Grimm Fantasies: The Woodsman

Intruder

Hopefully (If I wrote this right) Things get pretty deep in this chapter...so be warned.

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  Cloe put Haven up in a large room with a king sized bed. The room had its own balcony and bathroom. The lavish decorations and furniture scattered about made Haven feel out of place with his worn clothes and messy hair. He even had blood staining his red jacket, though it was a good thing it was a dark red which made the stains less noticeable. He wondered if anyone else noticed it.

  Haven stood by the windowed balcony door and stared out at the forest thoughtfully. He’d been standing there since Cloe left him alone. He’d been there for maybe ten minutes when he saw a car leave. The gate come through opened and let the car out, but he could have sworn he saw someone slip in just before the gate shut. Haven frowned and leaned forward to get a better look when the door opened and Cloe walked in.

  Cloe stepped over to him and looked out the window. Haven looked at her curiously while she stood next to him quietly. She crossed her arms and sighed, “You smell like Jack.” Haven looked away from her and frowned.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “The blood on you, its Jack’s isn’t it?” Cloe told him still staring out the window.

  “…Yeah, it’s his.” Haven answered after an awkward pause. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her but decided there was no point in hiding it, she was a werewolf after all and she obviously wasn’t asking the question to find the answer rather asking to start some sort of conversation.

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” Cloe spoke again.

  “Don’t worry about it, I’d be pretty messed up if I learned my sister died.” Haven said but made no mention that the real Karen was some fairies play thing, though Karen had explained to him that he’d never actually met the real Karen before and even if they went to go save her from the fate she’s been handed her will had still been stripped from her thanks to fairy wine and she’d be a servant to anyone who asks her to do something. She’d never have a normal life, and that was just the way things had turned out. It still stung to think the real Karen will never have a life of her own.

  “Not that, at the fish cannery.” Cloe said and finally glanced over to him. “I’m an Alpha I need to be in control.” She looked away from him looking shaken up. “I need to be in control.” She said again, though it seemed more like she was telling herself rather than Haven.

  Haven remembered what Jack had said about Cloe in that moment of silence after she spoke. How she’d been given Lithium and lost control of her wolf. How she still had little control and struggled. He glanced over to her as she stared out the window. She seemed to be in control of herself at the moment, but he remembered her office in the cannery, the claw marks on her desk and walls.

  Cloe was clearly struggling with control and Haven worried he might end up like that. If he just kept taking the Lithium he could just continue being a werewolf who isn’t really a werewolf. But then he’d never meet his wolf and he’d always be a liability to his pack.

  If he ever went back to them that is.

  He could just,

  Walk away

  …

  If he wanted.

  They’d be better off without him, they all could just wash their hands of him and live their lives without being constantly in danger of hunters wiping them out to get at the Sacrifice,

  To get at Haven.

  “I don’t have control.” Haven said as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t have any control, not with this mark on my side letting the whole world know I’m some lamb to be killed.” Cloe glanced at him and was quiet as Haven continued, “My whole life,” He shook his head, “It’s all been so I can die at someone else’s convenience. Be it to set free the three moon goddess’ children or to stop a plague. I’m still going to die because of someone else, to please someone else. I have no freedom and no control.” Cloe patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

  “Try being an Alpha.” She said jokingly.

  “I am an Alpha.” Haven sighed and watched as Cloe frowned in confusion. “I’m the Alpha of my pack, not Hunter, not the black pelt. It was decided unanimously that I should lead them. I didn’t have a choice…again.” Cloe shifted and crossed her arms again as she watched him.

  “But don’t get me wrong, I’m not ungrateful for having them. They’re my family and all I have left in this world, but I’m a burden to them.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” Cloe asked instead of the obvious questions, like why they’d have a human as Alpha or why he came here instead of to his pack. Haven thought about her question for a long while, he thinks maybe four to six minutes went by before he opened his mouth to speak.

  “Kindred spirits I guess.” Cloe laughed at that, her laugh was nice, almost musical. Haven smiled at the sound.

  “Kindred spirits,” She mused thoughtfully then nodded and looked at him. “I like it.” She said just as gunfire was heard down the hall and fairly close to them. Cloe and Haven both jumped at the sound and spun towards the door as it was slammed open and a woman about the same age as Haven stormed in pointing a gun at them.

  “Hello.” She greeted with a smug smile. The woman who was obviously a hunter had mousy brown hair and dark skin and eyes. She looked like she could be Native American. Cloe grabbed Haven pulling him behind her and growled threateningly. “Oh,” The hunter giggled. “I’m not going to hurt him. No, no that simply wouldn’t do for why I need him.” She said stepping closer. “No, I need him alive.”

  “Back off!” Cloe snapped angrily while Haven backed up and glanced around for something to use as a weapon. “You think that silver will hurt me?” Cloe went on as he body snapped and popped, on the verge of changing forms.

  It looked like Cloe was fighting the shift,

  Like she didn’t want it to happen.

  Haven watched, half scared and half confused. How in the world did a hunter get in? He then remembered the figure he thought he saw slip through the closing gate when he saw that car leave.

  It must have been the hunter.

  “Oh no, silver won’t hurt a wolf like you.” The hunter smirked and holstered her gun. “I did my research on your pack before I stepped foot into Alaska. I know you can’t control you’re wolf, which means you can’t control your abilities.” The smile on her face widened. “That’s why I brought this.” She pulled out a small silver cylinder and pressed the black button onto. The cylinder produced a high pitched whistle that brought Cloe to her knees screaming as she covered her ears.

  “Turn it off!”

  “Cloe!” Haven moved towards her but the hunter pulled her gun again and pointed it at Haven, stopping him in his tracks. Cloe squirmed on the floor writhing in pain as the cylinder thing continued to  whistle.

  “Let’s go you.” The hunter said to Haven, “You’re coming with me or I kill her.” She aimed her gun at Cloe.

  “Wait!” Haven shouted quickly, “I’ll go with you, I’ll go just don’t hurt her.” He said and moved towards the hunter who dropped the cylinder that still made the whistling and dragged Haven out of the room, leaving Cloe incapacitated on the ground.

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'Sigh' Haven... *Shakes head sadly* But hey the hunter did just piss off a powerful Alpha that's likely to come after her with an extreme prejudice. So Haven's got that going for him. But man at this point I might as well just call Haven Princess Peach.

Also update, of sorts, on the meaning of Cloe’s wolf’s name, Void. Cloe has no control over her wolf, none, what so ever. You could say she’s 'Void' of control. She’s a borderline feral wolf. In fact she’s got so little control over her wolf that merely changing into her wolf form could spell disaster for her balance of mind. While the wolf’s in my lore are sentient and have a mind of their own and Void doesn’t mean to completely destroy Cloe’s quality of life there is still the constant tug-o-war between them for control. It’s a battle against each other they are both forced to fight.