literature

First Sight

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The wolf’s expression was blank, empty of all feeling. Anything that might have made her human was absent. It should have frightened him or at the very least, reminded him that the loup garou were not the humans they had been. Etienne would have delivered the killing strike without hesitation. Augustin couldn’t, even as he gripped his knife tighter in hand. How could he kill a woman, even a wolf and still live with the memory of it afterwards?

He cast a quick look over his shoulder, hoping for and feeling relief that his father wasn’t in the immediate vicinity. By all rights, he was justified in killing her but he couldn’t quite see the animal underneath. She looked human in spite of her bared teeth and the amber colored eyes that marked her kind. Something stopped him from following through on his father’s orders. Augustin sheathed the hunting knife at his waist and knelt, offering his hand to her. “I’m not going to hurt you. Can you…speak?”

Sometimes the ones who weren’t so lost to base instinct could manage a few words. Their name, please or a request for mercy. “My father and Adrien are pursuing the male members of your-”

The rest of his sentence was lost in a string of increasingly foul expletives as she lashed out at him, catching his wrist in her hands and biting down hard. Hard enough to draw blood.

Augustin backhanded her across the face and fumbled awkwardly for his knife with his right hand. He’d always been better with the left despite Etienne’s disapproval of the trait.

She let go and fled, stumbling over the ruined hem of her dress and falling onto hands and knees before picking herself up again. He caught a glimpse of once fine cloth and brown hair turning the corner and he cursed again, putting his foot into the stirrup and encouraging his mare into a run. It was easy; Belle loved the chase almost as much as he did.

Wolves in their human shape were faster than humans but a running horse could outpace them.

Somewhere in his ride, he’d lost the tie that held his hair back out of his face. He shoved impatiently at a stray lock and pulled Belle back into a walk, dismounting her. “Where did she go, girl?”

If Belle had smelled or heard a wolf somewhere, she was unable to tell him. She only whickered and nudged at his side with her nose. Augustin sighed and gave the chestnut horse a rub along her neck. “I guess I’m going on foot from here.”

There was a scrap of pale pink silk lying in the stinking puddle that stretched the length of the alleyway. Augustin knelt, carefully looking around him for the wolf. It was too fine of cloth to belong to a commoner, unless she was wealthy or… a prostitute. He dismissed the latter idea as unlikely. It just didn’t feel right.

He found her huddled in a tight ball against the end of the alley where it took a right turn and dead ended.

She looked up at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Please…”

“I won’t hurt you,” Augustin glanced down, following her gaze as it landed on the knife at his waist. He grimaced and set the weapon aside though it made him feel uncomfortable to be without it. The blade had been a gift from his father and he’d rarely gone without it in the years since it had been given to him.

She averted her gaze and he saw the mark he’d left behind like too much rouge. Augustin winced at the sight. “I suppose neither one of us were quite in the right state of mind.”

“I suppose not, Augustin.”

He went still, watching her warily. “I don’t believe I told you my name.”

“You didn’t,” The barest flicker of a smile crossed her face. “I already knew it from the moment you found me here.”

“Very well,” Augustin stood, offering his hand to her. There seemed to be a story behind her words but now was not the time to inquire further.

She took it, keeping her gaze lowered. “Carine Delacroix.”

Delacroix. Augustin shook his head in disbelief. “It can’t be, I know that family… well, my father does. I can’t be certain but I’ve seen you at a distance, at Versailles. I hadn’t thought…”

Carine’s smile was wan. “That nobility are somehow exempt from being bitten by loup-garou? It does happen from time to time. My parents cast me out when I was… soiled. I made my way south, hoping for a new life but all I found was the hunters. It seems I’ll never escape the Watch.”

The despair in her voice was palpable. Augustin drew close, hesitating before he wrapped an arm around her waist. He’d been with women before but he hadn’t cared as much about them. They’d just been harlots and good for a one night’s diversion but not for more than that. “Is there anything I can say?”

Carine glanced at him and bit down on her lower lip. “I only want to go back to my apartment. Could you...”

“You want me to be your escort?”

She ducked her head, ashamed. “I don’t want to kill again, I never asked to be this… thing.”

Augustin bent down to retrieve his knife and sheathed it. “Not many people do, I think.”
There seemed to be little else to say. Augustin skirted the puddle, shrugging out of his coat and draping it over Carine’s shoulders. It was too big on her and the sleeves went past her fingertips.

Belle whickered at the sight of the pair. Augustin couldn’t help a smile, feeling relief wash over him as he greeted his horse. “Hello there, girl.”

He helped Carine up first before mounting himself. Her directions were circuitous but surprisingly reliable. Clearly she had some familiarity with Marseille, even if she hadn’t told him. He couldn’t blame her for her lack of trust though. They were on opposite sides of this conflict.

He stayed until she vanished through the front door before he turned Belle’s head back the way he’d come.

His father was the first person to find him. Augustin bit down on his lower lip, turning over the ruined and stained bundle of cloth to the older man. He was not fond of deceit but for Carine’s sake, he would have to. “She’s dead, I made sure she didn’t suffer.”

Etienne’s gaze drifted towards the ‘evidence’ procured. “I see,”

He frowned, reaching for Augustin’s wrist. “She bit you.”

Augustin pulled away, pressing his forearm against his side. “It’s nothing, the wolves aren’t known to pass on their curse while in human shape.”

“The closer it is to the full moon it is, the greater the chance of being afflicted with the curse.” Etienne said. “And there is one in two weeks.”

Two weeks. Augustin swallowed, struggling to keep his apprehension at how short the time was. It seemed he would have to speak with Carine again before that time.




It had been a week since he’d spared Carine and now he was sitting on one of the two chairs in the parlor. The maidservant cast him a wary look and poured two glasses of wine for them. Carine took a sip of her glass before setting it back on the small table before them.

Augustin glanced at his untouched glass, feeling ill. “Die as a human or live as a wolf.”

It wasn’t a decision he felt prepared to make. Etienne had made it clear that the matter was black and white with no room for grey in it. By that theory, Carine should have been dead a week. “I know what my father would do in my place.”

The guilt was clear on Carine’s face. “I was not fully in control of myself and for that I hope you can forgive me. Perhaps I should have died that night you found me.”

Augustin hesitated, at a loss on how to counter her statement. Carine was wrong to say that but comforting her, he’d never been skilled in that area when it came to the opposite gender. “No, it’s…”

It was difficult to find the words he wanted. He had been distracted, thoughts drifting back to the female wolf at inopportune moments. Even Dominique had noticed something despite all his attempts at denying it. “I like you more than any other woman I’ve known.”

Carine looked hurt. “Don’t, we both know I’m not human. I won’t age- I’m a danger to you and anyone around me. Even if I found a way to reduce the risk, I’ll outlive you.”

Augustin felt the faint taste of something foul in his mouth. “Only if I choose to stay human, myself. Regardless of my decision, something is going to have to change before the week ends.”

She shook her head, getting to her feet and staring out the window that overlooked the street. “I promised myself that I’d never turn anyone.”

“I’m not sure you have a choice,” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I doubt that the one who turned you, deliberately chose you for this. Not many people survive the attack, the few who do…”

Carine looked down, bunching the cloth of her dress in her hands. “I see,”

She met his gaze tiredly. “Can you do it, give up everything for me?”

Augustin hesitated, unsure. The answer should have been a ready yes, he was fond of Carine but the cost associated with that decision. He just didn’t know. She’d gone into it with limited knowledge and maybe that made it easier, not knowing until it was too late to change anything. “The truth is, I don’t know. My father expects me to inherit everything when he passes, I could say I didn’t care about that but I do, not as much as he would have liked but…”

He sighed. “I’m frightened, God knows how difficult it is to admit to that. Not everyone survives the first change.”




Carine looked just as apprehensive as he felt, sitting on the side of the bed next to him. Augustin took her hand in his in an attempt to comfort her. “If nothing else, trust me.”

She kept her gaze on the wooden floorboards. “I’ve heard it tell that a… wolf looking to make progeny will often consummate a relationship with the chosen prey before biting him.”

Augustin noted the uncertainty in Carine’s voice. “You’ve never been with a man before, have you?”

She nodded meekly. “I was to, once but after I was…soiled, he would not have anything to do with me.”

“I hadn’t known…”

“Nor should you,” Carine bit down on her lower lip. “I had thought of refusing your request but as I appear to have bitten you once already. So be it.”




“Augustin?”

“Hm?” He looked up from his novel, startled from his thoughts at the sound of Dominique’s voice.

“Father said there was a small problem of a wolf pack near the docks. He thought that your… experience with the area would help find them.”

Augustin sighed, marking his page with the length of ribbon. “I expect he wants us to deal with them tonight, correct?”

Dominique nodded shyly. “Yes,”

“Very well, find Julien and tell him that we’re hunting tonight.”




Either their father had vastly underestimated this pack or he had a ruthless streak never before seen.  Augustin looked past the pair of wolves trapping him against the side of the warehouse to where his brothers were. Julien looked terrified, Dominique less frightened and more stubbornly determined to stay.  He couldn’t throw their lives away for the sake of killing a pack. “Julien, Dominique. Go for Father or Corin. Tell them what happened and pray that they don’t kill their horses under them in the attempt to find me.”

“You’ll be killed!” Dominique protested.

“Loyal to the end, little brother,” Augustin forced a smile at his words. “Better that one gives his life to protect his family.  Go now, that’s an order. Obey it.”
“But…”

Augustin sheathed his knife, glancing up at the nighttime sky. “There are times to question my orders and there is a time to obey them. Now is not the time to disagree, Dominique. Go now.”

Dominique’s hesitation was easy to read, even in the darkness. Augustin made a slight move to his right and the wolf flanking him on that side growled in warning.

That seemed to persuade the younger men that discretion was the better part of valor; they retreated not turning their backs until they were free of the narrow cul-de-sac. Augustin slumped against the wall, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He’d been fighting against the change for the better part of an hour, ever since night had fallen. It was almost a relief to let it take its course now.

Almost a relief, were it not for the prickling sensation over his skin. It was mild now but would become stronger as it progressed. The world spun suddenly and he found himself on his knees, bracing himself on hands and knees. True speech was impossible now and all that came out was a half strangled cry. He could barely breathe through the change. Bone and muscle felt like they were on fire.

He’d been told what to expect from Carine but somehow this was worse, knowing.

Darkness finally overwhelmed him and he gave into the silence with a feeling of relief. Even the blackness would be better than the pain.
I decided not to go through with the sex scene - better to leave it up to the reader's imagination in my opinion. And because I doubt my ability in that area yet. :) Let's just say that Augustin is gentle with her. Also, despite evidence to the contrary in the Wolves, Love and Pincushion story. Neither one of them considers this a marriage or a declaration that they're a mated pair. Not yet anyway. :) It's more or less a business transaction here. She owes him for sparing her life. :hug:
© 2014 - 2024 Caffeinated-Bunny
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SincaraDain's avatar
Well I am terribly sorry but my imagination does not extend that far. :D

Anyway I really like the story. Thank you so very very much. :) I think this really attributes to Augustines character and gives him even more depth. Hug  Thank you so very much. :D I really love Augustine and he is just really cool choosing this himself.

Now I am only confused about one tiny part: I thought in the other chapter Dominique exclaimed that Augustine was turned trying to save him or something in that trend? Did I misread that? Cause honestly I think I like this a whole lot better. <3