CH 245: Coming Together
The Scarlet Seraphs parked the carriage as close as they could to the forest the wolves directed them to. There, three wolves were waiting for them. Claire jumped out and quickly tied the horses down, while Hannah set up the wedges. Then, they quickly joined Elsie, Ana, and Ursa in her wolf form. They sprinted alongside the wolves through the forest. They made sure to go slow enough for the mages but pushed the twins to their limits. They had no idea about what kind of trouble Jasmine was in.
Then, the wolves stopped.
The bigger wolves got defensive and started to growl in the direction they were headed. The smaller and younger wolves cowered behind them. Ursa, too, got into a fighting stance, like she was ready to pounce. Claire and Hannah pulled their shields up and protected one of the twins.
For a moment, they waited. The only sounds came from the growling wolves and the twins catching their breath. Claire’s eyes darted around the trees, trying to spot what spooked the wolves. After a full minute of waiting, Claire saw movement.
She and the rest of them focused on the movement in the distance. With so many trees in the way, it was hard for them to make out what was coming. Claire caught a glint of light reflecting in her eyes. Whoever they were, they had metal. Likely armor or a weapon.
“Just going to stand there?” A woman’s voice cut through the silence. A flurry of yelps and growls followed before she made herself known. “Or are you going to help us carry Samira?”
Claire turned towards the voice, finding a hooded woman. The larger wolves quickly surrounded her, with Ursa joining them. The hooded woman knelt down and motioned towards Ursa with her hand.
“Who-” Claire started, but was quickly interrupted.
“Victoria?” Hannah asked. Her voice was uncharacteristically shaky.
“Mhmm,” the woman chuckled. Her face was still obscured by the hood as she continued to beckon for Ursa. “Why won’t she let me pet her?”
“Wait, you said Samira?” Elsie pushed forward with Ana by her side. “Is she here?”
“She is,” Victoria said without looking up. She motioned backwards, “They’re carrying her right now. She passed out from exhaustion.”
“Is she friendly?” Claire leaned in and whispered to Hannah.
“I am,” Victoria replied.
“She is,” Hannah gulped. She put her axe back in its holder and lowered her shield. “But probably mad at me.”
“I am”
“Ursa, she’s friendly,” Claire said as she sheathed her sword. “And wants to pet you.”
The white wolf yipped at Victoria, then walked towards Claire. She sat next to the redhead in defiance.
“Aww,” Victoria chuckled. “She’s far cuter like this, isn’t she? And very well bonded to you, Claire.”
“Why are you here?” Hannah asked.
“Following Anthony,” Victoria stood up and finally removed her hood. “And you.”
“But Toni is back in the carriage,” Hannah pointed back towards where they came. “Why did you follow Jasmine and not us?”
“Mmm,” Victoria tilted her head. She finally shrugged, “I was curious.”
“There has to be more,” Hannah pushed. She stepped forward in an attempt to get more answers, but Victoria held up her hand.
“I was curious how you all would do without Miss Jasmine.” Victoria’s smile dropped. “Though I did tell that party about the bandit hideout.”
“You sent the Blue Bulls?” Elsie asked.
“I did,” Victoria nodded. “I had faith in you. But I needed a contingency plan in case there were more of them.”
“T-thank you,” Ana said in a low whisper.
“So there were more?” Victoria eyed the younger twin. “I’m glad to see you survive. Those werewolves are no joke.”
“Victoria,” Hannah took a deep breath. “Can I apologize for leaving with Toni?”
“You may.”
“I’m sorry. He came to me and insisted we go to Restol,” Hannah explained. “Anka wanted him there. I knew from the urgency in his voice that I needed to take him there. Sorry for not saying anything and leaving when you were away.”
“Leaving when I was away was smart,” Victoria admitted. “But I’m more mad about you giving in to your crush. I thought you swore that off.”
“I did,” Hannah acknowledged. “But…”
“But Claire’s Goddess encouraged you to?” Victoria finished the thought for her. “Or was it Toni?”
“No, it was me.” Hannah nodded. “I gave in. The temptation was too great.”
“I see,” Victoria got serious and approached Hannah. “I’m glad to see you dropped the habit of blaming others for your failures. Lila would be proud.”
“Would she really?” Hannah relaxed her shoulders. She was expecting a verbal spat between her and Victoria about taking Toni to Restol. Bringing up Hannah’s former mentor was a good sign. “I literally abandoned my post and stole my Lady’s nephew away. Add on the fact I was in love with him, and she’d have a heart attack.”
“True,” Victoria nodded.
Hannah expected a ‘but’ after that, but there wasn’t. There was an awkward pause in the conversation while Victoria eyed Ursa.
“Victoria?” Elsie tilted her head. “Can we go back to discussing Samira?”
“Oh yeah,” Victoria smiled and looked behind her. “They’re coming now. Ursa, you may or may not know the name ‘Roseline.’ If you do, this makes things easier.”
Ursa’s ears did perk up at the name, and she tilted her head.
“Good,” Victoria nodded. “Because they aren’t too fond of werewolves. I’d suggest turning back.”
“Uh, it’s probably not the best idea,” Claire interjected.
Victoria undid her cloak and held it out. Then she grabbed a pair of shorts from the pack on her belt. “I know about your extra appendage. It’ll be fine.”
Claire was somewhat shocked. It made sense for someone like this to find that out, but she was more concerned with how it wasn’t affecting her. “How do you resist the urge?”
Victoria smiled at her. “Years and years of training. I will say, this is quite the tempting sensation. Give in to the throes of lust and get a cock of my own? I’d do it in a heartbeat if I weren’t sworn to my Lady.” When Toni and Hannah described Victoria to Claire, she was not expecting this. She heard that the woman’s levels were in the high 50’s, a number very few make it to in their lifetime. She was expecting someone more serious, at the very least.
Ursa stood up in her human form. She stretched her arms, uncaring of the eyes on her. She grabbed the cloak and wrapped it around her, then put on the shorts she was given. They did very little to hide the bulge of her cock, so the cloak obscured it.
“Just in time,” Victoria spun to greet the women carrying the unconscious lamia. “Elincia Roseline, this is Claire Owens. The Champion I was speaking of.”
The regal woman bowed as best she could while still holding onto the lamia. She had long, flowing green hair and eyes to match. Claire couldn’t think of words for a moment as she was taken aback by her beauty.
“Claire,” Hannah nudged her.
“Sorry,” Claire blinked. “It’s nice meeting you.”
The mage beside Elincia tilted her head. She noticed an influx of that divine magic as they got closer to this group. She’d bring it up later.
“And this is Ursa,” Victoria gestured towards the Ravian. “She’s friendly, remember.”
“We got it,” the armored woman on the other side of Samira rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to attack her.”
Ana sprang into action to check on Samira. She and Elsie checked her condition, while the group of women sat her down. Jasmine was already beside Claire before she even realized it.
“Those two women are highly perceptive,” Jasmine whispered to Claire. She motioned towards the mage and tanned woman. “Mabel, the one with the hat, was able to see the flow of magic. She clocked my gift immediately. Thankfully, she didn’t see it. Ariah was able to see Her effects on Mabel. It’s a divine influence.”
Claire tilted her head. “So there is a status associated with it?”
Jasmine nodded. “They, too, are incredibly powerful. More powerful than we estimated.”
“They are,” Victoria nodded along. “I believe Miss Elincia is level 35.”
Jasmine side-eyed her. “Thank you.”
“She’d make a good ally,” Victoria continued. “She’s not only pretty, Claire. She also cares about people. Tell her about Ryley, and she’d be on board.”
Claire looked at the woman with wide eyes. That wasn’t something she could find out just by visiting Restol or tailing them. “How long were you watching us?”
“That, I got from Toni,” Victoria laughed. “He wanted me to smuggle him out of Lady Lloyd’s estate. But he left before I could even start to plan anything. I’ve only been watching you for a few weeks.”
Claire relaxed, but Jasmine didn’t. She eyed the woman with suspicion. Their conversation earlier really got Jasmine thinking. She was right. There were far too many coincidences that led them here.
Victoria met Jasmine’s gaze. The smile dropped, and the emotions left her eyes. She put a single finger up to her mouth, then turned towards Samira.
“Alright, let’s get her into their carriage.”