Macster - The Last Dragon

As he looked to his mate, he saw her watching him with narrowed eyes and crossed arms, obviously annoyed at being kept waiting. Her face was also slightly green, and she looked on the verge of vomiting again. He winced, but made no comment. Instead he smiled as amiably as possible. "Well, time to get you out of there, sweetheart."

Virginia's mouth pressed into a thin line, but she held her tongue.

Fetching a massive Troll femur, Wolf moved to the cage and indicated she should resume her earlier position from which she had thrust upward to lift the barrier. He joined her and worked his fingers once more under the rough logs, tensing his muscles as he spread his legs wide for leverage. It took at least fifteen minutes to raise the cage high enough, with frequent pauses to shift their grips or to take deeper breaths, but eventually the prison reached the appropriate height. Lunging with his kind's quick reflexes, he snatched up the bone and shoved it into place, propping up the cage. Sighing in relief, Virginia quickly crawled out to freedom.

For what seemed an endless time the two of them kissed and embraced fervently, hands questing and lips searching. After a while they parted, and Wolf cupped Virginia's cheeks, gazing unwaveringly into her blue eyes. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you."

"I felt the same way about you." Her voice caught, and she lowered her eyes. Stroking her jaw with his thumb, he lifted her chin and then shushed her before brushing her hair back, but she would not be silenced. "I was so frightened, Wolf...I didn't know what to do! And then you showed up...and you...you..."

She trailed off and he regarded her expectantly, certain she was about to castigate him for his atrocious eating habits, as well as for eating the rabbit raw when there was a cooking pot handy. But instead she shook her head and shuddered. "You ate the ogre! How could you eat him when he was so huge and grotesque and disgusting? How could you?!?"

Wolf blinked in surprise; apparently his creampuff had gotten used to his manner of devouring food so that it no longer bothered her. He allowed as how his choice of prey left a lot to be desired; recalling how horribly the beast had smelled in his true form, he felt his gorge start to rise. Clamping down on his roiling gullet, he shrugged and smiled half-heartedly. "Very simple, Virginia. Once he had changed, all of his ugliness and stench were quite nonexistent, and all I could smell and taste was rabbit. And you know how divine rabbit is to me." He grinned at her hopefully. "It wasn't disgusting at all."

Virginia raised an eyebrow dubiously. "If you say so..."

There was no longer any reason to remain in the cave, so together the two of them slipped back out onto the slanting ledge, Wolf carrying the defunct Troll shoes. The moon had by now nearly set, and the only light came from the stars, but the sky itself was lightening imperceptibly. Dawn could not be more than an hour away at most, Wolf judged, and the ledge was chilly and bleak, the temperature low enough that he could see his breath. From the vantage point of their height, he could overlook the vast expanse of thorns and brambles stretching endlessly to the horizon, broken only by the swath of shattered vegetation where the ogre had crashed through. At the furthest extent of his vision, still a half a day's travel away, the spires and parapets of Queen Rapunzel's castle poked out of its cloaking cover, walls adorned with countless vines and creepers. He sighed, took a step--and another twinge in his ankle made him cry out.

"Wolf? What's wrong?" Virginia was at his side at once, eyes wide with concern as she supported his arm.

"It's nothing much--just a sprain," he muttered dismissively. But the look she gave him would not be ignored, so he quickly described what had happened to him when he tried to free her from the ogre's fist.

Glaring at him as if the injury were somehow all his fault, she sighed and ducked her head underneath his arm, her slim shoulders lending him even greater support. "We'll have to stop somewhere and wrap it so you won't aggravate it anymore. That should do until we reach the castle; there should be some preserved herbs and medicines there. Lean on me." Her tone brooked no argument, so he nodded and did not object as she led the way down the ledge, propping him upright on the weaker side.

It took less time to descend the mountain than Wolf had predicted, for Virginia set a rapid pace, and soon they were once more in the sheltering darkness of the looming brambles, picking their way along a rutted road so narrow as to be more of a path, but not so narrow that it did not allow the bitter wind to whine down the cavernous passage through the thorns. After some careful searching of the underbrush, Wolf found an abandoned fox burrow whose entrance was large enough to admit them, and one after the other they crawled inside, out of the wind and into a cozily warm hollow that was large enough for them to stand up in. There they found a springy bed of moss and pine needles, still fragrant after all this time, and Wolf settled down onto it gratefully. Virginia was not idle, however; using a pair of tiny scissors she carried with her for emergencies--the same pair, in fact, she had used to make her costume for the Beautiful Shepherdess Competition--she was cutting and tearing strips off of her shirt. When she seemed to have enough, she crouched down beside him and slid up his pant leg to feel his ankle.

He cried out at once, whimpering pitifully as tears came to his eyes. Shocked, Virginia quickly pushed up the cloth to reveal a black-and-blue swelling that made his ankle twice as thick as usual, soft and puffy and sensitive to the touch. Virginia stared down at it in horror, then clenched her jaw. "Wolf! You shouldn't have been walking on this! I don't know if a wrap will be enough now...you're going to slow us down!"

Wolf couldn't argue with her, seeing as now that he was resting and no longer running on adrenaline he could finally feel the flaming pain throbbing up and down his whole leg. But he had to speak in his defense. "Any pain is worth it for you, Virginia...it's nothing compared to what I'd feel if I lost you." He reached out and caressed her cheek tenderly.

A touch of color appeared in her pale face, though whether this was the blush of embarrassment or the flush of anger was unclear. "Oh, Wolf...I know you love me, and I appreciate the rescue, I really do. But...you don't have to put yourself in danger for me. I couldn't bear to lose you, either." Her expression became deeply troubled as she carefully began wrapping the cloth around his ankle, weaving and tying it together to form as tight a covering as he could stand.

Sighing, Wolf shook his head and began muttering to himself. "No no no, you don't understand...you are my mate for life, I have to protect you always. It's my duty and I cannot avoid it. It is bad enough that I did not rescue you in Incarnadine, that you had to use the shoes and Colin's pipe to escape Red's dungeon. If I had failed you again this time, you would have died. And if that had happened, I would have no reason to live myself."

Virginia had been nibbling her lip in concentration as she finished her makeshift wrap, but as she caught his words, she looked up in shock and consternation. "What? You're upset because you didn't get to rescue me from Carmine? How childish can you get, Wolf?" Her eyes blazed in fury as she shoved herself to her feet and began stalking around the burrow. "I think you're forgetting that I'm not weak and helpless! Snow White told me I had to rescue myself. And I'm not going to put up with any sexist rhetoric about how women can't take care of themselves without men's help. I thought better of you, Wolf!" She skewered him with a glare.

Howling in anguish, Wolf slammed his fists down into the dry earth, sending up a shower of leaves and pebbles. How could he be so stupid as to let his mouth run away with him yet again? His inner monologue was almost impossible to keep bottled up, but he had sworn to himself he would do it this time. Virginia could never know of the jealousy and ego that had prompted him to hate himself for not coming to her rescue when she needed it. It had been this conscious concealment of his motives that had helped foster the wall between them on their journey west, but it had been a small price to pay to prevent a scene like this. And after the May Queen, he had thought it no longer mattered. Now instead his wonderful, heroic rescue of his glorious mate had been ruined!

For a long time he could not even speak coherently, let alone answer Virginia's accusations. All he could do was howl and moan, weep and tremble. His vision was blurry, but he could see she still stood with her back to him, arms crossed severely over her chest. He longed to run to her side and comfort her, to calm her anger and show her his only motive had been his undying love for her, but his ankle was not all that held him back. He knew from the set of her shoulders that it would be dangerous to approach her now. So instead he buried his face in his hands and turned away himself. "Oh...Virginia...Virginia...no, that's not it at all..."

He was still shuddering with his emotion, numbed by the sudden turn of events that had changed his great victory into a sour, bitter defeat, when he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. Looking up in disbelief, he saw Virginia standing over him. Her eyes still betrayed a deep hurt and smoldering pride, but the anger was muted now, and a certain sympathy softened her features. "Wolf...I..." She sighed and looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I guess I'm still really shook up by that ogre. It's just...I don't want you to think I'm some delicate flower that's going to wilt if you're not there to water me and give me sunlight. I do need you in my life, I do, and I'll always be grateful for how you've been there when I thought I was all alone and had no hope. But I'm my own person and I always will be. You shouldn't beat yourself up if I get in trouble and you're not the one to get me out of it. You should just be glad I got out of it at all!" She looked at him pointedly.

That last statement slammed into Wolf's stomach like the punch Larry Peep had given him as he realized how true it was. Why had he been dithering and fretting over such a silly and inconsequential thing as who had rescued Virginia? She was right, he had been behaving like a spoiled cub! With discomfort he also realized something rooted deep in his heart. In the years since the burning of his parents, he had had next to nothing in life, no reason to believe he would ever amount to anything, or be happy, or have a normal life. That was the source of the obsessions Dr. Horovitz had highlighted in his personality. It made perfect sense that he would cling to anything and anyone he cared about for fear that he would lose them too, as he had Duncan and Cerise. Of course he would hover over his dinner and devour it in record time when he had no inkling when the next one would come. Of course he would constantly keep a vigilant eye on his beloved Virginia...she was the better part of him, she made him want to be a better person, the hero that wolves had never been. What he had said was true, he could not stand to live without her, and it was because she was more beautiful and spellbinding than any enchantment or fairy princess. It was his natural proclivity to coddle her, to protect her even beyond the call of duty, because he still hadn't grown up. He wasn't ready to let Virginia be herself because he was afraid if he did she would be hurt--or worse, that she wouldn't need him anymore and would leave him.

Stunned, Wolf knew he had to find some way to let Virginia know what he had just understood about himself. Wiping away his tears, he took her hands and gazed searchingly into her eyes. "Sweetheart...lambchop...I'm the one who should be sorry. I never meant to make you think I didn't trust you to take care of yourself. I just...I don't want you to think I'm useless, Virginia! If I can't rescue you, then what good am I to you? What kind of mate am I if I let you be hurt and you have to depend on someone else to save yourself? I have to prove myself to you, I have to show you I'm worth loving, or I'm no better than what Red thinks of me." He cursed softly and shook his head. "But I have to stop that, I have to let you be strong. You're so much stronger than I am, Virginia. I don't have to protect you. But it is my wolfie instinct to do so...I hope you can forgive me."

A tiny noise escaped Virginia, and for a moment he thought it was a snort, but then he understood it was a sob. When he dared to look at her, he saw tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. "You big furry fool...do you still think you have to prove your love to me? I trust you with my life...and I know you love me. If there's one thing I know, it's that. I have for a long time now. You want to know what good you are to me, what kind of mate you are?" She smirked suggestively and then leaned in to kiss him...long and lingeringly. When she was through, both of them were breathing hard. "You complete me, that's what you do. Where I am weak, you're strong, and vice versa. You're a mate who really would give his life for me...a mate who makes me feel like the most special girl in all Ten Kingdoms. Even if you do have a funny way of showing it." She tweaked his nose. "I forgive you. Of course I do. How could I not, after you just showed me how wrong I was to snap at you? Just...try to give me my space in the future, and let me get out of trouble however it's meant to happen. If you get to save me, that's wonderful. But if not, don't belabor it. And don't keep any more secrets from me...we've got to be open and let each other know how we feel and why. Okay?"

Wolf stared at her without comprehending at first, until it slowly sunk in. He hadn't ruined things after all! She understood, she still loved him, and she accepted him the way he was! He wanted to leap for joy...yet still a part of him doubted and worried. "But...but after what happened in Kissing Town...after I let you down..."

"No." She cut him off and placed a hand over his mouth. "You didn't let me down, I let you down. And myself. I didn't understand, I couldn't accept that someone could love me so totally and completely the way you do, that someone as handsome and intelligent and honorable as you could find me attractive and want to spend the rest of his life with me. I needed time to adjust, to get over my fear. And you gave me that. I'm the one who hurt you. But now we're stronger for it." Her voice shook, as if she were not quite convinced of the truth of her words, as if some deeper hurt lay behind it. "So let's just put this behind us, and take from it a welcome lesson--that we should always be honest with each other. And no more talk of you dying."

Slowly, tentatively, he nodded.

She chuckled softly. "Come here, you." She drew him into her embrace and kissed him again, even more firmly and arousingly. By the time they were through with this intimacy, they were panting, and Wolf knew more than he knew anything else that they were bonded irrevocably, that absolutely nothing could come between them, not even Red Riding Hood.

Red! He had completely forgotten about her in the tumult of the confrontation with the ogre and the aftermath. He had left her alone with the Piper, whom he did not trust one wolf-whisker, unguarded, unrestrained. Who knew what might have happened in their absence? Not that it could be helped...but still, every moment they dallied here could be costly.

Virginia still had her arms around him, her small hands sliding up and down, exploring every contour of his back even through his shirt. Gently disengaging her arms, he kissed her forehead and then grinned lopsidedly. "Much as I would like to continue this, Virginia, we have to get back to camp. I still don't trust Carmine at all, and there's no telling what she might do while we're away. Piper-boy may have his magic, but he's no match for her tenacity and cunning. We'd better hurry back as quickly as we can."

He started to step toward the entrance, still limping, but he paused when he saw Virginia wasn't following. Glancing back, he sensed right away by her stance and her nervous twisting of the singing ring that something was bothering her. "Dumpling?"

"Wolf...we can't go yet. I'm sure Red and Colin are doing just fine without us. Waiting a little while longer won't hurt anything, and there's something you really need to know. Something I've been keeping from you that has to be told." She took a deep breath. "Something about Colin and me."

Instinctively his hackles rose, and a chill of foreboding ran up his spine. Turning back around, he eyed Virginia suspiciously. The recovered happiness and rapture of true love were fading anew, replaced by the return of tension. Somehow he knew this was bad news...news that would threaten the stability and peace of their relationship more than anything since the Evil Queen.

"And what's that?" he asked with deceptive softness.

Virginia looked as if she were about to cry again, misery lining her taut brows and throat. Far from the confident and determined woman she had been a few moments ago when she reprimanded him for his overzealous attitude, she now seemed crumpled and broken inside. "Colin and I--in our cell in Incarnadine--we...we almost...kissed."

At first Wolf was certain he hadn't heard right. It wasn't possible, this couldn't be happening! It was a nightmare come true, something he had feared ever since the Piper first joined their company. He had kept a hawk's eye on Colin, and he had convinced himself nothing untoward had happened. Yet now he was being told the opposite. And from the agonized expression on Virginia's face, he knew it was true. Colin had taken advantage of her when he had the chance to be alone with her...and who knew how much further it had gone? That thought was like one of the Huntsman's crossbow bolts piercing his heart.

His blood boiling, Wolf snarled viciously and gnashed his teeth. "That's it. When we get back to camp, I'll kill him! He's never going to touch you again!"

Virginia gasped. "No! Wolf, you can't!"

"Why not?" he snapped. Without giving her a chance to explain, he gave her a withering stare. "I told you, Virginia! I warned you not to bring him with us. I warned you he would be trouble, that he'd just try to make you his wife again. I said we should have left him behind, I knew he was dangerous the minute I laid eyes on him! But no, you still think you know better, don't you? You still think you can navigate the Kingdoms all by yourself! Well you're wrong, Virginia, you do still need me to keep you from making mistakes because of your soft heart!"

"Mistakes, huh?" Finally recovering from her flustered distress, she was now impaling him with a flinty gaze that held none of the softness he'd just referred to. "Well if he hadn't come along, I'd still be trapped in Carmine's dungeon and you and our baby would be dead! Or we'd still be wandering the border of the Sixth Kingdom trying to find a way in. So no, I don't think it was a mistake to bring him along at all. You're the one who's wrong to hold a grudge like this!"

Wolf growled softly, but he could not refute her words. At the same time that only exacerbated his fury. After what the Piper had tried to do, after his seduction of Virginia, the fact that he was still expected to feel gratitude toward the arrogant prince was intolerable. And here she was defending him!

Since he could not deny the validity of what she was saying, he took another tack. "Be that as it may, it doesn't justify what he did! You are mine, not his!"

Now Virginia was the one who was growling. "I'm not your possession, Wolf! I'm your mate!"

Wolf crossed his arms and glared sullenly at the ground. Even in his anger he knew he was acting like a cub again, as well as jeopardizing their relationship with his male dominance. But Virginia just didn't understand. Women in the Nine Kingdoms lacked the superiority of men--even the queens and princesses were often seen as figureheads, relegated to token council positions and granted only nominal respect, except for Cinderella of course. And in wolf packs the alpha male was always the undisputed leader. On the other hand, the alpha female often had just as much power and her own hierarchy of females under her, so there was a precedent. Plus, being in New York he had been exposed to many new ideas and beliefs, including the rights of females--he had learned fast that he did not "totally understand women", not by a long shot. It was hard, but he was changing how he viewed the world. Still, he felt he had a right to be cubbish now after what had happened.

"And anyway," Virginia was saying, "Colin wasn't the one who made the first move." She bit her lip and tried to hold back her tears.

The anger crystallized inside Wolf, and he felt colder and more emotionless than he had since his years of vagabondage. Slowly lifting his head, he answered quietly, emptily, his voice even more frightening now as he regarded her from under his brows. "I think you'd better explain."

Haltingly, shakily, she complied, relating the suicidal despair she had nearly succumbed to in her cell, how Colin had comforted her and persuaded her to open up, how through the expression of her fears and insecurities she had come to terms with her life and how she must live it, how her gratitude had then overwhelmed her and led to the incipient kiss prevented by her ring.

"Don't you see, Wolf?" she concluded desperately. "I wasn't in control of my emotions. I thought we were going to die, all of us. I thought there was no hope left, that the quest was over and destiny had abandoned us. But Colin made me see differently. He made me feel happy again, he showed me that I didn't have to worry about what others thought of me, that I had to live life on my own terms. He taught me that I could believe in myself and that I deserved to succeed. That if I just had patience, everything would work out all right. For that I couldn't resist giving in to my emotions, and rewarding him." A pained look crossed her face. "But a kiss was all it would have been, I know it. And if you had been there, if you'd been the one comforting me, I would have gone through with the kiss...and a whole lot more."

Numb and dulled by the shock and disbelief, Wolf barely acknowledged her words, whimpering and curling his lip every now and then. At last he closed his eyes and ran his palms down over his face. How could this have happened? His anger had faded into a strange calm, a disappointment and despair he could not flee. Knowing now what had happened and why, he experienced a strange ambivalence. Once again guilt flooded his heart, guilt that he had not been there to help Virginia in her hour of darkness. He knew it wasn't his fault, he could not control where Red had imprisoned him, yet being separated from her when she needed him most...it rather made him feel he had earned this punishment, that it served him right for leaving her alone to suffer and grieve over their impending doom. He had failed her as a mate again, and that was why something had developed with the Piper. On the other hand, he resented Colin for being the one to take his place, to fill the role that was rightfully his and that had been left vacant through no fault of his own.

Worst of all, of course, was the fact that Virginia had betrayed him. True, nothing had actually occurred, but still...the fact that romance had been a possibility at all deeply disturbed him. He had been certain there was no question of her loyalty to him, that she loved him with all of her heart and soul. But now doubt had lodged its claws in him, and he could not shake the sensation that even now, he could still lose her.

"Virginia...oh my sweet Virginia..." he whispered. "Why did you lie to me?"

"What?!?" Her eyes bulged unattractively from their sockets.

He held up a hand to cut her short. "Hear me out," he replied wearily. "You said you trust me, that I'm good for you, that I complete you. But if that's all true, then why did you feel the need to kiss him? Aren't I enough for you? What wasn't I giving you? Where did I fail you, sweetheart?" His voice broke and he began to cry again. "Maybe we don't deserve each other after all..."

Virginia went absolutely white. "W-wolf...I...we...don't..." She swallowed and reined in her stammering. "Don't you ever say anything like that again! Of course you're enough for me...how could you think otherwise? I didn't lie to you...I'd never choose any other guy over you...we are mates, for life. I...I'm only human though, I can't shut off my feelings or my body. I'm going to notice other guys. What I can promise you, though, is that none of them will ever get anywhere with me, because you are the one I've chosen. And I'm never going back on that decision." Her voice, which had been shaky and uncertain, now solidified into iron determination.

He wanted to believe her. He really did. And he almost could. But one thing prevented him from giving in, from accepting at face value the words of trust and unconditional love that she had spoken a few short minutes ago when she had been reassuring him. "But then why did you keep this a secret for so long, if it didn't mean anything? You should have told me right away."

She was crying too, looking even more miserable than before. "I...I wanted to, Wolf. I tried. But it was so hard to admit something like this to you, I didn't know how you'd react...and things kept interfering. By the time there was finally a chance to tell you, so much time had passed it got harder and harder, and looked worse and worse. But you have to believe me, nothing else would have happened."

"Would it?" he asked her sadly.

Virginia stared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He realized too late that his words could be construed as an insult to her chastity, but he had to plow ahead anyway. "I mean...Virginia, you told me yourself that you went out with 'loads of guys' in the Tenth Kingdom before you met me. I don't know what they meant to you, but I do know I wasn't the first one you had mated with." He ignored her cold glare. "I knew it from your scent, love. So...what I'm asking is...how do I know I'm not like them...that you won't move on to some other guy after me?" He hung his head. "I am just a filthy animal, after all..."

A riot of emotions raced across her features. First and foremost was enraged offense, and her face flushed as if she had just been slapped. One hand lifted as if she planned to physically slap him back, but then she let it fall. Instead a stricken recognition crossed her face, as if she could not deny there was at least a little truth in his words. This was followed by embarrassment and shame; obviously she hadn't guessed that he knew she hadn't been untouched when they were together. Lastly came pity and regret, fueled by his final statement...the litany he had always run through in his mind whenever he suffered misfortune in life to explain why it fell on him. He knew he was obsessing again, and he hated using sympathy to win an argument, but he couldn't help himself. What else could explain why Virginia would even look at Colin in that way, let alone feel like kissing him? It had to be that she had finally seen the light about wolves, as he had always feared she would. She knew she could do better than him.

"Wolf." Virginia stepped close to him, lifted her hand again. He recoiled from the coming blow, from the rejection he expected to receive as she yelled at him, ordered him to leave, declared once again that she never wanted to see him again. He wondered what it was, where his mistake had been. Clearly devouring the ogre had been one, but this with Colin had happened long before that. Had it been the way he acted toward Red, or before their capture in Crookedtown? Or had it been simply a natural progression, an inevitable growing apart? Had he helped her believe in herself until she had grown beyond a need for him? If so, he wouldn't resent her for leaving him now. All he wanted was for her to be happy... He gazed at her face, memorizing anew every detail, the way her lashes curled, the way her pert nose turned up just a smidgeon, the shape of her eyes...memorizing before he lost her for good.

But she didn't turn away, nor did she strike him. Instead she stroked his cheek and leaned against him. "Oh Wolf...I knew this was going to hurt you, I knew I'd messed everything up between us...but I didn't realize how bad it was going to be. I...I don't know what to say...except that you have to believe me. I've never lied to you before. I love you, not in spite of your being a wolf, but because of it. You're not an animal to me...you're sensitive and noble, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. Definitely not for the jerks I've dated and gone to bed with, or even for a prince like Colin. You're right, there are no guarantees in this life, even Happy Ever After doesn't last forever. Only with time can you see that I won't ever leave you for someone else. But...you have to see I'm at least committed to you now. I'm carrying your cub." She rested a hand on her belly.

Wolf couldn't believe what he was hearing. After what he had said and done, after what he was, after all the heartache and confusion, she still planned to stand by him? To stay with him? It made no sense. Of course love made no sense either, but still, any other girl would have washed her hands of him by now. Virginia was just so stubborn...but was it out of real love, or a sense of obligation? "Yes...yes you are, Virginia. But it wasn't planned. I forced it on you. Are you sure you really want him, and aren't just saying this to please me, or because it's the right thing to do?" They had discussed this subject several times since their return to New York, but there was a new meaning to the question now, and much more at stake.

Her brow wrinkled in that cute way she always adopted when she was irritated. "Yes, I'm sure, Wolf. I wasn't at first...not because I didn't love you or want a family, but because I wasn't sure if I could be a good mother...if I should even have kids after..." She stopped, and he knew she was thinking of the Evil Queen. "I wasn't ready, it was so sudden. But I'm ready now. I'm ready for a lot of things..."

There seemed to be a suggestive emphasis on these words, but he didn't notice, he was so wrapped up in his self-loathing. His eyes were fixed on the pearl of the singing ring, its tiny face looking up at him disapprovingly. He recalled vividly when he had tossed it into the river at Kissing Town, after it had called him a loser. And so he was. If not because he was a wolf, then for the things he had just said to Virginia. He had questioned her judgment, her fidelity, her honesty...how could he ever make it up to her?

Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he cradled her close as he breathed in the intoxicating aroma of her hair and flesh, and he began sobbing into her shoulder. "Oh, Virginia, I'm so sorry, so so sorry...I didn't mean it, I wasn't thinking what I was saying...I wish it was my cycle, then I'd have a good excuse, but then I suppose that's too convenient an excuse for me, and if it was the full moon I'd have said even worse things and you'd never want to see me again--"

"Wolf..." Virginia interjected.

"--but I don't know how we're ever going to work through these misunderstandings, we don't even have that book from your world, what is it called? Oh, yes, Dr. Phil's Relationship Rescues! And without that, how can we figure any of this out, I mean it's so awful, I was being overprotective and there you were almost kissing Colin and maybe wanting more, and I don't know why you got so mad at me when you were hiding that lie, but that doesn't matter now--"

"Wolf..." Her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

"--and I do forgive you, of course, how could I not? I mean you are my one true love and nothing really happened, it came close but close means nothing, close didn't win the Hare his race against the Tortoise, and I don't blame you after how you were feeling, and you are so deliciously scrumptious it's only natural you might step over the line, you can't help yourself, so I'd do anything you want to make it up to you--"

"Wolf!" Virginia yelled. "What I want you to do is shut up for two seconds so I can tell you I'm ready to marry you!"

That got his attention. He went quiet at once and stared at her, jaw hanging. "What?!?"

"I said, I'm ready to marry you, Wolf." She said it softer this time, more slowly, as if relishing every word and syllable on her tongue. She took a deep breath and gazed up at him without a trace of insincerity or apprehension. "I just realized there's only one way I can prove to you that I do love you and want to be with you, that my commitment is solid and I won't let anyone else--especially Colin--interfere with it. So, as soon as this quest is done and everyone in the Kingdoms is safe again, I want to marry you. Right then. No more procrastinating."

Wolf felt as if he were about to faint. Grinning broadly, he swept Virginia up in a huge bear hug and twirled her around, not even caring about the twinges of pain from his ankle. "Oh, Virginia, you really mean it? Really, truly mean it?" After whirling across the burrow several times he set her back on her feet and clasped her hands tightly. This was a dream come true, a dream he had secretly feared would never come to pass. Not that he had thought his creamy dreamy girl didn't love him, not for a moment. He had simply known how much she treasured her independence and longed to remain free, unfettered and in control of her life. Now, though, now he knew that all would be well. It didn't matter what had or hadn't happened with the Piper, or what the two of them had said to each other. She loved him, she truly loved him, and everything else dissolved to nothing. After all they had been through, they were finally going to get married and establish a life together!

Laughing softly, Virginia kissed his hands, then wrapped her arms around him again as she snuggled into his chest. "Of course I mean it, hon. More than I've ever meant anything. We belong together, no matter what else has happened between us, and I'm not going to let anything divide us ever again. After we've defeated the Ice Queen, I'll let Wendell and Lord Rupert plan and scheme and get as extravagant as they like with their wedding arrangements, because I want everyone to know how much I love you, and only you, and that I'm never letting you go!" Her eyes twinkled merrily.

It felt as if a vise had been released from his heart. All the words that had passed between them, all the anger and hurt and disappointment, none of it mattered anymore--all that filled his heart was profound joy and ecstatic glee. He was, without a doubt, the happiest wolf in all Ten Kingdoms. Chuckling, he leaned in and kissed Virginia firmly. "Well then, that calls for a celebration!" The singing ring seemed to agree, its glowing pearl bouncing frantically up and down on its band.

"Oh really?" Virginia replied archly. "And just what did my hairy wolfman have in mind?"

Wolf smirked back at her, his heart thudding against his ribcage as he ran his hands over her shoulders and down to her chest. "Hmmmmm...I can think of so many possibilities...I can't choose between them, so perhaps we should...use them all?" He winked and kissed her again.

When the kiss ended, she was breathless, and a fervent desire burned in her blue eyes. "That sounds wonderful, Wolf...but I thought you wanted to get back to camp to check on Red and the Piper?"

He made a disgusted face--she just had to bring them back into the conversation again, didn't she?--and then chuckled darkly, licking his lips. "Let 'em wait. We've got more important things to do..." He dropped his voice into the lowest, most seductive registers, and then he cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her a third time, feeling the heat building inside him.

After an endless moment, Virginia pulled back, but only the short inch needed to gasp out her words. "I couldn't agree more..." She began to unbutton his shirt.

And then words were no longer necessary, they were in fact superfluous and hampering. Driving all of his painful thoughts from his mind, Wolf instead focused on his mate, his hands running up and down her back as his mouth met hers with an eager hunger. But his lips were slow and gentle as he scooped her up in his muscled arms, making sure both of them could feel every inch of him against her. His mouth burned with her tender kisses as he slowly, deliberately knelt down, placing her in the soft moss and pine needles. He hovered over her, pausing as their hands reached mutually for his pants, and then he descended to her throat with a moan of desire...

Afterwards, several hours later, Wolf lay comfortably with Virginia in his arms, a blissful smile on his face as he kept her fitted snugly to his lap, as if he were the spoon who had run away with the gorgeous dish that was his prize, his strong arms keeping her warm in the chill air. He had awoken slowly, not due to any noise or movement, any danger or threat, but as a result of his body's own internal clock which told him he had slept long enough. His sleep had been interrupted earlier in the night by the ogre, of course, but he often got by on less sleep than most--a habit he still retained from his lonely, furtive days in the Disenchanted Forest, when at any moment he could be hunted and killed by poachers or wolf-haters. It was necessary to be on his toes then, and he remained ever vigilant and alert when in hostile territory today.

Lazily, dreamily, he ran one hand over Virginia's arm, then along her shoulder and neck, his lips following with soft kisses, as his eyes rested disinterestedly on the shafts of sunlight spilling in the burrow's entrance to shine across their intertwined forms. All he noticed was how lovely his mate's skin looked when suffused by the buttery glow of morning light, how she looked even more enchanting. She still slept, and in her sleep she looked vulnerable, open, innocent and trusting. It was as if while she dreamed she regressed back to what she had once been, the little girl with hopes and a future and visions of love and family...the girl she had been before her mother had left her. And as far as he was concerned, he would do everything in his power to help her reclaim that sense of peace and unsuspecting happiness when awake.

His thoughts wandered, darting from one thing to another without any set course, without lingering long on any one musing, until finally it penetrated his consciousness that the light was far too bright for dawn, and extended at a slant to reach far inside the burrow. Hurriedly glancing down at Virginia's watch, he gasped. It was the ninth hour! They had slept far longer than he had intended, and now the Piper and Red had been left alone all night long and into the morning!

Although he hated to do it, he quickly shook Virginia awake. "Virginia!"

"Wolf...?" She smiled slowly at him.

"Virginia, we have to get dressed and get going, now!" He scratched furiously at his temple. "Look what time it is! Who knows what Red and the Piper have been up to without us there to watch them..." He whimpered nervously.

She glanced down at her watch and gasped as he had. "Damnit, you're right! Here..." She grabbed his shirt and tossed it to him as she rose unsteadily to her feet and stepped to where her own clothing lay crumpled.

In fifteen minutes they were both dressed, presentable, and out of the burrow, shivering in the cool morning air of this northern kingdom. Linking arms, they set off at once back through the thorns along the path left by the ogre, the path that would lead back to camp, with Wolf once again carrying the shoes. His ankle was nearly healed after the long rest it had received, but Virginia was taking no chances and insisted they travel at a slow, leisurely pace despite the gravity of their mission. He rather suspected her real reason for wanting to take it slow was because she wished to spend more time with him alone, enjoying this rare opportunity to be unaccompanied companions as they had been at the start of their quest. And he did not object at all to her reasoning even though he fretted over what might have occurred in their absence. He knew Colin was quite friendly and sympathetic toward Carmine...what if she had swayed him to her cause...?

Still, the morning was beautiful, and he had his beloved mate beside him. His mate who had agreed to marry him at last, and with whom he had partaken of the sweetest passion a wolf could experience.

Wolf grinned to himself. He knew, of course, that matters were not quite resolved between him and Virginia. He was not foolish enough to believe that making love could cover up what had passed between them, healing the wounds left by their arguments. Now and then, as he flicked his eyes aside, he could catch Virginia glowering at the ground, sniffling softly, or slumping her shoulders in resignation, and he too felt the guilt and worry brought on by all the awful things he had said. But he did know that whatever fallout there might be in the days to come, it would not be strong enough to overcome their love. The vows they had taken, the renewed faith they had declared, and the intimacy they had shared, they were all signs to him that whatever happened, they were inextricably tied together, never to be severed. He was confident, for once in his life, that all would be Happy Ever After. Virginia hadn't kissed the Piper, and now she had promised to marry him. All they needed now was for Red to admit she was wrong, and to obtain the dragon's aid, and everything would be perfect. Those were tall orders, to be sure, but they were so close now...surely nothing could stand in their way at this point?

For a half an hour or so, they traveled the beaten path, skirting the deep depressions of the ogre's footprints, lifting their faces to the warm sunbeams streaming down through the canopy, inhaling the brisk, pungent air. The scents of a forest were missing, the scents of life, but at least the colossal stink of Orrin was gone. And that too was a victory for their company. Wolf chuckled anew as he recalled how he had tricked the dumb beast.

At last they neared the campsite, passing through an arch of thorns and picking their way across the tumbled ruins of what had once been a fine country manor house. Seeing the garden wall rising out of the underbrush, Virginia turned to face him. "Now, Wolf...remember what I told you last night. Don't hurt Colin, or threaten him in any way. What happened wasn't his fault, and it's all water under the bridge now."

Momentarily Wolf clenched his fists at the thought of that insufferable prince, but then he relaxed and smiled tensely. "You have my solemn wolf word that I will not harm even one hair on his head!" He scratched at his temple as he made the same gesture he had in the Troll Palace. Doesn't mean I won't give him a good scare though! he thought smugly.

Virginia eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing, leading the way through the last patch of briars.

As they came around the end of the garden wall, they saw that, naturally, the campfire had burned itself out long ago, as it was no longer needed. However, what was not expected, or appreciated, was the fact that the fallow garden was completely empty except for the rucksack the shoes had been in. No one was in sight, either sleeping or sitting up waiting for them to return.

Wolf sniffed the air frantically, trying to catch any trace of the others' scents. The Piper's was quite fresh and strong, but the queen's was fainter, more distant and elusive. That would indicate she had left before Colin, wherever she had gone. Could she have run off while the Piper was asleep, and then he had gone after her when he awoke and found her missing?

"Maybe...maybe they just went to look for food or water," Virginia suggested lamely. She didn't sound as if even she believed her suggestion. She looked around the deserted campsite warily.

Wolf was about to respond when he noticed something crimson extending out from the far end of the wall, nearly hidden by the masking thorns and brambles. He pointed wordlessly, gestured to Virginia to be silent, and then approached the wall without making a sound. As he drew closer, the object became clearer. It was one of Colin's doeskin boots. At first he thought it had been discarded for some unknown reason, but then he realized the prince's foot was still in it!

Roughly and without regard to safety or manners he grabbed the foot and jerked, ready to drag the Piper free of the briars if he struggled or fought in any way. "All right, Piper-boy, get out of there! What, did you think we weren't coming...back..."

He trailed off in shock as the young man slid easily, and limply, out of the brambles to lie quiescent and unmoving on the ground. Bending over, he grabbed the scarlet and gold tunic and flipped him over to sprawl on his back.

The Piper was unconscious, and probably had been for several hours at least. And the reason was readily apparent--on the side of his head was an enormous lump where something had struck him with great force, and a trace of blood trickled down onto his pale, slack forehead.

Jerking upright, Wolf crouched instinctively, his eyes flaring golden as he tensed in anticipation of the assailant appearing out of hiding to attack again. But even as he did so he knew it was useless, that the ensorcelled Sixth Kingdom was empty and barren except for him, Virginia, and the injured Piper. The one who had done this was long gone. And even without checking Colin or the ground around him for scents, he knew enough to put the clues together and guess who was responsible. As he turned to Virginia, he could tell by the horrified look on her face that she too knew what had occurred.

Red Riding Hood III had escaped.