The next day she had slept till close to midday. Despite copious amounts of water, her head throbbed from the previous night's mix of champagne and whiskey. Someone had repeatedly knocked on her door, but she had just ignored it, throwing her pillow over her head. She had joined everyone of Saturday night, and been sociable, today was for her to be as antisocial as she liked. And since she was going to hand in her resignation tomorrow, she had no intention of being sociable with anyone anymore!

Eventually her head had cleared by early afternoon, when she had dug out her old gym clothes and shoes before getting dressed and tucking her bear spray in the waist band of her leggings and throwing her water bottle and phone in a tiny running bag, she snuck out stepping past the multitude of notes that bore the Durin crest on the note cards, which had been slipped under her door. She would ignore them for now. It was a problem for another time, and would only ruin her plans.

Outside, the air was clean and fresh. The land around them really was unspoilt. After the strange overcast day yesterday, it seemed the sun was finally out. She was not much of a runner, but she enjoyed the freedom of being outside. Crossing the small road, she jogged out onto wild scrubland, and began to run. The terrain was uneven, so she moved slowly, which suited her fine.

She must have run for an hour before she finally stopped, collapsing on to the dry grass and heather that carpeted the floor. Try as she might Erebor remained firmly in her view, looming over her in a way that couldn't be ignored. At least her head was much clearer now.

Having left the house feeling angry at herself for letting her feel anything at all for Thorin, she had finally let that go too. It probably wouldn't last, she was under no illusion. And he would probably try to control the manner of her leaving also, but for now she had found her peace.

Sitting up after finally catching her breath, she pulled out her water and began to drink, then she thought about her job. She had begun to enjoy her work here. She had got to know a few patients, her routine was good, and she had already started making changes to the way things happened around the hospital. Oin had even enjoyed her input on matters! She would miss her work here that much was true. But she would have to tell Oin she no longer felt challenged in the job as she once expected. It would hurt his feelings, but it was better than admitting he was the true reason!

Falling back onto the soft carpet of heather, trying to forget, she watched a butterfly fluttering above her against the backdrop of the blue sky and lay there for a bit watching some clouds pass by. Surely this was what a movie set was like! It took her mind off what she had to do for a little while.

Her daydreaming was interrupted when she heard a strange distant buzzing. It was not a bee, or wasp, but milder. More like flies. Trying to snap her head back into gear, she sat up quietly trying hard to listen. The sound was not far from where she sat. Pulling her pepper spray out, she looked around carefully. Then slowly getting to her feet she followed the sound. Within a few metres of her the reason for the flies suddenly came into view. Looking around she took another step closer.

There amongst the grass was the dead carcass of what she imagined to be a calf. She couldn't tell how long it had been there for. The skull, which was the only recognisable part was pretty badly decomposed. There were no signs of maggots on the surface, but the smell was pretty bad. She was surprised that she hadn't smelled it from where she lay, perhaps she had been upwind of the carcass.

There was a woodland in the distance, perhaps only a few hundred meters away, that she didn't realise had been there. Suddenly thoughts of the werewolves and other creatures came to mind, even though she surely had at least a couple more hours left to sundown. It's proximity to the house made her wonder how dangerous it was to live in the house. She was grateful Gorin shared that place with her now.

Backing away slowly, she turned and began to jog towards the looming silhouette of the mountain, where lights had already appeared in some of the buildings.

The jog back had become more of a run, and she had lost her way slightly, so she had finally found her way back onto the road, and then back to the house.

As she returned she saw a large black SUV parked in the driveway and groaned. She had no particular desire to see Thorin or anyone at this point. Careful to be quiet, she slipped her running shoes off and let herself in. There was chatter coming from their shared kitchen, and so believing herself to be safe, she quietly opened the door to her own rooms.

"Ya ignored all our messages." Dwalin spoke quietly from behind. He sounded hurt.

"I was asleep – strong booze remember?" She remained at the door, as though she had been caught.

"He was here twice, then Fili and Kili, and even Dis. Ye know she can't drive, and today is Dario's day off – but he agreed to drive her out to see ya. Apparently ye have another fan! And Lisella and Gorin have been making tea for everyone all day – so much for sleeping off the party." Dwalin's descriptions only made her feel worse. And 'he'? Did Dwalin mean Thorin? "Now I've been here for over two hours, and I'd wait longer if I had ta. We figured ya eventually had to come out fer something ta eat… so what's going on lass?"

She slowly turned to face him. She'd been out and running for almost three and a half hours on and off, she was sweating, and she could only imagine her hair looked a mess.

"I've needed some time to think about stuff."

"Ye mean think about us?" Dwalin reiterated, getting irate. "Why can't ya just come out and say it – yer being as tight lipped and moody as he is! So where have ya been now?"

"For goodness sake Dwalin –"

"No! I think I have a right ta know. We don't take ta people lightly. Look at me? Do I look soft? I'm not! And when I had ter bring him over here that Monday… well, there was something different about ya – about the way we all changed because of ya. And try as we might to keep ye out, ye wormed yer way into our hearts and souls. And now yer pushing us away?! That's not how this works. Our clan; we stick together. And when we see someone is hurtin' we can't just stand there." He walked over to her, as Lisella and Gorin appeared in the doorway of the kitchen behind. She was wearing a pair of his old sweats and a t-shirt! So even Gorin had scored! "Now I'm going ter ask ye again: what did Thorin say to ya last night?"

"Why would you think he even said anything. He's not exactly a chatty Kathy is he?" She snapped at Dwalin.

"He doesn't visit people's houses. But I know he came here twice! So somethin' is going on between the two of ya, or somethin' happened."

"I'm not part of your clan Dwalin: if I were, you all wouldn't hide things from me. And as far as Thorin is concerned – I have nothing to say. But I will tell you this: I went for a run out there. And I know there are things out there – I found the carcass of one of the dead calves. I presume it was stolen from Dale, because that weekend I drove there, Sigrid told me about it. But whoever stole that poor creature, kept it alive for sometime… because it didn't look as decomposed as I would expect if it had been killed on the same night. So this was no wild animal. Wild animals don't behave like that. This was some sort of vile creature."

"Ya ran out in the wild?!" Dwalin sounded frankly angry, his face slowly reddening. "Do ye know how dangerous that can be?"

"Well you all told me there are no wolves, the scrub land is wide open with no where to lurk, hardly ambush ground… I can't be held prisoner in this house forever. Because frankly I am starting to think twice about this whole arrangement…"

"What?!" This time Lisella spoke up. "But we are doing the children's health checks and vaccinations together over the next few weeks, no one has ever backed me up like that the way you have? And now you're thinking of leaving?! Does Oin know?"

"I haven't decided anything yet. And I promise I will help you complete that. Even do the audits. Ok?" Shobha leant against the wall. Helping her would mean committing to another two weeks here! She could manage that, so long as she stayed out of his way – she could manage that too. "Jeez… What is this 'gang up on me' weekend?"

"I've heard enough. Where did ya see the carcass Lass?" Dwalin looked disappointed and hurt, as if she had betrayed him.

"I ran across the road and straight out until I got to very open land… maybe an hour's slow run. It's hard, there really are no landmarks out there: Oh! Wait, it was maybe two or three hundred metres from the border of the woods that faces the mountain."

"It's not just animals lass, it's the fact that you could get lost out there fer days that makes it dangerous as well. Don't go there again. If ye want to run, run along the road." He walked to the front door, his thoughts now clearly elsewhere. "Och! Are ye joining us for supper tonight? Dis, the lads, even Balin, we all thought it would be nice ya have ye over. If ye like bring Gorin and Lis…"

"Thank you for thinking of me but I think I need an early night tonight." She would need time to draft a letter or resignation, preferably that didn't hurt Oin's feelings, or implicate Thorin. "Maybe some other time..?"

"Yea right…" he replied sarcastically as he let himself out and shut the door behind him.

She turned towards the kitchen expecting to face the wrath of Lisella and Gorin, but they had also disappeared. And so she was left alone in the hallway outside her door.

…..

As Monday morning arrived, she had already been awake since half past four in the morning. She had drafted her letter of resignation several times before settling for the final version. Then she had made herself an early breakfast and pulled out her new dress, pairing it with a smart but comfortable pair of heels. If she was going to do this, it would be in style and on her own terms!

Hopefully Dwalin would be waiting as usual. Of course after yesterday, there was every chance he would not be there. She felt a pang of guilt at the thought.

As she opened the front door her heart sank as she spotted Thorin's large black SUV. Pausing for a moment to find her keys and lock up, she took enough time to psych herself up for another confrontation with him. Presumably Dwalin had told him about her wonder out yesterday.

She made her way to the passenger side of the car, when the window lowered revealing Dwalin! He sat there in the front passenger seat reading some paperwork in a file.

"Oh! Morning…"

"Morning? Ya sound disappointed to see me lass… were ya expecting Thorin…?"

"No… I just didn't expect you…"

"Aye?" Dwalin grinned, raising an eyebrow at her, mischievously.

"No! I mean… I was expecting another scolding…"

"Now yer diggin yerself deeper lass." He grinned wider still, watching her slowly turn red.

"Ok! Ok! Come on then; take me to work."

"Nah! Ye'll be takin yerself now lass…" he signalled for her to get into the drivers seat.

So she walked around and climbed in.

"Thorin felt ye needed a car while ye stayed here, so he would rather ye use his. Don't worry, yer precious, swanky German car is being repaired, and will be kept ready in his Lordship's garages." Dwalin explained, gesturing for her to get herself adjusted and start the SUV up. "So I will accompany ye in this morning… and then yer on yer own…"

"Ok…" she couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"If yer disappointed that he couldn't come; well, he's busy –"

"Nope. Not disappointed." She added quickly, as she adjusted the mirrors, aiming to look clearly disinterested.

"He has left ye a note in the glove compartment, as has Lady Dis." Dwalin explained as she pulled out.

After a short while she interrupted the silence.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Dwalin…" she began, glancing briefly at him in her periphery.

"Don't worry lass. Sometimes we all have days like that." He replied softly. "Anyway – I know something happened between the two of yer, even if yer both stubborn about it…"

They remained silent for a bit longer. Dwalin's last words swirling around in her mind as she carried on. His car was much more firm in its handling than hers. It was probably too big for her too, but she wouldn't turn down the chance of some wheels for a bit. Especially not if she had to work on for a bit until she could leave.

"Did you tell him about the dead calf…?" She asked tentatively, as though opening up a taboo subject. She had fully expected him to turn up to her house angry at her, so it had been a surprise to see that he hadn't. And yet, part of her realised he had no reason to, after all he had made it abundantly clear that she was nothing more than another face in the crowd to him.

"Aye lass, and we are looking into it. But I didn't tell him it was ye that found it. I said I went fer a walk while waiting for ya! And let's keep it at that shall we…?" He added. "But it goes without saying that ye don't go anywhere near that place again now? Is that clear lass?"

"Yes of course." She smiled as she stopped at a junction. "Where do I drop you off Dwalin?"

"I'll walk from the hospital." He replied. "Are ye sure yer happy ye know where everything is in here?"

"Yup. I'm good… so you're off the hook from driving me around now."

"Very well lass. Not that I didn't like having pleasant company in the mornings." He winked at her just as she parked up. "Well lass… I'll head out on my way."

He gathered his files and stepped out. So before he could walk very far, she too had jumped out and ran around to him, throwing her arms around him in a big hug.

"Thank you Dwalin." She spoke into his chest.

"Och lass, yer going soft on me!" He muttered wrapping his arms around her. "Now yer not planning on leaving us are ya…?"

"No…" she lied. Her letter was still in her bag.

"Alright… better get yerself ta work then. Remember no staying too late! If yer worried about driving home, ye have one of us accompany ye."

"Ok." She pulled away rolling her eyes, with a smile.

"Aye… any more of that cheek and I'll tell him ye missed him this morning!" He winked before walking away, leaving her with her mouth agape. He muttered on. "Although I think there may be more truth to it than ye both fancy admitting to..."

Suddenly remembering the letters in her glovebox, she hurried back to the car. It was silly really, Dis would only be writing to say something nice, and Thorin to criticise her. Looking at the heavy enveloped both watermarked with their Durin crest, which they seemed to love around there, she picked up the first letter and opened it, breaking the wax seal. That was another oddity about Erebor, they seemed to prefer notes. Apparently no one called or texted around here! But then again, the mobile reception was truly terrible.

The first letter was from Dis:

My Dear Shobha,

I'm sorry we couldn't spend as much time together that day at the ball.

I hope you enjoyed your evening nonetheless, and ignored my brother

and our cousin for any rude comments they might have made.

We will have a visitor from down south, visiting soon, he is

a dear friend and a most trusted one.

It would be wonderful if you could join us for supper at the

Manor, when he comes to stay.

And perhaps join us for a picnic one weekend too!

Perhaps we can meet for lunch as usual this week?

Much love,

Dis

Shobha groaned at the thought of enduring dinner with Thorin, and tucked the letter back in its envelope. Apparently Dis was relentless in her attempts to involve her! But the blunder with her dress, was without doubt a purposeful one last weekend. And one that Thorin would not let his sister forget anytime soon, she imagined.

She then looked at the remaining envelope, her heartbeat quickening as she turned it over. His seal was much heavier, with ornate designs to it. Even the amount of wax he used was much more. Cursing herself mentally for noticing, she opened his letter:

Dear Miss Seth,

I understand you would not wish to hear from me at all, but please

accept my sincere apologies, if I insulted you in any way on Saturday.

Your tireless work in the infirmary so far, is greatly valued by all those you

have treated in Erebor already, as well as your colleagues and even Oin,

who does not readily take to many.

Therefore, I would hate for my careless choice of words to be reason for

your departure from our community.

While I still believe firmly, for reasons I cannot share currently, that it

remains unsafe for you to travel on your own, late at night, or even to

and from Dale. I do not wish for you to feel 'imprisoned', and so I would

like it if you would use my own personal vehicle, during your stay here.

Your own car will be shortly repaired and kept well looked after in our

garages and you would be welcome to it whenever you wish.

I have moved the small items you had kept stored in the boot for your

convenience.

I hope you will therefore reconsider any intention of leaving.

Yours,

T.O.

She reread his letter, frowning. It was not an unreserved apology, but probably as much as he would ever give her. And his car, like everything to do with him, was cumbersome, and frankly excessive. But it was still freedom for her, and a gift-horse she wouldn't look in the mouth. Nonetheless living there would mean tiptoeing around him. It would only be a matter of time before she rubbed him the wrong way again. She walked through the door to their office and popped her bag on the desk, the letters still in hand.

"Morning lass!" Aileen walked through the door with another pile of letters and a set of patient notes.

"Good morning Aileen!"

"That must have been the best ball we've had in years!" She beamed, popping the pile of letters in her intray and the set of notes on her desk. "And my word lass, that dress ye wore – I even saw Lord Thorin watch ya when ye danced with Fili! Now he's a handsome young man isn't he?! And I'm willing to bet he might have his heart set on ya…"

"Oh gosh! I think we are both fine as things are." She took her mac off and flung it on her chair.

"Oh those are the notes you asked for; you said there was something you wanted to check…" she patted them. "You should really think about it seriously. Lady Dis seems to love you, young Fili will be next to inherit the title and the estate – there's no doubt he's taken a liking to ya. And ye both make such a handsome couple… and we could keep ya here…"

"Lass, ye never spared a dance with me on saturday!" Oin popped his head through the door.

"Sorry Oin, it was non stop until I escaped…" Shobha smiled.

"Aye lass, I don't blame ya. That Lord Dain was looking for ya. He claimed he wanted a dance with ya." Oin looked almost questioningly at her.

"Oh no. I never promised that. In fact I barely had time to speak with him, apart from receiving a semi-insult. I would even be surprised he wanted to dance with me!" She explained surprised at that comment. There was clearly something going on, and Dain wasn't wholly honest about his reasons for wanting to find her.

"Aye, well… It's no surprise we don't see eye to eye, Lord Dain and myself. He's a businessman lass." He warned looking at her desk. "Ye've got letters already?"

"Oh no, those are for me." Shobha quickly reached out and picked up the three envelopes, pushing them interrupted her drawer and locking it.

"Did Thorin drop ya this morning?" Oin startled her with the question.

"No… why?"

"His car is parked out there." He suddenly looked at her suspiciously. "In fact didn't he chase after ye with yer shoes on Saturday?"

"Ugh God!" She could feel her face flushing at the loaded nature of his question. "I had left them when I took a rest."

"Oh, I see. Although I don't ever recall him chasing after anyone for anything…" the old doctor raised a bushy greying eyebrow at her. "Are ye sure, Thorin isn't here today?"

"I have no idea. Dwalin dropped his car off for me while mine is being repaired." She lied to take the heat off any further questioning. Aileen and Oin were both nosier than her own mother and all her gossipy friends put together!

"Well… yer dressed extra nice today…" he continued to look at her suspiciously.

"Oh – do you think so? Thank you; it's the new dress Mel made for me. I have a whole day of clinic, plus we have out morning ward round, so I thought it would be a good day to break it in. It cheers up the patients." She tried to sound nonchalant.

"Hmmm… come on then."

…..

The week had gone rather quietly. She had been too busy helping Lisella prepare for the health check visits she was carrying out at the school.

They had arrived at the school, and as per their instructions the parents had attended to be present for their children. But they had also put together a big lunch to say thank you. The morning had been completely busy with all the checks carried out on each child.

"That's the last of the boxes." Lisella passed Shobha a box, which she loaded into the large boot of Thorin's SUV. "So why are you not staying for lunch again?"

"I have clinic this afternoon, and lots of things to follow up, a couple of ward patients to review… and I plan on finishing on time this Friday…" she lied. The school were expecting Thorin to visit, and she had caught wind of it as they Morning went on, and had been cooking up excuses to disappear as soon as possible. As the week had gone on, everyone had made small comments about her being loaned Thorin's vehicle. If he felt strongly towards her, he certainly had a strange way of showing it! A thought that made her bile rise. "In any case this is all for you. It's your idea, your planning, all I did was to help on the day."

"But I have been wanting to do this for years, and if you hadn't supported me, none of this would be possible."

"Don't be silly. Please, Lis, enjoy your moment of glory. I promise as doctors we get very few of those." She smiled, shutting the boot.

"You know, he'll want to know why you didn't stay." Lis twirled a blonde braid in her hands, observing Shobha with her hazel eyes. "I mean he turned up twice at the house on Sunday demanding to talk to you. Gorin, joked about it, but he looked like he was going to break in your door! And lending you his own vehicle…"

"Really it can't be such a big deal, he must have more." Shohba rolled her eyes, she would have loved to have divulged her encounter with Thorin that night to Lis, but he had been brazen enough to hold her, and even dance a little. If he truly wanted her, there was nothing to stop him. And so she felt even stupid at having thought anything more of their encounter. She was also a little tipsy, and perhaps more flirtatious than she should have been and he was most likely accustomed to women throwing themselves at him, finding it amusing!

"No, we are not permitted to have more than one, it's an environmental law, to protect where we live. Even your car would have been the only non hybrid or electric car in town!" She raised her brows explaining rather seriously. "We are fortunate in Erebor that we have the river. Almost all our energy is hydroelectric, and everyone's houses built on the south side have solar roofs! We're really careful that way. Even though we mine a fair bit. Thorin ruled out coal before we left Erebor over twenty years ago. In fact I think one of the other council members will bring him over for that reason. He certainly hasn't done any of these things for anyone else…"

"Well it's probably only because if I met with some horrid accident out here. It would bring the media and police here. It wouldn't look good," Shobha stopped at that. She was pretty sure Thorin knew all about their werewolf problem. If the media turned up and started poking around it would all come out. It made her think of the black werewolf that had spoken to her that night. She had come to conclude it was the same one she had seen in some recurrent dreams, where it was going to have sex with her! The thought made her cringe – was that some weird fetish she had been harbouring deep down inside?!

She fiddled with his car keys. Even the key tag on there was a chunky leather one, and suited his large, rough hands. She could still recall his touch on the bare skin of her back.

"You should have seen him that day… um…" Lis suddenly looked at her concerned, her warm eyes wide.

"Please, I hardly doubt that. He was probably there to tell me off for breaking some rule or other. Perhaps instead of trying to break my door down, leaving some flowers and a note might be easier for a girl to understand, instead of the dark brooding thing going on…" she backed away from Lis, aiming to walk around and get in the car, when she backed straight in to a large steely frame of a body. Immediately a firm hand came to grip her waist on one side, with a grunt.

"My Lord… er - we were just packing up!" Lis squeaked, her wide eyes now revealing utter shock and embarrassment.

Shobha flashed a look of annoyance at her poor colleague. Lis could have given her more of a warning. Turning slowly, to meet his gaze, she wondered how long he had been standing there.

"Lord Oakenshield," she found his cold blue eyes staring at her and he was holding her bag! "I'm sorry… I didn't realise you were standing there."

It was rather close in truth. It made her feel quite uncomfortable.

"Well… I'll see you back at hospital Shobha. My Lord, we look forward to seeing you inside." And with that before Shobha could protest Lisella had left them alone.

"Miss Seth, I was returning your bag." He continued to observe her with his intense gaze for a moment, completely ignoring Lis. She could feel the heat emanating from his body. Then he suddenly took a step to move away from her still holding her bag out. "The teachers mentioned you would not be staying?"

"Thank you." She slowly took her bag, before inching towards the drivers seat. "Yes… I have clinic in the afternoon, and some patients to see before then…"

"There is no harm in keeping you protected. Our clan has existed here for centuries. Our way of life, our rules; we have reasons for them." He then moved closer to her, towering over her, coldly observing. "Your careless actions could lead to the undoing of all that. And I will not have it."

"Perhaps if you were honest about what's going on–" She frowned, only to be cut off.

"Honest? Honest?!" He growled angrily stepping closer again, but all the same pleased to see she didn't flinch or draw away from him this time. "You should know, those military men you visited in Dale. They are only helping you for their own reasons! For decades they have been carrying out their so called exercises on the borders of our lands, because they are after certain resources we posses."

"You mean the wolves?" She searched his face, watching for any reactions. But his icy stare was all she received. There was something terrifyingly familiar about it, and yet she couldn't put her finger on it. It made her heart race, and her breath quicken.

Staring down at her for a moment longer, with his sapphire gaze that felt as though it tore its way straight into her soul, he remained there for what felt like an eternity, then he suddenly stepped away.

"Perhaps, it is you that should be giving me flowers, for the loan of my vehicle…" and with that he turned, and began strolling away.

She was certain he knew about the werewolves, but it was clear he would give away nothing for now. What was he hiding?

…

Dear All,

Thank you for reading on so far… your reviews are greatly appreciated xx

Ducky-Rawr-Foxears – thank you so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter too ❤️

UnaLouise – thank you so much! A werewolf with red fur is hard to imagine… but there is a method to my madness (all revealed later on…) cue mysterious music 😉