Chapter 233

#Chapter 23 Again he follows A branch broke behind her and Doris turned immediately to face it. All of her senses were on high and felt more on alert than they ever had before.

A familiar figure stepped out of the trees and walked slowly towards her. The fur along her back felt as if it was standing when she saw who it was—of course it was him.

Daemon held his hands out as if he posed no threat — while clenching her cloak. Cordelia let out a large growl that made him stay where he was as if he was rooted in place.

“Sorry to have frightened you, I found your cloak back there and came looking for you.” He said. His eyes gazed over her entire wolf form in awe. He looked at her as if he just walked in on a goddess and he didn’t know what else to say to her.

Doris growled again when he started to move closer. He stopped short and bowed. “Apologies, my lady. I only wanted to bring you your cloak. I thought you had lost it.”

He set it down carefully in front of her and took a few steps back. “I saw you run... and I saw what you had done with the trees. I’ve never seen a wolf move like that in my life. I thought for a moment I was imagining all of it.”

Doris wanted to snip at him. She couldn’t respond when she was in her wolf form, but he seemed to understand her anyway. He turned away and faced his back to her as she shifted into her normal form once more.

Doris yanked on her cloak before her transition was even complete. Anger rose inside her and replaced everything else that tried to come forward. “What are you doing out here again? I knew you were following me!”

“May I turn back, my lady?” He asked calmly. “Yes. But don’t you dare take a step closer to me. I want you right where you are.”

Daemon turned back to her with a slight smirk on his lips. Oh! She wanted to slap it off his mouth. What did he not understand? “I assure you that I didn’t intend for us to meet this way.”

“Then what was your intention? I doubt you happen to keep coming out here the same exact times that I do. I hope you realize how suspicious this is, Daemon. I haven’t even developed a pattern for you to learn—so why are you out here?”

He closed his eyes when Doris said his name. She watched him swallow before he opened them again. “Alright, you caught me. I came out here because I saw you from the windows and J] knew you came out here to shift. I just wanted to see what you were going to do.”

“So you have been following me.” Doris crossed her arms over her chest. The wind was starting to pick up a little and she had to make sure her robe stayed closed tight.

“I did—today. Not before.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk around the clearing. “I was curious to see you in action as the white wolf. It took my breath away when I saw how fast you moved. I had to contain myself just to allow my lung air again.”

Doris felt her cheeks heat and a bit of pride swarm inside her. So far, he was the only person that had seen her move as she did when she was her white wolf. If only William had seen her too. Would he be as impressed as this stranger was?

“I swore I even saw you... glow.” He spoke so quietly, just for her ears. “I heard myths that white wolves glowed and when I saw you... I apologize for following you but you are a walking wonder and I couldn’t help myself.”

Daemon bowed to her and Doris wasn’t sure if she could get any more heated than she was. When he rose, his eyes sparkled a little as he grinned. “I wasn't able to see all of it—but wow. What you did to those trees— “

It dawned on her then. She’d almost forgotten what she did to the trees. Doris hurried past him and gazed across at the mess she made. It looked as if a giant had come through the forest and knocked down every tree he touched—what a disaster! It was a clear path that stretched about a mile long of fallen trees. It was hard to believe she was capable of something like this.

“Oh my.. I didn’t mean to do that.” Doris whispered. “The palace is going to be very upset with me.”

“Who says they have to know?” Daemon said by her ear. Doris practically jumped away from the man.

“Calm down, little one. I don’t bite.”

His smirk told her otherwise. Doris narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t think this is something I can sweep under the rugs. It looks as if a monster came through here and knocked everything down!”

“The guards almost never come out here, I doubt they’ll even find it for weeks. Why bring it up if no one is asking about it?” Daemon said as he leaned against one of the trees that was still standing. She looked closer and saw large claw marks scraped across the front. She felt like a monster. “How would you know that they don’t come out here for weeks?” Doris asked with her brows raised.

“I can see them take their rounds from my window. It’s not hard to notice a pattern when they rarely change it.”

Doris looked at him closer. He stood as if the world didn’t weigh him down and moved so carelessly.

She wasn’t sure if he was trying to force it—or if that was how he was.

He pushed off the tree and neared her. “You have quite some power. How come I never heard about you? I only ever heard that the king had a former maid as a fiancee, but not what she could do.” Doris brushed her hair behind her ears and looked away. “My power... I’m still getting used to it. I don't like to show it off, especially to strangers.” Daemon chuckled. “Understood. If you ever want to learn more about your power, meet me in the library. I know just the kind of book you need.” Doris swallowed the lump in her throat. “The library?” She hadn’t been back there since Martin “Or we can meet like two lovers in this forest if it makes you feel better.” He said against her ear. She pushed him away from her.

“The library is fine. But I only want this book you speak of. I don’t remember ever seeing one on white wolves when I used to work there.”

Daemon laughed again. “Oh, that place won’t have a copy. Don’t you worry.” He poked her nose and smiled at her glare. “I have it."