Ylva knew she was in a carriage, despite the fact that she had drifted in and out of consciousness for the last few hours.  Antony must have poisoned the water he had given her with some powerful sleeping concoction.  He had taunted her for months, keeping her caged, calling her an animal.  He claimed he would be the first Alpha to bring about a new age, where their kind came out of the shadows and rivaled the human kingdoms that surrounded them.<br/><br/>She could only assume that this was part of his plan.  “What king wouldn’t want a beautiful maiden such as yourself?  Humans do this sort of thing all the time, trade their daughters for power...” He had said, followed with a vile chuckle from his lips.  They had changed her clothes, adorned her in a beautiful dress.  She had been bathed at some point, her hair dried and braided into silken plaits.  There was also a thin silver chain around her wrists.  It stung each time it moved past the fabric and touched her wrists.  That pain had been enough to wake her now.<br/><br/>The carriage was empty, save for herself, but Ylva could hear the clip-clop of at least four horses outside.  Two for the carriage, two for guards.  There had to be at least a driver atop the carriage and perhaps a footman.  Four men, likely all wolves like her.  Ylva might have been able to take them when she was strong and healthy, but in her current weakened state she would have little chance against them.  She laid her head back against the cushion behind it and tried to consider her options.  Waiting seemed to be the favored choice.  Right now, she was almost certain she would not be able to break the chain.  Yes, she would wait and face off against this human king, once she was stronger.<br/><br/>At least, that was her intention, until the carriage took a sudden and odd sharp turn.  It wavered for a moment before toppling on to its side, causing Ylva to fall hard against the inside of it.  She heard no fighting outside, no scuffling.  With caution, she pushed up onto her feet and pressed open the door, which now was above her head.  It took some effort, but she was able to jump up and pull herself out of the carriage, only to find the men who had been her escort now conspiring.<br/><br/>“Look, he said we could just put the sword through ‘er, take the dowry, and make it look like thieves done the deed.  She wouldn’t be the first to die like that.  ‘Sides, she’s a lippy one, I’m sure she would have provoked a thief anyway.”  One said.<br/><br/>“Fine, then you be the one to stick her.”  Another answered.<br/><br/>It did not surprise her that the men Antony had sent were unwilling to finish the job they were sent to do.  Still, she could not dally here.  She turned, carefully trying to land behind the carriage.  She had no real sense of where she was, so she simply fled toward the darkened woods at the side of the road.  Humans might have found them daunting or intimidating, but to Ylva they were a welcomed sight.  Her escape seemed all too easy, until she heard the cries of the men who were sent along to kill her.  They had found the empty carriage and those cries almost immediately turned to howls.<br/><br/>She could not shift herself, not with the silver against her skin, all she could do was stumble through the woods and hope there might be a river nearby to hide her scent.  Otherwise, it seemed Antony would get what he wanted...<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="2194" data-username="@Őrült" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/2194/">@Őrült</a>