Marquise hadn't expected Vrasje to spend so much, but the man had evidently not been joking about spoiling his little wolf! Lunch was already quite expensive since he'd ordered a lot of dishes for them to share, but then they began wandering through the bustling market... 

Through greetings and questions from the locals, now that most knew who, and more-importantly, what he was, Marquise was dragged from this booth to that booth, group to group, then into stores and down street after street. 

It didn't take long for him to become tired, but he refused to allow the other man to pick him up. 

"Do you think he'd like this?" Vrasje said as he held up the biggest bone Marquise had ever seen. 

This guy...

Lifting up one of the two bags he was already carrying, Marquise raised an eyebrow. 

"Are these not enough chew bones and toys? He's not that big." 

Vrasje gave him a look that quickly had him closing his mouth. Evidently his baby deserved more than eighty dollars worth of bones and toys. 

Marquise remained silent until the man had paid for the giant bone... as well as a few other things. Vrasje then joined him by the door and, after taking his two bags, moved all of the bags he was carrying to his right hand, then took Marquise's free hand. 

How can he carry that much? That has to be at least twenty or thirty pounds altogether. 

"Not a problem! I can carry much more than this if you need a lift," Vrasje said nonchalantly as they continued on their way. 

He knew that he wasn't going to request to be carried, though, so he didn't bother him much about it anymore, thankfully. He just shrugged off the joke. 

"Hey, how about we look in here?" 

Marquise turned his head as they slowed to a stop in front of a little candy shop. 

"I don't like sweet things. Did you want something from there?" Marquise asked right before he was tugged inside anyways. 

"Let me show you something. You might like it," Vrasje said as he set their bags down near the side of the counter, then led him to the back of the small shop and opened one of the containers lining the wall. 

Once he'd taken an item out, he turned and, after Marquise lifted a hand up, set a tiny little piece of hard candy in his palm. 

Hmm? 

"Give it a try. If you don't like it I'll take it. There's a couple things in here I think you might actually like," Vrasje said, making Marquise shrug one shoulder and lift the little candy to his mouth. 

Err...

It wasn't super sweet, but he soon found himself taking it out of his mouth anyways. He wasn't a fan of grapes. 

Vrasje hummed in thought as he took it from him and popped it into his own mouth. 

"Let's try something else," he said as he walked a few more steps, then opened another container with his clean hand. 

He then handed over a small piece of soft candy. 

Figuring that he might as well just keep trying things until the man was satisfied, Marquise lifted the item up to his mouth and took a small bite. 

It was a little better, but still not something he'd eat intentionally. 

"Not a fan of that one either, huh?" Vrasje asked as Marquise quickly took the opportunity to hand it back to the man... who promptly popped it into his own mouth again. 

They repeated that process three more times before he lifted a piece of yellow hard candy up to his lips. 

Oh? 

Vrasje seemed to be waiting for him to hand it back, but when he didn't, he grinned and reached up to grab a small pouch hanging near the containers. He then scooped a good amount of the little round candies into it before tugging the string closed. 

"We've got our winner," he said as he held up the little bag. 

He couldn't argue. The candy tasted almost exactly like a sour lemon with just a hint of sweetness every once in a while. It was pretty yummy. 

He took the proffered bag, then watched as Vrasje filled himself one with some sort of chewy candy, then they both headed over to the register. Vrasje paid for everything, of course, but also took care of the items they had tried, too. He even gave a decent tip, though it clearly wasn't necessary. 

By the time they finally stepped out of the shop clouds had drifted in from the nearby sea, creating quite a nasty looking sky. 

"Looks like it's time to head back, love," Vrasje said as they finally began heading toward his home. 

Unfortunately, the clouds were much quicker than they were, and pretty soon thunder was beginning to rumble through the sky, quickly clearing the marketplace as people hurried to pack up before the rain began. 

Marquise had to focus on his breathing as they got towards the end of the market. He almost didn't notice when Vrasje came to a stop beneath a small overhang. 

"Let's wait here for a few minutes, love," he said, drawing Marquise's attention just in time for him to step beneath the small shelter. The sky opened up not a moment later, drenching the surrounding area and anyone who hadn't managed to get to shelter in time. 

He felt Garlic begin to run around his mind as thunder boomed louder and louder and lightning struck just a short distance away behind some buildings. 

It will be alright, little one. We're safe here. 

"Storms come and go quite quickly here during the summer months with the sea being so close," Vrasje said as he gently set down their bags, then lowered himself to the ground before leaning against the building behind them. 

It was currently closed, so they couldn't take shelter inside, but the overhang was decent enough if you were positioned just right. 

Unfortunately, there was only one spot that didn't get too wet, and that was right where Vrasje was sitting. 

"You can shift to Garlic if you'd like, but you really need to get away from the rain," Vrasje said as he looked up at him with a calm smile. 

If he weren't so tired he might have argued, but there was no way he was going to be able to stay upright much longer, so, without a single word, Marquise walked over and after leaning his cane against the wall, settled right down into Vrasje's lap with a content sigh. 

Soon his head was pressed against the man's shoulder, his forehead tucked comfortably against his cool neck. He wasn't sure what happened next, because his consciousness slipped away rather quickly as the patter of rain drowned out every other sound. 

"It's a good thing everyone else has already gone inside." 

Vrajse gently pet the massive wolf curled up against him, being careful to avoid the faintly glowing seal upon its fuzzy forehead. 

You look adorable in Marquise's clothing, though you're already tearing them apart because you're such a big boy. 

Holding the giant pup against him with his free arm, Vrasje licked his lips, contemplating his options. The rain was beginning to drift off to the east, but that was only a tiny part of his current problem. 

He wanted to free the wolf from its seal immediately, but he knew that such a thing wasn't plausible. If anything, he needed to get home first. There he could set up a barrier so that the beast wouldn't have the opportunity to hurt anyone before they got properly acquainted. 

"Ah." 

The carriage he had requested telepathically was finally pulling up to the overhang. 

Thankfully, the large wolf didn't weigh a whole lot. It was still partially translucent, so he didn't doubt that it was still a partial projection. Rustling its fur one last time, Vrasje nodded to his valet at the man hopped down from the covered carriage and hurried to retrieve their bags and Marquise's cane. 

As the man worked, Vrasje carefully lifted the big pup is his arms and carried it to the carriage. It thankfully remained asleep during the brief walk through the rain, and as Vrasje settled within the carriage, he realized that the seal was more than just some basic spell. 

"You can't feel the rain, either, can you?" he asked as he brushed some raindrops from its gorgeous pitch-black muzzle. 

Its breathing was still even as its massive chest expanded and contracted every few moments. 

"You can't wake up even if you wanted to," he said as he stroked one of the wolf's soft ears. 

It didn't stir at all. 

Vrasje relaxed on the floor of the carriage with the wolf in his arms until they arrived back at his home. His valet kept quite a distance from him as he got out of the carriage with his wolf, but he didn't mind.

He dismissed the man to bring their things up to their rooms, and the servant was more than happy to oblige!

"Don't worry, they'll fall in love with you just like I have once they get to know you," he said with a grin... that quickly faltered. 

"They aren't allowed to love you as much as I do, but you can get along with them. That's all they're going to get. Don't go looking for belly rubs from someone else, alright?" 

After getting the wolf settled on Marquise's bed, he was about to turn toward the bags his valet had just brought up when he decided to turn back around. 

"You don't look too comfortable. Let's fix that first," he said as he added a pillow beneath the wolf's head, then frowned when he noticed something. 

Reaching forward, he tugged on a translucent piece of fur and frowned. 

Blood? 

He nearly picked the pup up right then and there and carried it into his room for a bath and to check for injuries, but he held himself back at the last second. 

It makes sense that he has dried blood on him, especially if he wasn't known for being the nicest wolf. 

Remembering something he'd noticed earlier, he sat down on the bed above the wolf's head after quickly removing what remained of Marquise's clothing. 

"Let me see that poor paw, my Pepper," he whispered as he scooted a bit farther onto the bed, then gently took it in his hands. 

His heart sank as he looked at the mess of what used to be a paw. The poor toes were hanging on by tendon that had clearly rotted to the point of being useless. It looked like they'd tried to heal, perhaps as Marquise's own body was being mended, but there was no way that it would get to the point where it would ever be useable again. 

Taru? Can you hear me, hun? 

He waited for a few moments, then heard a response. 

Yes master, how are things going? 

Vrasje got to the point quickly. 

I need Kova's assistance with something. Marquise's other wolf finally showed itself but it has a bad paw. Could you ask if he would be able to make a brace for it? I can get all the measurements needed. 

Taru seemed surprised, but he quickly responded. 

Of course. I'll ask him right now. 

Vrasje felt his brow furrow slightly as he continued to hold Pepper's giant paw. 

"He's with him right now?" 

He said that he would be glad to help. Send him the measurements and what you specifically want done later and he'll get to work. I'll also come see him as soon as you think I should.

Vrasje sighed in relief. 

Tell him I said thank you, and I'll let you know when I've got things under control. 

He felt an affirmative sensation in his mind from Taru, but his heir didn't reply anymore than that. 

Shaking his head, Vrasje closed his eyes and calmed himself. Once he was perfectly relaxed, he began to whisper a strong barrier spell. It took some time, but he was more than patient enough to finish it all in one go. 

He felt his ability crawl outward in every direction from his body, then began sealing every inch of Marquise's room, then their conjoined sitting room, before, finally, taking care of his own bedroom and bathing room. 

When he opened his eyes sometime later, everything had fallen into darkness. It had taken nearly six hours to set up everything correctly. 

Looking down, he grinned and gently patted Pepper's mangled paw. 

"I think we're all set. Hopefully Marquise won't be too mad at me for allowing you to wake up. I can't just let you sleep away your life when you weren't given a fair chance to live it," he whispered as he slowly lifted one of his hands until he was able to press three of his fingers against the glowing mark on the wolf's giant head. 

It took him well into the night before he finally managed to begin unwinding the spell holding him captive. After running through just about every drop of his energy, Vrasje removed his hand from Pepper's now-normal forehead. 

The wolf was still breathing rhythmically, but he knew that he had to do the actual hard part now. 

"Sweet Pepper, can you hear me?" 

The wolf didn't react. 

Hmm...

Hopping off the bed, Vrasje walked over to the bags from their earlier shopping trip and dug and dug until he found the one he wanted. 

Pulling out the giant bone, he carefully unwrapped it, then got up and walked back over to the bed. He then set it down a few inches away from the giant wolf's nose. It had likely been taken off of a cow that had been butchered earlier in the day, because it still had quite a bit of meat on it. Any dog would have been absolutely obsessed the moment they saw it. 

He waited a bit to see if that would work, but it didn't seem to help. Right before he was about to try and find something else, however, he noticed the pup's adorable dry nose flare slightly.

There you are, sweetheart.  

It was only another five minutes before that big, fuzzy head began to tilt a tiny bit here and there. Then, after a short time a faint, deep grumble joined the movements every so often. 

Vrasje decided to back away until he was closer to the window, then calmly sat down and watched as his new baby slowly came back to life before his eyes. 

Even your body is becoming more opaque. I'm so glad I was able to bring you back. 

He waited patiently and simply watched with a smile as the huge wolf flicked an ear, then tilted it toward him. 

"Hello, sweet one. My name is Vrasje, and your other half has brought you quite close to the Irish Sea. I apologize if you had not intended to wake up, but I couldn't help freeing you when I saw your form faintly projected over his," Vrasje said, trying not to bombard it with too much right off the bat. 

He calmly fell back into silence as the wolf slowly lifted its giant head and began licking at the bone in front of its nose. It didn't take Pepper long before he was tearing into the chunks of meat still left on it, revealing quite a bit of oral damage, too. 

At least it looks healed up enough to not require surgery, though I'll definitely have to have Taru take a good look at you once we figure out your personality. 

It was a bit strange that the wolf wasn't acting aggressively, but at the same time, he wasn't a human, either. 

Wait a second, if we had used his fangs instead of Garlic's during Marquise's fang measuring during registration...

A low warning growl quickly snapped him out of his thoughts, making him blink away the slight haze before his vision. 

"I apologize for losing focus," he said immediately as he bowed his head in respect. 

The wolf was thankfully still lying down, but its one eye was now open and focused solely on him. 

Such a beautiful soul. 

The eyes truly were the window to one's true self, and since he already knew Marquise and Garlic somewhat well, it was no surprise that Pepper was a beautiful soul, too. 

He was just about to ask if he could get him anything when the giant wolf gave a quiet grumble and lifted one of its back legs. It tried to reach up toward its ear to scratch, but just couldn't seem to complete the action very well. 

"Your body is probably just a bit stiff from being confined for so long," he said, eager to help, but restraining himself. 

Even if the wolf understood him, it didn't mean that it wanted help... or would tolerate it. He'd seen plenty of alphas while out hunting. They were viciously stubborn, but also extremely powerful.  

Another growl refocused his attention, but it actually wasn't directed at him. The wolf had switched to its other leg, but the result was the same. 

After a few more moments of failure, it shook its head once, then twice. 

"Would you like some help? Or maybe, care for a bath?" he finally asked. So much blood stuck in its coat couldn't have been comfortable. 

He didn't expect the beast to really respond positively, but to his surprise, Pepper gave a slow, but clear, nod. 

I... am kind of surprised. 

Happy and cautious, but surprised. 

Standing up, Vrasje calmly walked over to the wolf, but stopped about a foot or so away. He felt the beast watching him curiously the entire time, but kept quiet and waited for some sort of response. 

"Vampire, you must be my mate." 

Vrasje froze. 

Not only had the wolf before him actually spoken, but it had already somehow guessed their situation, too?! 

"I have heard of you, Wolf Killer."

Oh...

He was just about to try and explain how things had changed when the wolf gave its head another good shake, making him wince as he heard fluid within its ears. 

"Yes, I am a werewolf hunter and I've killed hundreds, if not thousands, but I'm not going to hurt you, and I don't want to kill wolves anymore."

The wolf gave a gruff, deep laugh before slowly pinning its ears down against the back of its head and baring its teeth. 

"Do not lie to me, vampire. You care not for other wolves, and you would have already skinned me alive if I had not had some unimaginable value to you." 

 It hurt to be called a liar by his love, but he couldn't argue. After only a brief few moments of thought, he knew that he was right. If he had to, he'd kill every single wolf within a sixty mile radius... except for Pepper and Garlic. 

Licking his lips, Vrasje was just opening his mouth to try and fix his poor choice of words when he slowly let it close again as his eyes widened and his brow furrowed. 

"G-Garlic?!" 

The little brat had taken back control and was now wiggling with undeniable enthusiasm upon the bed where the massive black wolf had been lying less than a second ago!