Deadlier than the Male - continued - exclusive excerpt for STEEMIT

Luke’s return brought him to the dungeons in time to watch Hazel as she tried to make the hapless servant leave her side. Luke saw some changes in Hazel, but the servant could not see, or did not understand them.

“Leave me. Go away. You don’t understand. Please, GO AWAY!” Hazel’s entreaty ended as a command.

“But I have not done anything wrong!” The servant tried to calm Hazel.

Then she erupted in a tantrum. “I am trying to help you. Can you just understand that? I don’t want to be here, nursing some mad woman. Why have they locked you down here? You are obviously insane. I should not have to take care of you. I am Lady Lucinda’s personal maid. I was brought here to be Lady Hazel’s maid and I find myself in a dungeon nursing you! It is not good enough. You have surely done something bad to warrant your imprisonment down here with the rats. It is clear to me that they have left you down here whilst you die. So make haste about it will you!”

Hazel, was for the moment still weak. The girl stood menacingly over Hazel, hand raised with a cup in it, ready to throw. Whether she would have thrown it at Hazel or not will never be known because at that moment, Hazel’s instincts took over. She had been battling against the changes her body wanted to go through and it was a battle that she could not win in the short-term. The wolf inside her exploded with fury and anger. Anger directed entirely at the servant girl. Anger at her every loss – friends, family and even her beloved dog. Anger at being left alone in a dungeon with a maid too arrogant to be anyone’s nurse turned to fury that she no longer had any control over.

She felt that she had been violated, battered, torn and almost crippled for a cause she had no inkling of three months before and now she was being berated for no reason other than impatience. Hazel launched herself from her sickbed; Wolf blood coursing through her veins, catching the girl by surprise.

The girl thought her patient was an invalid and her brain could not comprehend the beginning of the change into Wolf. The girl’s mouth was open in surprise as her jugular was rent from her neck. As her life-blood erupted from between her lips in a violent gush, a bright red geyser, it seemed to surprise her all the more.

Her eyes opened wider yet as she slammed into the cell wall, her hands were flapping at her sides and her feet drummed with diminishing strength, ever more feeble as Hazel held her throat. The gush slowed and the blood tumbled over Hazel’s head and bare back. She lowered her victim as she completed the change to Wolf. As she changed and as the fresh blood ran over her wounds, they healed almost completely as Hazel’s fur grew over the scars.

She finished ripping out the girl’s throat and the prized glands. As she was searching for the other glands, Luke drew near. Though he was excited by the fresh kill and blood, he was refraining from turning Wolf just yet. Hazel noticed him and stopped ravaging the body. She froze as she looked at Luke and with a vicious, guttural snarl, she growled: “Get away from me. Stay away or I swear you will have to kill me or die yourself!”

When Hazel had finished plundering the girl’s body and torn from it what tender flesh she wanted to devour, she stretched just as a dog would. Her front paws extended in front of her, her head and upper body dropped down to the floor almost and her tail stretched upwards. As she lifted her head and torso back up, her front feet came back to normal position, her spine arched downwards then upwards. Then she dropped to the floor, full-length. She laid her head on her paws and the most pitiful whimper emanated from her. She was weeping.

“Hazel.” Luke whispered. “Hazel, please don’t!” He unlocked the cell door.

“I hate this Luke.” She lifted her head and looked at him. As she did, she saw a strange look pass over his face. “What is it?” She asked.

“You are talking. I can understand you!” He said, standing up and turning for the door.

“VICTORIA!” He yelled towards the door, then turned back to the wolf in the cell and said: “You are talking, Hazel!”

He ran to the steps leading to the house. Hazel’s curiosity got the better of her and she padded after him. She caught Luke up as he got to the dining room, but then he turned to the study because he heard murmuring coming from there. Both went into the study expecting to find Victoria and Emilio. They found them, but they came upon Victoria and Emilio oblivious to their presence. Luke retreated from the room; Hazel stayed watching the scene. Luke grabbed Hazel by the scruff of her neck but in an instant let go as she yelped in pain and snapped at his hand.

It was Hazel’s yelp that made Victoria and Emilio’s attention divert from what they were doing to each other and onto Luke who was apologising to Hazel at the same time as trying to staunch the blood from his hand.

Emilio looked as close to ashamed as he was capable of. Victoria didn’t even try to cover herself.

“What do you want? She said, then: “Oh look, Luke, you’ve opened Hazel’s wounds again, she is bleeding.” Victoria did not sound concerned at this.

Luke looked down to see Hazel was indeed bleeding, but the wound was already beginning to close.

“Victoria, the girl Emilio brought for Hazel is dead. She will need disposing of. Hazel’s back was almost healed until I re-opened the wounds, but they are closing again already. There, across her shoulders looks to be fine now. Transformation to Wolf is swifter than any whelp I have encountered. And…” He paused. “Hazel is talking.”

Victoria and Emilio looked at each other, then at Hazel.

“Already?” Emilio asked, incredulous.

Luke nodded.

“I take it that my capability of speech has some significance?” Hazel growled. “Will someone please explain this to me? I am heartily SICK of being a mystery to myself!”

Luke shrugged. Emilio stared at her to the extent that he started making her feel uneasy.

“I did not realise that you could progress so quickly.” Victoria said. “I have never known this before. It is usually well over a decade of Wolfing before you gain control of even the most rudimentary human traits - even longer for complex actions like speech. What else can you do?”

“She cried.” Luke said. “I recognised it as crying too. There may have been tears, but I was not close enough to see.”

“Can you change yet?” Victoria stood, oblivious to her own nakedness.

“I don’t know. I have not yet tried.” Hazel said.

She stood upright, and then her pelt melted as she discovered that she could, indeed change. Then to Luke’s complete surprise and Victoria’s delight, Hazel’s hair grew. They could see it tumbling down over her shoulders. Within seconds it was the same length as it had been before Victoria chopped it off. Hazel shook her head, making her hair ripple and shine as it caught the light.

Suddenly Luke noticed Emilio’s very visible interest in his wife. Growling, he took Hazel’s hand and all-but dragged her out of the room, slamming the door. As he tried to pull her up the stairs, she changed back to Wolf and he let go of her paw.

“Listen.” She whispered as she padded back to the door.

Victoria and Emilio had forgotten their lovemaking and were excited about a different matter.

“This has never been known before, surely?” Emilio said.

“Well I’ve certainly never come across it, but this situation is unprecedented is it not?” Victoria said. “I know this much, however, if she is fulfilling the prophecy, Oscar’s task will only be made easier. Even as we speak, we could be at war and fighting for the crown itself!”

“What does that mean?” Hazel turned to Luke and asked.

“Shh, I will explain later, listen.” He said.

“Hah! Luke noticed how attracted you are to Hazel.” Victoria said laughing, and then they heard a slap and Emilio laughed too.

“I will not deny it!” Emilio said. “Did you see the way she grew her hair? That took me years to master! And the colour, you were quite right, it is glorious!”

“Never mind that now, let’s go outside, I want to look at the moon.” Victoria said.

Hazel and Luke scrambled to get away from the door so they were not discovered eavesdropping. They had nowhere to run but up the stairs and they would be discovered if they did, so Hazel changed back and threw herself at Luke, kissing him. He took her lead and kissed her back with equal passion. When Victoria and Emilio emerged from the study, Hazel and Luke were both unaware of them. Emilio wanted to watch, but Victoria dragged him outside for her own sport. They changed as they went and continued their frolicking on the lawn just over the threshold. The sound of the door closing brought Hazel’s senses back and she pulled away from Luke’s kisses.

“Come on, let us join them.” He cajoled.

“If we do, then it will be as Wolf. I will not allow that man to leer at me naked!” She said.

Hazel waited for Luke’s reply and was pleased when he shrugged and changed to Wolf. She changed also and they followed Victoria and Emilio. Luke had to change again in order to open the door, he was suddenly in an excellent temperament when they joined the others; he wanted to show off his wife.

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