What He Knows That She Doesn't: Scarlet and Wolf
Chapter 1: The Rescue
by Down Iris
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I do not have any rights to nor make any money from the characters in this story.
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In this story, Wolf is from a parallel universe peopled by werewolves, and he goes to modern day France to convince Scarlet to be his mate.
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Please read my other Scarlet and Wolf fan fictions, A Piercing Gaze, To Protect Her, Coincidence, A Hasty Escape, and What Was Wolf Thinking?
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A lot of the minor characters are out of character; I'm just using familiar names in filler roles. This Ze'ev is more refined than Wolf is, but he is a prince after all.
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It was Prince Ze'ev's twenty first birthday, and the whole kingdom of Everwhere was celebrating. A great feast had been prepared at the palace, and dancers and entertainers performed.
After all the cake had been eaten, Sage Darnel approached the prince. Ze'ev waited eagerly. A generation ago, a great plague had swept the nation, killing almost half of the inhabitants. Ever since then, it had been the custom for werewolves who had not married by their twenty first birthday to travel out into the human world and bring back fresh blood for their mates. There was a spell to find the ideal human mate for a werewolf.
Ze'ev had been waiting for this day for years, having found no werewolf woman in the kingdom who suited his fancy. Most couldn't see past him being the prince. He wanted someone who wouldn't see him just as royalty.
"Are you ready to find the human most suited for you?" Sage Darnel asked Ze'ev. Ze'ev nodded, rubbing his hands together under the table. He couldn't keep a stupid grin off of his face.
Sage Darnel assembled his magical items and placed Ze'ev's hand in the middle of a pentagram. A burst of smoke puffed out, making Ze'ev cough. Then a voice cried out, loud and chilling, "Scarlet Benoit of Rieux, France."
"France, huh?" King Jael said, leaning forward to see Ze'ev better, smiling widely. "I traveled there once when I was younger. It's a nice place."
"I can't believe my little boy is all grown up!" Queen Camilla dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.
Princess Winter, Ze'ev's little sister, sighed. "I predict true love will be in your future soon, Ze'ev!" She smiled brightly. "And I'll have a sister finally! I've always wanted a sister."
Prince Ran, Ze'ev's younger brother, snorted. "I can't believe you want a human for a mate! They're pathetic. Werewolves are much superior."
"She'll become a werewolf, so what's the difference?"
Prince Ran gave him a look of disdain. "Being bitten is much different than being born a werewolf."
"Calm down, Ran. It's not you who's mating with a human. You still have two more years to find your own mate," King Jael said.
"Yes, but she's going to be queen! A human!"
"Whatever," Ze'ev said, dismissing Ran's nonsense like always. He turned back to Sage Darnel, who held up a rock that had been part of the pentagram.
"Sniff this rock. It will smell of Scarlet Benoit, so you will recognize her scent," he said. Ze'ev sniffed it, and thought it smelled wonderful. He couldn't wait until tomorrow, when he would meet this Scarlet.
"I will guarantee that I'm married by my twenty first birthday!" Prince Ran declared bitterly. "And I'd make a much better king than my softhearted brother," he muttered under his breath.
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The next morning, Ze'ev went to the library. It was a vast room in the palace, filled with shelves upon shelves of centuries-old books, though he doubted any of them had been taken off the shelves since they had all been digitized. He walked straight to the librarian's desk, which stood out from the ancientness of the rest of the room, as it was full of computers, scanners, printers, and the like. Behind the desk sat Wynn, one of the librarians.
"I figured you'd be here today. You found your human?" Wynn asked.
Ze'ev grinned. "Yes. Now I need to know more about her."
"What's her name?"
"Scarlet Benoit of Rieux, France." Wynn typed as Ze'ev spoke.
Wynn scanned the screen in front of him. He clicked a few times and scrolled down the page, but suddenly stopped. "Huh…" he said.
"What?" Ze'ev leaned around the monitor, but he couldn't make anything out.
"It seems her grandmother, Michelle Benoit, has disappeared."
"Why does that matter?"
Wynn looked at him and smiled. "Can't you guess?"
It took Ze'ev a minute, but it finally dawned on him. "You think I should help her find her grandmother?"
"Wouldn't that make for a good introduction? Very heroic, don't you think?"
"I suppose. Do you know where she is?"
"I'll see what I can find, but you can always scry for her. Let me research for a while, and I'll send you an email with what I find."
"Thanks. I'll leave you to it." Ze'ev meandered back through the labyrinth of shelves and out the door.
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An hour later, Ze'ev received Wynn's email. He spent the next few hours going over it again and again, until he felt like he already knew Scarlet Benoit. She lived with her grandmother in Rieux. She was a delivery driver for a shipping company. She had curly red hair, brown eyes, and a sprinkling of freckles on her cheeks. Ze'ev thought she was beautiful.
Wynn had found no information about Scarlet's grandmother, so Ze'ev made sure to grab a scrying crystal before he left.
Wynn had also included instructions for a French language spell, which Ze'ev cast on himself. Once he had gotten some human money from the treasury, he headed to the magical gate. "Off on another adventure?" asked Rafe, the gatekeeper.
"The biggest adventure there is!" Ze'ev declared proudly. Rafe smirked. "Rieux, France, please."
Rafe set the controls and a dusty street came into view. Ze'ev walked through the gate and found himself on that street. He sniffed the air.
He found Scarlet's scent immediately, but he could tell she was a long way off. He negotiated his way through the small town until he approached a café. He spotted the back of a girl with curly red hair seated at an outdoor table. Finally, he had found her. His future mate.
Now that he had found her, though, he was nervous as to how to approach her. He wanted to make a good first impression, and not sabotage their relationship before it even started. He decided to start with her grandmother. That would gain Scarlet's attention immediately.
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Scarlet looked up as a man approached her table. He was tall and handsome with messy dark brown hair. He was very muscular and her breath hitched when her gaze caught his unnaturally green eyes. "Hello," he said shyly. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Why?" Scarlet asked, instantly suspicious.
"I have a proposition for you."
"I'm not buying anything."
"Don't worry, I'm not selling. It has to do with your grandmother."
Scarlet inhaled sharply. "What about my grandmother?"
"May I sit down?"
She debated for a moment, but her curiosity overcame her distrust. "Fine."
The man sat down. "I'm Ze'ev Kesley," he said, holding out his hand. Scarlet reluctantly shook it.
"Scarlet Benoit. Now what do you know about my grandmother?"
"I have a way to find out where she is. I'd be willing to help you find her if you'll do a favor for me."
"What's this favor?" she asked, suspicious again.
"I'll tell you after we get her."
"You want me to agree to do something without knowing what it is?"
"It's not dirty, if that's what you're worried about."
"Is it illegal?"
"No."
"Is it immoral?"
"Not by any code I can think of."
"You're not going to want me to sign my house over to your or something, right?"
"All I want from you is some of your time."
Scarlet peered across the table. Her grandmother had been gone for over two weeks, with no clue as to what had happened to her. She was loath trust this stranger, but she had no other lead. "Fine. If you get my grandmother back, I'll do your favor." Ze'ev smiled, the look dangerously mischievous. "Now how are you going to find her?"
"Magic."
Scarlet scoffed. "Magic?"
"I know magic is in decline in this world, but it still exists. To find your grandmother, all I need is something precious to her. I can use that to scry for her."
"These are her favorite earrings." They were simple dangling steel birds. Her grandfather had given them to her grandmother on their first and only anniversary. He had been killed in a car accident a few days later, orphaning her father before he was even born. Scarlet was wearing them to help her feel closer to her grandmother. She was skeptical, but she took them off and handed them to Ze'ev.
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a crystal. He held the earrings in his hand with the end of the chain on the crystal. He took out his smart phone and pulled up a map app. The crystal swung around as he zoomed father and farther out. At last, to Scarlet's surprise, it stuck to the phone. Ze'ev zoomed in.
"Just southeast of Paris. Do you know why she'd be there?"
"Paris? No."
"She seems to be in the middle of a forest, at least that's what it looks like on this map."
Scarlet jumped up, buoyed by hope. "We can take the train and be there in a few hours." She didn't trust this man, but she was desperate to find her grandmother.
"Certainly." Ze'ev smiled.
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Scarlet led Ze'ev to the train station. They bought their tickets and boarded a train. They found an empty compartment and settled in. Then a knock came on the door.
"Yes?" Ze'ev asked.
An old woman opened the door. "Do you mind if I join you in here?"
Ze'ev and Scarlet glanced at each other. He had been looking forward to spending time alone with her, but he didn't want to be rude. "Um, go ahead."
"Thanks." The old woman sat down and promptly fell asleep, with her head leaning against the wall. Ze'ev thought maybe they would be alone after all. He turned to Scarlet.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Paris."
"What do you do there?"
"I'm a dishwasher at a restaurant." Ze'ev had decided on that for his cover years ago whenever he traveled, since no one would ask many details about his job. He always picked a large city in the same country to be from. He couldn't tell her who he truly was, or she wouldn't trust him.
"What were you doing in Rieux?
"Looking for you."
This startled her. "Why?"
"To help you find your grandmother."
Scarlet's eyes narrowed. "Why are you so interested in my grandmother?"
"I wanted to ask you a favor, and helping you find your grandmother seemed like a good way to get it."
Her eyes narrowed further. "Why me? Why did you want me to do you a favor?"
"I promise I'll tell you everything…after we get your grandmother."
Scarlet debated in her head for a moment. "Fine. But it better not be anything sleazy."
"It's harmless, I assure you."
She seemed to relax a little. "So how did you learn to use magic?"
"It's been passed down in my family for generations."
"If you can do magic, why are you a lowly dishwasher?"
Ze'ev smiled. "Using magic for personal gain is taboo. Sort of like bad karma."
"What else can you do besides search for people?"
"Would you like a demonstration?
Scarlet looked eager. "Sure."
Ze'ev tried to think of something that would look cool. Then an idea occurred to him. He could smell almonds in Scarlet's purse. "Do you have any food?"
""Um…." She searched her purse and pulled out a bag of almonds and a protein bar. "I have these."
"Set one of the almonds on the floor."
"Okay…" she said skeptically, and did so.
Ze'ev glanced at the old woman, but she was still asleep. He cast a growing spell on the almond, letting the tree grow just large enough to flower. Scarlet looked entranced. "That's amazing!" She plucked off one of the flowers and twirled it around in her fingers. "Can you do that with all plants?"
"There are limitations, which I won't bore you with now. But growing spells are an integral part of agriculture in…." He trailed off, realizing that he had almost mentioned his world. He tried to think of something to cover his mistake. "…In certain parts of the world where magic is still used." To his relief, for once Scarlet didn't seem suspicious.
"So what are we going to do with the tree now? It would look strange carrying it around, and people would wonder if we left it in here."
"Now for my next trick." Ze'ev summoned an undying flame. It hovered over his left hand, burning blue. Scarlet gasped. "Put your hand near it, but don't touch it. It can burn you."
She reached out. "It's hot! What is it burning with? And isn't your hand hot?"
"It burns on magic, both smokeless and ashless. I'm not sure how to explain why, but my left hand doesn't feel its heat. Watch this." He broke a branch off of the almond tree and fed it into the flame. Bits of orange danced through the blue flame, and it crackled. Soon the branch was gone.
"It burned the whole branch up? Where did the ashes go?"
"No one knows. That's one reason why undying flames are not widely used. Try for yourself if you like."
Scarlet plucked another branch off the tree and fed it halfway into the fire, then pulled it out. The end was charred. Ze'ev couldn't help but smile at her awestruck look. He watched indulgently as she burned the rest of the tree.
When the almond tree was gone, Ze'ev dismissed the undying flame. "Can you teach me how to do that?" Scarlet asked enthusiastically.
"Certainly. But not here, it's too public. It would be hard to disguise an error here, and all beginners make errors. We wouldn't want you to burn a hole in the wall, for example."
"Of course." She looked excited but willing to be patient.
"I told you about me. Why don't you tell me more about yourself?"
"There's not really much to tell. I've driven a truck for ZIM ever since I graduated from high school a year ago. I've lived in Rieux with my grandmother since I was seven. She retired from an adoption agency five years ago."
Ze'ev spent some time coaxing more information out of Scarlet, although some of it he already knew from Wynn's research. He knew he had a stupid grin on his face, but he couldn't be happier. Scarlet seemed to fit him in every way. He especially liked her feistiness. She would make a good queen for his people.
"What about you?" Scarlet asked eventually.
"Hmm?"
"Tell me more about yourself."
He stuck to the truth as much as possible when describing himself, and he tried hard to remember all the lies he told her so he wouldn't contradict himself, and so he could correct them at some later point. He didn't want her becoming suspicious again. He had read human books and traveled in the human world enough to feel comfortable with the version of his life that he made up. He also wanted to be as truthful as he could so she would get to know the real him as soon as possible.
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Scarlet was surprised to find herself having fun just talking with this stranger. She felt herself drawn to Ze'ev as he became less and less of a stranger. She felt comfortable with him already, which was unusual. He had brushed away her usual defenses, and she found herself opening up to him more than she had with anyone besides her grandmother. She laughed easily at his jokes.
One thing about him bothered her, though. Ze'ev had spent most of the trip smiling at her, a cross between goofy and smug.
"Quit smiling like that! It's creepy!" she said finally. The look itself was actually rather attractive, but it made Scarlet feel like he was laughing at a private joke at her expense.
"Sorry," he said, and tried to school his features, but the edges of his lips still turned up, and she could still see an amused glint in his eyes. Or maybe she was just imagining that. She tried to ignore it and enjoy talking with him.
Occasionally he would start grinning again, but each time he would quickly suppress it.
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When they arrived in Paris, Ze'ev rented a car. He had Scarlet drive while he navigated. They were both nervous about what they would find, and their conversation didn't involve much besides directions. They drove almost an hour southeast when they came to a forest. After driving around for a while, they realized that the only road that led to where Michelle was located was blocked off.
Ze'ev had Scarlet park the car on the side of the road as close as possible. The sun had gone down by then, but the moon was just past full, so Ze'ev hoped Scarlet could see well enough. His werewolf eyes could see just fine.
He could tell there were many people in the forest as soon as he opened the car door. He could also smell Michelle, the same scent as was on the earrings. He led Scarlet into the trees, creeping silently. She, however, seemed to make a large amount of noise. He led them in a zigzag, avoiding the people he could smell and hear around them.
As they were walking, Ze'ev picked up the scent of some humans coming towards them. "Run!" he whispered, and took off. Scarlet stumbled after him, but he knew she couldn't see nearly as well as him, and she was not as athletic. He had to slow his pace down to match hers and he considered picking her up and carrying her.
Suddenly they were surrounded by six men with guns and night vision goggles. Ze'ev worried about whether he could fight them all off while in his human form. His eyes saw red, however, when he spotted one of the men aiming his gun right at Scarlet's forehead.
He didn't even realize that he had transformed until he saw his claws go for the throat of that man. He instinctively took out the other five men before any of them could get out a shot. Once he could hear that none of them were breathing, he looked for Scarlet to make sure she was all right.
His heart winced as he saw her petrified look directed at him. Before he could say anything, she took off running. Ze'ev ran after her. He forced his body to transform back to human, and quickly caught up to her. He grabbed her with one arm and pulled her against him.
Scarlet screamed. He slapped his hand over her mouth. He listened for a moment, and sniffed the air, but no one else was coming. Scarlet was rigid with fear in his arms.
He leaned down towards her. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered, as comfortingly as he could manage. "I'll let you go if you promise not to run away or scream, okay?" She nodded stiffly and he released her.
She immediately scurried away and continued to slowly back away from him. He wanted to close the distance between them, but he resisted the urge. "You're a…a…" she stammered.
"I'm a werewolf," Ze'ev confirmed. He didn't think her eyes could go any wider, but they did. "But I swear I'm not going to hurt you."
"You killed all those men!"
"If I hadn't, they would have killed you. Would you prefer that?"
"No…."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spring this on you like that, but I'm not going to hurt you. Let's just get your grandma and get out of here. Then I'll explain everything. Okay?"
Scarlet seemed to consider this. She was still tense, but her face had lost the shocked horror. "Okay…" she agreed weakly, with distrust still in her eyes. She reluctantly followed as Ze'ev moved forward, following Michelle's scent.
They came to a building, and Ze'ev could smell three sentries patrolling nearby. "Wait here," he whispered, and proceeded to knock out the sentries quietly one by one. He snuck up to the building and peeked in the window. He could smell fourteen more men inside. Two were playing cards in the room he could see, with another watching a TV. He circled around the building. Eight were asleep in a large barrack-style dormitory. The other three were in a back room with Michelle, asking questions. She cried, but said nothing.
Ze'ev wondered how best to get Michelle out. He considered drawing some of them outside, but was afraid one might get by him and attack Scarlet. He decided that a stealthy frontal assault was the best option. Hopefully he could keep his attacks quiet enough to not alert anyone in the other rooms.
He pulled the front door open and pounced on the man by the TV. As he took him out, the men playing cards jumped up. "What the…" one of them started, but Ze'ev turned on them and soon they were down as well. He listened for a moment, but the sleeping men and the ones with Michelle hadn't noticed anything. Ze'ev next moved to the dormitory, going to the sleeping men one by one and making sure they wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
Last was the room with Michelle in it. He pulled open the door and got one man before he even turned around. The other two whipped out their guns. Michelle screamed, but Ze'ev barely heard it. He quickly took out the two men before they could shoot.
He turned to Michelle, and saw the same petrified look that Scarlet had worn. He saw she was tied to a chair, so he used his claws to slice off her ropes before returning to human form. Michelle still looked terrified. She was covered with blood and bandages, having obviously been tortured.
"I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I'm here with Scarlet to rescue you. Can you walk?"
Michelle seemed to be processing this information. She had perked up when he mentioned Scarlet. He could tell when she decided that he was less of a threat than the men who had been holding her captive because she relaxed a little. "No, I can't walk."
He pulled the ropes off of her and scooped her into both arms. She cried out in pain. He hurried back to Scarlet, still waiting where he had left her. Her worried expression vanished when she spotted her grandmother.
"Grand-mere!" she exclaimed, and hugged Michelle, but drew back when Michelle cried out in pain. "What did they do to you?" she asked anxiously.
"We need to get her to a hospital," Ze'ev said, but he was worried about the hour-long drive back to Paris. Also, he could smell more men in the woods, and he was worried they might track Michelle down again if she was registered at a hospital. Suddenly he got an idea.
"I'm going to need to put you down for a moment," he said, and eased Michelle onto the ground. He pulled out his phone and dialed the gatekeeper of the magical gate. "Hello, this is Ze'ev. I need a gate nearby as quickly as possible."
"Okay," replied the gatekeeper, who Ze'ev recognized as Troya. "I'm locking onto your position now." Ze'ev waited impatiently for a minute. "You should be able to see it."
Ze'ev spun around, searching. It was to his left. "I see it. Thanks. And call an ambulance, please." Ze'ev hung up and picked up Michelle again. Both she and Scarlet looked mystified.
"What was that about?" Scarlet asked.
"Just follow me," he said, heading for the gate about a hundred meters away.
Scarlet gasped when she saw the gate. "What is that?" she exclaimed in disbelief as they neared it. A large view of the magical gate's room showed in the middle of the trees.
"Just step through it," Ze'ev said, and did so. He turned back to see Scarlet's shock, but she followed through a moment later and gasped again.
"Where are we?"
"This is my world. Welcome to Everwhere Kingdom." He turned to Troya at the controls. "Is the ambulance coming?"
"It should be here soon. You should wait outside."
"Got it. Thanks." He led a disbelieving Scarlet out to the street. He looked down at Michelle and saw the same disbelief. "I'll explain everything later, but for now we need to get you to the hospital." He heard sirens in the distance. A moment later the ambulance appeared.
"Your Highness?" one of the paramedics asked as she came out.
"This human needs medical attention. She was tortured."
"Okay. Lay her down on the bed." She stepped aside. Ze'ev climbed into the ambulance and set Michelle down.
"Don't worry, these people will take care of you," he said before he exited. "This is her granddaughter." He pointed at Scarlet. "She'll ride with you." He turned to Scarlet. "Go in the ambulance with your grandmother."
"What about you?"
"I need to return the car, and I'll try to find out more information about these people. I'll come find you later." He planned on interrogating some of the men.
"Be careful," Scarlet said as she entered the ambulance and the paramedic closed the doors. The ambulance took off, sirens blaring.
Ze'ev felt exhausted all of a sudden, as the adrenaline wore off. He stopped by the restroom and washed the blood from his hands. Then he went back to the magical gate. "I need to go back to the same place," he told Troya.
"Coming up." A minute later, Ze'ev stepped back into the forest. He searched for a single man somewhere nearby, and snuck up on him. He pounced, knocking the man onto his stomach and covering his mouth. The man grunted.
"I've already taken out many of your friends. I want information from you. How cooperative you are determines whether you die as well. If you try to call for help, I'll kill you immediately. Got that?" The man nodded quickly and Ze'ev removed his hand. "Now. Who are you people and what did you want with Michelle Benoit?"
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Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. I have the rest of the story planned out, but feel free to guess if you want.