Red

Nineteen.

Like Xerxes said he left some meat out for me to cook. The meat was wrapped in brown wrapping with parchment paper labeling it as lamb. Court bought this from the village no doubt.

I unwrapped the meat and placed it on the counter. After that I grabbed a pan and lit the logs before pouring oil in the pan and cooking the lamb. I stood in front of the stove letting the lamb roast until it was cooked.

Once it was cooked, I removed the lamb from the pan and set it down on a wooden plate. Once on the plate I cut it up before taking some of the greens I could find that were safe to eat and making a small mini salad as well as some of the berries.

Once all of that was done, I sat down at the table to begin eating the food. Everyone was gone now leaving me alone in the cabin by myself. Now I had to figure out what to do now. After finishing my dinner, I rinsed the plate out before eating a slice of pie.

After that I went to the room and laid down. I took in a deep breath just as howls broke out. I turned around and laid down to settle in for the night.

☾

Court had a love-hate relationship with the sacrifices. The human side of him despised sacrifices and the wolf side of him loved them. He enjoyed taking things, but he hated the clean-up that could come with.

Court enjoyed having a much more. . . merciful pack than Thorin but even his wolves got uneasy if they saw a human. And with everything happening he knew if another appeared, he may not be able to control them.

They'd lose trust in him if he chose humans over them. So, instead of correcting his pack he always did a lap around to make sure no humans were around and to scare them off if they were. It was the one advantage of being in the village on the full moon.

At this point the king and queen were used to him retiring early on the sacrifice. They believed him to be faint of heart towards these things. Court intended to keep it that way.

While he wasn't too fond of the king, he did have a soft spot for the queen. Court never got to know his biological mom that well. The queen became the only mom he had. Even if she is human and not a wolf.

This full moon was his packs turn to take the sacrifice first making things easier for him. When it was Thorin's pack Court did his rounds quickly to avoid a confrontation. Once more he was doing his last round around making sure everyone was inside.

The only people he found out were a few guards at their nightly posts, but they were away from the sacrifice. The original ruler who made the pact with the wolves had been smart on where to put the sacrifice. She put the sacrifice out on the outskirts of the village right where the forest met the village. 

Neutral territory.

The queen had discussed the original ruler who made the pact many times. His adoptive mother admired her very much.

She made a pact with the original pack before they split into two. Court was one of few people who knew the story to each side. It interested him very much the story behind the sacrifice and the truce that was made between the pack and village.

Before the truce, the wolves openly slaughtered humans that came into the woods and a few even went into the village. Back then a few of the humans were even aware of the wolves shapeshifting abilities. 

Court remained in his thoughts as he trotted around. So, far he only spotted one guard who ran the moment he saw the brown wolf moving by.

The last human he knew of that had any relation with a wolf was the woman in the woods. She was crazy. But he knew like a few others that the only reason she survived was because she had a sexual relationship with one of the higher up wolves who threatened to attack and cause yet another petty war if they killed her.

Same rule didn't apply to her husband later though. That death resulted in the line of living space near the woods to be pulled back. She still stayed there though.

She had been the last one. . . until Ruby. Court trotted forward thinking of the human back in his bedroom. He wasn't surprised that he never saw her around the village. They lived in a world where most parents sheltered their children until a certain age.

But he saw her a lot now. He was slowly getting over the guilt he felt over her. Court shook his head as he continued before stopping as a scent rushed into his nose. A human one.

Court let out a frustrated growl as he turned around and walked back over as he saw a human boy near the fence watching the sacrifice area. He was lucky he had caught him. Court looked over at the boy who he recognized to be one of the wood cutters sons.

He had the typical plaid shirt that the wood cutters had made of the fine cotton. Over it he had a wool jacket made from the sheep that they sheared each year. The specific sheep that weren't ever put forth as a sacrifice.

Court walked up and the guy's face fell. Court forced his hackles up as he growled. Once more the human and wolf side fought. The wolf wanted to kill, and the human wanted to scare. Court forced the wolf side back as he lunged at the wooden fence and slammed into it bouncing the boy off. He made it look like he was going to jump it after him.

Once the boy ran Court got down and let out one last dangerous snarl before he turned around and walked back to the sacrifice. He scared him away just in time as well.

Court watched as Xerxes and Lyell came down from the forest followed by the rest of the pack. Court straightened up as Lyell came forward down and looked over at him. Lyell went up to where the animals were tied up waiting for the sacrifice.

They began to get restless upon seeing the wolves. They had brought about seven of them with the rest of his pack hunting in the forest. 

Court turned back around as they took their prize for the sacrifice.

1730. And here is chapter nineteen! Hope you guys enjoyed it! ***