I stopped recalling the previous night of my escape attempt when my stomach grumbled. I placed my hand over it, giving Lucius my usual stare.

"Esurio... (I'm hungry)."

I surveyed the area, looking for the gigantic fluff.

"Where is Fenris?"

The werewolf had been with us for the past five days. He was becoming livelier day by day. He still hadn't changed into his other form, but we did not pressure him to not scare him away. He was quick to be rattled.

Lucius stomped his foot to the ground. A wooden stairway grew from the soil in front of a tree that sprouted nectarines.

"Thank you for this food," he murmured to the tree, plucking its orange to reddish fruits.

"Lucius, where is Fenris?"

He was busy getting us food, but he did reply after my second attempt. If he didn’t, I would have no other choice but to push him off to get his attention.

"Oh, Fenris? Maybe he overslept. He stayed up late last night since we finished so late."

The wooden stairway withdrew. He carried six nectarines from the tree, handing me one with a teasing smile.

"Do you miss him?"

"How do you feel that?"

Lucius ruffled my hair, sitting beside me on the ground. "The one you felt when I was gone for eighteen blue moons!"

I narrowed my eyes at him and his ridiculous conclusions of the past.

"I did not feel anything. I did not know you at that time. You were irrelevant to me."

My brother placed his hand over his chest, sucking in a breath of air with his face cringing from dismay.

"Chii, that really hurt! You have no idea how I missed you!"

"No, I really don't," I replied nonchalantly, eating the nectarines while he sulked.

He kept forgetting that I had no memory of him. How could I miss someone I didn't even know of?

"My baby brother hates me!" He wailed.

The sun had fallen. I waited for any signs of Fenris before we took our journey back to the vampire village. Lucius hopped on to his horse and I looked at a pathway sandwiched by trees.

Fenris always found us in any part of the forest. Lucius said that it was because werewolves had a sharp sense of smell and hearing.

Yesterday, Lucius left us for a while. I was sitting by a tree while Fenris intensely stared. The wolf abruptly rose on his four legs, approaching me. He pressed his nose against my crotch, sniffing me. His warm breathing passed through the thin fabric of my shorts.

'What are you doing?'

The wolf continued to take in my scent as I observed him. Once he stopped, he licked my face.

Lucius arrived a minute after, bringing something which caught the attention of Fenris. He put the plate of fresh meat down to the ground, magnetizing the wolf that pounced on it the second he was invited.

'Why are you feeding him meat?' My tone was higher than usual.

He shouldn't teach Fenris how to eat dead creatures.

'Werewolves are meat-eaters, Lucian. They aren't meant to eat vegetables and fruits all the time. If you don't give him meat, his sexual drive will rise. Seeing that you are his love interest, he might attack you.'

That was not a reason for him to influence such an innocent wolf into eating corpses.

'Don't give him meat. Let him attack me if he wants to. I don't want him to eat meat.'

Lucius choked on his own saliva. Fenris ceased his festive feast. The wolf turned with a deadly gleam in his eyes. Lucius jumped in as a shield, catching the triggered beast.

'Fenris, don't believe him! Stop!'

'Fenris, I will offer my body to you, but you must only eat fruits,' I bargained.

'Verdammt! (Damn it!)" onii snarled. 'Chii, stop enticing him!"

Lucius' voice snapped me out from that memory.  I gave the area one last look before approaching Argo.

"Lucian, are you ready to go?"

"No." Fenris hadn't shown himself for today.

"Are you still hoping that Fenris will come?"

"Yes."

Won't he be upset if he found no one here?

Lucius pulled me up onto Argo, sitting me in front of him.

"I'm sure you'll see him tomorrow. Let's go home," he spoke softly.

"Will he be alright?"

"He will. He'll understand. Tomorrow both of you will nap together again and I'll have a difficult time scrubbing off the scent of his slobber on you," he laughed.

I had no other choice but to agree with Lucius. We arrived at the vampire village, finding many people lined up in the streets. They were bowing to someone who was heavily guarded by more of those cloaked vampires. Lucius clucked his tongue, pushing me away from the entrance.

"Let's take a different path. The vampire prince must be here. I can't let him see you because he might take an interest in you."

Argo took us to the other entrance by foot. A flying pegacorn might get far more attention. We entered the house; Lucius spied from the window.

"That prince is a pain in the arse," he grunted. He shut the curtains with a visible frown on his face.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You're exactly his type," he sighed.

"I have no interest in him. Grow a corpse flower and feed him to it," I deadpanned.

"I thought you promoted life?"

"I only promote the life of the worthy."

He and Segreth can get married.

"Promise me that you'll behave. Once he gets his hands on you, who knows what he'll do?"

What will he do?

Lucius squeezed my shoulders before he enveloped me in his embrace.

"Are you afraid?"

I observed myself for any foreign feeling and found myself perfectly comfortable and safe.

"No... I have you and Argo. You won't let that happen right?"

"Yes, I'll protect you no matter what."

The corner of my lips twitched a little. I closed my eyes.

"Then you don't have to worry about someone that you're sure that you can protect, fool."

"You're so cold chii!"

"I am perfectly at normal temperature."

There was nothing to be afraid of, Lucius will be there and tomorrow I will get to see Fenris.

The night was undisturbed. We ate a flavourful meal and slept. This kind of tranquillity was a bit suspicious since Lucius was apprehensive before bed. Nonetheless, he snored through the night, clearly emptied from the worries from earlier.

Indeed, it was a peaceful slumber but that was replaced by bitter dawn.

"Werewolf! Shiet op en dood het! (Hurry and kill it!)"