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ONE
Ruby
It was the rich smell of wolf that first alerted me to their presence. Though they crept silent in the eternal darkness of the Black Forest, they could not hide their scent – deeper, earthier, more animal than I had ever tasted. I knew it was them.
I looked to Jasper, my personal guard and loyal friend, and sent him a nod. I was one of the few who could pick out the scents of five wolves as they weaved through the trees on either side of the dirt road, caging us in.
Jasper and I placed ourselves at the front of the party, high on horseback, leading the line of fifty guards who protected the scarlet carriage and the false princess within. But the grey mist that lay along the forest floor was so thick that we could only see ten men behind us.
My maid, taking the role of the princess, remained in the carriage with two other servants, acting as decoys while I rode in front. They were aware of the dangers, but still willing to risk their lives to help me reach the Crimson Palace on the other side of the forest.
We knew the attack was imminent. The wolves would not have allowed us to travel through their territory unscathed. Not when my father was so focused on their extinction since my mother disappeared fifteen years ago. It was one of the reasons he had permitted me on this journey in the first place - to let me die at the hands of monsters instead of his own.
We had trained for years for this. We were ready.
Jasper turned, urging his horse on. I rode with him, holding my reins fast as we galloped towards the centre of our long line.
“Guards!” Jasper’s voice ringing around us, bouncing off the dark trees that closed in from the edges of the road. “In formation!”
The guards knew the moment Jasper spoke that they were here. No Vermillion Knight but he had ever faced a wolf of the Black Forest and returned alive. All we knew were wild tales of the beasts that roamed the woods and the names of those who had fallen.
Fear shook the hearts of my guards, but they still stood to attention, swords and spears at the ready. My father granted us only six gunmen, spread throughout the party. I hoped it would be enough. We all did.
Both Jasper and I expected casualties on our journey. We had all done our best to hide ourselves. The guards dulled the sounds of the horses’ hooves and reins with thick wraps. We kept our swords, guns and anything that could rattle firm by our sides, and covered our skin, hair and blood red uniforms in mud.
We had been travelling for two days in darkness, and were only half a mile from our goal. Our confidence grew as we drew ever closer to the magical border that lined the forest, but we were not fast enough.
The three wolves on my left were already spread along the full length of the party. It was the pair on my right that kept demanding my attention. I honed my physical and mental strength for years to prepare for this journey, but my focus was skewed. There was something about their scent, rich, sharp, curling through me, unlike anything I had experienced before.
I could feel their presence pulsing in me. The tension that twisted in my body did not just come from fear. Each heart beat around me in perfect symphony, and I tracked every person and wolf with ease. But the hearts of the two wolves to my right beat louder, harsher, and in time with my own. Vampires and wolves could never be more than enemies, yet something hung in the air between us, my desire for their blood awakening.
I was intensely aware of how they separated; one remaining in line with the carriage while the other snaked through the heavy shadows cast by high branches and thick mist.
“Spears down! Hold.” Jasper kept to the edge of the scene, ready to protect me if needed. “Hold, dammit!” Though twice my age, grey already marking his beard, he was sharp and still held the gait of a well-trained soldier.
Twelve guards fastened themselves around the carriage, spears pointed outwards while the rest of us spread in groups of ten, readying ourselves for attack.
My heart pounding, bitter tension rose as we waited; breaths still, muscles tense. In the quiet of the wood, we could hear even the slightest sound.
A sudden thump cut through the darkness; a low thud was the only warning we had before a horse shrieked and a furious growl bounced off the trees.
The guards at the back of the party erupted in a chorus of screams, their vanishing uniforms the only sign of their death. I caught sight of men fleeing, while those who could crushed tighter to the carriage.
“Guard the princess!” one yelled.
From within the dark mist, he emerged: a black wolf, larger than a shire horse, towering above the guards who clutched their spears, trembling at the sight before them. Yellow eyes, lips stretched to reveal fierce teeth, made only to tear flesh. A rumble echoed from the beast, a sound close to laughter.
I stilled, my breath caught in my throat, choking on a mixture of terror and awe. One snap, another soldier dead, easily swept aside. His teeth made light work of them. I had heard stories, seen pictures, but nothing could prepare me for the raw power that emanated from the wolf.
There was no time to admire the giant beast that rose above me. I had to act, no matter how deeply I wanted to watch the devastation. There were more screams, more deaths, and the sound of tearing wood. One of them had reached the carriage.
Knowing the risk, I turned, racing into the mist towards the carriage. If I tried to escape alone, I would be too exposed. At least if I fought, I could be useful.
I gasped, quickly jumping back as a blond wolf grabbed a guard from next to me, his massive jaws clamping around the man’s torso before violently shaking him, exactly as a hunting dog would to a rabbit.
I leapt sideways, keeping low as the blond wolf chose another target. The dull red of the carriage only just came into view as a grey wolf burst from the mist, aiming directly for it. It soared over the ring of guards, lifting their spears.
It wasn’t enough.
