My Forbidden Love: Witch x Werewolf

Alana POV

We were in the middle of the dirt road when my aunt's small carriage abruptly stopped in a forest known to be the most dangerous in these lands; it was where the bloodthirsty wolf packs resided.

The rain was falling lightly, and the day was drawing to a close outside the carriage. At first, I thought we had stopped due to some issue with the horses or the wheels. Aunt Mag even cursed the poor horses when they neighed and halted, as if they had encountered a great obstacle in the path, but well, what stopped us was something, or rather someone else.

The rain was getting heavier, obscuring our vision and preventing us from clearly seeing the figure ahead. A few meters in front of the carriage stood an imposing man dressed in black. He was just there, blocking our way, with no apparent intention of moving.

"Who is he, Aunt Mag?" I asked fearfully from beside my aunt, who sat with her inseparable fan in hand. Her middle-aged face had contorted into a scowl. I knew very well that expression meant she was very irritated.

"Must be a human highwayman. Some of them are bold enough to attack witch carriages even knowing they'll die. Despicable race!" she said with disdain, but just seeing the silhouette of the man ahead, we could tell he was not human and didn't seem passionate about robbing witches.

"But what if he isn't?" I asked, swallowing hard. "What if he's someone dangerous?"

"Don't be so foolish, girl. I have the protection of House Lightsun with me; no witch or wizard would dare harm me. Now, let me deal with this bastard so we can get out of this cursed forest before the damned wolves show up," said the woman, stepping out of the carriage and approaching the man with a foolish look.

We were on our way to Fastfall, the capital of the witch population; it was where the richest and most powerful of my people lived. Aunt Mag hadn't told me anything about it, but I knew she was planning to marry me off to the Lightsuns. Something I never wanted, but it wasn't like my aunt listened to me or let me make my own life decisions.

I was an orphan, so I had always lived under my aunt's care, who was my mother's sister. But Aunt Mag was never a motherly figure to me; she always treated me badly and made a point of throwing in my face that I was useless, especially when I turned fifteen and my magic never manifested as it usually does for all wizards at that age. Aunt Mag called me a "wound," magicless, and human, as a pejorative term. To her, I had no use, and she regretted taking care of me because she thought she would gain something in return once I grew up, but without magic, it was as if I were a disabled person always needing that.

"Thank the Great Wizard that at least you have this angelic appearance," she told me, "so I can try to arrange a profitable marriage for you, or else you'll die in the gutter!"

But I didn't want her to arrange a marriage for me; I didn't want any of this. I wanted to be free from this woman.

"I am Magdalena Bernadette Backingale of House Backingale, from the south," my aunt was saying, her umbrella covering her head to keep from getting wet. "This is my carriage, and I'm heading to the City of Gold. I advise you to get out of our way and let us pass, you wandering stranger!"

At first, I thought it was a snore or a deep growl, then I realized the growling was coming from the figure ahead; it was as if he was laughing. "You witches and your exaggerated airs. What nonsense," said the man with a deep, low voice. That's when I realized he wasn't human. He was something much more dangerous than humans.

When the imposing man spoke, the horses stirred as if they wanted to break free from the reins and flee. The coachman nearly fell when he tried to pull the reins to calm them. Aunt Mag also noticed this agitation, so now she asked more cautiously.

"Who are you? You don't look human, and you don't have the courtesy of a wizard. What kind of species are you?" she asked.

The man didn't answer; in the rain, he approached us slowly. At that moment, my heart started beating with fear, and I clasped my hands, afraid of what might happen.

"You won't even offer me a ride? You'd have the audacity to leave me here in this rain, madam?" he asked with high sarcasm.

"I don't give rides to strangers," my aunt replied incisively.

"Hm, that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear," he said and then stopped right in front of my window. "I see there's something precious in your carriage, witch," he said while his dark eyes were on me, looking at me as if I were an object that had captured his attention. I barely managed to look at him; I was so scared.

"So you're a thief," Aunt Mag accused.

"I'm not a thief, but I felt like stealing something," he said, his eyes still fixed on me. I looked at him; his hair hidden under a hood was black and long, his skin was brown, and his eyes were as dark as the night. He would have been handsome if he weren't so threatening. "Hiding, dear?" he asked and smiled.

"Stay away from her, or else...!" my aunt shouted, already wanting to give her orders, but she had to convince herself that all was lost.

"How much strength do you two have, witches? Is it enough to overcome my control over your horses?" The stranger asked, stating he was now controlling the horses. I gasped in shock; only wolves had that dominion over animals, so the horses had stopped because of him; it was this strange man who made them stop.

"You're a wolf?" Aunt Magdalena asked, also shocked but now defiant. "Then why dare to interact with witch folk like us? Hasn't the Council declared that our species can only communicate with each other in court?"

"Do you see your beloved Council here, witch woman? Certainly, none of them would want to play in the rain like we are," he said.

"That's an affront! You will be punished, wolf!" Aunt Mag said disdainfully.

"If you want to reach your beautiful city of shit, I'll release the horses, but you leave the girl with me," the werewolf proposed as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.

"What? You must be mad!" my aunt said, starting to shout.

But the werewolf was looking at me with his cynical smile and a playful look, as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself and said, "as if you had any choice."

Then he practically tore the carriage door off and pulled me by the waist. He was so fast that one moment I was being pulled from the carriage, and the next, I was hanging onto the broad back of a giant wolf, stampeding deeper into the dangerous forest.

Alana POV

This simply never happened; in all times, no wolf had ever been so bold as to lay hands on a witch, let alone kidnap one, but this wolf was doing just that as he dragged me deeper into his territory through the forest.

My hands clutched his thick fur while my hair was pulled back by the opposing wind, my vision was a blur because of how fast the wolf was running. With each step he took, everything became darker and more shadowy under the tree canopies, each step taking me further away from my aunt and her carriage. We were now so far that if I didn't do something, I would never be able to go back, so I started kicking the wolf with my feet and pulling his fur harder.

"Stop! Stop!" I screamed without ceasing to hit him, but no matter how much I continued, my captor seemed unwilling to yield.

Frustrated, I looked at the distance to the ground. I knew that at that speed, if I jumped off his back, I'd seriously hurt myself, but we were getting further and further from my aunt, and that could be dangerous for me. So, I took a deep breath and jumped.

However, as soon as the wolf realized what I was about to do, he tried to stop me, but it was too late; I had already rolled off his back and fallen onto the soft grass and sand. The impact with the ground knocked the air out of my lungs, and I groaned in pain, but I wasn't badly hurt.

The wolf turned towards me and roared furiously right in front of me. His snout was flared, and his dangerous canines were grinding against each other, the murderous look in his eyes clearly showing he didn't like me jumping off his lap.

"Let me go!" I demanded, and he growled again in fury, giving his negative response. By the love of the Great Mage, this wolf was simply majestic: large, black, as if he were an Alpha of his pack. But why would an Alpha want to challenge the laws and get involved with witch folk like this?

"You'll get into trouble if you don't let me go," I said with my head held high. He snorted as if laughing at my warnings and swung around on his own feet in a swagger, making it clear he cared little about that.

He really is a reckless werewolf.

In truth, I was scared to death; clearly, I couldn't fight an Alpha, especially since I was a powerless witch, but my kidnapper didn't need to know I was a useless witch. The rain was so heavy that thick drops of water fell from the tree branches, making the ground slippery and wet. I had to act quickly, or this wolf would have me as a hostage. Without him noticing, I grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into his eyes, making him recoil and hiss.

I took advantage of that precious little moment to run like my life depended on it, and it did. I didn't know the forest; I was probably lost, but I wasn't going to let the wolf catch me; I was determined to get as far away from him as possible. But everything went wrong when I slipped because of the damn rain and hit my head on a rock below, then everything went dark, just like my hopes.

When I woke up, the day was clear and no longer raining. I was lying in a bed that was at least comfortable.

"Heavens, my head..." I murmured, running my hand over my throbbing head. There was a smell of food being prepared in the air; I scanned the place with my eyes and realized it was a sleek, presentable space. There was a man cooking, and he was shirtless.

He turned to me and came over. His body was sculpted and well-defined; without the hood, his long hair fell freely to his shoulders, his mischievous smile, his cynical and sharp look, certainly, this was the most intriguing man I had ever met in my life. He was approaching with a mug containing a hot drink. "Good morning, beautiful runaway sleeper," he greeted me with the same sarcastic air from yesterday, offering me the hot drink, "take it, it will ease the pain."

"Are you trying to poison me by any chance?" I asked, feeling how dry and dehydrated my throat was.

He rolled his eyes before answering, "Why would I poison you? If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you long ago." He had a slight air of boredom while speaking. I bit my lips, considering whether I should accept his food, but hunger and thirst were stronger than my reason, so I took the mug and drank the sweet, delicious content, satisfied to see how well my body recovered.

"Is this where you live?" I asked, looking around the space, "So it's really true that werewolves live in caves like primitives." I wanted to offend him.

He gave a sarcastic laugh and responded, "You have a sharp tongue for a witch. Learned that from your arrogant mother?" He clearly must have thought Mag was my mother.

"She's not my mother; she's my aunt. And she will come for me," I said with certainty. After all, why would Aunt Mag lose sight of me now when she was about to make a good amount of money by selling me to the Lightsuns?

My kidnapper was laughing sarcastically. "Do you really think witches would have the courage to enter wolf territory, even to rescue one of their own?"

"If some are as foolish as you were when you kidnapped me, yes," I replied accusatory, seeing his expression darken. "What do you intend to do, werewolf? Why did you take me? What do you think you will gain from this?" I needed to know his intentions.

He got up from the bed, "for now, what I want most is for you to stop flooding me with questions," he said without looking at me.

"Do you really think you can stop me?" I was starting to mock him, but he stopped me with a cold look and a dominant voice.

"Especially when you're in my captivity, and I can dispose of you whenever I want!" His words were sharp and harsh, his eyes even glowed with a dangerous red for a moment; I realized that this man was truly dangerous and wouldn't hesitate to get rid of me whenever he wanted.

Alana POV

I didn't exchange any more words with him after he was so hard on me. This werewolf was an arrogant bastard who thought he owned everything, but if he thought I was going to stop fighting, he was very mistaken.

My kidnapper left his room in the afternoon; maybe he was going hunting or something, but it was the opening I needed. He had locked the door, and I managed to break it in using one of his kitchen utensils. I wasn't going to stand by and watch him do whatever he wanted with me. I was going to fight.

As soon as the door opened, I slipped out of that cave, taking care to check if he was nearby, but he wasn't, much to my pleasure.

My back still hurts from yesterday's blow when I jumped off the wolf's back, and my head still throbs from hitting a rock when I slipped while trying to escape. I was weak and in pain, but even so, I wasn't going to fail to survive. So I started running through the forest as my life depended on it.

But where was I running to? I was in the middle of nowhere, and I didn't know how to get out of that forest, but I needed to get back to my house and my aunt's safety. But at what cost? Suddenly I found myself thinking that gold-digging Aunt Mag was going to sell me to a rich old man in Fastfall, a place that had never been my home, and even if I managed to escape to Belmont, my hometown, who would take me in?

I, being a useless witch with no power, was not fit for any purpose, and no one would want to shelter me for fear of getting my curse and also losing their magic just as I had lost mine. The wizards and their laws were harsh and ruthless, without mercy towards others. I didn't have a place in Belmont, nor did I belong in Fastfall, where I would be forced to marry anyone I didn't want. So why was I running so hard?

My vision started to get blurry as I started to realize that there was no choice for me, I had nowhere to go, and it was very unlikely that Aunt Mag would come looking for me. Heavy tears were coming out of my eyes, but I was running anyway.

"Stop!" I heard the werewolf's voice making me stop, and when I looked, he was standing a few meters away from me, following me.

It was then that I realized that my mission was hopeless. I would never be able to leave this forest if this man didn't want me to.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, wanting him to stay away.

"Just stop; trust me. Don't move another inch," he said in warning, as if he were aware of something. But I didn't believe him; I wasn't going to play his game. So I ran away again, but as soon as I left the place where I was standing, the ground at my feet gave way, and I screamed as I fell into the large crevasse below. But before I fatally hit the ground, I saw the big wolf jump into the hole and cover me with his body, and when we hit the ground, his body cushioned the fall in such a brutal way.

It was a hole about ten meters below the surface, and there were sharp stakes at the mouth of the hole pointing downwards, indicating that it was not natural, it was a trap, and we had fallen directly into it.

"Holy shit. I told you to stop, you petulant witch," the werewolf said now that he had returned to his human form. He had a grimace of pain on his face, indicating that he had suffered from the fall, after all, it was a damn ten meters, and if he hadn't cushioned the fall with his body, I would be dead and sprawled now.

I swallowed hard. Why had he helped me? Why had he saved my life? He had even thrown himself into the hole while he was out of danger up there. "Could you get off me now?" He asked sarcastically and I opened my eyes wide realizing that I was still on top of him, I jumped off his lap and recovered myself. He got up with difficulty and sat down. It's okay that he wasn't human and could withstand big falls like those, but he had still hurt himself badly.

"Some of your ribs must be broken; you need a healer," I said, and he smiled sarcastically.

"Now you're worried about me? Weren't you running away from me a few minutes ago, you running witch?" He said, being arrogant as always, even though he was in pain. I didn't answer him, let him die of pain!

I looked up to the mouth of the hole, the day was already coming to an end and everything was starting to drain. "How do we get out of here?" I asked in fear.

"This is an orc trap, no one escapes an orc trap unless they want to," he said, leaning his back against the wall of the hole. I looked up again in apprehension and then looked at him.

"Not even a wolf can't escape this trap?" I challenged him.

"Not even a wolf!" He replied, sharp. I lowered my eyes, ashamed of myself, he had sacrificed himself to save my life and now I was asking him to do the impossible. I sighed and sat down in the corner of the hole, completely hopeless now.

"Don't worry so much, we'll get out of here. Every morning the orcs come by to check their hunting traps to see if they've caught anything, so when they arrive, they'll take us out of here, we'll talk to them and then we'll leave," he said with his eyes closed, "I even wanted to prepare a nice dinner because I thought you were still weak, I went hunting a deer, but when I arrived at the cave I saw that you had escaped." He laughed but seemed humorless. "You're not good at following orders, are you?"

"You were keeping me trapped there, obviously I was going to try to escape!" I responded with my head held high.

"So now we're stuck here and without dinner on top of that, I hope you're happy with the choices you made, witch!" He was also relentless, calling me a witch as if it were a derogatory term. I didn't answer him; I should listen to him a few times. "Now we have no choice, try to get comfortable and sleep until the orcs show up."

"What about your injuries? Won't they get worse?" I asked. He grunted sarcastically but without much force.

"You forcing empathy is so touching."

"I'm not forcing empathy!"

"A witch concerned about the well-being of a wolf!? That's another story," he said, ridiculing me.

It was true that our species had never been friends, it was in our DNA to be enemies, but that didn't mean I wouldn't want to return the favor he did for me, I would be dead right now if he hadn't sacrificed his ribs for me to save.

"What can I do to at least lessen your pain?" I asked without giving up, he looked at me a little surprised, he could tell that I was really worried about him.

"Are you thinking of putting your magic on me to cure me? I'm not as stupid as you think. You won't be able to work your dark magic on me to kill me, witch girl!" He said.

"My name is Alana, call me that," I said to him my name even though I didn't know his name. He remained silent for a while, still suspicious, but pondering. And even if I wanted to use witch magic to harm him, he could rest assured that there wasn't even a shred of magic in me, I thought bitterly.

"I already told you not to worry so much about it, my metabolism regenerates itself, and in a few hours, I'll be as good as new. The only sensible thing we can do now, miss, is sleep," he said, closing his eyes again and leaning his head on the wall of the hole.

Still feeling heavy on my conscience, I tore a good part of the fabric from my long dress, gathered it together, and slowly approached him, who was sleeping. I took the rags from my dress and placed them under his head to give him a little comfort, so only then could I feel a little less guilty.