In front of me were two muscle builders. Well, not really. They have the looks but the scars on their faces made them look....well you know, like a gangster.

One of them was bald with a few scars on his body and face. He would have been handsome if it weren't for the few missing teeth. I wonder where his teeth are. And beside him is a brunette. He was very muscular. It's like 100% of his body is made out of muscles. He was also full of scars. One of them was connected to his lips, making it look like his lips were sewn. Creepy.

They were both grinning at me as they looked at me up and down. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.

Perverts.

"So. What's a royal doing here? You're far from home, aren't cha?" Baldy said, still grinning. I suddenly have this urge to count his remaining tooth.

"Um....not really," I said hesitantly.

"Well, what are you doing here then?" Brunette asked.

I hesitated. Should I tell them? Well, it can't be all bad. Maybe I should try asking them. After all, beggars can't be choosers, right?

"I'm looking for the Kingdom of Tereau." I said. Both men looked at each other in confusion before shifting their gazes back at me.

"What's a royal from the Kingdom of Thalia having business with the Kingdom of Tereau?"

"That's my business," I said. "But hey, what do you mean by a royal?"

Baldy gave me a surprised look as if I was stupid for not knowing that or something. They must have assumed that I am from their world, which I am not. Mind you.

"Well.....a royal is from a royal family. We just thought that you're a royal because of your dress, even though it's covered in mud." Baldy then pointed at my dress before giving me a look. "You are a royal, right? Or are we mistaken?"

I thought about my option. I mean, I did come - escaped - from the royal family, right? Is being a royal an advantage or a disadvantage for me? I mean, if I say that I am a royal, they might help me, but if I say that I am not, I might be in some sort of trouble. So I decided to take the first choice.

I held up my chin in confidence as I said, "Yes. I'm a royal. In fact. I'm the niece of Queen Elizabeth."

The two then have a creepy grin on their faces as they whisper to each other. "Blah blah blah King Ferius Blah blah blah Promoted whisper whisper." At least that’s how I interpreted their conversation in my perspective.

"Yeah, whisper whisper King Ferius be happy whisper blah blah Prince Kellar whisper whisper."

"Um...excuse me?"

Both of them suddenly came into attention and had the widest grin - not to mention creepy - on their faces. "So you are headed to the Kingdom of Tereau, am I correct?" Said brunette guy.

"Yes..."

"Then we'll take you there." I looked at baldy, who offered and couldn't help but narrow my eyes at them suspiciously.

"No, thank you. Just giving me the directions that I needed would be enough."

"Naw. What kind of gentlemen would we be if we leave you without an escort? You're a royal after all." The brunette guy suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly, and it made me flinch.

"Hey! Let me go." I tried to pull my hand, but the more I pulled the tighter he held it.

"Come on them, Princess. We shall take you to the Kingdom of Tereau." Baldy then started to come forward.

"I said I can go there myself without a chaperone, you creep! Let me go!" They laughed at my futile attempts as I punched the brunette guy on his chest.

"She punches like a bug." Brunette commented, making both him and baldy laugh.

Punch like a bug?

In my anger, I bit his hand that was holding me. He let out a yelp as he released my hand. Baldy tried to reach for me then, but I swung my foot up and kicked his manhood. Once the brunette was able to recover, he backhanded me across the cheek, making me fly. I landed on the ground with a thump and clutched my aching cheek. It was too painful that my eyes started to water, and I felt dizzy.

"HOW DARE YOU BIT ME!!" Brunette guy growled inhumanly. When I looked up, I saw that his eyes had changed into narrow cat-like slits. Baldy was again on his feet, but his face was more like a cat's than a human’s. I shivered.

When the brunette started walking towards me, I grabbed the nearest tree branch and smacked him. He was able to obstruct it. He snatched the tree branch and tossed it into the river, leaving me without a weapon. As soon as he grabbed my collar and tossed me to the ground again, I screamed at him. But not before hurling sand into his eyes.

"YOU LITTLE B***H!!" With one final roar, the brunette guy and baldy dropped to the ground in all four. There was a snapping of bones, and in no time, there was a lion in front of me and a cougar behind it.

I screamed in terror at the sight in front of me.

I scrambled to my feet in an attempt to run away from them. In my attempt, the Lion grabbed a hold of my dress, making me fall to the ground again while the cougar blocked my escape by jumping in front of me.

I'm doomed. I have never been this scared in my entire life. Looking at the eyes of the cougar, I can slowly see my life in its hands. I'm going to die.

I closed my eyes as I waited for them to snap at me. If I'm going to die, then I don't want it to be as scary as it is now. I can feel the lion putting its paws behind my back and pushing me towards the ground.

Then I heard it. A howl. It came somewhere from the forest. I couldn't tell.

The weight on my back had vanished, replaced by a series of snarls and growls. I became curious and ventured a peek. I saw a huge wolf take down the lion next to me. The lion was scratched in the face by the wolf. The lion roared, jumped onto its back, and bit its neck. The wolf didn't hesitate as it dashed towards a tree and collided with the trunk. The wolf was able to detach the lion from its back and was now biting through its neck. From the looks of it, the wolf was intent on killing. Its eyes were full of hatred.

A cat-like snarling brought me back to my own problem. The cougar was still there in front of me, ready to attack. I let out a yelp and I back away from it. It let out a final growl and jumped at me, but the same wolf then tackled it. It gave a warning growl to the cougar as it stood in front of me. It was blocking my view from the two cat predators. It had a few scratches and bite marks on one of its front paws and on its face. The lion was back on its feet and stood beside the cougar. It glared at the lion before shifting its gaze back at me. I shivered and hid behind the wolf.

I don't know why but for some reason, I felt comfortable with this wolf. It seems awfully familiar, and I feel safe with its presence.

The wolf let out a loud growl at the two werecats as it stood its ground. The werecats then let out their roar. It was like they were conversing with each other. The cougar then leaped off to the ground and headed towards the wolf. With its massive paws, the wolf hit the cougar and sent it to the side without even moving from its spot. The lion then took that chance as it charged at the wolf. They both rolled on the ground, and the wolf then kicked the lion off of it. The wolf shook its head as if it was dizzy before giving me a head gesture to stay back. I did and backed away to the nearest tree.

How did my situation even come to this?

By now, as the two beast were busy killing each other, the cougar was sneakily walking towards the wolf's back. Once I realized what it was about to do, I screamed. "NO!!"

The cougar jumped to its feet, opening its jaws to snap at the wolf's bare neck. Just as it was about to do so, another wolf emerged from the woods and tackled the cougar away from the first. Both are very similar, but this one has a white sock-like print on one of its front paws. The first wolf was finally able to separate from the lion and stand guard over the new wolf. It snorted at it and gave it a sidelong glance. The new wolf only has gave the other a toothy grin and a tail wag. For a brief moment, the second wolf looked at me and winked before turning back to its enemy. Could wolves actually wink or is it my imagination?

By now, it was a battle between werewolves and werecats. The two wolves then took turns in attacking the werecats. One would take offense and the other as the defense. They were in perfect sync, and the werecats couldn't keep up with them. In no time, the werecats realized that they were going to lose the fight, so they fled. The wolf, the first one, made a move to chase them, but the other wolf blocked its way and gestured its head to me.

The first wolf turned and met my eyes. Its eyes then softened—all intent on killing now gone. The two started to head on my way, and I shrank back in fear. They both stopped from advancing as if sensing my anxiety. But the first wolf began to walk towards me again, this time, with its head bowed and its tail lowered. It approached me slowly as if it didn't want to scare me.

Once it did, it raised its head and looked at me in the eyes.

‘Rose, it's me. Ren.’

A voice said from my head. It was Ren's voice. I started to search the forest, trying to find its source, but I found none. By now, the second wolf was beside the first and wagging its tail at me.

‘We're here, princess.’

And now Dan's voice is in my head. I searched the forest again. "Ren? Dan? Where are you?"

‘In front of you, Princess.’ Ren's voice said.

I looked at my front and found no one but the two wolves.

Wait. Two wolves...Ren and Dan...their voices...

"Ha...HA! I think I'm going crazy since I keep hearing Ren and Dan's voices. And to think that they are the two wolves in front of me. That can't be it. Haha!"

I turned towards the second wolf, who was nudging me with its snout. It was frowning. "Yep. You're crazy, alright. We are two talking werewolves here to ruin your world. Sounds good, right?" it said. I stared at the wolf in shock. And that does it.

I fainted.

And as I fell, I felt something smooth catch me.

***WITH THE TWINS***

As Rose started to fall, Ren jumped in front of her to catch her.

Dan, his wolf form, was dying in laughter at her reason for fainting.

THWAK!

‘Ow!!’

Ren hit his brother on the head with one of his large paws.

‘Do you really have to scare her like that?’ Ren asked in an annoyed tone.

Dan grinned at him and wagged his tail. ‘By scarring her do you mean the part where I opened my mouth and spoke in her mind at the same time?’

‘Yes! Now, look what you've done.’

‘Oh yes. I'm looking.’ He said and batted his wolf lashes. ‘And I'm feeling the chills. You know.’

‘Oh shut up. I'll give you chills once I dump some ice cubes in your pants once we get back home. Now help me carry her.’ Ren said and gestured at the limp body of Rose.

‘Ohhh... the playful Ren is back! Welcome back, big bro!!’

Of course, being the good and supportive sibling that he is, he laid on the ground dramatically. ‘Ow ow ow!! My back hurts! Ouch. That damn cougar gave me a few bruises and bite marks. And to think that we are both males for him to give me a bite mark. Ugh!! I'm too handsome for my own good.’ Dan sighed.

Ren then snorted and his brother, who was now rolling on the ground. ‘If anyone should have a say about bite marks then it should be me. I have more bite marks than you. That means I'm better looking than you.’

‘In your dreams. Your face is my butt!’

‘You have a nice butt then.’ Ren grinned and carefully shifted Rose to his back.

‘Oh, haha. Good one, smart guy. I'll get you back for that later.’

Dan hid a grin as he followed them.

‘By the way, Dan. You were awfully late. Why is that?’ Ren suddenly asked.

Dan let out a dramatic gasp. ‘You accused me of being late? Well sorry. It's just that you were so fast that you left me behind.’

‘I was that fast?’

‘Yeah. You just heard Rose, and you went whoosh!!’

‘Really, huh? Just admit it that you're getting slow, brother.’

‘Maybe? I don't know.’ Dan shrugged.

Well, here's the thing. Dan was able to catch up with Ren just in time for the fight. But he just hid behind the forest and let his brother take the enemies down. Why? To impress the lady, of course! He did say that he was the supportive brother, right?

Actually, Ren was handling it well, and He was about to kill the werelion. But hearing Rose yelping made him stop and attack the cougar instead.

Tsk tsk tsk. He should have finished the werelion fast. Oh, dear me. I have a dumb brother. Dan thought.

‘Come on, Dan. You slowpoke.’ And now Ren is boasting his speed.

Tch! Bastard. If only you knew the sacrifice, I made for you. Plus, I am not the one who's slow around here. Dan smirked as he pocketed his thoughts. Good for nothing bastard!!

‘Dan? What's with your face? You look creepy. Wipe it off.’ Ren made a face at him.

‘Nothing bastar - I mean, brother.’

Oh crap.

Lucky for him that Rose took that time to mumble something. "Sweet potato deer salad. Take that, you stupid deer...mmm."

Ren and Dan looked at each other. There was a pause between them before they started to laugh.

‘What the heck is a potato deer salad!?!’ Ren said in between laughs.

‘Beats me. You ask a deer.’

"Deer..."

‘Ow!!’ Ren jumped and let out a whimper.

‘What is it, Ren?’ Dan's wolf suddenly got into full alert.

‘Rose bit me! She bit me!!’

Dan rolled on the floor as he laughed out. ‘Now That's a love bite.’

‘A what?’

‘Nothing. Let's just get her home. I believed our little princess is hungry.’

‘Agreed. Let's go before she eats me alive and mutter something about wolf potato salad instead.’

Dan watched as his brother gently fixed Rose onto his back. He was really careful not to touch her now swollen cheek, which he just now noticed. No wonder Ren had a killer intent before. They hurt her; that was why Ren wasn't able to control himself by attacking the enemy. If he had seen that bruise earlier, then he might have attacked the bastards instead of hiding.

Just looking at how Ren carried Rose made him want to step back and let them have their moment.

Nah!! It's payback time.

Dan grinned at Ren and started to sprint past them.

‘Dan? Dan!! Get back here! Wait for us!!’ Ren called. He can faintly hear him going to a slow jog.

‘Try to keep up, you slowpoke!’

***In the Forest***

He was a little late. He couldn't meet his master. It was watching a pair of wolves carrying his master. It whimpered sadly. His master was also unconscious. It was wary of them. It couldn't trust other races with its presence.

It looked in the direction where the rogues went and growled. Someday, those rogues will pay for harming his master.

The little wolf let out a small grunt as it shifted the weight of the red cloak in its mouth. It was certain that it belonged to his master, and he would deliver it to her without fail. Maybe if he followed the wolves, he’d somehow get a chance to meet with her.

A couple of steps forward, and he tripped on the cloak and well.

It might take a while to meet his master, after all. He whimpered sadly.