The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 68: Someone Else

The wolf’s ears perked up and his tail stood on edge. Focusing his sharp eyes in a particular direction, he growled.

Jessamyn listened closer and her eyes widened in sheer horror at the sight before her.

Slithering sinuously through the brush, a menacing troupe of rattlesnakes approached with an eerie, almost hypnotic grace, like moving shadows under the dim moonlight. The unmistakable sound of their rattles echoed through the air, a chilling warning of the imminent danger.

"What’s going on?" she mumbled.

She had walked through this forest for years. The forest hosted a lot of venomous creatures and she had encountered a few of them. But this was the first time she saw a troupe of snakes approaching them as if they were conjured to attack.

A wave of fear surged through her, gripping her heart with icy fingers. It was as if time had slowed to a crawl, each heartbeat thudding in her chest like a drum of impending doom.

"Stay close," the wolf commanded and stood in front of her.

"Are they here for you?" Jessamyn asked, steeling her heart.

She was not alone. She was with Lycaon Wulfhednar. He could destroy the mutts with his word; these serpentine adversaries must be nothing compared to them.

Observing the wolf, Jessamyn got the feeling that he was alert as if he was preparing for a battle with an equal adversary.

With a bark and a growl, the wolf lunged forward attacking the snakes. As if they were sentient, the snakes surrounded the wolf, hissing. With a chilling rattle, the snakes launched their attack, striking with lightning speed. Fangs glistening like daggers, they descended upon the wolf with ruthless precision, a deadly symphony of coordinated assault.

Jessamyn’s heart was beating like a drum. A couple of snakes left the troupe and slithered their way toward her. Grabbing a fallen branch, she fought them back as they focused on getting to her.

One thing was sure—the attack was intentional. But who was controlling those snakes?

"Run!" the wolf shouted.

"What about you?" Jessamyn asked.

The wolf didn’t give her the confidence that victory was in sight. The wolf fought valiantly, its primal instincts ablaze with the fire of survival. But with each venomous strike of the snakes, its strength waned, the relentless assault overwhelming its defenses.

"Run!" The wolf shouted. With a bite, it tore off a snake into two.

Jessamyn looked around, feeling another presence. It was familiar and dread-inducing. She looked around, trying to find out who it was. The suppressing aura filled the dark night, making it hard for her to breathe.

"I say, run!!" With his face stained with blood, the wolf shouted looking at her.

Hiss! One of the snakes bit his leg and the wolf winced as the poison started to act. Jessamyn tried to take a step forward but she couldn’t move. The suppressing aura was like invisible threads anchoring her to that place. The more she wanted to move forward, the more anchored she was to the ground.

She didn’t think it was the wolf. She looked around frantically. Someone else is here!

"Run without looking back! Run!!!" the wolf shouted again. The snakes swarmed around the wolf trying to tear it apart. The wolf focused on sending her away rather than fighting off the snakes.

A few of the snakes slithered in her direction and the wolf shook off the snakes climbing on him and tore apart the ones that approached her.

Realizing she was distracting the wolf, Jessamyn ran away. "Please, be safe, Great One," she shouted and increased her speed so that the wolf would focus on the fight.

*Growl*

She heard a petrifying growl that sent a chill down her spine. The hair on her skin stood straight. She tried to turn, but a wave of shock spread around like a ripple, stunning her. Not a leaf moved, not a sound of an insect was heard and she gasped for breath.

It was as if an invisible lightning hit her.

’RUN!’

She heard a majestic voice, not the same way she usually heard Isadora’s voice but the way she heard the wolf speak—in her heart. That imposing voice broke whatever was binding her and she didn’t stop until she reached the castle.

It was the middle of the night and there weren’t many people around. The inside of the castle was silent too. Jessamyn changed and lay on the bed not disturbing Isadora. She couldn’t fall asleep thinking of the wolf.

Did he manage to get away? Who was the other one? Is he a friend or a foe?

She could infer one thing though. The wolf she talked to was not Lycaon Wulfhednar. But one thing was sure—the shapeshifters had returned; particularly, the one from Theodulf family.

Has the Lycaon Wulfhednar appeared yet?

For the next couple of days, she managed to pass the day suppressing her urge to go to the forest. On the second night, deciding to check on the wolf, she went to the place she had last seen him. There were no traces of the battle she saw happen and everything was quiet.

However, she felt the presence of someone following her. Although she didn’t sense any danger, she decided to flee.

She heard someone stepping on the dried leaves, walking behind her. When she turned, however, she saw no one. It should have been an eerie thing, urging her to run away. But that presence didn’t seem malicious.

She stopped and stared right where she last heard the noise. The footfalls drew closer and she could see the leaves crumbling under the feet of her stalker—he had four feet.

Letting out a deep breath, she stared without blinking. As the footsteps drew closer to her, her heart started to pound; not out of fear but out of excitement. A gust of wind blew a mystical scent to her, confirming her belief that there was indeed someone in front of her.

A voice in her head told her to run away. But something stopped her—that indomitable desire akin to a beguiling poison, entwined itself within her, firmly embedding its barbed tendrils over her rational thoughts, tying her to that place.

*Huff*

She heard a snorting noise. A warm gust of wind blew on her face, displacing the hair hanging at the sides of her cheeks.

Jessamyn’s heart pounded knowing that whatever was standing in front of her, was at least as tall as her.

Should I run? Can I run now?