Winter's Wolves

Frederick raised his head and stared at the closed door of his office. His ears strained for any noise. He frowned when the house returned nothing. Seear should be making a sound of some kind even if the rest of the house’s inhabitants were silent. He looked down at the open book on his desk, a journal he had kept several centuries ago, and closed it quietly. For a moment, distracted by the lack of noise, he stroked the aged leather cover. His name was burned into the hide at the bottom left of the cover. A present from Bellona several decades after he was turned. He set the book aside and pushed back from his desk. A small sound finally reached his ears from the hall outside. He was on his feet in seconds and striding for the door. The door knob nearly came free from the wood with his jerk that sent it crashing into the wall behind it. He stopped in the doorway and looked both ways. To the right, the hallway was empty. To the left, the light was on in the den, and on the floor was Seear’s body. Her back arched and another whimper escaped from between her lips. He stalked down the hall, dropping to his knees at her side. Behind her, the window of the den showed a sky with pink highlights. Frederick growled in German under his breath and fought the urge to cringe away from the sight. Seear mumbled incoherently. He laid a large hand along the side of her face and hissed a curse. Her skin was heated and covered in a layer of perspiration. He watched her chest rise and fall quickly, feeling helpless when another soft cry tore from her throat. “Seear,” he whispered in her ear. Getting no reaction, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap. Her head simply fell back against his shoulder as her lips continued to move ceaselessly. He dipped his head to press his ear nearly to her mouth. Her words were a mix of Latin and Gaelic. Frederick frowned and looked down at her. A sharp pain in his chest made him grit his teeth. He raised nearly crimson eyes to the window. The eastern sky was a happy yellow as the sun tried to break through the tree line. Suddenly, Seear’s eyes flew open and she looked up at him. He met her eyes before his gaze was drawn to the window like a passerby at an accident site. The pain spread like fire through his veins and he growled. Seear’s bright, silver eyes followed the line of his vision to the window before darting back to his face quickly. She squirmed her way out of his arms and began shoving at his chest. “Go!” She pulled at his arms as he rose clumsily. His lack of coordination made her eyes widen. “Now! Go.” She looked over her shoulder at the beginning of the sun. It spilled over the tree line and splashed across the lawn toward the house. The sight lit something in him and he turned to the hallway. He felt Seear’s eyes on his back all the way to the door of the basement. When he paused in the doorway, he looked back. She knelt in a pool of sunshine, the light finding brightness in her hair and highlighting her bronze skin. She gave him a small smile and he pulled the door closed.