Chapter 172
## THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) – Chapter 172
He watched that scene, having forgotten even how to breathe.
The strands of her wheat-colored hair, which appeared and disappeared among the dense bushes, sparkled like pure gold under the sunlight that fell like rain.
Those dazzling threads of light slid over her porcelain face and clung like spiderwebs to her damp neck and collarbone.
He froze in his tracks, dumbfounded, and then began to push his way through the crowded trees.
With each crystalline laugh that resonated like waves amidst the rustling leaves, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been struck by lightning.
He felt a strange thirst burning his throat as he left behind the rhododendron bushes that blocked his view.
It was then that she revealed herself completely to him, submerging her body up to her waist in the spring waters that gleamed like silver.
He stopped dead in his tracks and swallowed hard, feeling his throat constrict tightly.
She wore a cream-colored silk dress that hung loosely on her.
The delicate fabric, soaked by the water, clung to her body like a second skin, highlighting her slender silhouette and pronounced curves without any kind of filter.
Before he had time to become enraged by her exposed appearance, the echo of her joyful voice resonated once more in the air:
“What a good boy. Stay still.”
The woman extended her slender arms over the surface of the water and pulled the head of a massive wolf toward her chest.
Only then did he notice the existence of that gigantic silver beast that the bushes had kept hidden.
The wolf poked only its head out of the water and let out a low growl, as if resisting its mistress’s touch, tilting its head back. At that moment, the woman tightly wrapped her arms around the wolf’s neck, held its gray-furred snout with one hand, and began to rub its neck and fluffy face with a rough brush.
Apparently, the matter was not to the wolf’s liking, so its resistance increased a bit.
She hugged it tightly from behind while it tried to twist its massive, submerged body to escape from the spring.
“There is no escape!”
A mischievous and joyful smile illuminated her small and delicate face.
While he watched the scene in shock, as if he had received a blow to the stomach, her blue eyes locked with his by pure chance, right as she remained clinging to the body of the huge wolf.
Varkas watched with bitterness as the smile vanished from her face, to be replaced by an intense tension.
The woman tensed completely, as if she had seen a ghost, and then slowly hid behind the wolf to conceal herself.
“I… heard you would arrive within four days…”
“I returned in a hurry after learning that a problem had arisen,” he replied in a voice completely devoid of emotion.
After appearing bewildered and anxious by his sudden appearance, she abruptly arched her eyebrows severely.
“There is no problem.”
She wrapped her white, damp arms around the neck of the huge wolf and cast a look loaded with caution at him.
“I don’t know who went around babbling such things, but it is a blatant lie. They are just making up excuses to get rid of Khan…”
“Khan?”
The woman, who was raising her voice with her face flushed from agitation, suddenly fell silent.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
“That is his name. It was…” she murmured while she played with the wolf’s pointed ear.
Varkas exhaled a sigh of dumbfoundedness.
He felt a headache that threatened to tear him apart at the audacity of his wife, who had given a name proper to the peoples of the East to a mere beast.
He dictated his orders in a dry tone:
“Get out of there first. We will return to the castle to talk.”
The woman, who until then had only shown her eyes out of the water, moved forward, positioning herself behind the wolf.
Varkas slowly examined that wild beast that climbed onto the shore first.
The gray “giant wolf” possessed an imposing body that made it difficult to believe it had not yet reached three years of age.
It had long and robust legs that brimmed with power, a muscular and massive neck, a developed jaw, and sharp fangs…
It gave the impression that its height from the ground to its head reached nearly 180 cm, and its body length far exceeded 210 cm.
Thinking that it was barely the size of a slightly large wild dog the last time he saw it, its growth was astonishing.
‘They said it was the size of a Trojan horse, or the size of an ox… I thought it was an exaggeration…’
Rather, the strange thing was that no incidents had occurred while a beast of such magnitude roamed the territory.
He examined its long and bushy tail that dripped with water, and then returned his gaze to the wolf’s head.
When his eyes met those of the animal, which were filled with hostility and fixed on him, he furrowed his brow.
The wolf lowered the upper part of its body and began to growl.
Varkas perceived a clear murderous intent, so he immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. At that instant, the woman, who had just stepped out of the water, interposed herself between him and the wolf.
“Don’t do that, Khan!” she exclaimed, and then slapped the snout of the wolf, which was baring its fangs, with the palm of her hand.
Feeling alarmed by that dangerous action, Varkas grabbed her wrist tightly to pull her away from the wolf.
Just as he was preparing to reprimand her severely, his field of vision was flooded with her feminine figure, completely drenched.
Varkas held his breath unconsciously.
Without realizing it, his gaze slid over her rounded chest, her flat belly, and moved toward her small and deep navel, stopping at her thighs.
Due to her appearance that bordered on nudity, blood boiled in his veins and, at the same time, an indescribable fury ignited within him.
He shot a sharp glance toward the guards who remained at a distance with their backs turned. The mere thought that they might have seen this scene made his nerves tense.
“Where are your outer garments?”
The woman, who had frozen, seemed to notice her state belatedly; she covered her chest with one arm and pointed toward an imposing tree beside the spring.
“I hung them over there.”
Varkas immediately took the clothing hanging from the tree branch and wrapped her in it.
“Do you usually wander around in this attire?”
When he formulated the question with an incisive tone, she replied sharply while her cheeks flushed red:
“I only took off the outer garment for a moment to wash Khan. In any case, with Khan present, nobody else approaches.”
“Someone could be spying from afar.”
“Anyone who did received a severe punishment from Khan.”
The woman let out a loud snort through her nose, and then, noticing his gaze, quickly added:
“It’s not that Khan hurt anyone. He only scared them to keep them from approaching me.”
Then she began to gently stroke the neck of the “giant wolf” that had sat down quietly behind her.
Varkas narrowed his eyes while he observed the wolf, which was wagging its tail for its mistress.
The beast that a moment ago showed murderous intentions toward him was now behaving in a docile manner, like a loyal hound with its owner.
Based solely on that image, it did not seem to represent a threat to her.
However, no one knew at what moment the innate aggressiveness of wild beasts might manifest.
He pushed her cautiously behind his back while remaining on alert, ready to draw his sword at any instant.
At that moment, the beast, which was pretending to be calm, bared its fangs again.
Seeing that, Talia raised her voice with fear:
“Khan! That is not right. This person is…!”
The woman, who was trying to calm the wolf in a hurry, suddenly went mute and examined Varkas’s features. She looked extremely worried that he might do something to the animal.
“Khan hates men by nature. It seems he retains the memory of having been on the verge of dying at the hands of soldiers when he was a pup. He only does that because he is afraid…”
“We will postpone judgment on this beast.”
Varkas interrupted her desperate defense and fixed a cold gaze on the wolf. The animal also observed him with blue eyes that gleamed intensely.
Was it perhaps enraged because its mistress felt distressed? It gave the impression that the wolf longed to tear his throat out immediately.
He nodded to her to move forward, while holding the hilt of the sword to be ready to react instantly:
“Walk ahead of me. I will hear the details when we return to the castle.”
“Khan, come here,” she indicated to the wolf with a worried face.
Varkas stood firmly, interposing himself between the two.
“No, you go first.”
“Khan gets anxious if he moves away from me.”
“I cannot allow him to remain near Your Highness until I have made sure that he really is harmless.”
At that moment, the woman, visibly indignant, shot a glaring look at him, broke free from his grip with force, and ran toward the wolf.
Before he could stop her, she opened the beast’s jaws and inserted her hand inside.
“Look. He doesn’t bite even if I do this. He only pretends to be strong, but he is docile.”
Feeling his blood freeze in his veins, Varkas wrapped his arm around her waist as if he were kidnapping her and lifted her up in the air.
The wolf also seemed surprised by its mistress’s sudden action, so it retreated quickly, letting out a sort of cough.
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