Chapter 45: Running

His voice was so gentle. For a moment, Laurel thought she was dreaming, but she soon realized that it was not a dream. She tightened her grip on the frame against her chest and pulled the quilt over her head, hiding from Adolph’s gaze. Anger bloomed in her heart at the realization.
What was he doing here?
Adolph frowned, looking down at her as she vanished beneath the blanket. His stomach turned with discomfort. What had he done now?
“What are you doing here?” Laurel asked, tense and angry.
“I heard them say that you followed a man out of the castle after being yelled at by Basil, and I thought—”
“It’s not of your business, Your Majesty.” Laurel grit her teeth trying to keep her jaw from trembling and the little gasping sob from escaping. Of course, he was only there to see if she had run off with a man! Never mind her pain. Never mind what Basil called her or any of the other horrible things she’d learned. “Please leave. I’m going back to sleep.”
“Laurel, my mate, we need to talk.”
“We have nothing to talk about!” She yelled, her voice cracking though she hadn’t meant to yell. She tried to reign her emotions back, but the fury wouldn’t settle. “Go away, you bastard!”
Shame filled her and frustration. She growled at herself and got up from bed, taking the blanket with her without looking back at him. How could she lose control of her emotions like this? Mate or not, he was the king.
“Never mind,” she sniffled and threw the quilt back on the bed. “I’m leaving!”
“Laurel, wait!”
She didn’t listen, leaving her room and heading to the stairs, and rushing towards the front door. She went through the door and into the night streets. She heard Adolph calling her name from afar.
“Laurel!”
As she hit the outskirts of the city, she shifted in a flash of light and shot into the forest heading towards the countryside.
Adolph was almost breathless as her human form gave way to a streak of pure white fur tearing through the forest. A white wolf? He shook himself and ran after her, shifting as he hit the forest line. He gained on her quickly, but she was nimble. He leaped forward, thinking he would catch her, only for her to suddenly change direction and avoid him.
He huffed the first time and turned quickly, scrambling in the dirt and fallen leaves to follow her.
“Leave me alone!” She cried, dodging him again, sending him tumbling like a newborn pup.
It was ridiculous and oddly refreshing to be evaded like this, like a chase he hadn’t known he’d wanted. His tiredness was forgotten as he rushed after her.
“Laurel, just wait!”
“No!” She cried, running faster, tearing through the forest in whatever way would make it easy to get away from him. She darted behind trees, unafraid to let him run into the trees to slow him down.
He was impressed by how strategic she seemed to be in her escape. He had so much practice hunting prey, but he had never chased prey for so long. If she were a deer, he would have caught her already. Even the white fox hadn’t given him so much trouble.
Anger welled up again. His doubts whispered at the back of his mind turning his pace vicious as he pursued her. Why would she run from him? Why wouldn’t she just talk to him if he had done something wrong?
Maybe she was leaving him and knew he’d be furious. He wasn’t going to let her leave him so easily.
She turned and he took the high ground. She was fast, but he had the advantage of knowing the forest a little better than she did. As she rounded a boulder, he perched above the area she would have to run past and waited for her to come.
Laurel’s footsteps grew closer and at the first flash of white fur, he leaped.
“Got you!”
She yelped, stopping and backtracking just enough to dodge him and duck beneath him. She turned and lunged under a fallen tree and squeezed through the opening before he could get his bearings and catch her.
“Damn it, Laurel! Come back!” He cursed on the other side, unable to fit through the narrow space.
She ignored him, crawling and wiggling through the narrow passage.
She didn’t look back. She just had to keep going and she’d lose him in the forest. She’d leave the Imperial City, Basil, Delia, and the memory of Olivia behind. It didn’t matter if she’d never get Laura’s justice. She’d learn to live with it.
She turned again, rushing up a hill as she heard Adolph getting closer. The hill ended abruptly and she screamed in terror, trying to stop. The ground ended and for a moment she was skidding nowhere, before plummeting down. She screamed, closing her eyes as the sight of a deep chasm rushed up towards her.
“No! No! No—”
Her voice was cut off by a loud splash.
“Laurel!” Adolph roared as he rushed up the slope. He leaned over the edge, scanning the water for her before shifting back to his human form. The lake wasn’t deep, but she was struggling. She thrashed in the lake as he slid down the slope and hurried into the water as she screamed.
“Laurel!” He called as he waded to her and lifted her out of the water. “Laurel—Ow!”
She caught him in the face with her claws as she thrashed, wet and panicked. Her eyes were closed as she screamed and fought him, scratching his arms and face.
“No! No! I don't want to die!”
Her words doused his anger and shocked him. Did she think he was going to kill her? Was she still half asleep? Had she fallen at some point in her childhood or had a nightmare about falling? He’d have to ask about it after he got her calm enough to speak.
“You’re safe, Laurel!” Adolph held her tight, keeping her from scratching him again, “Open your eyes, Laurel! I'm here. You're safe!”
She struggled a bit longer, but slowly, she stopped screaming, trembling in the cold water against him. He let out a breath of relief as she started to curl up to him and shiver a bit from the cold.
Laurel sucked in breath after breath, curling into the warmth around her. The sound of the rushing wind and water faded as she opened her eyes to the moonlit dimness and looked up at Adolph in his human form, holding her close.
“You’re alright,” he said softly. His eyes were full of concern. “The water’s not that deep. I’ve got you.”
He stroked her head gently before wading towards the back as her sobbing died down and her fear eased. She whimpered as it felt as though he would let her go. He just shifted her in his arms and stroked her fur until her trembling started to ease.
“I won’t let you go,” he soothed. “You’re safe.”
Laurel shifted into her human form in his arms, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest as she cried softly. It wasn’t fair that his embrace didn’t belong to her, and she was sure there was nothing that she could ever do to make it hers. He was so warm and strong. Even leaning into this embrace for a short time was dangerous and made her covet it more than ever. She wasn't the one Adolph loved, but she indulged in the warmth of the embrace of the one she loved for a little bit.
She’d probably never have the chance to feel this embrace again.
Adolph murmured gently in her ear as he stroked her hair. He wondered what had made her so furious and how to fix it, but for now, he focused on calming and comforting her as she trembled. His anger fizzled out, forgotten at the feel of her in his arms and the sound of her sobbing. What had happened?
“You’re a white wolf…” His voice was a bit awed as she sniffled into his chest. “Did you know that the werewolf kingdom has always had this saying that the white wolves are the incarnations of the moon goddess?”
She shook her head.
“The story is that they’re destined to guard the kingdom.”
She winced. The moon goddess had told her that before sending her into Laurel’s body. She didn’t know if Laurel’s original form had been a white wolf, but Laurel had always known that she was a white wolf. It had been something her parents had scorned her for the first time she’d shifted.
“I didn't know... White is weird, alien, I've never exposed my wolf form to anyone.”
“My poor girl,” Adolph hugged her tightly, turning his head to nuzzle her gently. “You never knew how perfect you were, did you?”
Laurel pulled back and looked at him in confusion. He smiled at her sweet face and lifted her hand to kiss the back of her hand.
“I was going to give you some more time...” Adolph searched her gaze. “But I can't wait, Laurel.”
She frowned, “Wait for what?”
“For you to suddenly just… leave me like today. I don’t…” He shook his head, “I couldn’t handle it if you were to just vanish somewhere I couldn’t find you. I should have asked you yesterday.”
Her eyes widened as she blinked up at him, owlish and stunned, “… asked?”
“Laurel Miller, will you marry me?”