, but she would rather break it to Surlock gently that they were monsters.

The hero moved his hands, but instead of the face of the handsome lover, it was the face of a man/wolf. His hands suddenly changed to hairy claws and his teeth grew long and sharp. The girl raised her hands to her mouth and screamed.

Darcy pushed the remote to pause the movie. Surlock didn’t move, only stared at the still frame. Not the best place to stop, but she wanted him to see.

“Are you saying this is what happened to me last night? I became this monster? That’s why I lost time?”

She nodded, tears filling her eyes, then slipping down her face. “We’re werewolves.”

He turned in his seat, grabbing her shoulders. “What happens next in the movie?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

Why had she even told him? What was the saying? Ignorance is bliss? She should’ve just made something up. Then he wouldn’t be looking at her right now with such a dismal expression.

“Darcy, show me the rest of the movie.”

She knew if she didn’t push play, he would figure out the remote, and watch the rest of it anyway. “Okay, okay,” she said when he reached for the remote.

She pushed play and the movie started again. Darcy cringed in her seat. Not because the movie scared her. It was a low-budget film at best. She had no idea why her father had even bought it. No, she was more concerned with the fact that the same plot had played out last night. Surlock had really changed into a werewolf.

Watching the movie was like watching a train about to wreck, and realizing there were people she knew onboard. The boyfriend in the movie raised his arms, then grabbed the girl and took off running with her. It looked like they had exchanged the girl for a mannequin. The girl he carried was just a little too stiff.

A man suddenly stepped in front of the werewolf and raised a gun. He proclaimed to love the woman. The werewolf growled and dropped the young woman.

Did her leg just fall off? The camera swerved away, almost making Darcy’s eyes cross. The new man raised his gun. The werewolf struck a pose that might have passed for fierce, then started toward the new guy. One step at a time. The guy told him to stop or he’d shoot, warning that the bullets were silver.

Of course, the werewolf didn’t stop, and the guy shot him. The werewolf clutched his chest, spun around a few times, then crumpled to the sidewalk.

The girl suddenly regained consciousness and ran screaming to her werewolf, who was now changing back into her one true love. The werewolf/boyfriend gasped out his love with his dying breath, then closed his eyes forever.

The new guy dropped his gun and hurried to the girl. He pulled her into his arms and from what Darcy could gather, the girl now had a new, and improved, boyfriend. Poor werewolf lay on the sidewalk as his blood poured from his body. Darcy stopped it there.

Surlock drew in a ragged breath. “You’re telling me that I was like this monster?”

“I’m sorry.”

Surlock slowly turned his gaze away from the blank screen and looked at Darcy. “You actually saw me turn into this hideous creature?”

She bit her bottom lip. “Sort of,” she replied, unable to say more.

He frowned. “What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”

“Well, you didn’t look quite as fierce and I didn’t actually see ferocious looking teeth or claws.”

He turned in his seat. “What exactly did you see?”

“You grabbed your head. I knew the humming was even worse than usual. When you finally moved your hands from your face, it was like looking into the eyes of a wolf. And there was hair on your arms.” She thought back. “Yes, I’m pretty sure you were hairy.”

“But you’re not positive.”

God, she was so confused. Jennifer had questioned her like the Spanish Inquisition, Surlock was giving her the third degree, and now she wasn’t exactly sure what she had seen.

“I thought I saw you turn into a werewolf. At least, a wolf.” She closed her eyes and thought back. Surlock had had the same eyes as the wolf. But had she seen hair? The grass had been thick and the clouds had drifted in front of the moon so it might have given the impression of hair. She let out a deep breath. “I don’t know, but you screamed at me to run. Then I heard the howl of a wolf.”

“And you thought I had changed into this monster.”

She nodded.

“Yet today, you came looking for me anyway.”

“I had to.”

“Why?”

She jumped from her seat. “Because I care about you.” She twined her fingers together, unable to look him in the eye. She knew he liked her, and making love was pretty fantastic, but she was afraid her liking him was turning into a lot more.

His arms went around her. She leaned back against his chest, drawing comfort from his nearness.

“Do you think we’re monsters?” he asked. “Werewolves that howl at the moon.”

“I don’t know. Everything just seems so jumbled up in my head.”

The door to the media room suddenly opened and Jennifer and Peter walked in.

“Oh, you’re back,” Jennifer said, when she saw Surlock. She looked at the screen. “What were you watching?”

“A movie about werewolves,” Surlock said.

Jennifer snickered. Peter shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable.

Darcy just wanted to crawl under one of the chairs.