The Destruction of the Vlkolak Ch. 02

Once again, this story is a prequel to the "Wolf's Pet" series. It could stand alone, but I think it would be better to read after "Wolf's Pet."

Although the characters are not speaking English, all dialog will be translated for your reading ease, except for an occasional word or phrase.

Another a huge "thank you" to my new editor, Archangel_M. He is making the writing of this story much more enjoyable for me, and hopefully, for you.

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"Please, Guillame, we must go to meet my sister and grandmother. They are waiting for us." Orsolya pushed herself away from Guillame's tempting embrace, took his hand, and pulled him through the doorway. "There is much to teach you in a short period of time. We must go now."

Guillame noticed the males and females lining their way through the courtyard towards the biggest dwelling in the compound. He could hear muted conversations and laughter. He felt he was the butt of some joke but could not decide if he should be angered, embarrassed, or just laugh along with them.

"Do not mind them, my big brown wolf. They are just jealous. The females all wish you were their mate. And the males wish they were in your place. Now please, do not fight with me. You can walk much faster than that, I am sure." They were a sight, the petite redhead, who barely reached her male's chest, pulling him along like a cub.

She had a set look to her face that made Guillame want to stop just to see her reaction. But he decided he did not want to anger her, and they were surrounded by her pack. They might not take kindly to him making a fool of her. In that moment, he knew he would do nothing to make her look foolish, ever. From now on, she was his life. But in the back of his mind he remembered that he was here to spy on them. As soon as they mated, she would know. She would hate him. What was he to do? He didn't have time to figure it out as they reached the home of Orsolya's grandmother. They stopped at the door as he looked up at a magnificent facade with hand-carved lintels and perfectly formed stone walls. "It looks like a miniature castle."

Orsolya looked at him with a mischievous grin and giggled. "I will ask grandmother to lower the drawbridge." Just then, the door opened, although she had not yet knocked.

Guillame stared open-mouthed at his little red wolf's doppelganger, the only differences being her jet-black hair and somber expression. He remembered to close his mouth but continued to stare.

Orsolya leapt forward and wrapped her arms around her sister, squeezing her tightly. "Zsálya, this is my mate, Guillame." She pulled away, still holding her twin's hand. "Guillame, this is my dear sister, Zsálya."

Guillame did his best to smile, but there was something disconcerting about seeing a dour version of his ebullient mate. "It is a pleasure to meet you Zsálya." He gently reached for her hand and brought it up to his lips in the European fashion. He could see her slight blush and gave her a warm look. "I will be very happy to have a sister. My father sired only males." He could see a hint of a smile and decided it would be his own game to see how much he could make her relax around him.

Orsolya was thrilled to see how Guillame approached her sister. Many of the pack did all they could to avoid her. She had a feeling her big brown wolf would be a positive influence on her precious sister. Their own brothers, being much older and having their own mates and cubs, ignored her completely. Other than her twin, Zsálya spent most of her time with her father and grandmother.

Zsálya spoke so quietly that a human would never have heard her. "It is very nice to meet you Guillame. My sister has been waiting for you for two years. Where have you been?" She looked up shyly.

"Not here I'm afraid, little sister. But I promise, now that I am, I will never leave." He turned his head towards Orsolya and inhaled deeply, her scent making its way to his heart and holding it tightly. All those years alone, and now, he could not imagine a day without her. He pulled her close and bent down to kiss the top of her head. This was where he belonged. He came to a decision. He would send word to the Council that he would not be returning.

A lilting voice carried through to the doorway. "Orsolya, do bring your mate to meet me."

Orsolya clasped Guillame's hand in hers, smiled, and walked with him into the great room where her grandmother sat with a small blond-haired boy in her lap.

Guillame let out an audible gasp when he saw the female sitting in her chair. There was something about her other than her obvious beauty. The simple chair she sat in could just as easily have been a throne. There was an aura of command about her. Her raven black hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and her smile lit up her face.

She leaned down and whispered in the cub's ear. Guillame saw him look up and grin. He jumped off the elder female's lap and strode over to the tall stranger, sticking out his hand in greeting. "My name is Szebasztián. Thank you for saving me from the bear. I should never have run after the butterflies. It was wrong of me. But I learned my lesson and will never do it again, I promise." He tried to hold tight to Guillame's much larger hand.

Guillame smiled down at the brave cub. He could see the healing bite marks on the little male's neck. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Szebasztián. I am glad I could render assistance, although I think, in a few more minutes, you would have bested it."

The cub puffed up his chest. "Yes, I think I would have. Next time. In a few years." He smiled up at the tall were. "I have errands for my mother. I will see you soon?"

"I believe so, Szebasztián. I think you will be seeing much of me." He returned the smile and watched as the cub hugged each of the females before leaving the room.

The regal female arose effortlessly. "Well, I believe you have made quite a good impression on him, Guillame. I am Leona, Orsolya's grandmother." She lifted her hand and waited for Guillame to kiss it as he had Zsálya's. He smiled and grasped it lightly, bending formally at the waist, kissing the back of her hand before releasing her and standing tall.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Grandmother. Or should I call you Leona?"

"Grandmother, please. I trust Orsolya has explained everything to you?" She lifted an eyebrow when she saw Guillame's confused expression. She turned to her granddaughter. "Orsolya, you did not tell him?"

"I thought it best if you were present, Grandmother. I was not sure how to explain." Orsolya blushed as her grandmother laughed.

"It is alright, my dear. Please, Guillame, sit down, there is much to say. Before you join this pack, you should know what is in store for both of you." She sat gracefully, arranging her skirts around her. "Now, where to begin."

Guillame found a seat across the room from Leona. Zsálya sat on the floor to her grandmother's right. Orsolya looked at her normal place to the left of her grandmother but quickly felt Guillame's hand on her wrist. She turned, saw his invitation, and happily found her way into his lap. He held her tightly to his chest. This was where she belonged from now on. He liked the way she felt as she snuggled into position. His arms closed around her protectively. Nothing her grandmother could say would make him relinquish his hold on her.

"I came here eight hundred years ago from my home in Sardinia." She closed her eyes and a wistful smile crossed her beautiful face as she sighed. "Even after all these years, I miss it. The mountains overlooked the sea. It was magnificent." She stopped for a moment and looked at Guillame. "It is hard to be so far from home. You understand." She smiled in a knowing way.

Guillame tilted his head. Did she just guess about how much he had always hated to leave his home? Weres were notoriously territory-bound. Maybe it was just an assumption.

"For millennia there were no humans on the island. Game was plentiful, and the only wars were an occasional territorial dispute between packs. They were usually resolved quickly, and life went back to normal. And then the humans came, and everything changed. They hunted us for trophies and our numbers dwindled. But when they realized what we really were, that is when disaster struck." She stopped for a moment and stroked Zsálya's hair, as black as her own. The younger female clung to her grandmother's legs. She obviously had heard the story before and knew what was to come.

Orsolya held tighter to Guillame. She hated seeing her grandmother sad. She had seen so much pain and suffering in her life, and she wished her only joy for the remainder. She could feel Guillame's arms tighten protectively. Even though they had not bonded yet, he could feel her sadness. He wanted to protect her from everything bad. He would learn soon enough that was impossible.

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Rudolf smiled at the report from his omega. He turned to the other members of the Council. "Guillame has been welcomed into the pack. Now we wait to hear what he finds there." He arose with a flourish. "Our business for now is complete. I will let you know when we will meet again." He had another meeting to attend, and he could not be late.

The scent of humans assaulted his senses as he made his way through the streets of the city. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. It was bad enough when he was inside the walls of the old church and could smell what remained of the former residents. It was another to be walking among them. He made every attempt to make as little physical contact as possible, but that was difficult in this crowded alleyway. He felt something brush against his leg and recoiled in disgust.

He gazed down at the small child who looked up at him with awe. How a human could let such a little thing out alone to fend for itself was beyond him. They were true barbarians.

"I've come to take you to my Master, Sir." The quiet voice would not have been overheard by a human. He had been instructed well how to speak in a crowd.

Rudolf was motionless for a moment, but then let the boy lead him through the maze of crowded, narrow streets. They stopped in front of an abandoned building. It didn't look like anyone had been here in years. The boy expertly picked the lock and allowed the were to enter before closing the door. Now Rudolf was left alone in the darkened room. There was enough moonlight coming through the windows that Rudolf could see to make his way through the discarded tables and chairs. It looked like this had once been a brauhaus.

He could smell his associate nearby. He followed the scent up the winding stairs to a candlelit room. "All this secrecy. You were able to find your way into my rooms so easily. Why make me come here?"

"Ah, Rudolf. It is always important to keep a reluctant ally just a little off balance. Don't you agree?" He stayed in the shadows, his face just out of Rudolf's sight. "Do you have news for me?"

"My spy is in place. But if you would only tell me what specific information you need, it might make this much more expeditious." What could he possibly need to know about a werewolf pack that wasn't readily available?

The thin, pale figure watched the were closely. "All in good time, Rudolf. You will know when I tell you. Do not press me again." His voice was cold. "Is there anything else?" He despised Rudolf, but he needed facts. And Rudolf was the only way he would be able to gather them in a timely fashion.

"That is all for now. How shall I contact you when I have further?"

"Send for the boy, and he will bring you to me. Now go." The dark figure turned his back on his visitor and acted as if he was already gone.

Rudolf stood staring at the figure's back before realizing he'd been dismissed. He spun on his heel and quickly retraced his steps to the ground floor. The open door awaited him. Hadn't the door been closed when he went upstairs? He closed his cape around his body before entering the streets full of humans.

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"Grandmother, why did you have to leave Sardinia? Did your family come here with you?" Guillame was fascinated by Leona. He had never heard of a were living so long. He felt Orsolya's hand squeeze his. He softly kissed her cheek to let her know he understood her signal. He would let Grandmother continue. Again, Orsolya's scent enveloped him, and he swore to himself he would contact the Council as soon as possible to resign his position.

"My species was known for our visions of the future. It cannot be changed, but there are always unknowns that can be exploited to an advantage." She could see Guillame's confusion and smiled. "The future is never fully known. A vision can only show one part of it. It is up to those interpreting it to seize upon any possibilities. My father ordered the young to be dispersed throughout the world in the hopes that at least one would survive the massacre. I am not aware of any of my siblings or cousins that survived. But then, they may have been as well hidden as I."

"Excuse me Grandmother, but I've never heard of a werewolf with that ability." He felt Orsolya stiffen.

Leona's soft laughter filled the room. "That is true, Guillame, they do not have that ability. But I am not a werewolf." She saw his shocked expression and laughed again. "I am a werepanther."

"But, Orsolya is a wolf. How can that be?" What did this mean for them? Would they be able to have cubs? What would they be?

"A werepanther and werewolf can have cubs, Guillame. And many of my granddaughters have had the gift of seeing visions. Some more so than others." Again, she stroked Zsálya's hair and looked sadly down at her.

"I came here, and Orsolya's grandfather found me, sheltered me, and loved me." Her face softened and again, looked sad. "We had many cubs and lived a wonderful life together, but he was taken from me too soon by a hunter. My oldest daughter mated with Ártur, and they gave me many more grandchildren." She smiled softly at the two girls. "Both of my sweet girls see visions. Orsolya's are of the good things that will happen in our futures." She put a hand under Zsálya's chin and turned it to face her. "And my dear, dear Zsálya sees the horrors."

Guillame could now understand why Zsálya seemed so sad. And why she was so close to her grandmother. He could see Orsolya ready to cry and held her tenderly.

"All of my granddaughters, even those without visions, dream of things that come to pass. On their eighteenth birthday they dream of their mates if there is one to come. And that is how we knew you would be here now. Orsolya saw you and her mating under the Ice Moon, tomorrow night. And so it shall be. And you and Orsolya will save our pack."

"What? Save your pack? How would the two of us do that? And save them from what?" Guillame's confusion was back. Orsolya looked like she had heard all of this before.

"We will be attacked. And we will lose the fight. Ártur and I have discussed this and the possibilities for the future. You are that possibility. You will save our young the same way my father saved me."

"Can't we stop the attack from happening? Attack them first?" Guillame had to find a way to change this. He had just found his future, and it was being taken from him in the same day.

"If we stop it, it will just happen on a different day, in a different way. Our time will be better spent planning the future. You are a member of the Council. You will be capable of helping the cubs escape, helping Orsolya to escape. She is meant to live, Guillame. But you will have to send her away to let it come to pass. If you stay with her you will both die."

Guillame stared at his beautiful little red wolf. How could he possibly send her away? And to where? Alone? "When does this happen?"

"In two years. That is how long you will have together. I am sorry, my dears, but it will have to last you both a lifetime."

Guillame was shocked and didn't know what to say. He clung to Orsolya. Two years. Suddenly he realized something. "How did you know I was a Council member?"

Leona smiled sweetly. "I know many things about you, Guillame. And do not worry. You are not the spy. Your Council leader just wanted you to think that. He has another follower here more than happy to send him information. You are here as a distraction. In fact, he hopes you will be caught and throw off any further suspicion. We allow his spy to remain because he is a blithering idiot. The next one may be more cunning. But the only information he will get is what we want him to know. You must remain on the Council, Guillame. You will be able to hide the flight of the cubs. Without you our plan can never succeed."

Orsolya turned in his lap to face him. "Guillame, will you help us?"

"I will do anything for you, Orsolya, anything." He meant it as much as it broke his heart to say. He would send her away as they had prophesied. And love her until the end of his days. "If we are both to live, will we ever be together again?" He clutched her tightly to him, afraid to let her loose for a moment.

"That is something of which I have no knowledge, my dear. I am truly sorry." She suddenly rose and waited for Orsolya and Guillame to do the same. "I think that is enough for one day. The two of you do not have much time to learn more about each other before the Ice Moon. I will let you go." She smiled at each of them and gave them a motherly embrace, then held her hand out for Zsálya. The two raven-haired females walked out the door together.

When they were some distance from the new mates Zsálya turned to her grandmother. "You are not going to tell them?"

"Why have them worry their lives away? It is better this way. What will happen will happen. And they will be able to live their lives without constant wondering. Come, we need to find your father."

Guillame had been so happy before meeting Leona. And now this dread came down upon him. Upon them. He looked sadly at his little red wolf. "And you knew all of this the whole time?"

She slowly nodded her head, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

He couldn't stand it. He pulled her close and crushed her to his chest. "I will do what I must to save you, Orsolya. Whatever I must. I promise." He tilted her face up and looked into her pale green eyes. He would love her always, at whatever distance. He bent down and touched his lips to hers for the first time. The shock they both felt was immediate. There was a fire that burned inside him and he needed her to quench it. His lips moved all over her face, kissing every bit of skin he could find. His hands traveled her body, learning her curves.

By tomorrow at the full moon they would be mated. No matter the consequences.