Louisa's POV
We've spent almost a whole morning cleaning up the mess in the cottage.
Apparently, Finn had no intention of helping with the chores, so he went out hunting in the forest by himself.
As soon as he was gone, Darren asked me nervously, "Did you mention the transfer of the imprint to Master?"
I nodded while whisking away the dust on a blanket.
"He didn't say anything," I replied.
Darren's face darkened immediately.
I tried to cheer him up.
"Hey, I guess it's a good thing. At least he didn't say no."
Darren shook his head and looked disappointed.
"Master loves you. If he didn't want to transfer my imprint to you, it means that I would stay as his possession for the rest of my life."
I bit my lips. I hated seeing him being demotivated like this, but I couldn't think of anything to prove that Finn would agree to give him to me. So I said, "Darren, you're my friend. I want to see you happy. I promise that I'll ask him again. We'll sort out something."
Darren smiled faintly at me and said, "You're very kind, Lisa. I'm very lucky to have you as my friend."
I gave him a hug and said, "Don't worry. I will be with you all the time. He won't be able to hurt you as long as you're with me."
Darren looked much more relieved. He lifted me up and gave me a twirl in the air.
I absolutely loved what he was doing and giggled while he was doing it.
Then, I saw the carcass of the hunter. It was just outside. It had already been removed from the cottage and gathered with the other half of it by Darren.
I frowned, pointed at it, and said, "What shall we do with it? We can't just leave it like that. More scavengers will come and I don't think it's a good idea to have too many dangerous beasts lurking around this place."
"I'll set up a fire and burn him," Darren said.
I knew cremation was very popular in the North Land. But back where I came from, we would always bury the deceased in a grave.
I asked him, "Could we bury him instead of cremating him? This cottage used to be his home. He must have loved this place. I guess people would like to be buried in a place that they loved when they were still alive. This might be the last thing we could do for him."
Darren looked at him with surprise and said, "I've never thought of that. I thought when people are dead, they no longer feel anything."
"But the living ones will remember their legacy." I looked at Darren and said.
Darren's eyes were glinting. He looked very vulnerable when he was sad. I knew he must have remembered his brother.
"Sorry, Lisa. You're right. I'll dig a grave and bury him inside." He said and quickly walked out of the room.
"Don't trust him. The only reason he was with you is to know your real name. You'll see," I heard the sound of my wolf in my mind, "It's very dangerous for people to have sympathy for a warlock. They were born vice and twisted. He's scheming something."
I felt a bit indignant.
"What? Just because I've been abused and live a miserable life, I'm not entitled to share some compassion with others?" I said.
She was silent.
I seldom argue with my wolf. I knew she always put my interests at heart and she just wanted to help. But I just couldn't stand her suspicious nature.
"Not everyone is as bad as you imagine," I added defensively.
Still, she didn't talk back.
I knew my attitude was unacceptable to her. She must have been quite upset with me.
I had to yield.
"Now the silent treatment? Come on, little lassie. Talk to me." I said.
After a brief moment of silence, she said, "You have to understand how our relationship works. I'm not telling you what to do and what not to do. I'm just trying to remind you. That's my survival instinct. As you may notice, I'm mostly quiet. I only talk to you when it's absolutely necessary when what you're doing is endangering our existence."
As she was talking to me, I grabbed a mop and bucket from the corner of the room and started to mop the wooden floor.
I felt a bit confused and asked, "You mean the vampire thing? Don't worry. Finn's here. He wouldn't let anyone go near me..."
My wolf interrupted me, "The vampire thing isn't the thing that you should be concerned about. You should take control of your life, instead of being dragged around and handled by men. You'll never walk by yourself if you're surrounded by men who didn't even let you walk on your own."
I dropped the mop and bucket on the floor and said, "I'm sorry for taking us to this dangerous forest. I'm sorry for being weak. But what do you want me to do? Do you want me to walk away from them right now? Into this dark forest by myself? Because if that's what you want, I'll do it."
I rushed out of the room.
Darren was digging a hole in the ground near this cottage.
When he spotted me walking out in a hurry, he jumped out of the pit.
"What happened?" He asked me with sweat pouring down his forehead and cheeks.
I sighed and said, "Nothing. I was just arguing with my wolf."
He looked a bit relieved, wiped the sweat from his face with his hands, and said, "I saw Master doing it all the time. Apparently, they don't get along, either."
I kicked a stone and felt even more outrageous.
This wolf thing is really a curse and there's no way to get out of it. I thought to myself.
By the way, Finn has a very nice and tolerant disposition. What kind of assholes would start an argument with him? It's better off we don't meet each other at all.
I felt so vexed that I kept walking away from the cottage.
Darren pulled my sleeves and asked, "Lisa. Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry..."
"It's not you," I took back my sleeves and said impatiently, "It's just I need to chill out a bit."
To my surprise, she didn't even bother to say a word to calm me down. I had never had a fight with her like this before. The combination of remorse and grievance made me feel so sad that I couldn't hold back my tears.
I didn't want Darren to see me being emotional like this and, for obvious reasons, I couldn't explain my feeling to him. So, I pushed him aside and walked into the forest.
Darren followed me and pleaded in a trembling voice, "Lisa, please don't walk away. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left you in that cottage alone..."
Having said that, Darren blocked my way. The footpath was narrow. I got nowhere to go. I was so annoyed that I wanted to push him aside again, but he just stood there still. No matter how hard I pushed him, he just didn't move.
After another failed attempt, I was outraged.
"I've already told you, it's none of your business! I want to be alone right now!" I raised my voice and banged my fists on his chest.
He just refused to get out of my way. When I looked up at him, I saw he was looking down at me.
Men of his height would usually tower over me when they stood next to me, but he was the only one who didn't overpower me.
He looked so vulnerable, so desperate, like a child who had broken something valuable at home and didn't know how to explain it to his parents.
His hazelnut-colored eyes were as clear as crystal.
I just couldn't believe someone who had a pair of beautiful eyes like that would do anything vice.
I was bewitched by the sadness on his face and drowned in the sadness in his eyes.
Then, he kneeled in front of me.
"I'm sorry, Lisa. I'm begging you. Please don't walk away. If Master came back now and saw you were gone on my watch, he would torture and kill me. The imprint... I... I just can't..."
He became stammered while he was talking about the imprint that he couldn't even finish his sentence.
My heart was broken. I tried to hold his arms and make him stand up, but he wouldn't give in.
"I'm sorry, Darren. There was some misunderstanding between me and my wolf. I shouldn't have thrown a tantrum at you just like that. It's not fair to make you feel worried like this. I apologize to you. I don't expect you to accept my apology, but please stand up. I won't walk away, I promise."