Reluctantly, Rolfe handed her to them. He was loving the white fur, the warmth, the love of her wolf so much that he stifled a whimper when Ileus took her in his arms. Ileus gave him a reassuring look and then along with Kaizan, they loped towards the forest. Minutes later, Rolfe heard howls of three werewolves.
It took them a good three hours to return and by that time, Rolfe had paced the entire fortress twice, gone to the roof four times and made three dishes for her. He was sure that she would be hungry by the time she returned.
In order to distract his attention, Arel called him to the main hall where he had also called Jonik, the Master Mason, and Yion to discuss the design that Iona had created for the city.
"We must start working on it," said Arel. "The plan is superb."
"But we have had a very bad experience in the past. I don't want my father to kill my people only because of me," Rolfe said with frustration in his voice.
Arel crossed his hands across his chest and a grin came on his lips. "Yion, here is going to help us with his fae soldiers."
Rolfe's eyes flew wide. "Has he taken permission from Princess Anastasia?" he asked. Why would the princess risk the lives of her men for his cause? He looked at General Yion, at his battle scarred face that was reading the design with complete concentration.
Arel nodded. "Yes, the princess was more than ready to help us. It was actually her idea to help us and Yion is only carrying her orders."
"But I don't want to risk their lives. My father is brutal. His hatred for faes is a well-known fact. If he discovers faes on his land, he is going to go berserk in rage and will hunt every last fae to annihilate."
Arel pursed his lips in a thin line. "That's true… but it seems princess Anastasia and Ileus have come up with a plan for the faes and we need to persuade our people." There was a lengthy discussion in which Yion couldn't join because of the language problem.
They heard footsteps and squeals and laughter of two men and a woman and Rolfe's lips finally kicked up, as his tension eased. When Iona entered the hall along with two men in her tow, they found that she was covered in mud and pine and twigs. Her clothes were badly soiled and so were that of his brother's and Kaizan. They chatted merrily. Rolfe's eyes were on his mate and he felt like a jealous, possessive husband—a side he was never aware of. She had spent a good three hours with them and not even an hour with him. He had to devise a way to entice her while making sure that her beast was kept under control. As if on instinct, her eyes met his and she blushed. Gods, she was so beautiful. Iona lowered her eyes immediately and bit her lip feeling extremely embarrassed of her experience with him. She just walked back to her chamber and his eyes followed her, all his senses fleeing.
"New mates!" Kaizan grumbled as he also walked back to his room to take a bath.
Ileus stayed back and joined them. They resumed talking about the design in their sign language. It was while they were having these discussions that suddenly a scream split the air and echoed in the stones of the fortress.
"What the hell was that?" said Arel.
"Anastasia!" Ileus' face paled and he sprinted to her chamber followed by Rolfe, Yion and Arel and a battalion of other soldiers with their swords drawn.
Ileus shoved aside a fae soldier who had joined them in the search, in order to reach his wife as soon as possible. He jumped over the ledge of the doorway and stopped abruptly. Rolfe narrowly missed barreling into him.
Anastasia's wings had flared wide and she was hovering above, near a corner of the room. "Hurry up Ara!" She ordered the demoness. "That this is going to bite! Look at its pincers." She pointed her dagger towards it.
Ara yanked her sword out and looked at the creature they were both shrieking about. Ileus's gaze followed theirs and he froze. There was a massive two-feet crab-like creature with venom sacs as large as oranges and pincers so sharp that if they attacked anything, they could slice it into two. In the afternoon sun the rays of which spilled in the room, it's slimy green color glistened. The creature clacked its pincers and sprayed its venom on them through its mouth.
"Hell!" Rolfe shouted. "How did an Ojuto find its way here?"
"I don't know!" Ara said.
Before Ileus could do anything, the Ojuto started scuttling towards Anastasia, its two strong legs flexing as it prepared to jump on her and spray its orange venom on her and sink its pincers in her flesh. Anastasia threw her dagger at it, but the creature dodged it and the dagger hit the stone behind it, splintering it into tiny rocks. The dagger was back in her hand. Ileus jumped in front of the creature only to be yanked back by Rolfe. "It will kill you in a second. Its poison is lethal!" he shouted at him in demonic language.
Suddenly the creature leapt in the air and at the same time Anastasia threw her dagger at it, while Ara swung her sword at it from the back. The two weapons met with their intended victim and they heard the crack of its shell and the crush of its flesh. It came down with a thud, a green and orange and black mess. The air in the room suddenly reeked of putrid meat.
Ileus lunged at Anastasia, held her hand and pulled her down. He took her dagger and turned her to see him. She looked at him with her wild eyes. "Did it— did it attack you with its v— venom?" He brushed his hands all over her to see if she was injured.
Her lips quivered, as her hand reached her tummy. "We are fine…" she said. "What was that and how did it enter the place?"
Iona had come rushing in. It was apparent that she was taking a bath and didn't bother to dry herself. Her clothes were wet and clinging to her body. As soon as Rolfe saw her, he pulled her against him. "Don't go there!" She looked at him with wide eyes. "And please help me explain the situation to them." She nodded weakly.
Rolfe said, "That was an Ojuto, found only in Galahar. It is a rare animal and people kill it the moment they see it. I have no idea how that Ojuto found its way in the fortress, but I will investigate, okay?"
When Iona translated that to Ileus, his eyes flickered like an obsidian with anger. "Please ask someone to clean this mess," he said in a cold, dangerous voice. "We are going to stay in Kaizan's room for now." He took Anastasia's hand and walked out.
Anastasia said, "I have no idea how that creature came in. I was about to go to sleep, when I saw it crawling towards me. Thank God Ara was nearby.. She scared it away."
