Chapter 12: A Father's Wrath

Holo came running into the back of tavern, slamming the door open and in a mass panic. It took both Lawrence and Jakob by complete surprise. Never before had they seen their calm and sarcastic Holo in hysterics.

"Holo what on earth is the matter?!"Lawrence shouted as Holo almost tackled into him, hugging his chest tightly.

"He's here Lawrence! He's here! He found us!" Holo screamed, almost on the verge of tears.

She didn't even have to say it, because Lawrence already knew who she was talking about. They had spent countless nights in the past talking about him and what if he ever found them. After awhile however, they had convinced themselves they were safe, that he could never find them. It seems though that they couldn't have been more wrong.

"What in God's name is going on here?"Jakob barked loudly, trying to take control of the situation and calm Holo's nerves. Lawrence himself, was on the verge of loosing it as well, and Jakob could probably tell, "Who has found you two?"

"Well uhm..."Lawrence said, cutting himself off as his eyes met with Holo's.

Jakob had taken them in and gave them a roof over their heads for a couple of years now. He had fed them, clothed them, and was more of a father to them than either could have ever hoped for. However, as much as they loved the man they could never bring themselves to tell Jakob the truth. They were living in a city controlled by the church after all, and from their time with Jakob he clearly wasn't a religious man(alot of merchants weren't) but they still didn't know how he would react if he found out the girl that had been living with him, a girl he had raised like his own, had a wolf tail and ears. What if he freaked out and turned them into church? Lawrence could pratically smell the smoke and feel the fire under his feet as they were both burned at the stake for being heretics and demons.

Holo finally managed to calm down, taking a deep breath and steadying her nerves, although she was still shaking a bit. Her eyes met Lawrence's once again, and nodded to him. Lawrence nodded back. They could no longer lie to this man...their father...any longer. Their past had finally caught up with them, and now Jakob was invovled in this mess as well, whether he knew it or not. Jakob stare at them, his arms crossed and his eyes demanding an explanation. They had seen that look many a time when they were in trouble, and even if they tried to lie he would easily see through it. So both Lawrence and Holo told him everything.

They started at the very beginning, telling him of their escape from Holo's strict and religious father, revealing to him that they were not siblings and it was just a cover. As they told him in great detail of their story Jakob listened silently, occasionally nodding to himself, as if he always had an inkling that they never did tell him the full story. As they finished their tale the moment came where they had to reveal the big secret.

Jakob sat silently, waiting to see if what they said were true, that Holo was a half-wolf as they claimed. Lawrence gazed at Holo as she had one hand on her hands on her hood. Her hand was shaking violently and she looked at both Lawrence and Jakob, her eyes full of fear. Lawrence realized that he wasn't the only one anymore that was close to Holo's heart. He knew that Holo was afraid that Jakob would reject her now, and he was sure it would break her heart if he did. With a sigh she finally pulled back her hood, revealing her furry wolf ears atop her head. Her long bushy tail suddenly sprang out behind her, swishing back and forth along the floor.

Jakob's eyes grew wide as he saw it, but other than that he showed no other reaction from Holo's appearance. He stared at her ears and tail for a few moments and blinked twice, as if he was just imagining them. Once he realized they were still there, he slowly got up from his chair and walked over to them, staring them down intensely.

"How could you two keep something like this from me?"Jakob asked accusingly, "I treated you both as my own children and I loved you just as much."

"We're so sorry Master."Lawrence inputted quickly when he noticed Holo was on the verge of tears, "It's just...we had nowhere else to go and we were afraid you would turn Holo over to the church."

At that statement Jakob snorted, "Please Lawrence. I wouldn't turn over my worst enemy to the church, much less two kids of mine!"

"Really!?"Holo said, her face beaming as she wiped at her eyes.

At seeing Holo's teary eyes Jakob's features softened. He bent down and hugged her close, rubbing her back soothingly, "Of course child. I love you both with all my heart. You could have had two heads and I would still love you!"

At that all three of them laughed loudly, the tense atmosphere that had shrouded the room vanishing just like that. Jakob opened up his huge embrace and motioned for Lawrence to join in on their hug, which Lawrence was all too happy to oblige.

"Too be honest I had always thought something was up between you two."Jakob stated, hugging the two tightly, "You don't look anything like brother and sister. Plus I've seen the way you two look at each other."

"So you knew about me?"Holo asked incredulous, which caused Jakob to chuckle.

"That I knew you had wolf tail and ears?Heck no girl!"Jakob answered, "I just assumed you were runaways who had warring families that would not let your love for each other continue."

At that statement both Holo and Lawrence raised their eyebrows questioningly at him, but realizing he was partially joking they giggled. Holo smirked, "You sound like a sucker for romance eh Jakob?"

Jakob laughed hardheartedly at Holo's teasing, " Well I was quite the romantic in my younger days. I have swooned my fair share of maidens."

Both Lawrence and Holo smiled at that, believing full well that a kind man as Jakob had made more than a couple of girls fall hard for him. It made the pair wonder why exactly Jakob was still a bachelor. Despite the fact that Jakob seemed to take Holo being a wolf girl very well, they still had dozens more problem to deal with.

"Listen Master, we still have to deal with Holo's father." Lawrence said, snapping them out of their little happy chat immediately, "He is probably getting the guards and the church officials as we speak!"

"Then we have no time to waste!"Jakob replied, "Go upstairs and pack whatever you can carry on your backs! I'm afraid you kids are going to have to leave town."

"What!?"Lawrence shouted in shocked, "Where on earth would we go!?"

"I'm not sure son but you sure as hell can't stay here anymore."Jakob answered as he made his way to the door, "Let me see to some things and give me a bit to think. Now go and pack now!"

With that Holo and Lawrence raced out of the room and upstairs. They hurriedly began to pack, throwing their clothes and whatever belongings they had into two napsacks. Double-checking to make sure they didn't miss anything in their rooms that they would need for a quick escape, they left their rooms and started making their way to the staircase that led downstairs.

"Where will we go Lawrence!?" Holo asked as they ran down the hallway.

"Hell if I know. Hopefully Jakob has a plan."Lawrence answered at they came to the foot of the stairs. What greeted them stopped them right in their tracks.

At the base of the stairs stood five heavily-armed guards, with a lone man standing in front of them, gazing at the pair with one hateful eye. Jakob stood off to the side, his hands and ankles in chains. He had a huge lump on the side of his head, from the looks of it from the blunt end of a spear. He looked at them both with pained eyes.

"You weren't hoping to skip town were you witch?"Holo's father asked, malice in voice, "Cause you have a date with God!'