The Werewolf King's Bride

(From Blue's Perspective)

"Haa, someone… help… Gosh…"

*pant*

"I told you. It's a long way," Dem said, patting me on the back. "Here, drink some water."

I took the bottle from him and drank some water. The water was cold as the bottle was made by Luc, who installed some exclusive features like it would keep the water warm or cold, or even make the water warm if pressed buttons. It was slightly like a tumbler.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.

"No! It's not too long now. Let's try again," I said.

I did not want to give up after coming this far. That would be a complete waste of our time and efforts.

The path was longer than I thought. We brought enough food and water. Dem was more worried about me as he was an overprotective husband, so he kept bringing more food in case I got hungry.

We walked for two more hours before we reached the peak. It felt incredible though it was very tiring, kind of like an accomplishment.

"Oh…!" I exclaimed. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"You look tired," he said, not bothering to look around us, rather focusing his gaze on me.

"I am. But look around, not at me," I said.

He glanced around as if he was scanning the area. It did not seem like he was enjoying the beauty. It was more like he was making sure there was no danger around us.

"Hm…"

"Hm, what?"

"It's indeed a calming place," he said. "It doesn't feel that bad."

"Yeah… You have never come here before?"

"I have."

"When?"

"To kill monsters?"

"To kill monsters?" I repeated. "Wait… There are monsters around us? Is that why you have brought your blade?"

"Yeah, but they are less now," he said.

"Wait… What if monsters attack us? Why are you so carefree?"

The calmness I felt was removed with the sudden anxiety, fearing that monsters could attack us anytime. I knew Dem was carefree about some things, but it was too much.

"They will die if they attack us. I will kill them, of course," he replied nonchalantly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Just like that?"

"Yeah. It's no big deal," he said. "That's why I am not worried. The monsters here are not that strong."

"Really? Can I kill them too with my power?"

"I think so. Your power is greater than those puny things," he said.

"Oh? Then, we don't have to worry?"

"I am not worried. You are the one who is worried. You don't have to worry about those things. Just enjoy yourself."

After Dem said that I could defeat them with my power if they emerged, I felt less anxious though the anxiety did not go away completely.

I spread the mat on a good spot and Dem placed the food that we brought. We did not bring an umbrella because I felt it was extra. Besides, it was not sunny today. Because we had walked a long way, we were sweating profusely despite the weather not being too hot.

"There are no pebbles under the mat, right?" Dem asked.

"I checked. There is none," I replied.

"Yeah, be careful. Or, it will hurt your butt."

"I know…"

We sat down and had the sandwiches we packed. It was the special sandwich our chef made. Dem and I had not eaten them in a long time because we got bored. So, after two months, we decided to have them again.

"Is it turkey meat today?" Dem asked.

"Is it? I thought it was chicken."

"No, it's turkey," he said, taking another bite.

"Is that so? I guess my taste buds are not as improved as yours," I chuckled. "It feels good to have them again."

"The taste never changes. It's weird."

"Why?"

"I mean if you make the same thing again and again, is it bound to be the same way every single time? Your cake tasted different when you made it again."

"Well, that's because most of the time the cakes got burnt," I grumbled. "Are you saying this to embarrass me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you made the perfect cake on your first try?"

Dem also wanted to make a cake once. It was after our anniversary. That time, he made a lemon cake and it was the best lemon cake I ever had. It tasted even better than our cook's lemon cake. It was Dem's first try, but he aced it, making me jealous. How could he do everything so well?

Though I was jealous, my jealousness did not stop me from eating the most and flooding him with praise.

"It was not that perfect. You kept praising me too much," Dem said.

"It was. You just don't agree."

"I like yours the most," he said.

'Isn't that because I am the one who made it and not because the cake is actually the best?'

We also brought watermelon juice with us because I loved it. Dem liked desserts that included strawberries; actually, he liked sweet things, but he liked things made with strawberries the most. Though he cared for what I wanted only, I told the maids to pack strawberry milkshakes too. I personally did not like strawberries too much. But it was fun to watch him enjoy.

We also had chocolate cake. It had strawberry toppings which Dem seemed to like a lot. After eating, Dem picked some flowers for me. I was not a fan of flowers either, but it felt good when he gave them to me.

The borders of the white blossoms were slightly flared. Green dots were visible on the tips. The petals had very minor scalloping. They were extremely lovely to behold.

"What flower is this?" Dem asked. "I picked them and I don't know. It's kinda good to look at these though."

"They are snowbell if I'm right," I said, taking the flowers from him. "I have never seen them in real life before, only in the books. Are they called snowbell here too?"

"I don't know. I have never seen them before. Or perhaps I did, but it was too insignificant to remember."

"Well, they are not noticeable. Since you have come this way before, you must have seen them before," I said.

"Yeah… Don't sniff them. There might be bugs or something."

"I am not, geez…!"

Dem and I stayed there until late afternoon. Then, we started to head back. We were chatting a lot, so we did not realize that much time had passed. It was when the mosquitoes started to attack us, we found out how late it had been. We did not plan to stay for that long in the first place.

"Let's go as far as possible before it gets dark completely. There are mosquitoes, so let's try not to stop anywhere," he said. "If you are tired, that's a different matter."

"We should have brought that gel," I said.

There was a gel that kept the mosquitoes away if applied. It did not need to be applied everywhere, just one place was enough. The smell would keep mosquitoes away.

"I can't believe I forgot something so important," Dem grumbled.

"It's not like we planned to stay until this late," I pointed out.

It took us four hours to get to the top. It would take the same or perhaps more to get down. Though it took a long time, I did not regret it as it was enjoyable.

"Be careful of the rocks. The road is not that even," Dem warned.

"I am being careful, honey," I sighed. "It's maybe the tenth time you have warned me."

"That's because I am worried about you."

"I know…"

It had been half an hour and I was already tired. It was getting dark and I was hearing noise around us.

"Can you hear the noise?" I asked.

"I can. They are just small animals."

I trusted Dem about it because he was a werewolf and he had better hearing than me. He kept telling me not to worry about our surroundings. I had my dagger and my power as a dark mage, yet I could not fully stop from worrying.

As we walked more, it felt like someone was following us, or perhaps there was more than one. Dem did not seem to care, so I thought I could hear things because I was scared.

'It's nothing, Blue. Just relax,' I told myself.

We went near the biggest tree I had ever seen. It looked a bit like a willow tree, but there were differences as well. Dem and I talked about that tree on our way before.

Just as we reached that tree, I heard a loud growl. The sound was very deep. There was no way I mistook it.

"Dem, have you…?"

Before I could finish my question, I saw something in the air ahead of us, jumping to attack us.