The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I wasn't able to properly edit this chapter before uploading it. However, I hope it makes sense.

I have a very busy day.

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Alicia had wanted to learn more about Anne. She felt a deep connection with her, maybe because Anne looked exactly like her. Unfortunately, it didn't last. Before she knew it, she was out of there.

She found herself in a forest. She looked around her and realized why she was there. She saw Amber. Amber looked a bit younger than now.

For some reason, Alicia was excited to see her and learn about her. Since the person she knew barely any information about was Amber.

Amber looked just like she had imagined her. Unlike Anne, who seemed to have a chirpy personality, Amber's face was straight. She looked cold, and her eyes looked detached from everything around her as she strolled around. She seemed to be looking for something because she inspected some leaves as she passed them, but they seemed not to be what she was looking for.

Suddenly, they heard a growl beside them and turned around immediately.

Their eyes widened when they saw a big wolf with brown and white fur and deep brown eyes growling at Amber.

This reminded her of the wolf Alicia had seen in the mountains when she first got here. But this wolf was a lot smaller and less scary compared to that one that was black all over and had scary blue eyes.

For a split second, something seemed to register in Alicia's head, but she didn't have the time to think about it.

Unlike how she had reacted when she saw that wolf, Amber, however, was calmer. It was obvious that she was scared.

Amber took slow steps backwards, trying to get away from him. But she kept her eyes on him, calculating every movement while taking out the small knife from the pouch hanging by the side of her dress.

The wolf growled again and took a step forward, and while Amber was planning how to strike, the wolf shook itself as though trying to shake off dirt, and right before their eyes, it let out a loud growl before his features began to change to those of a human until it completely transformed, revealing the features of a full-grown naked man on his knees.

The sight was even more terrifying than the wolf form itself because... a wolf had transformed into a man!

Amber let out a shout of fear and wielded her knife in front of her.

If there was something Alicia had observed so far, it was that her lineage didn't joke with knives or daggers.

The man twisted his head to the sides, stretching his muscles as he stood up on his feet, not bothering to hide his nakedness from the teenage girl.

"You... how... what is that?" Amber asked in disbelief.

The man looked at her with a smirk. He seemed to be in his late twenties. He was tall, he looked very wild and rugged, and he looked like he hadn't had his bath or gotten proper grooming in a while because he had rough facial beards and a tangled mop of hair in his head, and he smelled really bad. His face was also stained with dirt and something that looked like blood that had dried up.

"What... are you?" Amber asked again, pointing the knife she was holding with her two hands at him.

"I should be asking you." He said before sniffing the air around him. "Why don't you smell?"

"Because I took my bath!" Amber said amidst her fear and continued to step backwards when he kept advancing. Amber kept her eyes on his face, too scared to look down and even more scared to not keep her eyes on him.

Alicia reminded herself that nothing had happened to Amber. As evidenced by her presence here. So she tried not to worry too much, but she still could not help it because of how creepy this man was.

The man kept moving forward. "You must be a witch."

When Amber's eyes widened, the man cackled crazily. "I knew it! What great luck! I wouldn't have imagined meeting a little witch here."

"I... am not a witch!" Amber yelled even though she was scared.

Alicia had to admit that she admired this girl. Even though she was now aware of the existence of werewolves, the sight had still scared her. But Amber had taken it well. It was normal to be scared.

"Yes, you are." The young man smiled. "And I have heard your body has a lot of benefits," he said, looking at her up and down and charging at her. She didn't know how it all happened, but Amber just found herself dangling in the air with his hands on her throat, squeezing the life out of her.

Amber wiggled, trying to fight back, but it was not helping with the way he was strangling her and laughing like a maniac. Tears pooled and fell down her eyes as she began to gasp for breath as one hand tried to push his hand away.

Alicia could not continue to watch and tried all she could to punch or kick the crazy man, but her touch felt like the wind as it passed him.

However, Amber seemed to have it in her because she held the knife tightly in her hand and slashed it at his throat, which was open and in good view for her since he was looking up at her.

The man growled in pain and immediately dropped her to the ground before touching the upper part of his neck. "Stupid silver!" He swore as he looked at the knife she had used while touching his neck, which was slowly pouring blood.

Unfortunately for Amber, she had never used a knife on someone before, so she hadn't done it expertly. This enraged him.

She coughed as she tried to stand up from the ground to run away while clutching the knife in her hand desperately.

However, it seemed like the dude was done playing around with her because he let out a loud growl again and shifted back into his wolf form.

Amber watched in fear as she got up from the ground and tried to run away, while tears poured out of her eyes.

And just as he was about to pounce on her, an arrow was shot at him from the side, deeply piercing the wolf's body. It let out a shout of pain and tried to stop itself from falling.

But another arrow came at him again, shooting at its leg. He let out another loud, painful growl as he fell.

Everything happened so fast.

Alicia and Amber looked at the side the arrow was coming from and saw a man standing atop a hill close to them.

Alicia recognized him.

Harvey. He also looked younger.

He wore their usual outfit and a brocade boot. But his hair was longer here, and it was in a messy bun.

He looked aloof as he kept his gaze on the injured wolf that was whimpering. He loaded his bow with arrows again and shot two arrows directly at the stomach, which killed him as his whimpering died down instantly.

Amber looked at the wolf with wide eyes, still in disbelief over what she had just witnessed. She had heard of this before. But she had only thought it was a mere story.

"That... was a person," Amber said in a low voice filled with fear as she looked at the dead wolf that was bleeding all over. She couldn't help her body from shaking after all that had just happened.

Harvey stepped down from the hill and approached her. Amber didn't want to take any chances and stepped back.

People usually stay away from this side of the mountains, so she had never met anyone else before. It was the first time, and meeting two men, one of whom had turned into an animal too, made her a bit slow to process everything.

"It... was a person." She muttered to herself as she looked at the dead form.

"All I see is a wolf," Harvey answered casually as he got closer and crouched down to check if the wolf was truly dead.

"Are... there more like him?" She asked while stepping back unconsciously.

He looked at her and raised a brow.

"There are always wolves in the mountains if you wander far."

"I am not talking about a normal wolf! That was a person, and he tried to kill me!" She said with heavy emotion as everything sank in at once. She had almost died! She had seen a naked man! A naked animal man called her a witch and almost killed her!

"You also tried to kill him." Harvey reminded her.

"What are you?" He asked her, making her confused.

"I am a person." She answered, but from the look in his eyes, he didn't believe her.

Why? Didn't she look like a person?

"Then what are you doing here?" He asked as he stood up from where he was crouching after confirming that the wolf was dead.

"I live around here."

"Why do you live around here?"

Amber was annoyed at the endless questions. And he seemed to know that too.

"What are you doing here? I have never seen you before." She threw the question back at him.

"He has been causing a lot of trouble. I was looking for him." Harvey said, pointing at the dead wolf.

"So you know he is a person?" Amber said, taking note of the pronoun he had used.

"Are you a person who hunts their kind?"

Harvey considered it before he shrugged. "You can say that."

"I will walk you home." He offered as he adjusted and dusted his cloth.

Her answer came almost immediately. "NO!"

"I saved your life. I should make sure you get home safely."

Amber was not buying it.

He sounded suspicious.

Even Alicia could tell he was being suspicious of her. Maybe he already knew she was a witch by now. He also must have clearly heard the other wolf when he attacked Amber.

"Thank you for saving my life. But it is not your business." She said as she began to hurry away while Harvey simply watched her retreating figure.