Chapter Thirty Six

It is impossible for a man to learn what
he thinks he already
knows.

Murmurs and glances follow Scarlet and Grey as the walk onto the veranda of his home. Three buildings are neatly packed side by side, all sharing an open veranda. Grey's is the middle structure, Elijah's to the right and Marcus' was to the left but …
Grey opens the door and gestures her inside. It's dark but warm, the front windows have the curtains drawn and the fireplace on the east wall is still smouldering. It's basically a largish box with an open upstairs platform on the west wall which holds a bed. Scarlet imagines that his two neighbours will have identical set ups.
Generations of deer and stag heads are mounted on the east wall surrounding the fireplace; antlers being the main attribute of decor. A small bench is crowded into the corner of the west wall under the elevated platform for preparing food; a long table runs across the middle of the room with chairs tucked neatly underneath it – a large map and other pieces of paper strewn across the wooden surface. "Make yourself at home." Grey says once he shuts the door. Scarlet glances at him over her shoulder and wanders around the open space, slinging her bag over her shoulder before ascending the ladder like staircase to the rail enclosed bedroom. She throws her bag against the chest that sits at the end of the bed as Grey emerges behind her. "There'll be a mourning service shortly." He informs, avoiding discussing the whispers of the town. "Are you going to join me?" His hands slide down her arms gently.

"I don't think that's wise." She breathes, the town's whispers and glances taking a toll on her urge to be seen by the public. The girl who loved a wolf. Traitor. Harlot.

"No one will say anything if you're at my side." He kisses the top of her head.

"Yes they will. When they think I can't hear." She hugs herself. "I don't blame them, and I don't expect them to understand, or you. I just want to be alone." She breathes heavily so not to let anymore tears be shed.

"Alright." He mutters in agreement. "I don't understand, though believe me I've tried." He walks around her to sit on the chest. "But that doesn't mean we can't move on from it. Once the town starts to flow back into its normal regime then this whole issue will slowly be forgotten." He manages a smirk. "With time this mess will be forgotten, and you'll be happy again." He stands and closes the gap between them, holding her chin between his thumb and index. "You will be happy again." With me. His voice is more demanding than soothing but Scarlet doesn't argue for the time being. Grey can keep his fantasies for all she cared, he would eventually move on with someone else in her absence, and the town would return to its normal rhythm without her to distract it.
Really it's a win – win situation, though if Grey knew the impending plan he would definitely object. Though, Scarlet has no intention of revealing that to him, she's happy for him to dwell in his happy content-ness as he admires his 'well-deserved' prize. After all, it won't last for long and the town will eventually forget this unexpected mess … and eventually Scarlet will also be forgotten.
Scarlet nods and adverts her eyes, Grey releasing her chin. "We'll discuss your permanent living arrangements later." He postpones any arguments she might start before she can even speak. "How are your wounds?" He asks on a lighter note. Scarlet rubs her thigh as it proves to be more irritating, probably because the markings are deeper than the ones across her abdomen and she hasn't actually given them proper rest they need to heal.

"Aching, but fine." She responds.

"Do the dressings need changing?" He asks and she immediately pulls her cloak tighter around her.

"No, they're fine."

"Well then, you still need to rest. Lay down." He instructs and points towards the bed. She does so hesitantly and gingerly pulls back the layers of blankets on the right side. She removes her boots and cloak before sliding into bed and re-adjusting the covers. Grey slides to her side and leans down to further adjust the pillows, planting a small kiss on her forehead before straightening. "Get some sleep. I'll be downstairs if you need me." He assures before descending to the floor below.
Scarlet buries herself amongst to blankets which smell of Grey's musky scent, which she doesn't mind as it's not overpowering or unpleasant. She forces herself to sleep though she's extremely uncomfortable as to her location, but she'll need plenty of energy for tonight. Scarlet drifts lightly in and out of oblivion as the sun descends slowly, the mourning service starting, villagers coming and going from downstairs. Grey plays host along with the rest of his neighbours to the grieving villagers who lost their loved ones the night before. As the hours slowly toll on Scarlet is either woken by wisps of questions directed mainly at Grey or drunken slurs from disgruntled villagers. Every so often murmurs of wedding plans drift up to Scarlet, who is grateful to be above everyone and out of sight.
Once everyone returns to their homes before the sun fully disappears, Grey brings Scarlet a tray of food – the smell of hot bread and tea pull her out of her light doze. He places the tray next to her on the firm mattress and she sits up slightly.

"Thank you." She yawns and rubs her eyes.

"Eat up. I'll bring you more food later." He kisses her lightly on the forehead again before disappearing back down below. Her stomach growls at her initial slowness in devouring the food before her; with all the drama that had been happening she hadn't stopped to eat and is now only realizing how hungry she is. She consumes the bread with in minutes and gingerly sips the tea, to avoid burning her lips. When she's finished she places the tray on the ground next to her and stretches out underneath the covers, feeling a hundred percent better.
The darkness that enters the house due to the absence of the sun is quickly chased away by the lightly of candles and the stoking of the fire. Scarlet expects Grey to join her upstairs in the following minutes but he doesn't. In fact, more people gather downstairs which sparks curiosity in her. She pushes herself up and peers down below the railing from the safety of the bed. Grey's hunting party is huddled around the long table, all gazing at the large map Grey is waving his hand over. He abandons using a hushed voice and continues to address his pack. "I want two of you at each tower with torches lit. You four I want guarding the gate, and you three patrolling around her house." He issues jobs to each grouping. "Elijah, Darwin, you two are going to be my runners. I want you checking each post on a rotation and report everything back to me. Samuel you're with me. Is everyone clear on their positions?" Everyone murmurs and nods. "Good. If anyone sees any sign of him, even if you're not sure, I don't care, light the beacons and sound the bells. I want everyone to be on point. He comes back, we can't mess this up. Got it?"

"Yes sir." They all answer and disband with weapons in hand. Scarlet sits back in bed with a new worry rising within her. She slides down and closes her eyes when she hears someone coming up the ladder. Someone approaches the bed and strokes her hairline gently before sitting on the edge next to her. She slowly flutters her eyes open as if she was just waking up. Grey smiles at her and continues to caress her cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you."

"Are you still hungry?"

"Not at the moment."

"Okay, well just go back to sleep. There's food downstairs if you get hungry during the night."

"Where will you be?"

"Outside." He informs and stands.

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust that wolf. If he comes back he won't get off as easy."

"Grey–" She begins.

"It's not up for discussion, Scarlet. We showed mercy the first time, but if he breaks our agreement then we're going to retaliate." He picks up her bag. "You're not to leave the house, am I clear?" He cocks an eyebrow and Scarlet flares her nostrils in annoyance.

"So you're just going to lock me up like a prisoner?" She snarls.

"You're not a prisoner, Scarlet." He heads back down stairs and Scarlet is quick to follow.

"Where are you taking my things?" She questions.

"Relax you'll get them back. I just need to borrow them."

"Why?"

"It's none of your concern. Now go back to bed."

"No!" She protests and Grey turns without warning, making Scarlet run into him.

"Am I going to have to tie you up before I leave?" He stares down on her and she steps back. "Scarlet –" He reaches for her chin. "Please behave. We're not going to hunt him – just defend the town against him. Now go back to bed and don't leave the house. For your own safety." He gives her a warning but concerned glance before exiting with her things. Why? She has no idea. Maybe so she can't run away. Or maybe to distract Luca with her scent.
Scarlet huffs paces for a second, panic setting in. What if he couldn't get to me? What if one of the guards see him enter? How will grandmother get a message to him with guards patrolling the house? How will he know how to find me, with my scent there and now here, and wherever else Grey is spreading it? Scarlet rubs her temples and climbs back up the ladder. She pulls on her boots and cloak, pulling the end of the red sleeves into her fist as the hood hangs off her head. She sits impatiently on the end of the bed, braiding her chestnut and coal mane tightly before letting it dangle down her back.

An hour passes and nothing is yet to happen. Scarlet extends herself back onto the bed and her eyes rest shut, waiting for something to happen. She had extinguished the candles downstairs, but the light cast from the fire provides enough light for her to maneuveraround if she needs to. Every now and again she can hear someone stroll across the veranda – but each footfall is too light to be Luca's so she figures that Grey must have guards wandering by, if not himself, to make sure she doesn't leave.
Finally after hours of waiting, slow drifting further into sleep, something wakes Scarlet. Her eyes flash open to examine the room – still empty – but a noise catches her attention. Her ears follow the sound of creaking wood until her eyes catch up. A very small amount of … dust floats loose from the rafters in the right corner as the roof struggles to uphold a heavy weight. Scarlet flies up right and stands with relief and excitement.
"Luca?" She whispers, though she's alone, she doesn't want any of her guards to hear her. She knows his hearing is sharp enough to hear her … well, she hopes it is. "Luca?" The dust particles drift further along to her as the weight above moves towards her. "Luca please be careful." She prays as the movement stops and then starts again, heading towards the front of the building.
Scarlet slides down the ladder and follows the dust particles towards the front door. She dares a peek out the window, moving the curtain slightly to peer out. The young boy, Samuel, stands a few metres away – not noticing the wolf above him. He wanders about further down the street, out of Scarlet's sight. She moves the curtain further aside to get a better look at the outside world.
No one is there.
She takes a few quick breaths and risks opening the door.
Still no one.
She pulls her hood on and closes the door quietly after her, quickly moving along the veranda to leap over the railing to disappear down the alley – much to her left leg's protest. Her heart thumps violently in her chest, threatening to reveal her whereabouts to her 'captors'. Once she navigates her way through the alleys – far enough to say that she hasn't yet been discovered – she leans against a building, panting with nervousness. She looks up at the gutters above her, expecting to see a black wolf looking down on her, but he's not. She waits for a while longer, gazing upwards but still nothing.
Something pulls her attention back down and she turns her head to her left, swallowing a yelp as two yellow eyes study her from the end of the alley. She told herself she was okay with his wolf form, but in the eeriness of the moon light and in the darkness of the alley and her heart already racing with impending capture, the sight had caught her off guard and had indeed frightened her. She releases a withheld sigh and she canters towards him, happiness surging through her, she wraps her arms around his thick neck – burying her face in his mane. He whines in acknowledgement and she pulls back.

"I hope you have a plan to get out of here." She whispers to him and he nods. He lowers himself to gesture for her to get on his back, and it takes her a minute to understand. She hesitantly straddles him and buries her hands in his mane to use as a harness. "Did you speak to my grandmother?" She barely whispers and he makes a grunting noise which doesn't really give her an answer. Luca takes off quickly and Scarlet has to clench her jaw shut so she doesn't yelp in shock. He moves swiftly and silently without being seen by any of the patrols, which makes Scarlet wonder why Grey even bothered setting up his patrol posts.
Luca is quick to reach Scarlet's house where he lingers in the shadow of a neighbouring building – two of the assigned guards wander around the near the left side of the structure. With a taloned hand, Luca picks up a stone next to him and effortlessly throws it so it ricochets in-between two houses that stand a few feet away from Scarlet's. The two guards jump at the noise and draw their weapons out in front of them, exchanging nervous glances before moving towards the origin of the sound. Whilst they are distracted Luca glides from one shadow to the next until he's beside Scarlet's house. Scarlet breathes heavily while Luca seems to make no noise at all as they sneak towards the back wall, where the third guard is leaning. He looks like he's about to fall asleep but the imposing fear of being exposed to the moonlight during wolfstime keeps him awake.
Luca leans back on his haunches, causing Scarlet to slide of his back gently. She goes to move beside him but he takes off and within two strides he's on the guard – who is startled greatly but can't manage a scream before Luca backhands him, rendering him unconscious. Luca gestures for Scarlet to hurry and she searches the pile of wood for their bags after sparing a glance to ensure that the hunter is still breathing.
She locates them - pressed in-between the house and a few heavy logs (just as her grandmother had promised). She yanks the bags from their hiding spot as quietly as possible and then attempts the task of tying them together so that they're easier to carry, but the darkness proves to be a hindrance.

"What are you two doing?" Scarlet freezes, air catching in her throat as she fears that the voice is addressing her.

"We thought we heard something but it was nothing." The two other guards answer. Elijah had been the first addresser.

"Are you sure? Grey said he wanted to know everything." Elijah questions.

"Yes, we're sure. It was nothing. There's been no sign of the wolf. There's no need to alarm Grey." One of the two answers. Scarlet continues her task and with difficulty she manages to connect the two bags using their draw-strings.

"Where's Franklin?" Elijah asks the two.

"He's around back." They inform him, but he's not impressed with their answer and peers down the side of the house.

"Franklin!" Elijah hisses but his calls are met with silence. Scarlet drags the bags to Luca who hooks them around his neck. Scarlet is in the process of climbing back onto Luca's back when Elijah begins to holler. "Wolf! Wolf!" And immediately, one by one the beacons in each watch tower are lit, creating a ring of fire around the village. The men atop the wall scatter from their positions with arrows pulled tight; searching for where the ruckus is coming from. The bells begin to toll and Elijah draws his sword and charges at Luca. Scarlet jumps out of the way of the blade and Luca also avoids it, circling back around to face the hunter. He bares his fangs and roars at him, making Elijah stumble backwards. Luca launches forward and rips the blade from Elijah's hands before flinging him backwards, colliding with the stacked logs.
Scarlet quickly swings into action and leaps onto Luca's back before archers get their chance to fire (which proves to be rather difficult on Scarlet's behalf). Luca leaps upon the pyramid of firewood before bounding onto the wall – arrows whistle past them causing Scarlet to bury her hands and face in Luca's mane, holding on for dear life as well as flattening herself as much as possible as Luca jumps onto the ground and sprints into the woods without falter.
The faint echo of Grey screaming after her slowly getting quieter and quieter.

Luca pushes on at a ridiculous pace for half an hour before Scarlet starts to feel really nauseous. She thought she could push through it but Luca only seems to increase his speed which makes Scarlet feel worse. She yanks the pieces of fur she has clutched tightly in her hands and moans. "Luca…" He gives a grunt in response and slows down before stopping fully. He pants heavily as Scarlet slides off, her legs give way and she lands on her back – which she doesn't mind all that much, it hadn't hurt as she landed in a pile of clovers. She grips her stomach and takes a few steady breaths to calm herself, Luca whines in sits patiently next to her.
"It's okay." She murmurs in reassurance. "I just need a minute." She props herself up on her elbows and examines her surroundings. "Where are we?" She questions, completely unfamiliar with her whereabouts. Luca whines and Scarlet looks at him, adjusted to his frightening façade. "Yeah, yeah, language barrier I got it." She pushes herself up and stretches out her limbs as much as her healing injuries allow. "Do you know where we're going?" He gives a quick look around before nodding. "Okay, I think we're far enough now that they won't follow – if they pursued in the first place. I think I'll walk for a bit." She scratches the bridge of his nose and he wiggles his nose in annoyance. "Lead the way." Scarlet gestures on and holds on to one of the bags hanging from Luca's shoulders, as the canopy is so thick the moon light can barely reach the ground, making it difficult for her to proceed with the right footing.
After another half an hour of hiking through the dark forest, they reach a stream and continue to follow that uphill. Along the way Scarlet's adrenaline fades and the iciness of the night starts to take effect on her, so she climbs back on to Luca's back and snuggles into him as much as she can. After a while longer Luca grunts to get her attention and she looks up to see a small cottage buried amongst a garden of trees. She'd be able to examine it better in the daylight but for now she can still make out that it's in pretty good shape. She hops down off Luca's back and walks ahead of him. The cottage has been built around two great trees and the rest shelter it pretty well from prying eyes. Its location is up a gradually inclining slope which curves in to form a sort of a flat indentation in the hillside.
Scarlet wanders the length of the house, attempting to peer in the cracks of the boarded up windows – but with no success - she finds herself back at the door, trying to open it. It takes a few good attempts before it creaks open eerily. Scarlet stares into the blackness, looking back over her shoulder to ask Luca if it's safe and he nudges her forward in reassurance. But no amount of nudging is going to make Scarlet sleep in there alone – Luca won't fit through the door in this form so she pulls the door close again.

"It'll be better in the morning." She shivers. "It's not going to be any warmer in there." She adds after Luca grunts in disapproval. "I don't have anything to light a fire with and we don't even know if there is firewood to light." She gestures for Luca to lower his head so she can slide off the bags. Using the sense of touch Scarlet identifies which bag is which and then works on removing a couple of blankets without everything else following after. "Here." She waddles over to a large tree with large roots protruding from the ground and snaking away from the centre trunk. She throws down the thinnest blanket and positions their bags against the trunk before laying down atop the blanket. She pulls the warmest one around her and wraps herself up like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Luca follows, his large form fitting quiet tightly between the roots, he gently rolls Scarlet into him so she can share his warmth and she gladly snuggles into his chest – his fur soft and warm. She rearranges her blanket so her body has more access to Luca's radiating warmth and within a couple of minutes she falls asleep, despite all the emotions coursing through her.
Luca stays awake and listens to her breathing return to normal as she heats up and her shivering stops.