Revenge of The Shadow Heir

SEVENTH MONTH OF YEAR 992.

DAHLIA:

"I dragged myself through hell just to make you suffer, and I'll make sure you really suffer!"

These were your bitter words to me, my dearest Tristan, the words that had finally woke me up and shook me awake for what you really were.

You said you've only come to me for revenge – to see me spill the blood that have been spilled similarly by your pack, by your own people, but did you not see that I was also one of your people? I am your wife now, your other half... Do you really think so poorly of me that you'd rather see me die and wither away like this rather than save me?

When I accepted your hand back then, I admit that I was scared... I have never known what love was like. I had never known what freedom was like too, and you had given me those choices when you extended your hands towards me.

"Dahlly," you said, calling me softly by my childhood name, "Dahlly, come and run away with me. Come with me... You have nothing to fear. I shall give you the freedom you deserve and the love you longed for so much in this life..."

But where is that promise now, my dearest husband? Where did that promise go?

I sat here, awaiting the vampires to drink my blood. To them, my existence was nothing more than a breath – a passing meal for the night. I was just a sustenance delivered to them that will help quench their thirst for blood, and yet, why do I feel that I have more value to them than I can ever be to you?

Was it because you have never loved me from the start?

You have never loved me, I know. Who, in their right minds, could ever love their enemy so willingly? Yet here I am, painfully and deeply in love with you.

You are my enemy. You have approached me as an enemy, and yet I thought I could turn you somewhat to my side. I thought that if I tried my hardest and do penance for my pack and my father's sins, that if I give you every ounce of sincerity in my heart, you will really start to love me or at least like me... I thought you'd recognize the real shape of my heart beneath all the violence and the dark pasts that surrounded our lives...

But I was a fool for believing I could change you... I had always been a fool when I placed all of my trust in you by the bridge or when I took your hand and conceded to the kiss that marked our intertwined destinies... I had been a fool to love you at all, Tristan Dmitri Abell!

Now, I shall pay that price with my own life... As the vampires' fangs sank into my flesh, all I could think of was you and how you had delivered me to them... All I could think of was you and how elated your heart must feel that I will be finally gone in your life now.

The agony burned in me as the canines of the blasted one collided into my veins.

Ahhh! It's too much! The pain is too much!

It was an unbearable kind of pain, but right then, all I could even whisper was your name, the very name of my savior, the name of my tormentor, and the name of my unborn child's father who would sadly never get to see his lovely face....

"Tristan!"

******************************

TRISTAN:

I hurried to the place where they kept you and cursed the Moon Goddess and myself for bringing you there!

Why of all times, why of all places did you have to be there? Did you not know that this was the place I have sworn never to return to? This was the very place I have sent my father and the rest of my pack to their final rests... Why, of all places, did you have to be here?

You were my enemy, and you should remain my enemy until the end - that was my simple plan.

I wasn't supposed to fall in love with the girl who had robbed me of an opportunity to live a peaceful existence, and yet, what am I doing here, hurrying to you like a mere pet dog? Why is my heart about to burst at the thought of you losing your life at the very place I had lost my entire family?

I stopped for a while and listened at the footfall of your heart against my chest. The moment I wedded you and marked you as mine, we had become connected, and at that very moment, my suffering had begun. I swore to get my revenge on you and your people, but why does it feel that you are getting revenge upon me by thinking such putrid thoughts? Why are you doing this to my heart, my Dahlly?

I hated you, Dahlia! I hated you precisely because you had to be the one and only child of my sworn enemy. Why does it have to be you? Why does it have to be you that I must get my revenge upon?

I ran like crazy towards your scent. Almost instantly, I encountered a vampire, and I wasted no time by attacking his head, severing it from the rest of its body. I needed to find you as fast as I could. I needed to find you and save you, or else I would never be able to save my own soul!

Why, Dahlia? Why did you have to be the kind and gentle person that you are? Why did you have to be the one to fall into my arms on that day at the woods? If it was another wolf, it would have been easier to be cruel. I could have easily hurt them over and over without remorse, and yet the rare beauty of you had never failed to catch my heart and plant guilt in it whenever I had to use you as a pawn to my schemes. And why on earth did you have to agree to be used by me? Why did you agree to help me at all?

Now that I have brought this hell upon you, I wondered, would you still love me? Would you still kiss me as fervently as you did on our first night together? Will you still think of me as your husband and you as my wife? Would you still have conceded into taking my hand after promising you the love and freedom you deserved at that time?

If I had known we would come to this, I should never have stolen you from Kaist. I should have just turned a blind eye and watch you walk down the aisle in his arms, smiling like you really mean it. At least you would have led a peaceful existence... You wouldn't have to suffer from fright or be caught in all my foolish schemes! You wouldn't find yourself in a predicament like this...

When I delivered you to these bloodless monsters, I was half-crazy! I should have known that they wouldn't keep their promise of never harming you! Of course they would do all sorts of evil to you, my poor Dahlia, my dearest beloved Dahlia!

'I'm coming! I'm coming, Dahlly,' I screamed through our shared thoughts. I hoped to the Goddess that you heard me. I hoped that you didn't think it in your heart that I would abandon you for even a second! I swear I will kill them if they had even laid a finger even against the fibers of your hair tonight!

I knocked down another bloodless creep as I closed in now on this land that had become the vampire's territory. They had been coming towards me like bees on honey, but it doesn't matter. They all fall headless when I release them. They could keep on coming for all I care, if that meant that you were still safe and alive somewhere!

Suddenly, in the midst of swarming chaos, I heard you scream.

"Tristan!"

Bloody Goddess, you called my name - my name - which you had lately abhorred. My heart stilled and the blood in my veins started to chill.

"Dahlia!" I growled back. Even in my wolf form, I know you would hear me and recognize my voice. "Dahlia," I screamed again, but to my surprise, you were no more.

Something in my heart snapped... Something had painfully snapped inside of me... Was that a muscle, a ligament, a blood vessel?

"No," I howled in horror as I realized what it was... It was your life line... Our connection as fated mates have been severed and that could only mean one, damn thing!

Finally, after battling several throngs of lifeless, soulless creatures, I have finally reached the shack where they have imprisoned you.

I cried as I looked at your limp and lifeless body. The blood on your neck that had generously poured out had already dried a bit. I was too late! Too late!

I extended my paws to reach your outstretched hand. It was the hand that had once caressed me, the hand that had stirred my heart and body into heat. Now, that hand had already grown cold and pallid...

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry...Please don't leave me... I love you. Please don't leave me..."

These were the words I so longed to tell you, but I couldn't, or rather, I didn't, for you were my enemy, the enemy I have sworn to crush...

Now, my greatest enemy was none other than myself, and the greatest vengeance I could give him was to die alongside with you.

I reached towards your hand and clasped it. "My Dahlly, wait for me... In the afterlife, wait for me..."

I only had one prayer as I closed my eyes... Moon Goddess, if you were there, please save her... Save Dahlia...

Everything else in my life faded away as I shut my eyes. What remained in my head were only my memories of your beautiful and smiling face...

THIRD MONTH OF YEAR 992, A FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE TRAGEDY.

DAHLIA:

"Waah, mama," the little girl wailed as I applied the ointment on her wounds. I tried to be as gentle as I could, but it didn't seem to work much.

"Mama, mama, it hurts!"

I bit my lips. My heart hurt a lot seeing this small child weep in front of me. I soothed her in an attempt to make her feel better. I still needed to apply the rest of the ointment and patch the wounds afterwards, but I see it will take us more time to finish up in this state.

"Don't cry, baby," I said as gently as I could. "We just have to put a little bit more medicine, and we will finish up so that you can play, alright? Just a little bit more..."

She evaded my attempts to put the medical salve by writhing and thrashing about. I knew I should have eased the pain away when I first applied the ointment...

"Don't cry, Aya," her mother, a young girl with blonde flowing hair, said. She stroked her baby's head gently as she spoke. "Mama is right here... I won't leave, okay?"

Almost immediately, the little girl stopped wailing. I smiled. A mother's love is really the best. It made me wonder what my own mother was like. Perhaps in my youth, she had been like this to me too.

"You're a big girl now, right, Aya? Now, can you stretch your hands to the doctor and let her treat you? Mama will be here, don't worry," the lovely mother continued to say.

The little girl still cried, but it was more controlled than before. Her cheeks were red and puffed as she put on her bravest face, trying her utmost best to stop herself from wailing loudly. However, she still held her affected arms away from me and the awful medicine I was holding.

"Come now, Aya. Do you want the Shadow Runes to come and get you? Don't you know that naughty pups get kidnapped by the Shadow Runes easily? If that happens, you won't get to see mama anymore," the mother warned her little one.

The Shadow Runes – an ancient werewolf clan that had been notorious for their use of black magic alongside their impossibly ferocious strength was a name that was both feared and abhorred throughout history. Before, this clan had been known as the mightiest group in all the Werewolf Clan. During the War Of The Lands a few years ago, this pack chose to side with the Blasted Ones – the werewolves' name for those belonging to the Vampire Clan - in order to become the most powerful werewolf pack in the Western Kingdom.

In the past, calling the sacred name of this pack was unheard of. Speaking of it was akin to speaking a curse. They were a group of vicious hunters gifted in all possible areas: intelligence, speed, and stealth. It doesn't matter whether you were a friend or foe. Anyone who had ever displeased a Shadow Rune wolf lost their lives.

After their pack had mysteriously disappeared several years ago, the fear against their name faded away through time. The only fear they can invoke now is those in children. Mothers use their name as a warning to never go against their parents' will unless they wanted to be snatched away by the fabled pack.

The little cutie pie in front of me was still whimpering a bit, but she stretched out her burnt arm towards me, ready to be treated.

Indeed, the use of the Shadow Rune's name was still effective. I beamed at her and applied the ointment as fast as I can.

This time, I applied a bit of my own powers quietly to make sure she does not feel any more pain.

"All done now," I said, smiling back to both mother and child.

"Thank you, doctor! This really means so much to us," the mother said, bowing down vehemently at my feet while I and Lina, my personal maid, stopped her from doing so.

"It's alright," I said, feeling the rising heat on my face when she called me 'doctor.' I clung to her shoulders as she tried to bow down and kiss the earth once again. "I really didn't do much, and please don't call me a doctor... I'm just a medical student. Just call me by my name, Dahlia.

"Or Lady Hurst," Lina seconded. I shot her a slightly reproachful look as she said this. Lina was always big on formalities.

Honestly, I'd rather discard the use of formal titles. I always hated being treated as special, or worse, as someone incapable just because of my status or my gender.

If I could have it my way, I'd rather live in a secluded village amongst the commoners and treat people without a care about social statuses.

Of course, that wasn't the case. I live in such a world where gender and position make up one's life entirely. If one is a man, one can go up in high society, and if one is of the nobility, one will always find himself or herself on top of things.

I am precisely that person now – the person everybody sees on top. Some say I am lucky that my father is a duke. If it wasn't for his connections, I wouldn't find myself in this politically-arranged marriage with Prince Kaist, the next-in-line alpha of the White Fang Pack and the one and only heir to the Talandor Throne.

"Becoming the princess and future queen of this land – those are everyone's dream," Lina would always say this to me whenever I complain.

For her, those were dreams, so why then do I see them as my shackles?

"Doctor Hurst, thank you," Aya's mother said again, bringing my thoughts back into the present.

I patched Little Aya's wounds properly and gave her instructions on how to treat and change the dressing. However, I knew that she wouldn't have any need for them.

I was ecstatic to think that, a few hours from now, when they get home, the mother would discover that Little Aya's wounds have already healed, and the best thing about it is that she would think it was due to the ointment. She would probably never suspect a thing.

That's right... No one must discover my powers. No one should know that I could heal people, or I'll get in deep trouble.

In this era when the name of the Shadow Rune has been used as a hex, discovering that once could do magic will also prove to be fatal – this was what my father had said.

I first discovered my powers when I was very young. I was six then, and I had always been interested in medicine, treating stray animals or my own pets when they get injured.

One time, I saw a bird, and I healed it using my powers. I thought it was a natural phenomenon back then. I called my powers the 'glowing hands,' for whenever I would place my hands over an injured part, and they light up, a miracle was bound to happen.

I thought my powers were a gift from the Goddess, but when my father discovered it, he was beyond shocked. On that day, he sent away all the maids from the house and only kept the bare minimum that he trusted.

"Dahlly, baby, whatever happens, no one should know that you can do this," he tried to explain to the six year old me.

"But why, papa," I said, curious and sad at the same time.

"Werewolves aren't supposed to use magic, baby. Only witches use magic, and they would always end up dead... Maybe bad people will come after you if they know you can do this."

"So, I can't use my glowing hands to people," I asked, pouting.

"No, you can't, sweetheart."

"But how about the animals, papa? Can I just help the animals?"

"You can't too."

I wanted to cry at that point. How could papa be so mean? Why do I have to hide my talents like that? I really didn't understand him...

"You'll know soon, when you grow up, baby. For now, you have to forget this power. You have to forget it and never use it again, understand?"

That was the first lesson papa had taught me, and that incident was also the first time papa had started to control my life into the direction he had wanted.

To others' eyes I was a lucky wolf, but in my mind, I always felt like I was a mere prisoner in a luxurious cage...

DAHLIA:

"Good job, everyone. Now let's go home," I told them after finishing up on today's charity work.

Everybody was tired, but they were all smiling. Once everything has been cleared away and the supplies were safely loaded back into the wagon, I boarded the carriage with Lina, and we journeyed back together to the mansion.

"Lady Dahlia, how long are you planning to give these free medical services along the poor men's villages," Lina asked.

Lina was only two years older than me, and we grew up together. She was almost like a sister, but even though I loved her to death, I always hated this side of her – the side that occasionally spoke so harshly against the poor and the common people.

"Whatever do you mean, Lina? I'll do this forever," I said.

"Surely you don't mean that, right, my lady? How about when you become the queen? I don't think you will either have the time or the capability to maintain an anonymous persona like this."

I sat in silence, not intending to respond to Lina's queries. Of course I knew that these small acts of rebellion against papa could never go on forever as I hoped it would. It had always been my dream to become a doctor and work at the commoner's district to aid people for free, yet, my father had always disagreed to it. After years of begging, he finally permitted me to do occasional volunteer works at the nearby villages. Little did he know that I used those times to travel to the far flung areas so that I could help people more intensively.

I sighed. Even Kaist was against me in this endeavor. We were friends since our childhood days, but he never shared my love for adventure and medicine. He had always been against me going out like this, risking my life so that I could somehow practice something very dear to my heart. Somehow, it felt like I had a second father rather than a friend or a fiancé in Kaist when it came to this aspect...

I think it will be even harder to convince Kaist to allow me to continue healing people secretly like this, especially now that the times had become more dangerous than before. This is one of the matters I must try to delicately raise to him once I get the chance.

"Lady Hurst, Miss Lina, may we please ask you to refrain from speaking? We are about to traverse the forest now," Rick, our coachman, reminded us.

We responded shortly, and Lina shut the heavy curtains against the windows. She hooked the latch on both carriage doors, and once the preparations had been made, we proceeded to ride in total silence.

Recently, the far-flung villages and the areas near the kingdom's borders have been plagued by rogue wolves and vampires, and they usually attacked those who travelled along the forest.

The village of Hildt that we visited today was covered with luscious green forests on all corners, and thus, it was one of the first few places that had suffered due to the recent attacks. Supplies to this area had been sporadic, and the knights, instead of being deployed in desolate places like this, were sent to the big borders to keep the peace.

Despite years and years of existing together, the war between the Werewolf Clan and the Vampire Clan painfully persisted. The only time they had really cooperated with us was when the Blasted Ones – the vampires - had worked with the Shadow Runes.

After the disappearance of this ferocious werewolf clan, however, the flimsy partnership the vampires had with the rest of our clan had completely crumbled. As such, our kingdom, Talandor, now the biggest werewolf kingdom in the western realm, was caught in the midst of a long-standing war with them.

Thus, if we so much as make a sound right now, we might attract either one of those sets of enemies, or even worse, we'll end up getting attacked by both. Because I didn't really ask for papa's permission regarding this trip, I didn't bring along any knights with me, save for Sir Raleigh, who was sitting in front of Rick as we journeyed.

It has been a good two hours since we traveled through the forest when the silence and peace was broken by the violent neigh of our carriage horses.

"My lady, Lina, no matter what you hear, don't get out!"

That was Sir Raleigh's voice. Surely, we weren't being attacked, right?

I started to say a silent prayer as sweat began to pour through my body in fright. I was the one who insisted on traveling lightly, so if anything will happen to Sir Raleigh and Rick, I could never forgive myself.

Lina and I listened in silence. We heard nothing. Was there really an attack going on outside?

I trembled. I haven't shifted for a long time. My father forbade me to go outside, so I had never been in any real danger recently. I had always travelled with my father's knights and was hardly exposed to any threats until today.

Still, I can hear my wolf Eva's ferocious growl within me. She was ready to face whatever damned thing was waiting for us should the need arise. It felt comforting that my wolf would stand by me and was willing to fight no matter how fierce the battle was outside. She was really so unlike me in my human form that even I had always been surprised that we were housed inside the same body.

"Lady Dahlia, be careful," Lina mouthed in the dark. I could see her amber wolf eyes illuminated in the dimness of the carriage. It was also comforting to think I was with her. I wasn't really alone...

Our hearts both froze when we heard a growl into the night. I began to hear the sounds of scampering feet in all directions.

I listened intensely at the fierce sound of battle from the outside. I wanted to take a peek from the window, but Lina was holding down the curtains firmly shut. We know that if the enemy would see us and discover that women were inside, they would go berserk.

Worse, if they knew who I was, they'd probably do something fatal...

At first, I can hear human voices shouting at each other, but now, all I could hear were feral animal grunts and howls. Sir Raleigh and Rick might have already turned themselves into their wolf forms. If so, the battle could be more intense than we could ever imagine.

Just as sudden as it started, the noises halted. The only sounds I heard were the shallow and frightened breathings that Lina and I took. What the hell was happening?

Out of the blue, from the top of our carriage, a hairy arm suddenly pounded its fist violently, creating a giant opening. I yelped in surprise, and Lina and I covered our heads by instinct.

The hairy arm continued to punch its way into the carriage's roof. It was a huge arm – double the size of an average wolf. He must not be an ordinary rouge, but a seasoned fighter wolf!

"Lady Dahlia, when I give you the signal, you must run! Run as fast as you can, and don't look back!" Lina shouted at me in between the attacks.

"Let's both run," I interjected after nodding at her.

If we didn't get out of there in a few moments, we would surely be pulverized to our deaths!

Before Lina could even do anything, the carriage door on my left side burst open, and the carriage was tipped on that side. All of a sudden, I found myself rolling accidently outside of the carriage and into the ground.

"Ah," I yelped as my shoulders fiercely hit the ground. When I lifted my head, I saw a large, black wolf running with all his might into my direction.

I was stuck with enormous fear. My ultimate weakness since childhood was that I couldn't transform into my wolf form at will. Eva, the wolf inside me, was growling fiercely, and yet, here I am, shuddering in fright in my human form. I could only look as the rogue wolf opened its enormous jaws and bared its jagged teeth against me. Those canines will tear at my flesh any minute now.

Suddenly, a brown wolf rolled in front of me. It was small but quick. It jumped into the black wolf's side, creating a bloody opening.

It was Lina in her wolf form! She growled at me, and even though I couldn't transform, I understood what she had said.

"Run!"

She didn't have to say it again. I gathered my skirt and ran deeper into the forest as fast as my legs could carry me.

'Shift,' I said to myself, 'please shift!' I tried to command myself to mentally change into my wolf form, but it didn't work. How can I be this useless?

I ran as fast as I could, but I know that the rogues were even faster. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that I was luring away some of the wolves from the people I had dragged into this mess, and I pray in my heart that in this way, I am being useful.

I stopped at my tracks momentarily when the terrain had suddenly changed. The trees disappeared, and I was surrounded by grass on all sides.

I hated this terrain! There won't be anywhere else to hide in this place, but what can I do? I just have to keep on running as fast as I could.

Out of the blue, and just as I had expected, I soon came to a cliff.

'Hah, please shift now, Eva! Please,' I pleaded with my body. I tried to relax a bit and channel Eva inside of me, who had been thrashing about so violently, wanting to be let out, to take control. I imagined myself reaching my hands towards her.

However, even in my imagination, I hit an invisible wall.

I wanted to cry. Why can't I shift? Why can't I shift even when my life depended on it?

With no options left, I climbed into the steep rocks leading into a ravine.

I sensed that the rogue wolves had already arrived. They were only a few feet away from me. I must make haste. I climbed some more, the jagged rocks making small tears at my clothes as I scampered into higher elevation.

"Hey, princess, where are you going," one of the rogue wolves said. "Why are you climbing up so high? Aren't you even tired?"

Hearing him speak only meant that he had already shifted back into his human form. He was positively mocking someone like me who can't even shift at will!

"Come on, you don't need to climb any further. We won't bite," the other chuckled.

Their words sounded devilish. I turned back to face them, my heart all wild with fear.

"Stay back," I shouted. I pulled a small dagger from the folds of my skirt. It may not be able to do much damage, but I'll make sure I won't make this easy for them.

"Are you going to fight us with that weapon, princess," the one nearest to me said. He started to emit a blood-curling growl. "You know this fight won't end well if you struggle, right?"

I backed down from him, my feet almost slipping into the earth below me. I could hear the gushing of water underneath, but I am not sure, and I couldn't dare tear my eyes away from the rogues lest they attack.

"Come if you dare," I said. I trembled a little as I spoke, but I did not back down. I wouldn't do so, even if this became the death of me.

"If you say so, b*tch! Don't say you were not warned," he snarled. In an instant, the man turned into a wolf and charged full force towards me.