The Werewolf Order (Erotica)

Rebecca leans forward, prodding Mora in the sternum with a bony finger, “Are you actually saying that you, a slave, think you are better than me?”

This time it isn’t Mora’s anger that makes her react, but her mind; in the heat of being insulted, even a thoughtful Princess wouldn’t take abuse from someone such as Rebecca. She stands, grabbing the woman’s wrist. Her chair flies backwards so suddenly that the fat one, shocked by it, falls flat on her ass. Mora slowly twists Rebecca’s hand, prying the bony finger away from her chest. The sneer is wiped off of the woman’s face and is replaced by anger and pain; Mora’s firm grip doesn’t let up and causes the blue one to fall to her knees on the floor. “I do not need to think about it,” her tongue cuts the words so harshly that they almost cause Rebecca to cry.

She feels Sari’s hand on her shoulder. She whispers, “Let her go, Mora.” The tone of her voice tells her that Sari is trying to do the right thing, even if she doesn’t want to. Mora releases her grip; the sudden let up of pressure causes Rebecca to fall back. Fanny rushes over to help her friend up.

“You just wait until the Queen hears about this-she will have your head!” The fat one shrieks.

A wicked, musical laugh comes out of her mouth, “Do you honestly believe that the Queen is ignorant enough to value your pathetic pride over my life? The only reason I am here, right now, is because the Queen stopped me from killing myself-which I was more than happy to do,” she snorts at them, both now on their feet. Her voice drops low, menacing, “I am worth more as a bargaining chip than the both of you combined.”

Lucas rights Mora’s chair for her; she sits down, gracefully perched on the edge. She doesn’t bother to wipe the antagonized look from her face.

As they scurry towards the door, Rebecca calls out harshly to Rick, “We won’t come back again as long as she is still here!”

“Shame,” Rick responds to the women. His voice draws her attention up to his face; he has a somewhat pleased, thankful expression. She just glares at him, frustrated that he would put her in that kind of position. Her eyes snap to Daniel when he speaks up.

“Those two wenches have been harassing Rick for months now. Their fathers are advisors to the Queen, so we really couldn’t say anything mean… but you sure showed them!” He starts laughing, “Did you see the look on Lady Rebecca’s face? Priceless.”

Sari grumbles, “I’m just upset I didn’t get to do it myself. I’ve wanted to punch one of them for so long.”

“Thank you, Mora,” Rick says sincerely.

“So… why are you worth so much, as a bargaining chip?” James throws in the question all of them want to know. Everyone waits for an answer.

She turns to him, narrowing her eyes before she growls, “Because of my friendly disposition, obviously.”

Everyone’s laughter breaks through her anger and she can’t help but smile with them.

THE WALTZ

After the exciting events of the early evening, Rick spends the rest of his time proctoring the fights on stage. Some are quick and bloody, others are lengthy and drawn out. Despite the fact that everyone fights for their life, no one gets hurt too badly. The other men of their group have also left the table, wandering about to give advice and pointers to waiting fighters, leaving Mora and Sari alone at the table together. Mora has turned her chair around to watch the fight; Sari takes Lucas’ usual spot next to her so she can observe as well.

“The women of Sceadu don’t fight much?” Mora asks after noting they are the only two women left in the tavern. Though the men seem to be used to the sight of Sari wandering around, Mora still gets curious looks from everyone.

“No, they don’t,” Sari responds coldly, “most of the women in this country are occupied by house work and children. They don’t lead a very free life. The few rich ones like Rebecca and Fanny spend their time at the dance hall, trying to latch on to the available men.”

Todd wanders over just in time to save her from Sari’s harshness. Pulling up a chair, he sits in it backwards and faces the women, his back to the fight. When he speaks, he is sincere, “I’m sorry Sari, if I hurt your feelings yesterday-it was uncalled for.”

She tries to glare at him in an attempt to maintain her tough demeanor but she gives up, “I probably deserved it, but thank you Todd.”

“You look nice today,” he adds, smiling when she blushes. He turns his attention to Mora, “So, you met Eric?”

She nods slowly, hoping that Eric didn’t get a chance to tell Todd about their meeting-or his feelings. “Yes. I actually owe him my life-he drained the borderwolf poison from my leg.”

“I heard,” he smiles. She tries to change the subject, getting the feeling that she knows where he’s going with this-but her mind draws a blank as she stares at Rick.

“He likes you,” Todd interrupts her thoughts.

“What?” Mora says, flustered; distracted by Rick’s graceful movements, she thinks Todd meant her Master.

“Eric, he likes you. It’s funny really, because he never likes anyone.”

Mora shifts uncomfortably-she knows Sari is eavesdropping but she pretends to be watching the fight. “I know he does,” she confesses, “but I am spoken for.”

She sees Todd look at her hands, “You’re not married.”

“No,” Mora confirms but keeps her engagement to herself.

He smiles knowingly, “You’re in love?”

She pretends not to hear him and focuses on the fight. The pair on stage seems like an odd match-one man is of average size and build, but the other is shorter and rather round. Todd continues to stare at her, waiting for an answer. When she keeps ignoring him, Sari speaks up, “She fancies Rick.”

“What!” Mora exclaims, facing growing red before she can stop it.

She snorts, “Don’t deny it, we all know it’s true.”

Mora looks at Todd-he nods in agreement. She closes her eyes and lowers her head in embarrassment.

“He is single,” Sari adds, but the tone of her voice is unfriendly. Still unsure what to say, Mora keeps quiet.

“You two would be a good match for each other,” Todd adds.

“Me-and a tavern owner?” She exclaims, opening her eyes and looking at Todd.

“What’s the matter, too good for a tavern owner?” Sari says almost defensively.

“No,” Mora’s voice shrinks when, from the stage, Rick looks over at her; her heart skips, body yearning for his affection, “I’m just not that lucky.” She says it so earnestly that she can see Todd’s face grow sad.

As the fight ends-and, to Mora’s surprise, the fat man wins-Rick jumps off of the stage. The night almost done, Mora was lucky enough to avoid fighting him. As he returns to the table, she turns her chair back around, Sari and Todd remaining in theirs.

“Have a nice chat, ladies?” Rick questions Sari-he seems a bit worried about whatever their conversation entailed, though not as worried as Mora.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Yes, we did,” Sari says.

“About?” he presses her, looking at Mora. She opens her mouth but can’t come up with anything to hide her emotions. She looks down at the table, wanting to lie but not being able to.

When he looks back to Sari, she smiles, “Fashion.”

Rick laughs as the other men rejoin the table. She isn’t sure why Sari lied for her but she is grateful. The group has another round of wine while the few remaining customers file out. They talk about the skills of that night’s fighters. Mora keeps her eyes on the table, wondering if her ridiculousness is as obvious to Rick as it apparently is to everyone else. She warns herself that she must be more careful with her displays of affection towards him. It would only make her future more unbearable if, for whatever reason, he began to share her feelings.

As everyone rises to say good night, Mora slips away from them and heads up the stairs. She is only half way up them when Rick reaches the bottom behind her. Todd is about ready to slide the plank over the door, when a knock halts all of them. He pulls the door open, surprised to find a man with an envelope waiting on the other side.

“For Master Rickan,” the man says, leaving after Todd takes the envelope.

Todd latches the door, handing it to Rick, “Good morning, Rick,” he adds before he wanders across the bar.

Mora waits in the middle of the staircase for Rick to catch up to her. Reading the contents of the envelope, he walks right past her and continues across the balcony. She follows, wondering if the note bears word from her father. Once in the bedroom, she sees Rick has already stashed the letter away and stands next to his bed, taking his shirt off. Her eyes wander over his back to see long, wicked scars across his shoulder blades. When he starts to pull off his pants she gets a hold of herself and scurries behind the screen, face bright red at the thought of seeing him nude.