33

"Are you sure?" Keno asked me for the third time while we walked back and forth in front of the edge of the forest, looking for at least a small clue that could help us. But there was nothing... Absolutely nothing. Neither the hint of a smell, nor the hint of vampires that would have crossed the forest, which made this whole search even more difficult.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure," I replied when asked if we should just walk aimlessly into the forest and looked at him slightly nervously. "I mean, if she's been kidnapped, then you're definitely going to be with her through this forest. Any other route would be far too conspicuous."

He looked at me thoughtfully in his very special way and then turned around once before he turned back to me and smiled slightly.

"Whatever you say, little one. I'll follow you everywhere."

His stupid grin almost made me smile too, but I gritted my teeth, turned to face the gloomy forest and took the first hesitant steps inside. Of course I fell for him. More than I wanted to admit to myself... More than I could even imagine, but I didn't want to make it easy for him. Too many steps had been skipped, too many constraints had been imposed on me.

I missed a first date, a candlelight dinner together, or just something that people did when they met each other, because this "I'll kidnap you, fuck you and tag you" was anything but romantic for me, even if I thought of it as Wolfin could understand to some extent.

I then quickly dismissed thoughts of our relationship, just listened to the cracking branches under my shoes and tried to concentrate on the essentials, namely finding out Gloria's whereabouts.

The forest was enclosing us more and more and yes, the feeling that we didn't really know what we were doing here gave me a really uncomfortable queasy feeling in my stomach, but I would cross any forest for Gloria, especially since I blame myself for everything gave...

If I didn't disappear...

"Why so nervous?" Keno wanted to know after I took a deep breath and immediately looked over at him. In the meantime he had caught up a bit and was running close to me.

"How could I not be nervous?" I whispered into the light wind, but Keno didn't hear it and I just glanced at him to think for a moment why I was feeling so uncomfortable. It wasn't just the disappearance of my foster mother and the ingrained fear of our enemies. There was also deep in the subconscious the panic of my own race.

I knew this forest because too often I've been chased by men like Keno, none of whom had the right to even come near me. Although I was a female wolf, I also only had one mate. He was the only one who had a right to me... No one else!

"I've been cornered a lot, really, Keno. I don't mean the vampires. I mean wolves... wolves like you who wanted to do something else. I'd prefer the memory of them, anyway, to us would transform us. Then I wouldn't have to walk around as a weak person."

"We can't and you know it."

His statement came quickly and I also knew that he was right about it, because in our wolf form every vampire far and wide would know immediately that we were here and thus we would have lost our only advantage.

Still, I would have preferred to be able to protect myself if something happened.

"Yes, I know," I replied thoughtfully, dodging some thin branches sticking out of the surrounding trees everywhere.

"And the other one," he began and I stopped to look at him expectantly, irritated at how his expression suddenly looked slightly ashamed. "I'm really sorry. Not just for you, but for all female wolves who have to go through this."

"I know," I nodded, since he had apologized before. "But you don't need to apologize, Keno. It wasn't you and I was always good at defending myself."

"You don't have to do that anymore," he said and the mood between us immediately became a little more intimate. Not only that the wind played around us and whistled a song between the trees. Keno, too, seemed absent-minded as he held me in his intense gaze while approaching me to gently wrap his arm around my waist. "I certainly won't let anything happen to that, and that's a promise, kid."

Although I had my doubts, since I still didn't really know him, I gave him a grateful smile and put my arm around his back as well, so we continued to traverse the forest together like an old married couple.

Everyone seemed caught up in their thoughts as we delved meter by meter into the depths of this area and darkness slowly set in.

"We should have taken something to eat," I was the first to break the silence, reluctantly breaking away from Keno to lean my back against a tree and rest for a moment.

"Why? There must be wild animals here."

"You're not serious?" I replied, frowning, and the mere thought of transforming and hunting some deer or whatever shook me. My wolfness was much too weak for that. "I don't eat raw meat. You can forget that."

"Then I'll go hunting and you make a fire."

"How am I supposed to a-"

Before I could finish, Keno fumbled in his sweatpants and suddenly threw me matches, which I skillfully caught and eyed in amazement.

"You think along with me. I like it."

"As if that's the only thing you like about me," he replied with a grin and suddenly began to bare his top right in front of me, giving me a glimpse of his muscles and the many tattoos seconds later, which unfortunately hardly exist because of the darkness were still visible.

"Could be that I also like something else about you," I smiled stupidly and then immediately bit my treacherous tongue while inwardly slapping myself for having given him the confirmation I had hoped for.

His grin couldn't have gotten dirtier, and when he put his hands on the waistband of his sweatpants, I quickly pulled my eyes away from him and looked down at the matches I was fidgeting nervously between my fingers. My heart was pounding madly at the thought of him being naked before me, but I tried to calm myself with the knowledge that he was only stripping for the hunt and not for me.

"See you soon," I heard him in front of me, but I kept my eyes down and just waved a clumsy hand at him, only to hear a deep growl shortly afterwards. Only when I also noticed his paws, which landed on the leaf-covered forest floor, did I lift my face again and look deep into the dark eyes of his black wolf.

"Please no young animal," I whispered and then watched him as he started running and disappeared into the darkness like a black shadow.

Now I was alone... But strangely enough, my fear didn't materialize. Probably because I knew he wouldn't go far for sure. After all, he was probably more concerned about my safety than I was.

So, with a goofy smile, I gathered little sticks around me and stacked them all in this little space here between the thick trees, only to take a deep breath when I caught a strange smell.

I widened my eyes in panic and let some branches fall out of my sweaty hands, only to freeze and not give a peep.

There were several smells, but definitely not vampires. They smelled mainly of ash and smoke. Kinda dead and repulsive.

These fragrance notes were delicate, almost harmoniously blended with the forest and definitely feminine.

I looked around curiously, but even with the eyes of a wolf, I couldn't see anything but darkness.

There was just a feeling that I was being watched...

"Hallo."