He watched the scene, forgetting even how to breathe.
Between the lush thickets, glimpses of wheat-colored hair glittered like pure gold under the torrential pour of sunlight. Those dazzling rays traced the lines of her pearl-pale face and clung like spiderwebs to her water-slicked neck and collarbones.
Dazed and rooted to the ground, he slowly began to push his way through the dense trees. Every time a clear, bell-like laugh rippled through the rustling leaves, a jolt shot down his spine like lightning.
Feeling his throat burn with a strange parched ache, he parted the azalea bushes obstructing his view. Then, the sight of her standing waist-deep in the silver-glistening spring water filled his vision entirely.
He froze, swallowing hard against a throat that had suddenly seized tight.
She was clad only in a single, loose-fitting slip of cream silk. The thin, soaked fabric clung to her like a second skin, laying bare the delicate frame of her bones and her lush curves without reserve.
Before he could even process the anger rising at such a defenseless display, her voice, brimming with delight once more, rang across the clearing.
“Good boy. Stay still.”
Stretching her slender arms across the water’s surface, she pulled the head of a massive wolf toward her chest.
Only then did he notice the giant silver beast that had been obscured by the brush.
The wolf, holding only its head above the surface, let out a low rumble and jerked back as though resisting its mistress’s touch. At that, she wrapped her arms firmly around its neck, gripped its grey-furred snout with one hand, and began to scrub vigorously at its bushy ruff and face with a stiff brush.
Evidently displeased, the wolf put up a slightly more stubborn fight.
As the beast twisted its large, submerged body in an effort to scramble out of the spring, she threw her arms around it from behind.
“Not a chance!”
A playful, mischievous smile lit up her small, delicate face.
While he watched, winded as though struck a physical blow, the woman’s blue eyes—still clinging to the wolf’s massive frame—happened to meet his.
Varkas felt a bitter ache as the smile vanished from her face, instantly replaced by taut tension.
Stiffening as if she had seen a ghost, she shrank back to hide behind the wolf.
“I… I heard you were not due for another four days….”
“I heard there was trouble, so I hastened my return,” he replied, his voice stripped of all inflection.
The woman, who had looked startled and thoroughly flustered by his appearance, suddenly arched her brows.
“There is no trouble.”
She wrapped her pale, dripping arms around the giant wolf’s brawny neck, casting him a guarded look.
“I don’t know who has been talking, but it’s all lies. They are merely inventing excuses to drive Khan out….”
“Khan?”
Her voice, which had climbed with agitation, faltered and cut off.
A faint flush rose to her cheeks.
“That is his name. Khan….”
She murmured the name, her fingers worrying the wolf’s pointed ear.
Varkas let out a breath of sheer exasperation. A dull throb began in his temples at his wife’s sheer insolence, bestowing an Eastern name upon a common monster.
He gave his order in a flat, blunt tone.
“Come out of the water first. We will speak at the castle.”
The woman, who had kept herself hidden with only her eyes peering out, waded toward the bank, the wolf leading the way.
He slowly surveyed the massive beast as it stepped onto dry land first.
The grey Dire Wolf possessed an overwhelming frame, scarcely credible for an adolescent not yet three years of age. Sturdy legs coiled with power, a thick, muscular neck, a heavy jaw, and razor-sharp fangs….
From paw to shoulder it stood nearly six kubets high, and its body length appeared easily to exceed seven kubets. Its growth was startling, considering it had been no larger than a hound the last time he saw it.
‘They claimed it was the size of a stallion or an ox… I assumed they were exaggerating.’
It seemed nothing short of miraculous that no one had been mauled with a creature of this scale loose on the estate.
He glanced down at the thick tail dripping onto the grass, then brought his gaze back to its head. His brow furrowed as he met the naked hostility burning in its eyes.
The wolf lowered its forequarters into a crouch, a rumble vibrating in its chest.
Sensing murderous intent, Varkas instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword. At that moment, the woman emerged from the water and threw herself between them.
“Don’t do that, Khan!”
She brought her palm down with a sharp smack against the wolf’s bared snout.
Alarmed by the recklessness of the act, he caught her wrist and yanked her away from the beast. He opened his mouth to scold her harshly, only for the sight of her drenched body to seize him entirely.
Varkas drew a sharp breath. Before he could stop himself, his eyes traced the curves of her breasts, the flat expanse of her stomach, the small hollow of her navel, and dropped down to the junction of her thighs.
The realization that she was effectively naked made his blood run hot, and a dark, nameless fury surged through him.
He threw a searing glare toward the guards lingering in the distance with their backs turned. The mere thought that they might have seen her in such a state made his head pound with rage.
“Where is your robe?”
The woman, who had frozen under his scrutiny, seemed only then to register her condition. She crossed an arm over her chest and pointed toward a tree beside the spring.
“I left it hanging over there.”
He strode over, tore the robe from the branch, and wrapped it securely around her shoulders.
“Do you make a habit of wandering about dressed like this?”
When the question cut through the air with harsh reproach, her cheeks burned, and she answered sullenly.
“I only took it off for a moment to wash Khan. No one comes near when he is with me anyway.”
“Someone could watch from afar.”
“Anyone who dared would have been taught a lesson by Khan.”
She let out a defiant scoff, then flinched under his gaze and hurried to add, “Not that he has ever hurt anyone. He only frightens them off so they do not hover around me.”
With that, she gently stroked the nape of the Dire Wolf, which had seated itself obediently behind her.
Varkas narrowed his eyes, studying the wolf as it gave its mistress a lazy wag of its tail. The beast that had radiated murderous intent a moment ago was now behaving as meekly as a trained hound.
Judging by that alone, it hardly seemed an imminent threat to her. Yet there was no guessing when the innate savagery of a monster might break to the surface.
He edged her behind him, his fingers resting ready on his sword hilt. At once, the beast that had seemed so tame bared its fangs again. Talia cried out in alarm.
“Khan! Stop! This man is…!”
Desperately trying to soothe the wolf, her voice trailed off as she searched Varkas’s face. She looked on edge, terrified he might harm the creature.
“Khan simply dislikes men. I think he remembers nearly dying at the hands of soldiers when he was small. He only reacts because he is frightened….”
“I will reserve my judgment on the beast for later.”
Varkas cut off her frantic defense, fixing the wolf with a cold stare. The monster glared back with piercing blue eyes.
Was it enraged because he had distressed its mistress? The wolf looked ready to tear out his throat on the spot.
Keeping his hand on his weapon, prepared to strike in an instant, he gestured toward the path.
“Lead the way. I will hear the full account once we are back at the castle.”
“Khan, come here.”
She beckoned the beast forward, looking troubled. Varkas stepped firmly between them.
“No. You walk ahead.”
“Khan becomes anxious when he is separated from me.”
“I cannot permit that creature near Your Grace until I am certain it is entirely harmless.”
At that, she threw him a sharp, furious glare, tore her arm from his grip, and darted back to the wolf. Before he could stop her, she pried the beast’s jaws apart and shoved her bare hand inside.
“See? He won’t even bite when I do this. He only acts fierce on the outside, but he is gentle.”
The blood in Varkas’s veins turned to ice. He threw his arm around her waist and hauled her back into the air. Startled by the sudden commotion, the wolf sprang backward and coughed in surprise.
END