Little Red's Riding

Dancing and Deception

"Who are you?" The man steered Dahlia onto the dance floor enfolding one of her hands in his own, while his other hand stayed firmly on the small of her back.

"You will know that soon enough Fräulein." She turned towards him as they came together on the enormous dance floor. She wondered vaguely, if they were eating in the ballroom or if the dining room was simply used for balls, before banishing the thought. This was something that her sixteen year old self would have asked out loud. Now she had more important things to think about. There were already quite a few couples dancing, which she was grateful for. It had been a while since she had waltzed and then it had usually only been on her brother's feet, or far more rarely, on the feet of the man who she had believed was her father.

"Tell me now," she demanded in a fierce whisper, tilting her head up to stare into his eyes. That gold color was so very familiar and she focused on it, before her eyes flitted over the rest of his face. He had a square jaw and full lips. He was, she thought, in her objective opinion, more handsome than Deckard. If Deckard wasn't some wolf slaying hero, assuming that's why all the women were going crazy about him, she thought that this man would probably be the one garnering more attention.

He had those broad shoulders that had become so familiar during her time in the forest, and that familiar physique where he practically had muscles on top of his muscles. His clothing were all well made and he might have been a nobleman, but she wasn't sure. It was hard to tell the soldiers from the nobles here. But he'd greeted her in German, which could mean he was a foreign noble. Their countries' borders had been shifting of late, and the languages spoken there were a mess. German was one of their languages, but hardly the only one and spoken more elsewhere than here, especially in Forfax and the surrounding regions.

She inclined her head and fixed him with her most demanding gaze. He met her eyes and waited for a moment and then when she didn't look away, but held his eyes steadily, his face broke into a wide grin that caught Dahlia entirely off guard.

"You are perfect, my dear."

"And you are one of them, aren't you?" Her voice was so low that she knew only his ears would be able to pick it up over the music and only then if he really was a werewolf. He threw back his head and laughed as he whirled her about the floor, her white dress twirling about her legs. As he looked down at her in his arms she felt as if she really could dance, because he did such a good job at leading her about the floor.

"One of them, Liebling? Do you mean, one of us?"

"Only in part. My wolf is-"

"Asleep, Darling. You might not feel her, but she's there. I can sense her even now. We are not that easy to kill. And I can smell the wolfsbane seeping from your pores. They must have nearly over dosed you because I shouldn't be able to scent it through your skin."

He leaned forward, taking a deep breath as his face neared her neck. "It may be awhile before it's out of your system. It's hard to tell. In my pack back home we've done some experiments with these potions that they're using, to try to find ways to combat them. But I've never seen a dose so high that I could smell it on the victim's skin."

Dahlia nodded, too emotionally exhausted after everything that had happened to even really be angry at this new information that she had received.

"Can you help me escape?" She whispered the word, barely moving her lips as she spoke. By the way his lips turned downward she knew his answer even before he gave it.

"I wish that it was that simple, Liebling. I know you're hoping that you're brother might be beginning to trust you the smallest bit and that then you might slip away. But even now his eyes are following us about the room. He may not entirely believe that you are what you actually are, but he will never look at you the same way again. He will never trust you. Do you know how many of our people he personally has killed?"

Dahlia drew her lower lip between her teeth and shook her head.

"No. And it's better that you don't know. Not when you still have to travel with him and sleep in his suites for who knows how many nights. But there is a reason that I've come here. I know that the wolves in this country were supposed to hold their yearly gathering very soon, but ours was last month, as was the one in the kingdoms to our east. I met with their delegates before our own gathering and then again after and there was only one leader whose name I have heard spoken again and again when the subject of a KIng is brought to the table."

Dahlia's forehead crinkled in confusion. Why had this man come here to waltz her across the dance floor and tell her this? Was this really why he was here?

"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't understand why you're telling me any of this."

"Your mate is known throughout the entire continent. He has made his name in wars and battles long before he met you. He has lived in peace for maybe a decade or two, but before that he was a beast." Dahlia met the man's eyes again, waiting for some sign to show on his face that he was telling a joke. "I know that you have lived as a human, and even many werewolves do not know this detail, but those with royal blood in their veins have extraordinarily long lives. They are harder to kill. They are descended from the Moon Goddess herself and her blood keeps them almost eternally young. When they mate, this longevity is passed on to their mates as well."

Dahlia felt for a moment as if the room was spinning around her faster than they were actually moving as they continued to waltz.

"That is why your mate can look as though he is hardly older than you are, while actually being quite mature."

"Thank you for that delicate phrasing." She muttered, shaking her head as if she could clear away everything he had just said.

"Are you saying-"

"Exactly what you think I'm saying. The wolves from the south and east have already spoken and spoken clearly. We want your mate to be our King. We believe that the wolves here will decide the same thing when they come to council this week. When I leave here that is where I plan to go. When I heard a rumor that you were going to be here I had to come."

"He won't be there though, will he?" Her voice was so soft she wasn't sure he'd even be able to hear it with extraordinary hearing. It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe as she thought of what this man's words meant.

"We will cast our votes all the same and make the decision." I strongly believe that by the full moon, you and your mate will be the queen and king of the werewolves.

She shook her head, not sure if she could believe him. But if she could perhaps he would do her a favor.

"Alright then, my good Sir. I need to ask you one very serious favor before you leave to go to that meeting." She turned her head and glanced at her brother. He had changed partners three times while she was still dancing with this tall, broad shouldered stanger. "I don't care how you make this happen, but I will be in your debt if you can help me with this one thing before the night is over. I know that you can't save me. But I hope you can save two of my pack members."

"There are two little girls who are depending on you who will be sold to humans if they aren't rescued soon, and I hope that before you go to that meeting you will be able to deliver them safely home to their families. If you do I promise that Silas and I will never forget it and that if it is ever in my power I will see that you are rewarded for your kindness."

A/N- I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you did I'd love it if you'd comment and click that little star button to vote for it.

This is Chapter Fifty (and I will continue posting weekly updates here until the entire novel is finished). You can now read all 75 chapters of the finished novel plus the epilogue on Patreon! And for those of you who want more stories, long and short, right this second and who want to read Patreon exclusive short stories, you may also want to check out the link below:

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