The Scarlet Paladin

Chapter 69 - White Wolf

Claire gripped her shield tightly as she waited for the monster to strike her. She was the only thing standing between it and her lovers, so she needed to be ready. She watched as the beast studied her. She felt fear begin to wash over her as the wolf bared its long, jagged fangs at her. She fought against that urge to run as she stared down this massive wolf stuck in their cabin.

The two stared at each other before Claire noticed the door behind it slowly open. She felt relief knowing it was most likely Jasmine readying an ambush. She took a deep breath as she pointed her sword at the wolf. She needed to buy her lover time and maybe diffuse the situation if she could.

"If you can understand me, we mean you no harm." She said, loud enough to cover the sounds of the door opening behind it. "I would much rather let you go on your way than fight you. Just know, if you choose to attack, then you'll be forcing our hand..."

Claire searched the wolf's face for any signs of recognition of her words. It flinched slightly when she pointed her sword, but its face never wavered. She let out a sigh, resigning to the fact that they'd have to fight this woman. She got back into her defensive stance before glancing back at the two behind her.

Lily was helping Ana through the window, looking back at her with panic in her eyes. Claire felt relief that they were making their escape, and she turned back to the wolf with a smile. She noticed the door was now open fully as Jasmine or Elsie would come to her aid. She focused back on the white wolf before her as it eased back on its growling.

Its ears perked up as it began to sniff around the cabin. Its attention was now fully off its surroundings as it sniffed around the seats of the cabin. It was making its way to their stored rations as Claire heard a growl come from its belly. She held back a laugh as it scrounged around under the seat, looking for the dried meat under it. It glanced back at her, its ears back and its pupils dilated.

Was it begging her? Claire thought to herself as its eyes lost their intensity, being replaced by what she could only describe as puppy dog eyes. She tilted her head at the wolf before sheathing her sword. She knew better than to get close to the wolf, so she reached under a different seat for food. She kept watch of the creature with the corner of her eye as she fished around for food.

She found bread and slowly stood up with it. She threw the loaf at the wolf's feet as it sniffed rapidly at it. It let out a soft whine as it scarfed the loaf down within seconds. It looked up at her, licking its lips as its giant tail wagged behind it. The wagging caused the whole cabin to shake underneath it, but Claire couldn't help but smile.

It reminded her of their shepherd dog back home who was always begging for scraps of food. She let out a laugh as it tilted its head at her. Those giant, red puppy dog eyes very nearly made her drop her guard. She held up her hand as she slowly approached the wolf.

She inched her way closer with her right hand stretched forward. She didn't make any sudden movements to not frighten the creature and allowed it to get comfortable with her distance. It backed slightly in the beginning but slowly began to sniff at her hand. She felt the fear bubble up as it began to sniff her hand. She was just waiting for it to show any signs of aggression, but it never did.

It sniffed her hand gently before it looked back into her eyes. It lowered its head and closed its eyes, letting her pet its head. Claire cautiously rubbed the top of the giant wolf's head as her face portrayed her bewilderment. Jasmine was behind the creature, staring in shock as Claire petted it. She kept her poisoned blade ready as she watched the exchange unfold.

The wolf didn't notice the assassin, it was too focused on its hunger right now. Claire pulled her hand back from the wolf's head and slowly bent down. She kept her movements slow and her eyes on the wolf as she descended towards the food it wanted. She unlatched the top of it and reached in for the dried meat inside. She grabbed a few and intended on feeding it to the wolf.

However, the wolf pounced. Not on her, but on the cabinet with all the meat. Jasmine panicked as she readied a strike on the wolf. But Claire stood up and stopped her. She took a deep breath as she let the wolf eat. Her shoulders untensed as she looked back at the front of the cabin. Lily and Ana were outside now, so she could abandon the carriage if need be.

The wolf was occupied by the dried meat while Claire inched around it. She kept her eyes on its back as she slowly crept to Jasmine's side. Both of them watched as the white wolf ate their food, uncaring of its observers. Claire turned to find the rest of her party and spotted Elsie and Ana quite a ways away. They had their wands readied as they cautiously watched the carriage.

Claire felt relief to know they were a safe distance away. She spotted Lily to their right, situated behind a tree. She turned back to Jasmine and whispered gently. "What should we do?"

She saw the wolf's ear twitch at her voice, but it didn't move to look at her. Jasmine shrugged and then spoke. "I don't kno-"

The wolf flinched and jumped backwards towards the front of the carriage at her voice. It returned to its previously hostile state, baring its teeth and growling. Its eyes studied the assassin as it tensed up, ready to strike. Claire moved in between the two with her shield readied.

"Shit. Sorry... she didn't mean to scare you." Claire said, trying her best to sound comforting. She motioned for Jasmine to leave, and Jasmine did. "It's okay... she's gone now. You can go back to eating..."

The wolf continued to growl at Claire, so she, too, decided to back off. It took a minute to survey the cabin, sniffing around and listening before going back to finish its meal. It stuffed its head back into the food compartment as Claire watched it wag its tail. She felt the tension leave her shoulders again as she looked back to her lovers.

All four were together now as Jasmine was filling them in on the situation. She backed away from the carriage, keeping an eye on the wolf as she did. She slowly made her way to the other four as she started to hear Jasmine's voice.

"-eating our dried meat right now. We might as well wait for it to finish and see if it will leave." Jasmine said to the other three. Claire turned and joined the huddle as all three looked at her in shock.

"Did you seriously pet the wolf?" Elsie asked. She looked bewildered at Claire as Claire felt her face redden.

"Uh... yeah. When dealing with dogs, you have to gain their trust and let them sniff you... I guess it worked on the wolf too..." Claire said while rubbing the back of her neck.

"Goddess... I can't believe that worked..." Elsie said as she idly watched the carriage. "Now we wait?"

Both Jasmine and Claire nodded as Elsie dramatically sat down with a huff. Ana let out a giggle as she sat beside her sister. Claire could only guess what Elsie said to her twin.

"So... this is who our Goddess wants to recruit..." Lily said, rubbing her chin. "I mean, it makes sense. Lycanthropy gives the cursed individual boosted stats and prevents them from dying from normal means..."

"Yeah, but they also tend to be rampaging beasts." Jasmine retorted. "Except this one, I guess..."

"She was friendly enough for me to pet her. Maybe her class is doing something?" Claire said, joining in the discussion. "It makes sense now why she was so confident fighting the trolls..."

"True... from what I remember reading about the northern tribes, they have initiation rituals that women must go through to become an adult," Lily said, furrowing her brow. She was concentrating on remembering the information she had read in the past. "Maybe that's what she's been doing?"

"But so far south?" Jasmine retorted. "She's nearly 150 miles south of any tribe's territory."

Lily just shrugged and turned to the carriage. "W-what about those bandits?" Ana chimed in. All three turned to her and waited for an explanation. "C-could she have come here for them?"

"Maybe to punish those abusing the lycanthropy curse?" Elsie elaborated. "Or to quell the spread of it?"

"If that were the case, why'd she fight the trolls?" Claire retorted. Both twins shrugged as they all looked back to their wagon. Claire worried about the horses being spooked by the wolf's presence, but they hadn't yet. The white wolf poked its nose out of the door as Claire moved towards the carriage.

She wanted to make sure that the wolf couldn't get close to her party members. She walked slowly towards the carriage as the wolf sniffed about. It poked its head out as it found Claire. Its demeanor went back to being dog-like, and its tongue stuck out slightly as it looked at her.

She saw the cabin shake slightly as it wagged its tail. It crawled out of their carriage before bounding towards her. She braced for impact as the wolf tackled her to the ground before it began to lick her face. She let out giggles as its tongue tickled her face.

Jasmine was inches from stabbing the wolf before she heard Claire's giggles from underneath it. Her malice and killing intent slowly dissipated as Claire's laugh got louder and louder. She backed off from the wolf before it noticed her. She stayed close in case something changed but let Claire handle it.

Claire was finally released from its grasp as it backed off her. She felt its slobber all over her face as she sat up to look at the wolf. Its pupils were dilated as it panted before her. Its tongue was still out as it stared down at her. She smiled softly at the wolf before holding her hand out. The wolf moved its head under her hand as she began to pet it again.

Claire was laughing before she noticed it slowly change. Its form shrunk as its hair receded inward everywhere but its head. Its animalistic features slowly shrank as it began to have more human-like features. Its claws and teeth shrank as human hands replaced its paws. Its now human face looked at Claire as anger slowly came over the woman's face.

"The fuck are you doing?" The stranger growled at Claire, her hand still petting her head.