Forgotten

Chapter 16

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Chapter Sixteen

Pete weighed his options, he would surely lose if he chose to fight, but he couldn't not fight. He would inadvertently be responsible for the death of those people. Without thinking he ran to stop Kale. He cut him off easily; Kale had been walking slowly, apparently in no hurry to kill his friends. Pete growled at the larger wolf, trying to sound intimidating.

Rosella slowly walked towards the two wolves, a frown plastered on her face. "What the hell is this? Get out of his way, weakling!" Pete didn't budge only growled again, this time showing his sharp-fanged teeth. The witch simply shook her head, "Just kill him too!" The Wolf jumped at him, his teeth barred and ready.

Pete couldn't tell what was happening; they were rolling around entwined, each one tearing out pieces of fur and skin with razor-sharp fangs, the pain only lasted a short while as their wounds all healed immediately; something Pete was really thankful for. Everything was a blur, all he saw was black fur and all he heard were their growls echoing around them.

Finally they broke apart, each one exhausted at trying to kill the other. Pete cringed as the thought of killing Kale ran through his mind. He could never do that, he could never kill anyone. And he also knew that Dauphine still loved Kale, even though they weren't getting married anymore.

Rosella was shocked, but it lasted only seconds. Obviously this wasn't just a wolf, but a werewolf; a shifter, like her. She couldn't think of anyone around here with that kind of power, but it wasn't important now. She moved forward and threw her hand out. Pete was blown straight into a tree, hitting the base hard. The pain was so severe that it triggered the shift. He changed back into his human form. He heard her gasp as he got up. "No! How can this be! You're a human, you should have died from the bite..." she stopped talking and backed away, disappearing into the mist.

Pete shook his head, relieved that she had left. He turned his attention towards Kale.

The Wolf was lost, without its mistress' magic to guide it; it whimpered and returned to the back of Kale's mind. Changing back into a human was a relief for Kale. He pulled himself off the ground and faced Pete. He didn't know what to say. "Thank you..." he frowned muttering the words to Pete.

Pete felt even more uncomfortable, standing there naked in front of the King, who was also naked. Without a word, he shifted back into his wolf and made a run for it. Shocked Kale watched him go. "Wait, what?" Pete vanished from sight and Kale turned to return to his castle, utterly confused.

—-

Pete ran all the way home. When he finally shifted back into his human form, it was already sunrise. He got dressed and made his way outside to the garden where he knew his Mother would be. "Don't you need to sleep, Pete?" he just shook his head.

"I'll catch a nap later; I've got some disturbing news!"

Pete told his Mother everything about what had happened, about Kale and the Wolf, about the witch, and when he was done he waited for her to say something. Lilith put down her gardening tools and got up from where she was sitting. "You're sure! Oh wow. This is something else."

Pete glared at his Mother, "Is that all you can say? It's something else. Come on Mom, you need to help me here."

Lilith gave her son a look, "I'm not the leading expert in everything magical, Pete! Let's go inside. Dauphine is already up. I'll talk to Andrea and you talk to Dauphine."

Pete grabbed his Mother's arm before she could leave, "Talk to Dauphine? What should I say?"

Lilith shook her head and continued to walk. "Whatever, Pete, just say anything."

She disappeared into the house and Pete sighed following her. He met up with Dauphine in the kitchen. She was playing with a pot full of soil. He frowned walking closer. He opened his mouth to question her sanity when suddenly a green light softly emitted from her hand. He watched as she twirled her finger over the soil, and after a while a small stem appeared from beneath it. The stem grew taller, growing leaves and forming a bud. She stopped before the bud could open, letting her hand fall back to her side. "Wow, that was beautiful!" he saw her jump and laughed. Dauphine didn't think it was funny at all.

"Pete! You're so stealthy now! I hate it!" she smiled turning back to her flower. Holding up her hand again the bud bloomed, revealing big, beautiful red petals. The rose was something to behold; somehow it seemed to glow a vibrant red. Dauphine smiled as she watched it. A single tear ran down along her cheek.

Pete was starting to feel uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do, so he said the first thing he could think of. "Why did you leave him?" as the words left his mouth he regretted it.

Dauphine turned her head to look at him. She shook her head, a small smiling formed around her lips. "You were right about him, Pete. He never wanted to marry me."

She picked up the pot and sat it down on the kitchen table. She took a seat straight across from it. Softly she let her fingers touch the petals, they were warm, comforting. Pete took a seat next to her at the table. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to be right. I really wanted you to be happy."

Dauphine nodded taking Pete's hand in hers. "Its okay, Pete, at least you get to stay in the castle with us now."

Pete laughed, he hadn't thought about going back since he was attacked. He didn't want to go back there now. He wanted to be with his Mother, take care of her, like he was supposed to. "I'm sorry, Daphy, but I'm staying here with my Mom. This is where I belong." He shook his head, she was a mess, this wasn't the Dauphine everyone loved and he knew if he couldn't get her back to Kale, she'll stay this way forever. "And you don't belong there either!"

Shocked Dauphine gave a small yelp. "What do you mean? Where else would I belong?"

Pete knew he had to be careful; he had to convince her that Kale loved her. "You belong with King Kale." Dauphine snorted, "Yeah, right." She let her finger run across the rose's petals once more before she continued. "He doesn't love me."

Pete took her hand away from the flower and made him look at her. "Listen Dauphine, Kale loves you, I believe that he really does. Just believe me; he only wanted you gone because he needed to protect you! Think about it." he got to his feet, starting to talk with his body as well. "All those times you almost kinda died and the attack in the forest. He just wanted to protect you!"

Dauphine didn't get up; hope had flickered in her mind, could Pete be right? "From what?" she found it easier than ever to believe her cousin. He didn't seem to be lying, and he didn't have any hidden motive she could think of. "What is he protecting me from?"

Pete thought for a moment, should he tell her? About the witch? About Kale's secret? No. Kale had to tell her himself. "I don't know, you should go and ask him." once he uttered those words he was sorry, what if she never went back now? He felt like an idiot! Apparently his wolf had taken away his brains!

Dauphine smiled, she glanced down at her flower, she had poured all her love and heartbreak into this little seed and it seemed to be thriving. What could happen if she was to go back and confront Kale? Her heart was already broken, she couldn't hurt any more than she was now, could she?

She shot up out of the chair, giving Pete a fright. "You're right, Pete! I will ask him! I'm going to ask him right now!" she ran out the kitchen and out of the house, before Pete could utter one word. "Shit!"

Dauphine was gone, on her way back to Kale, and Pete was here waiting for his Mother and Aunt to come down. He didn't dare call for them; honestly he didn't know what they would do or how they'd react to the news.

Although he was triumphant in his attempt to get Dauphine to give Kale another chance, he felt conflicted about her leaving alone. Should he have gone with her? Should he have told her about that other woman? He took a seat at the kitchen table, just as his Mother entered the room.

"Pete? Where is Dauphine?" Lilith's eyes scanned the room as Andrea entered behind her.

Pete got up and cleared his throat. "Well, she's not here! She's...um..." He glanced from his Mother to his Aunt, "she went back to Kale?"