Winter Wolf - Chapter 7. Part 2

Chapter 7. Part 2

Lysithea was silent for a moment, recalling the time when street robbers had broken in. Then she shook her head.

“They were bad guys back then, but we shouldn’t judge this man without understanding him. It doesn’t make sense to kill him without knowing more!”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

They both faced each other without backing down.

“Kulk… Kulk!”

The injured man coughed loudly, and his body trembled. Although he appeared confused, he looked around at the two of them and uttered incomprehensible words.

“Please let me live. Let’s not fight.”

As the man lost consciousness again, Lysithea looked at Terrence with pleading eyes.

He sighed and lowered his gun. He looked at her coldly, in stark contrast to the warmth she had felt the night before.

“You screwed up.”

Lysithea flinched. She realized the consequences of her actions. Despite Terrence’s anger, she helped the man to his feet. She felt helpless in the face of his disapproval.

Terrence took the man from her without a word, lifting him over his shoulder. Lysithea couldn’t shake the image of Terrence’s face when he pointed the gun at her as he walked forward.

If the man had not regained consciousness, would Terrence have pulled the trigger?

‘…Impossible. ‘… impossible.  But….’

Lysithea felt a shiver of fear run down her spine at the sound of the mysterious scream. She glanced back at Terrence, who was about to carry the man like a burden. She couldn’t shake off the cold gaze he had given her before turning away.

***

“Oh, how I wish I could thank you. I owe you big time.”

The man with blond hair recovered quickly in front of the open fire after eating the simple dinner Terrence had prepared for him.

He was unconscious for most of the conversation between Terrence and Lysithea. He wrapped himself in a blanket and sipped the boiling water, thanking them both right away.

“I am Gray Hoplander. Call me whatever you like. And you…?”

“Oh, I’m….”

At the man’s question, Lysithea smiled and spoke up.

“Liz.”

Terrence interrupted Lysithea with a heavy, ringing voice. She looked up in confusion, and he spoke to her with an expressionless face.

“This is my wife, Liz. I’m Karon Kadas. I’m a hunter.”

Wife? She looked at Terrence in disbelief, but Gray nodded in understanding.

Lysithea looked at him curiously. He stuttered, and she continued to watch him. Gray smiled sheepishly, aware of her attention.

“Unfortunately, my speech may sound strange; I apologize. It is a common habit of my profession.”

“What is your profession?”

Lysithea asked curiously, and he replied lightly.

“I’m a detective.”

Lysithea was unsure of how to react to the situation. For the first time in her life, Lysithea didn’t know how to react. She wondered if detectives only existed in novels.

Meanwhile, Terrence remained completely unfazed.

“I see, we are traveling. We were headed to the harbor, but we got stuck there due to the snow. Mr. Hoflander, where are you headed?”

Gray looked troubled and ran his hand through his hair.

“I was on my way to the capital for work, and I forced myself to walk faster to avoid spending the night in the snow. I heard a gunshot. Suddenly, I felt faint, and I remember falling. I am grateful for your help.”

Lysithea started to reply, “You’re welcome,” but Terrence was quicker.

“I’m glad we found you in time, so I assume you’ll be leaving soon?”

“We will. If harmony comes back.”

“Harmony?”

“Oh, that’s the name of my horse. She’s a cute little thing, though she’s a bit skittish, so she ran away at the sound of gunfire.”

“Speaking of gunshots, I shot…”

Lysithea began to apologize, but Gray immediately shook his head.

“No need to apologize. If he’s already wandering around the neighborhood and hears me calling, he’ll come running. He’s been with us for a long time.”

Then Terrence, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“So, I guess you’ll have to wait for your horse to come back before you leave since the snowstorm has finally stopped.”

“Yes. I’ll go out and call him as soon as I can, and if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to leave as soon as tomorrow, but if I’m not so lucky, well, I may be the last man in this house.”

Gray shook his head at the ridiculousness of his situation.

***

Late at night, Lysithea and Terrence returned to her room, where they always slept together. Their room was at the end of the hallway, quite a distance from Gray’s room at the bottom of the stairs.

As soon as they stepped inside and closed the door behind them, Lysithea blurted out.

“Am I your wife?”

“Are you mad at me for lying to you?”

“You’re lying too much! You could have just said, brother and sister.”

“Well, I can’t find any resemblance between the two of us.”

“I don’t know. There has to be some way we’re alike, and I can’t find it, no matter how hard I look.”

Lysithea’s violet eyes and Terrence’s brassy ones stared at each other. After a moment, he shrugged and said, “No big deal.”

“Whatever, we’ve been acting like a married couple for the past week, just without the kid.”

He was correct. They fell asleep together every night and woke up in the same bed. They also had s*x. When Lysithea was at a loss for words, he repeated himself.

“And who are you to be mad at me in the first place?”

Terrence’s smile disappeared.

“Lysithea, your unexpected behavior today has disrupted my plans more than you can ever compensate for.”

“It wasn’t entirely my fault! You were the one who positioned the guns towards me then.”

“I provided you with the best solution, but it was not good enough. Killing him at that moment would have been easier.”

“How can you? How can you even say that?”

“I want to ask you something.”

Terrence raised an eyebrow.

“Are you aware of our situation? How can you let someone else stay here with us so easily? We’re stuck here, unable to run, and wondering when we’re going to be killed.”

Lysithea could barely respond; the point was so bitter.

“I thought it was okay because you were by my side.”

“That doesn’t mean you can allow an intruder in.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I leaned on you like that!”

Terrence sighed when Lysithea expressed her weariness. They were already parallel.

“I won’t get the horses tomorrow because I can’t leave you alone with him.”

At his words, she immediately shook her head.

“I’m fine; you can go.”

“You don’t get to decide if you’re okay or not, because things went south from the moment you approached him.”

“Don’t act like you are my real husband. You have no right to say that to me.”

“Lysithea.”

Terrence grabbed Lysithea’s wrist, causing her to twitch at the sudden touch, and whispered to her.

“Your life is mine.”

She looked up defiantly. However, he remained unmoved and continued calmly.

“I am the one holding the strings of your life, pinning you to this earth. Have you been in this situation before?”

Lysithea recalled the night when a wolf attacked her, leading to her death. She remembered the chilling feeling of being alone in the snow. The echoes of his gunfire and the striking of blades against the door were etched in her memory.

All those instances confirmed one thing: her life unquestionably belonged to him.

“Terrence, I appreciate what you’ve done, but…”

Lysithea took a deep breath, attempting to articulate her thoughts.

“If this is the debt I owe, how long do I have to be under your control? How can I repay a debt to the one who gave me my life?”

“It’s simple; I have a life of my own.”

He laughed, breaking his usual stoic posture. Terrence asked, ‘How am I supposed to save your life?’ The response was clear:

“You can’t save your life, so don’t even think about escaping,” Terrence said, gripping her red hair. She stepped back, but her back met the wall. Lysithea looked up, and her smile vanished.

“Now listen to me,” Terrence whispered. “If you keep behaving like this, my patience will wear thin, and I might just give up on you.”

Lysithea’s heart raced and her breath caught, but she couldn’t make a sound. It was like the time when a gun was pointed at her. In their relationship, she was the one being consumed and weak, so she had to give in.

“Then… have it your way, Terrence, whatever you want.” Her words quivered. She felt a twinge of shame, but the fear of being overwhelmed by him was more dominant. She hoped that bowing low enough would bring a reassuring smile from him.

However, Terrence turned away, his face expressionless. He said, “Sleep well, Lysithea. As promised, I’ll let you rest today.” He then left her room, and she heard the sound of the door next door locking.

Lysithea pressed against the wall. She took unsteady steps to the cold bed and fell onto it. She felt a cold sweat trickle down her forehead. She realized the seriousness of what he had said—things were going wrong.