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Three months after he was killed hunting, he returned. Carine stared at the stranger sitting on the edge of the bed. He bore a striking resemblance to her hastily married husband but he lacked the familiar, comforting scent of soap and warmth that she associated with him. He smelled of wind and rain now, green things. His eyes were wolf amber rather than the green she had fallen in love with months earlier.

He had been just as gentle as she remembered him being but he hadn’t spoken a word to her since his arrival at her apartment door. “Augustin?”

Augustin turned, pausing halfway in reaching for his boots. “Yes?”

Carine bit down on her lower lip, slipping out from under the quilt so that she was sitting on the bedspread in her nightdress. “Stay, please.”

There were scars she didn’t remember, decorating his back. Three diagonal lines crossing his back from right shoulder to left hip. His smile when he turned to look at her was sad. “I cannot, forgive me.”

He pulled his shirt on, obscuring the other, older wounds he’d earned. The self-inflicted mark on his right forearm and the fainter smaller semicircular mark on his collar bone. She had made that scar when she’d bitten him. “Whyever not?”

“I… can’t,”

Aurelie began to fuss from her cradle. Carine sighed, lifting the infant girl from her sleeping place and brushed a lock of fine, dark hair from the girl’s face. “I named her for your aunt. It seemed… appropriate.”

She offered the child to Augustin and felt her eyes prickle with tears at the lack of recognition he gave their daughter. “You were so pleased when I told you I was with child. Why do you not know her?”

Augustin looked up, shifting the girl’s weight to free one arm for use. He brushed a hand across Carine’s cheek. “Forgive me,”

He passed the infant girl back to her, making his way to the bedroom door and shutting it behind him. Carine stood there, staring at the closed door as a numb ache took the place where her heart was. “Augustin…”

She smoothed Aurelie’s hair and came to her decision, setting the small child in her cradle. It was impolite for a woman to wander the street in naught but her nightdress but circumstances argued against convention. At least this time. It was for her husband after all.

It was cold and all she wore for footwear was a pair of woolen socks. A bit of knitting she’d learned from her housekeeper. “Augustin!”

He had lingered, much to her relief, meeting her gaze for a second before looking away. “Please, it would be safer if you didn’t follow me.”

Carine squeezed her eyes tight shut as a few tears made wet trails down her cheeks. “Tell me where you’re going.”

He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I’m bound to the Wild Hunt now. I cannot leave it even if I wished to.”

“You’re here,” She reached up, cupping the side of his face in her hand. “Clearly…”

Augustin sighed again, taking her hand in his before dropping it. “A bit of luck, I doubt I’ll be as fortunate next time.”

His expression changed, becoming distant. “Dawn’s coming.”

“And you must leave before then.” Carine said dully.

“I think so, yes.” Augustin kissed her briefly, offering his hand to her.

She took it reluctantly, accepting his silent offer to walk with her despite her lack of proper dress. They found themselves in the alley between two buildings. Carine lifted the hem of her nightdress as she skirted the edge of an unmentionable puddle. Her socks would be ruined without a doubt. She’d have to knit a new pair. “Remember me, if nothing else.”

The change had never been so effortless for him. Carine swallowed, watching the transition from man to wolf. He’d learned to control the change over a year ago but it had always cost him something to do it. He’d always had to remove shirt and trousers and cache them somewhere for when he returned to human shape. She’d never thought it was possible to change and keep clothing in the process. Yet Augustin had. His fur had simply grown to cover his shirt and trousers as if he hadn’t been wearing a thing.

A black wolf stood where Augustin had once been. Carine didn’t bother to hide her tears now, tangling a hand in the wolf’s ruff before taking a step backwards and away from him. “You never did say how this thing was… done to you.”

The wolf glanced at her once before padding a few steps away. He paused for a moment before fading into smoke and shadow. Carine covered her face with her hands and wept.
Not my best work, I'm afraid but it took be three tries before I was even slightly satisfied with this piece. It's been unsaid but Augustin managed to trick his way into one, early night of freedom from the Wild Hunt. It won't happen again for more than a century and only until Aldric's daughter frees him by accident.

Comments are welcomed.
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themaninroomfive's avatar
Enjoyed that, and one of the best opening lines i've ever read :)