Anthology of the Realms, The Werewolf King

Everything Changes...

•~⚜️~•

It's the unexpected that changes our lives.
---Unknown---

Aueryah desperately tried to hide herself from the man who stood on the other side of the cage from in which she was held.  He appeared tormented as his firm grip on the iron bars bent the cold steel rods easily, as if they were made from soft clay right in front of her terrified eyes.

This man was not like any man she'd been told about.  He was definitely not Human although he looked like a Human, but no Human she'd ever been told of could bend cast iron bars with their bare hands.

All Aueryah ever wanted to do with the smelly canvas cloak that Xiiltharra had given her, was to be free of it.  To rid herself of the nasty smell that constantly surrounded her and yet now, when she so desperately wanted its camouflage, the darn thing kept on falling off, backwards and away from her face. 

Immediately she started to panic and her panicking lead to her crying.  Aueryah gave up on the brown shroud and once again, like in Xiiltharra's den, she curled herself into a tight ball on the cold ground, closed her eyes and wept. 

Silently inside her mind, she chanted over and over that this was all just a bad dream and in the morning she would wake, safe in her little room, warm and cosy in her bed.

Théoner watched as the Human struggled with the canvas material that had concealed it so well until now.  He watched as the creature began to cry as it lost the battle of covering itself from his view and curled into a ball.

For some strange reason that Théoner could not rationalise, it disturbed him that the Human had become distressed in his presence. 

He had said nothing to it to warrant such fear nor had he physically harmed it? 

Without prompting, Tälon was already at the cage unlocking the door.  Théoner was grateful that his Beta was able to pick up on his emotions regarding the Human, and yet neither could explain why they both responded to it in the way they did. 

Théoner entered the cage without hesitation.  He did not fear that the Human would rise up, lunge at him and attack, the Alpha feared nothing and clearly this creature was too delicate to even be able to break skin, let alone be an actual threat. 

He crouched down besides the auburn head of the Human and instinctively reached out to brush away the disheveled hair from the creature's face. 

His breath was lost the moment his fingers touched the soft, velvety skin of the Human's cheek. 

That was something that had never happened to the solid, steadfast Alpha up until this moment.

Alpha Théoner was always prepared for any situation but within the few minutes of being in this creature's company, it put him off guard more than he cared to admit.

Aueryah stopped crying and sat bolt upright, surprised.  She did not hear the cage door creak open nor did she expect the touch from the stranger.   She gasped at the closeness of the man just inches away from her face.

A powerful aura filled the small space between Thèoner and Aueryah. 

Thick as smoke but invisible to the eye, it swirled around them, cocooning them.  It trickled seductively through every fibre of their bodies.

Shocked by the unexpected presence of the man before her and the unexplained euphoric feeling now flowing through, her eyes grew wide as every nerve in her frail body instantly stilled.  Except for her voice, Aueryah's voice worked exceptionally well as she screamed in a tenor so high, it could break glass.