Amber Waves - 5. Chapter 5

AMBER

The queen was jolted awake by the sound of barking.

Exhausted, sore from the day’s emergencies and business, Amber groaned as she sat up. There was a wolf barking… right, the first night of a full moon.

Someone was rapping on her door, and Amber bit back an angry snap. If she was being woken up, it had to be important.

Amber pulled a robe around herself before stumbling toward the door. Rubbing at her eyes, the queen reached for the door, pulling it open with a sudden motion that startled her nearly as much as the guard on the other side.

“Your Majesty, I lost Prince Aaron!” the guard gasped, kneeling before his queen.

“What?”

It took Amber a moment to realize the enormity of what the guard was saying.

“What the fuck do you mean you lost Aaron? How do you lose a prince?!”

“He said he wanted to see the gardens… he was restless and the orphanage garden always cheered him up… but when he got there, he just ran off toward the Queenswood.”

“Rouse the guards. There are werewolves in that wood!” Amber snapped before slamming the door shut.

She leaned against the heavy wood, a sudden cough tearing from her chest. They were getting worse, and the queen could barely keep down her pills anymore. But she would not succumb. Not for a long time. Amber still had a lot of fight left to give.

Forcing herself to recover, Amber crossed the room, pulling on clothing more suitable for running around the palace. There were cameras all over the place, no doubt, and she would not be caught in a compromising position. Jeans went over a sweatshirt, both formal enough for the press not to poke any holes in their use, and Amber returned to the door, throwing it open before storming out to the guard barracks.

Her shoes crunched across the gravel between the barracks and the palace proper. Outdoor footwear had been forgotten, a fact that any cameras would be sure to pick up on. Amber fought the urge to send a rude gesture at a bush she knew reporters invariably hid in.

“Your Majesty!” a guard yelped.

“Captain Darren? Where is he?” Amber snapped.

“Searching the woods, your Majesty,” the elf said quickly. “He took a white wolf with him… well… the white wolf went with him…”

“Itumak?!” the queen demanded.

“I don’t know, your Majesty. He was brought in by the Wolf Patrol not more than ten minutes ago.”

It could be worse, she supposed. Itumak was a werewolf. Captain Darren had been on the Patrol when he was younger; he knew how to deal with werewolves. Besides, wolves in the guard could be a good thing. Maybe she could use this, remind people of Prince Zaddis.

“If the prince is out there, it might take them all night to bring him back.”

Amber spun around, her father’s voice startling her. Finley held out a cup of steaming tea, offering the drink to her, and the queen took it cautiously.

“You should not be outside, Amber. You might catch a chill,” he said quietly. “I trust Captain Darren as much as I trusted Darius. He will not let Aaron be harmed.”

Amber nodded stiffly, slowly stepping toward the warmth of the palace.

“Guard Nyin, you will inform us the minute Captain Darren returns,” Finley added.

“Yes Dowager,” the elf said quickly.

Amber let Finley guide her into a sitting room, a fire smouldering against a wall. She was set onto a couch, a servant handing Finley a blanket that found its way across the queen’s torso.

“I’m fine Father. Really. I’m not your weak little princess anymore,” Amber chuckled quietly. “I’m just worried about Aaron. Wolves alway find their way to the woods. I just hope none of them decide to claim the prince for themself.”

“Amber, have you thought about the possibility that the prince is already a wolf?” Finley asked. “Both he and Itumak were restless today, and Zaddis always seemed more bouncy around the full moon.”

“But they’re not even seventeen yet! Who would have turned them? Besides, the orphanage records showed both boys were clean before we adopted them.”

“One of the guards mentioned that Itumak went out for a drink tonight. A wolf was brought back with fur the same colour as his ears. More than that, he latched onto Captain Darren instantly,” Finley pointed out. “Like it or not, Itumak is a werewolf. And boys being boys, I can almost guarantee they have had sexual contact at some point. It is absolutely possible that the crown prince of Astara is a werewolf, and you need to prepare yourself for that.”

Amber shivered at the thought, taking a sip of tea to hide the fear that passed through her.

“It… it isn’t a bad thing if he is… It would just be a major pain in the ass to explain,” she said quietly.

“After the Silver Hand Riots-”

“Exactly,” Amber interrupted. “An anti-werewolf group is destroyed, and not thirty years later, we’re setting a werewolf up as king? Gods… if this gets out…”

“You’re already a progressive queen, just for letting nekos keep their tails,” Finley scoffed. “What’s a little wolf love on top of that? Fuck, I already paved the way for him with Zaddis.

“Yes, but it’s been nearly fifteen years since then,” Amber sighed quietly. “Fuck… what did I do?”

“You gave the world hope. You’ve set yourself up as the stepping stone toward a king who loves all people equally. Well… maybe not the mages, but I’m sure we could teach Aaron to treat them respectfully at the very least.”

“Yeah, that will go over well. If he grows to love me, and then I die from this shit while the mages can’t do anything to stop it…”

Amber let out a hoarse laugh.

“We’ll stop it,” Finley sighed again. “You need to keep reminding yourself of that. If you don’t, it will be all too easy to descend into despair, and that will kill you.”

Amber let out a quiet scoff, looking past the flames that were slowly eating away at a log in the fireplace.

“Blast it Darren, where are you?”

ITUMAK

Scents filled his nose as the two passed beyond the light of the palace. Itumak whimpered, sneezing violently as his mind tried to sort out the various smells around him. The sharpness of pine, the burn of mint, the nuttiness of mushrooms that his eyes couldn’t even see… it was like a whole invisible world around him.

“Stop.”

The sharp command pulled him up short as Darren stopped beside him. The human reached into a pocket, pulling out a rag lit by a flashlight… one of Aaron’s towels? What was he doing with that?

Itumak’s head cocked slightly as he stared at the fabric. Darren pushed it toward him, nearly covering the wolf’s nose with it, and Itumak’s mind panicked as his nose was filled with the scent of a cleanly musky elf… an elf’s crotch… he knew that smell…

“I do not expect you to find Aaron through scent, Itumak. That is something only trained wolves could do. Just focus on his scent, and try not to think about the others around you,” the man said gently. “I’ve been told that the first shift for werewolves is the worst, so it should only get better from here.”

Relief coursed through Itumak, even as he dropped his nose to the ground in hopes of catching Aaron’s scent. The elf was his best friend. Surely the neko would be able to find him; they were connected heart and soul.

Though there was still something missing. He thought of Aaron, thought of his friend, and felt warm and fuzzy, but there was something telling him that they couldn’t be together. And it confused the wolf.

A scent hit his nose, earthy and musky, and Itumak’s crotch heated. Fuck… werewolves could get boners too. Why hadn’t he ever heard that? Yet even this smell seemed off. He could imagine shoving himself into the owner of that smell, of breeding them nonstop, but there was no satisfaction in it. It was as though his body wanted that person, but not enough.

“Itumak.”

The sound of his name, harshly uttered, snapped the wolf out of his haze. He looked around quickly, finding Darren staring at him from nearly ten yards away.

“Keep up. And if you smell any wolves, tell me. We’ll guide them back to civilization,” the human said, before walking deeper into the woods.

Itumak followed the light of his captain as a strong breeze blew the scent away from him. It carried the smell of food on it, weak, but still delicious, and the wolf’s stomach growled. He’d eaten dinner already, but that shift had pulled so much out of him.

Beans, cranberry, seared pigeon… his mouth was watering just thinking about the feast the breeze promised… and it was gone again, the smell of sharp pine filling his nose suddenly.

Itumak yelped as his nose slammed into a tree, and the wolf came back to his senses. Shaking himself off, he raced after the bobbing light again, catching up to Darren quickly.

A howl broke the quiet night, and Itumak froze, his ears twisting like they would in his natural form. His nose pointed in the direction of the howl, and Darren started off the pathway, cutting through bushes and vines. Itumak followed closely, sniffing the air warily. The sharp scent of… something… filled his nose, not pine or anything natural. He could almost smell something similar on Darren, but it was much less pronounced on the guard captain.

Whimpers filled the air, a red wolf limping toward them. Itumak darted forward, pulling up short as Darren knocked him aside.

“Down Itumak! Don’t charge them like that!” the man hissed.

The red wolf snarled, her ears pinned back. Slowly Itumak regained his feet, crawling toward the other wolf.

“We’re here to help you. There’s a path back to safety not far from here. Is this your first shift?” Darren asked.

The wolf whimpered, her head bobbing up and down frantically.

“Have you seen an elf around here?”

This time her head went side to side.

“Okay. Itumak here is a friend. He’ll take you to safety. There is a room in the older barracks reserved for shifting werewolves,” Darren said, turning toward Itumak. “Take her there and stay with her. I want one of the other guards to water you both and make sure you get food. I’ll find Aaron.”

Itumak let out a huff of dissent, but the glare on Darren’s face cut off any notion of arguing.

Instead, the white wolf stepped toward the red, grateful that the surge of lust he’d been feeling didn’t pay attention to the werewolf at all. He motioned with his head, before sniffing his way back to the trail. It didn’t take long to get back onto the path with the full moon providing just enough light, and Itumak checked on the red wolf before letting his legs stretch out into a slow trot.

He could hear the wolf behind him, panting heavily as they made their way through the woods and back to the palace. As the buildings came into sight, the white wolf led his companion around the barracks, letting out a startled yelp when a man stepped in front of him.

A flash of navy blue caught his eye, and Itumak swallowed back the snarl that threatened to escape him.

“Prince Aaron?”

The wolf shook his head roughly.

“Okay. Let’s get them inside then,” the man said, motioning toward a door. “We have fresh meat waiting and water, with beds for you to rest before the moon passes. When you’re back, we’ll figure out what will happen next.”

Itumak turned to head back into the woods, only to have a hand latch onto his fur.

“Uh uh, you’re not going back in there. You’re staying in the wolf room,” the man said, before dragging Itumak toward the building. “Captain Darren can deal with you when he gets back.”

AARON

A blonde wolf stumbled through the forest, wincing as vines tore at his fur. Aaron was beyond lost. But the urges to breed, the restlessness that had filled his body, all of that had faded the moment he inhaled the pine scents of the trees around him.

His clothes were scattered near the path into the forest, torn and bloody. It had been agonizing, trying to shift through the fabric, or maybe that was the shift itself. Aaron didn’t know, and he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Crown prince for not even a day, and he had fucked up. No, Itumak fucked up. Itumak had made him into a beast, into a monster. Now he’d be lucky if he was sent back to the orphanage. It was almost a certainty he’d never see the neko again.

Good. Itumak deserved to pay for turning him. Aaron had never thought about lycanthropes, let alone wanted to be one. He hadn’t even known the neko was a werewolf. When Itumak had been fucked by that one man, Aaron had taken it in stride. So his neko friend was curious. It had no impact on his life. And when Itumak wanted to try it again, Aaron had given in to a desire to help his friend.

He would have denied the neko had he known.

‘Rabbit!’

The prince’s paws scrabbled at the ground, Aaron propelling himself forward at the creature he could see cowering in the brush. An earsplitting screech hit him, an instant before blood splattered across his nose, and the wolf shook the rabbit in his jaws, snapping the dead creature’s neck before biting into the tender stomach.

Aaron retreated into his mind, trying to ignore what his body was doing. The pure savagery of the wolf eating went against every instinct in the elf. He didn’t want to watch this. And he absolutely didn’t want to be taking part in it.

A branch snapping sent the wolf into a defensive position, a bloodcurdling snarl escaping his maw as he guarded his kill. Light nearly blinded his eyes, the scent of meat filling his nose, but not the right kind of meat… the scent was muted.

“Easy there Prince Aaron. I’m not here to hurt you.”

The words fell on deaf ears. He would not let the human take his food. He would defend his kill until he’d had his fill. Another growl slipped past the viscera dangling from his jaws, and the man backed off.

“I did not take you for one who would give your mind over so easily, your Highness. Please, enjoy your meal.”

That tone… it struck into the wolf’s mind, reaching deep. Aaron grabbed a thread of memory like a lifeline, pulling himself to the front of his mind once more.

Half eaten meat fell from his mouth, Aaron gagging as the taste and smell of blood filled his senses. He whimpered, scrambling away from the dead rabbit, and the man stepped forward again.

“If you are ready to come home, Prince Aaron, we can find a way to solve this problem together,” Captain Darren said quietly.

Another gag saw the rabbit coming back up, Aaron pawing frantically at his mouth.

“There is water in the barracks. I promise we’ll get you all cleaned up.”

Slowly, the wolf crawled toward Darren, soft whimpers still escaping him. He followed the human through the woods, his eyes squinting at the bright light in the guard’s hand. They reached the wider path, Aaron nearly crying with relief as the vines and thorns stopped pulling at his pelt. He yelped as something brushed between his legs, whimpering when he realized it was just his tail, tucked tight between his legs.

“You’re doing great, your Highness,” Darren said, looking back at the wolf. “Just another mile to go. You ran rather far.”

Aaron hung his head in shame, dragging his paws through the dirt.

“It’s okay. This is normal for new werewolves,” Darren encouraged. “There is nothing to be ashamed of; neither the rabbit nor the running.”

Time passed with excruciating slowness before they finally emerged from the woods. Darren directed the prince toward the barracks, Aaron picking up his pace at the thought of rest, of water.

A blinding flash bit into his eyes, and the wolf snarled in pain, his mind dimly registering the frantic clicking of a camera.

“Captain Darren! How goes the full moon hunting? Is it true you’re raising an army-”

Something shattered, and a voice yelped as Aaron blinked rapidly. The fog over his eyes faded slowly, and he watched an elf fleeing from an enraged guard. Pieces of a broken camera lay on the ground, and without thinking, the wolf raised his leg, urine splashing over the shattered tool.

“Heh, looks like your wolf isn’t a fan of the press either,” Darren said.

Aaron pulled at his body, at his mind, yanking control back with a grunt. He moved away from the camera, letting out a growl as a figure sprinted toward them.

“Captain! The queen requested the prince be brought before her as soon as he was found!”

Aaron’s heart sank, and he let out a whimper.

“Don’t worry, your Highness. Her Majesty is a lot more reasonable than most,” Darren promised. “Thank you, Guard Ulric. Return to Itumak and make sure he is cared for. You can let him know his friend has been found.”

The wolf let out a growl at the notion. Friends didn’t turn other friends into monsters.

“Come, your Highness. If the queen said at once, then there isn’t much chance of us getting clean,” Darren added.

Aaron followed the man slowly, his body stooped in fear and shame. Entering the palace, he winced at a coppery scent coming from behind a pair of doors. Smoke rose around it, but even the acrid stench of burning wood did little to cover the smell of death coming from the queen.