“Curious?” Lola asked, confused. She had to resist the urge to jump at him, tackle him to the ground, and pummel his face until it was nothing but a bloody pulp. “And what exactly does the fuck that mean?"

Hank laughed out loud at that, only cementing her desire to punch him in the face.

“Do not make light of this situation.” Russel stood up and actually did take several steps toward the human. “What curiosity could possibly be sated by allowing Lola to continue?”

“I thought that would be obvious,” Hank said. Again, he did not back down or try to move away from Russel. He kept his cool and didn’t show the least bit of fear.

Lola couldn’t understand the man herself. He was either completely crazy or had some weird death wish. Either way, she had a hard time adjusting to his constant 180 degree shifts in personality. First, he’s threatening to invade an entire kingdom, then he’s saying he’s only there to help her. It was massively confusing and only made her wish the stupid humans would just leave.

“Just out with it,” she said, standing next to Russel. She had her fists balled up and at her sides.

“My king is curious to know, Ms. Tarnvol, why you are so special,” Hank told her. That smug look was plastered on his face again. He took the stool that Russel had been sitting on and sat down on it himself. Then he crossed one of his legs over his knee. When he saw the two of them just staring at him, he gestured at the cot. “Sit, sit.”

Neither one looked inclined to do so but Hank had positioned himself in front of the tent flap so they couldn’t get out unless they physically removed him. With a frustrated sigh, Lola sat followed by Russel. They hated Hank, despised him really, but both of them did find themselves curious as well. They wanted to hear what King Harrison might be thinking about everything going on.

“Tell me, what does King Harrison want to know about?” Russel asked.

“You can’t tell me you aren’t curious too about this young lady,” Hank said. “We have the sovereign monarch of a werewolf nation sending his fifth-born son into our lands to murder this human girl.” Hank laughed again when he saw the somewhat shocked look on Russel’s face. “Don’t look so surprised, Your Majesty. Much like your father, and now I would assume, King Harrison also has a vast and thorough intelligence network. He was aware you were ordered to enter our country, however, admittedly, the reason for it did not become apparent until sometime later, when you were back in Oclan. You were quite stealthy in both your entrance and exit of Alcroft. So congrats on that.”

He looked at Lola and actually seemed surprised that she didn’t react to this news.

“You knew?” he asked.

Lola didn’t say anything to that. She preferred not to think too hard about that fact since she found out. She loved him and had forgiven him, especially considering how many times he put his own life on the line to save hers, but that was still a hard truth to swallow.

“I see,” Hank murmured. “Interesting. Well regardless, that’s one now deceased monarch wanting you dead, plus a prince of a completely different kingdom wanting you dead. You can see why, when my king found out about all this, he became extremely curious about you. In short, he wants to know why. He and I agreed with him, thought your presence in Harvenk might be able to have some light shed on the mystery that is Lola Tarnvol.”

“That’s not a good enough reason to put her in danger. Drake burned down and slaughtered a whole village just to kill her. What do you think the psycho is going to do when she comes strolling into his own country?” Russel demanded.

“It doesn’t matter one way or the other, Russel. I’m going. I’m already here, don’t push me away now,” Lola said. She understood him a little better since hearing the story of his mother and her death but that didn’t mean she was going to back down.

“Look, I’ll make this simple for the both of you,” Hank said, getting back up again. He smoothed some of the wrinkles of his pants. “We will not press on unless Ms. Tarnvol continues to accompany us. I don’t think I need to repeat myself in regards to what happens when the deadline my king issued is not met.”

Russel ground his teeth, gnashing them together painfully. Various mental images of ripping the bastard apart went through his mind. He tried to shake them but they were insistent. Very insistent. The longer he was around Hank the stronger the desire to kill him became.

“Fine but she only comes if she…” He paused so he could shoot Lola a somewhat withering glance. “Stays close to me. And you or any other human is not to approach her or speak to her.”

“That’s a bit much,” Lola said.

Russel whirled on her.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he told her. His eyes shifted to Hank and then back to her. She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t want to break up this little lover’s quarrel you two are having but let me just add that the more time you waste arguing, the less time you have to make good on your deal. So…” He clapped his hands together briskly. “Chop, chop.”

Hank didn’t give him any chance to snap back with an angry retort. Instead, he left the tent without another word.

“Look, he’s a real asshole but he’s also right. I’m here. I’m sorry that pisses you off and makes you angry but it doesn’t change that fact,” Lola said, grabbing his hands and looking up at him. “I promise you, I won’t do anything stupid. Okay?”

Russel wanted to be angry. He deserved that, right? Here she was, with him on a dangerous mission and she didn’t even care. He didn’t sacrifice so much and fight so hard just for her to throw her life away now. But there was something in her eyes, something earnest and powerful. He felt for her, he really did.

He pulled her toward him and wrapped her arms around him. Then he hugged her. When he released her, he leaned down and kissed her deeply on the lips. It was a long kiss, a desperately needed kiss if he was honest with himself. Ever since he killed his father for the throne, things had moved from one crazy nightmare to the next. Time with her had been limited.

“I hate that you’re here,” he said after he broke away from their kiss. “But I’m also glad to see you. Just please, keep your promise. Don’t be reckless. Be smart. I will never be able to forgive myself if you got seriously hurt or killed, Lola. And I truly mean that.”

She laid a hand gently on the side of his face and smiled.

“I promise.”

The two of them left the tent together, Lola no longer wearing something that hid most of her features. There was no longer any need for that.

The other humans and werewolves finished up with their rest and gathered up all their gear to get moving again. It took less than an hour but once they did, they followed the path that Russel and the other werewolves laid out and made their way across the country. The group made sure to keep to the same game plan of steering clear of villages, towns, or cities. It took a lot longer but in the long run, it was worth it to keep the humans trailing along with them out of trouble. The last thing Russel wanted was a potential massacre of either his people or the annoying humans with him. He cared more about his own people but he also knew that if something happened to Hank or his entourage inside Oclan, that would be a lot of trouble brought down on his country and a lot of the citizens inside it. If they were killed in Harvenk, however, well that was another matter entirely.

Despite having to take the scenic route, the group made reasonably good time. The humans were on horseback and had caravans and the wolves were able to run for extended periods of time without too much trouble.

Within two and a half days, they were only five or six miles away from the border to Harvenk.