"The demon cursed me!" he bellowed. "I harnessed the curse and spread it to you all!"
Bernard pointed the Staff at him, but Allard knocked it aside with a massive paw. "My own toy does not affect me, fool." He swung both claws into the crowd and the mages scattered like leaves. Bernard hit the ground and rolled, trailing blood.
Charlotte screamed.
Bernard swore, and by the time he regained his feet, he'd transformed back into a wolf. But he was puny beside Allard's immense monster. It was easy to believe that Allard was the first of the werewolves.
Bernard hurled himself into Allard's legs and knocked him down. At the same time, the mages regained their feet and conjured fireballs.
"Bernard, get away from him!" Charlotte cried. Pain crawled through her and she realized she was transforming again. The Alpha Staff lay forgotten on the ground. She stumbled toward it on her shifting legs.
Bernard ripped a bloody chunk out of Allard's forearm, and leaped away as Allard roared and slashed at him. Before Allard could follow up his attack, four fireballs struck him in the chest and back. He screamed. But the smoke billowed up in a cloud, revealing scorched flesh that began to heal itself.
Allard hurled himself at the mages, slashing, biting and tearing. The men fell, screaming, spells fizzling in their hands.
Bernard ran to Charlotte and helped her up. She gripped the Alpha Staff in one claw. "Quick!" he panted, tongue dangling from blood-smeared jaws, "command him to leave them alone!"
Charlotte gripped the Staff and focused all her thoughts on commanding the beast to face her. Beside her, Bernard's ears flattened as he did the same.
Slowly Allard halted and turned to look at them, trailing smoke and dripping blood. He bared his teeth in a devilish grin.
"We're going to die," whispered Bernard.
Charlotte looked over her shoulder at the open gate, and the pit filled with hundreds of staring wolves. "No we're not! Quick, into the pen!"
Still clutching the Staff between them, Charlotte and Bernard leaped into the reservoir. Allard bounded at their heels, teeth snapping.
Charlotte swept the Staff at the entire werewolf pack. "All of you, kill Allard!"
Then she and Bernard ran straight into the midst of the wolves. Allard followed them. The wolves let them pass, but closed upon Allard with hungry ferocity. At first he threw them aside with heavy blows from his claws, but hundreds of starving werewolves piled on him. They tore at his arms, legs, body, until he disappeared from sight under a snarling horde of his own making.
Charlotte and Bernard reached the far wall and huddled together, arms around each other. But no wolves paid attention to them. They were being fed at last, and avenging the curse upon them at the same time.
***
"Justice was served," said Bernard.
Four months had passed. Charlotte and Bernard, human once more, sat on a love seat on their veranda. The warm summer air was scented with hot grass and cool leaf mold from the neighboring woods. Cold drinks sat beside them, as well as forgotten books and sewing.
"Yes." Charlotte clasped one of his hands in her own. "Allard is destroyed, but his curse cannot be undone."
"Only changed." Bernard kissed her lips. "The final batch of elixir will be distributed tomorrow. Then all of Grayton will possess their sanity, no matter which form they take."
Charlotte sighed. "This will have a strange effect upon our laws."
"Yes. And upon talks about opening the Grayton Wall."
Charlotte stroked Bernard's sparse hair. His waistline had become much more trim lately. But she hardly noticed his shortcomings these days, for the delirious infatuation of a newlywed gripped her.
The hardship they'd experienced together had shown her Bernard's heart, and it was as affectionate as she'd ever desired. It was a shame it had taken a curse to bring such a blessing. She laid her head on his shoulder. "Perhaps it's a good thing we are isolated. The curse must not spread."
Bernard stroked her face. "I, for one, am thankful for it."
Charlotte smiled into his face. "Why is that?"
His smile promised years of happiness. "Because it taught me to love you, no matter your appearance."
The End
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More books by the author:
The Space/Time Legacy Series (YA contemporary):
The Strider of Chronos
Chronocrime
Wraithblade
The Regency Shifter Series
Turned: A Werewolf Love Story
The Bramblewood Wearbear
Outfoxing the Wolf
The Puzzle Box Trilogy (Paranormal Romance)
Malevolent
Short stories:
A Stitch of Honor (Science fiction)
Soul Thief (contemporary YA, Space/Time universe)
Portal to Freedom (MG fantasy)
About the author:
K. M. Carroll has been writing various genres for fifteen years. She lives in Arizona with her husband and four children, and enjoys painting and excessive cookie baking. She blogs about all of the above, as well as her fascination with dinosaurs and other monsters.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@netraptor01
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kessie.carroll
Blog: https://kmcarrollblog.wordpress.comn
Copyright © 2014 by Kessler Carroll
Printed in the United States of America
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