Deadlier Than The Male - Exclusive to Steemit - Continuing the tale of a brand new Werewolf

Hazel and Nichasin prowled once again on the outskirts of town. They sank so deep into their Wolf psyche that they had taken flight when they heard Anton approaching, just as wild animals would have.

The pair fled to the countryside and instinct took them back to where they made their kill on the previous night; at the gypsy camp. In the bushes where she lured the gypsy to his death, they found nothing, he had been claimed; either by his people or by animals from the forest.

The gypsies remained encamped at the bottom of the slope so it was probable that they had not yet missed the victim. The two Wolves watched the campfires for a little while and turned to set off once more, when they heard voices of Humes approaching from behind. Startled, the Wolves froze as one. Crouching, their fur camouflaging them in the shadows, they saw the owners of the voices. Two teens walked towards the camp; a girl and a boy. She gazed up at him in obvious infatuation but he was under no such spell. He held her arm. Not in the manner that a courting lad would hold his lass’s arm, however. He controlled her direction with a firm, perhaps rough grip.

When she saw the gypsy camp below them, she seemed to come out of the trance she was in and looked from the camp to her lover and back again.

“Why have we come here?” She asked in a whining voice.

“I have brought you to meet my family, if we are to be married, you must meet their approval. You do want to be married don’t you?” He said in a gentle manner, but with a barely veiled sarcasm to his tone.

“Well, yes, but I thought for you to ask my father first. We need his permission.” She said, still puzzled.

“No, my love, we do not. In my customs, we need to be betrothed for two years. We are going to ask permission for you - one of the ‘White Blood’ - to be accepted by my uncle’s family so that we can be betrothed.” He gripped her arm tighter, holding it upward so that she was being pushed along.

“Two years? But I thought we were going away tonight, to elope? I don’t want to wait two years for you Gustav. I want to marry you now!” The whining in her voice was becoming more pronounced.

Gustav stopped and pulled on her arm hard so that she spun around in front of him, facing him. “Stop whining! You wanted this, you wanted me tonight, and you said so. You were willing to put your reputation in my hands and I am preserving your honour by marrying you. But as you have abandoned your own traditions, you will embrace mine. We are going to ask that you are adopted by my uncle and that he allows you to reside with him and his family, taking on our traditions and ways and being betrothed to me for two years. After that time, I will marry you and be your protector. You have turned your back on your family and it will ever be so. You will not see this town again for many years if ever, we leave in the morning.” He continued to push her forward towards the camp.

The girl was crying and struggling to get away and Nichasin and Hazel were fascinated. They remained hidden and watched. They could hear the voices in the camp below, mostly because they had begun shouting as Gustav brought the girl into their midst. As he explained and asked for his uncle to adopt the girl, she began crying again. Gustav slapped her and she shut up crying and took on a snivelling that was audible to the watching Wolves.

The shouting and conversation went on for a few minutes more and Hazel got up and turned to leave, Nichasin followed. They trotted off without aim but heard more shouting. Then there was someone running, the girl had got free of the encampment and ran towards them. Seizing the opportunity, Nichasin leaped at her as she got closer and took her down, his jaws clamped on her face, preventing the screams escaping. Hazel stood watching the girl’s panicked attempts at escape; then Hazel heard someone else running towards them. Gustav was come to find her. He was alone though, his family expected him to keep his betrothed in line.

Hazel allowed him to see the scene, before she leaped on him from behind. Hazel toyed with him, knowing that any help would have been here by now; the couple were alone. She snapped at his head then at his hands as they tried to stop her biting. She bit into his shoulders and the sides of his neck, ignoring his shouts and screams, tearing his jacket. She tore his jacket right down his back and he almost threw her off his back. She soon tired of her game and jumped off him, waiting for him to turn over and try to get up. Then she pounced on him – almost playfully – she knocked him to the ground once more and tore out his throat. He continued struggling for a short time, until the loss of blood weakened him too much and he died, drowned in his own blood.

When they had eaten what they wanted, Hazel and Nichasin didn’t bother to hide the bodies, there was too much blood anyway, and they would soon be found wherever they were hidden. Nichasin led the way back to town, around the outside wall, well away from populated areas, and down to the harbour at the far end, to where Anton had told them.

Daybreak was not far away but still they stayed as Wolf because they had no clothes yet. As soon as Anton came into view, however, they both changed to human form. A residual awareness of their Wolf being was that they were very insentient of their nakedness, both their own and each other’s. Anton was not so and he turned his eyes from Hazel gallantly as she took her clothes. Nichasin just gazed at her as she dressed; she was in her own distracted state.

“Hurry please. The ship must sail on the tide.” Anton said, as they were dressed.

The three of them arrived at the dock that they would depart from amidst catcalls and whistles. The crewmembers were all but ready to sail and assumed that Anton had gone to fetch two lovers who had been too caught up in each other to realise the time was drawing on. Nichasin and Hazel took the bantering and joking in the good humour in which it was meant. They were shown to their cramped quarters by the cabin boy. He took Hazel’s hand and led them, smiling up at her. Their journey would last four days, or if they were lucky, three. Hazel had an odd feeling as she followed the cabin boy; she felt that someone was watching her.

The same feeling pervaded her thoughts whenever she was on deck. Hazel took to staying below in the dank, gloomy underbelly of the ship. On the second day of her self-imposed banishment below deck, Nichasin came to find her. “Why do you stay down here Hazel? We are watching fish flying above the water and dolphin playing in our wake at the bow. Come up and see.” He took her hand but she pulled it away, out of his grasp.

“I don’t like to. I have a horrible feeling on board deck; someone is keeping watch on me. It makes me uncomfortable.” She explained.

“That’s not like you. You don’t usually turn into yourself if you’re not happy.” Nichasin said, frowning.

“Yes I do. I avoid things that make me unhappy or uneasy, well I did before…” Hazel’s eyes filled with tears, she couldn’t stop them spilling over her lashes.

Nichasin knelt in front of her and took a hand in his. “Please don’t.” He said.

“Don’t worry Nichasin; I seem to always feel like this right after a Wolfing, especially if it was as intense as last night. I don’t get so deep into my Wolf being usually and it has come as a bit of a shock to come back out I think.”

“I think that is perhaps more insightful than you realise Hazel.” Anton said, making them both jump a little. “You were human less than a year ago and to take in all of these changes is a massive shock to your body and mind. There is no wonder that sometimes you feel tearful. But we are at fault, for it is us that should make sure that you are not alone when you are feeling lost and lonely like this. Come, up on deck, watch the flying fish and try to ignore the man that is constantly staring at you. Yes, I have seen him, you are quite right.” Anton answered her unasked question.

During her time on deck, she watched the graceful dolphins, which played in the bow waves and swam alongside the ship for a while before diving and disappearing. She ignored the feeling that someone was watching her and forgot about it for most of the time. Anton and Nichasin were both more attentive than they had been and played their parts in keeping her mind occupied also.

On the morning of what would prove to be the last day of their voyage, Hazel awoke very early, she had not slept well the past few nights because the bed was cramped and the bedding was damp. She awoke to find a man looking at her as she slept. Hazel was angry but could not react with such violence as she had the instinct to do because in the close confines of the ship even one man of the crew would be noticed if he were missing. His manner seemed to be arrogant and self-assured but there was some underlying unease, which was almost unnoticeable, but present nonetheless.

“What in hell are you doing in my room? I’ll have you flogged for this! ANTON! NICHASIN!” Hazel yelled.

“It is odd how you call your father by his first name and that you do not sleep with your husband.” He said then turned and fled.

Nichasin arrived first, bare-chested with just his breeches on, just as Hazel had got out of bed and was getting dressed in a fury.

“What is it Hazel?” He said still quite sleepy.

“That man, the one who has been studying me, he was here! Standing and watching me sleep. Oh I feel so violated. I couldn’t do anything to him could I? That would be idiotic, he would be missed almost as soon as I killed him.” She threw the bedding across the tiny cabin just as Anton arrived.

“Be calm dear lady. I saw him running away, he made his escape up the ladder onto the deck, and he probably thinks no one saw him. What happened?”

“He was standing there.” She pointed to where Nichasin was. “I awoke to find him watching me sleeping.” She gave a shudder as the thought made her flesh crawl. “My instinct was to turn Wolf and have him. But I can’t do that; there would be no explaining his death.” Hazel rubbed her arms and shoulders, she was hunched up and looking wretched.

“You are right of course; if you had killed the Hume, we would have had difficulty in the justification of his death. Anton said, putting a comforting arm around her. “But there are more ways to deal with blackguards such as him my dear.”

Hazel spent an hour or more in her cabin; packing the few possessions she had with her. She insisted on Anton or Nichasin posing as guard whilst she was in her cabin and refused offers to escort her on deck. She heard voices outside her cabin and she opened the little door to find the captain and Anton, talking to Nichasin.

Hazel opened the door just as the captain was saying: “Yes I understand sir, but the man is working his passage to Lido di Ostia, there is not much I can do, especially as we will be making landfall tonight. He will not get employment on board this ship again, but does he wish to return to Marseilles? If he does not, then that fact will not inconvenience him at all.” The captain shrugged his apology towards Hazel and then went back up on deck.

Hazel was angry that nothing could be done, but Nichasin and Anton talked together and she went back inside her cabin. It was late afternoon when she was persuaded to go up on deck again. As Hazel and Nichasin arrived at the top of the ladder, Hazel noticed Anton talking to the man who had been watching her sleep. Nichasin guided her away from them and over to the forward rail in order to watch the sea and try to calm her down.

“You must trust Anton. He has other business to take care of; he has more than just you to worry about.”

“Am I considered business?” Hazel spat.

“That is not what I said Hazel. I know you are angry but unfortunately there are other considerations before you can kill this one.”

“Explain then.” She said, turning towards the sea and folding her arms.

“Anton makes studies on throwbacks. This particular throwback does not know he is one. Remember Sebastian had a very rare reaction?” He waited for Hazel to nod before he continued. “The reaction that this one has is not rare, but it is also not documented by Anton because the throwbacks that suffer from this are more Hume than any other. They can pass as Hume for all of their lives and no one would ever know – not even them. Remember the hunter Anton mentioned from Marseilles?”

Again Hazel nodded but didn’t speak.

Nichasin continued: “Well he is a throwback which is why he could sense Wolves. I doubt that he knows it though. According to Anton, this kind has been bred with Humes for generations, breeding out the Wolf, diminishing it with each generation. Anton thinks the throwback is following you.”

Hazel looked at Nichasin. “Why, what for?”

“He doesn’t know. That is why he is talking to him now. You must be patient; you know Anton only has your best interests at heart.”

“No Nichasin. Anton only ever has the best interests of Wolf kind at heart. You know it and I know it. I am only lucky in the fact that I am the foretold one, the golden princess at the moment. If such a time comes that I am no longer so highly thought of or needed - then you can rest assured, Anton’s thoughts of best interests will no longer include me. I am under no such illusion.”

Nichasin dropped his gaze to the deck and then out to sea. “I suppose you are right Hazel.” He said.

“I know. But for the moment, I am the golden princess, so please continue with what you know about that throwback and why I can’t kill him right now.” There was a hint of venom in her voice at the last word.

“All right then. Anton thinks the throwback has sensed you – us – but doesn’t realise, and because he has noticed you, he probably thinks he is in love, which is the reason for him following us here. I don’t know what Anton’s thoughts are on the scientific aspects of this throwback, but I am to escort you wherever you go because of the danger of him catching you alone.”

“There would only be danger for him.”

“Yes, that is exactly Anton’s concern. If you kill him Anton would not be able to study him.”

“You are not seriously expecting to bring him along with us are you?” Hazel again turned her glare on Nichasin and the malice of the glare made him take an involuntary half step backwards.

“Yes Hazel he is. But he has his reasons.”

“I am sure he does. I also have my reasons for wanting to kill the Hume right now, in front of the whole crew. But I have to restrain myself. I feel as though I have been violated – again – and I still cannot do anything about it. The man always wins!” Hazel was so irate that the rail beneath her hands was starting to splinter as she gripped the top hard.

“What does that mean Hazel?” Nichasin began.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s of no significance.” She said.

She turned and went back towards the ladder that led below deck. Anton was walking away from the throwback but Hazel blanked him and went to her cabin.

“You told her then?” Anton said as he got to Nichasin.

“No, I did not tell her all of it. She has a temper on her. And the look that she gave me, I thought she would take out my throat in place of his.”

Anton smiled. “She will make a great Sentinel.”

“A what?”

“Ah there are few hunters of throwbacks. You may never meet another; I have met two, then Hazel. They take the name Sentinel because they know that they are destined for a lonely existence thereafter. Hazel is being trained to eradicate throwbacks; they are a threat to our society, our secrecy and our very existence. Did you tell her of my theory?”

“No, I did not get as far as that; she would not allow me to. As I said, she has a temper, look.” Nichasin pointed to the top of the rail where Hazel had gripped.

“She must learn to control and focus that energy.”

“Yes, well next time, you can tell her, I value my throat too much for another attempt.” Nichasin said.

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