by R. J. Blain
“Not quite a ton, but close enough,” Desmond replied, pawing at my neck. He found the spot that hurt most, and I whined from the pain. “You’re right about the break, Nicolina. It’s here. Sanders, Earl wouldn’t be able to work on him, would he?”
“You’re joking, right? You might get him to run the x-ray machine to see what’s specifically broken, but operating on a wolf this submissive? Do you think you could grab a knife and cut him like this?” Sanders growled, pacing nearby. “It’s not happening, Desmond. Richard’s going to have to heal on his own unless you happen to know a mad wolf who also happens to be a surgeon. Any ideas, Damien?”
“I know a few witches who happen to be surgeons,” the witch replied, standing with his hands hidden in his fake fur. “I could make a few calls and see what I can dig up.”
“That woman said he’d be fine after he changed a few times,” my human whispered.
“We are not forcing him to change,” Frank snapped.
Confusion and worry laced my human’s scent. “Why not? Dad, you’ve done it before.”
“I may not be a bonded witch, but I know how to initiate a forced change,” Damien said. “It’s not difficult. I have no problems doing it if you think it can help.”
I whined.
“Richard, please stop that,” Frank begged. “It’s terrible. You whine, and my skin crawls. This is ridiculous. I’ve never met a wolf this submissive in my life.”
“Ditto,” Sanders said. “If he wasn’t whining every other minute, I might be able to think. I feel like I need to find a priest and confess all of my sins. How in the hell were they able to sever him if he’s like this? Being near him is enough to set me on edge.”
“They were insane,” my human whispered. “Absolutely batshit crazy.”
“I believe it. He’s even influencing you, Nicolina. You haven’t threatened him once, and you’re petting him like he’s a puppy,” Desmond pointed out. “If he’s affecting Nicolina, who strongly dislikes him, there’s no way any stable witch or Fenerec is going to be able to touch him.”
My human sucked in a breath. “Holy shit, you’re right.”
“How about Alex, Frank?”
“Too dominant,” Frank replied. “Don’t let Alex trick you; he might rank as a submissive, but Richard rolls over if Alex gives him a dirty look. If you want to make him angry though, that’s how you do it. You’d go after Alex. Forget the Porsche; if Alex so much as stubs his toe, Richard’s upset.” Laughing, the human pointed at my female. “It’s perfect. Let Nicolina tear strips out of Alex’s hide. She’ll get a chance to blow off steam, too. If that doesn’t get Richard going, nothing will.”
I turned my ears back. I didn’t know who Alex was, but something told me I wasn’t going to like what the humans were planning. When I looked up at my female, she frowned. “I don’t like it.”
Desmond chuckled.“Of course you don’t. With his head on your lap, you probably couldn’t yell at him even if you wanted to. Come on, Puppy. You’ll feel more like yourself when you’re away from him for a few minutes. Where’s Alex, Frank?”
I bared my fangs although I remained silent. The humans ignored me.
“There’s one small problem with this plan,” Frank whispered.
“What?” Desmond demanded.
Swallowing, Frank dug his furless paw into my fur. “I haven’t told him what happened yet. What am I supposed to tell him, Desmond? That his brother shredded their parents? How do you tell a kid something like that?”
“Oh my God,” my human whispered, and the horror in her voice was reflected in her scent.
I didn’t want to leave my den. Flattening to the ground, I turned back my ears, and bared my fangs at the humans as they tried to coax me away from the trees making up my territory.
Frank tugged at his mane with his furless paws. “Submissive and stubborn. This is my worst nightmare. I swear this is a nightmare, Desmond. Pinch me so I wake up. I hate this! Why won’t he come?”
“That’s his den,” Desmond replied, sighing. “Richard, you can’t stay here.”
I voiced a single, soft growl.
“Well, he’s fighting you,” my human said, her tone smug.
“If you think you’re so clever, Daughter, why don’t you get him to cooperate?”
Smiling at the other humans, my female approached me, swung back her foot, and gave me a solid kick in the ribs. I howled my dismay, scrambling out of her reach. I whimpered at the pain lancing from my neck down my spine. “I’m really getting sick and tired of your bullshit, Richard.”
Frank gasped. “Nicolina!”
“He’s not a puppy. He’s not even all that cute. You’re being such children,” my female hissed. “Look how big he is. You could trounce him, and you’re too cowardly to do anything.”
“And off she goes,” Desmond muttered. “Wendy, please do something to control your daughter.”
The older female snorted. “No.”
“No?” Desmond asked, his astonishment altering his scent.
“Now I’ve seen everything,” Sanders announced. “First Richard goes submissive, now Wendy’s acting dominant. What the hell is going on here? She told Desmond no, Frank.”
“So I heard,” Frank replied, his amusement adding a pleasant tone to his scent. I headed for the human, slithering behind his legs to keep him between me and my female. “You can’t hide behind me, Richard. You’re too big. I’m pretty sure she can see you.”
“Move, Frank.”
“No killing Richard, Nicolina,” Frank replied. “We’re all frustrated, but it’s not his fault.”
My female snarled, stomping her feet. “I’m well aware that it is not his fault. I was there, remember? I saw what happened. I’m filthy, I have blood all over me, my skin is crawling, and I swear to God, if he comes between me and a bath any longer, I am going to kill someone. We’ve been standing here doing nothing for hours. Hours, Frank! If you all can’t or won’t do anything about this, I will. Just you watch me. You won’t even call Alex.”
“Why don’t you call him then?” Frank retorted, holding out a phone.
My female stepped forward, snatching the device out of the male’s hand. “Fine. I will.”
After tapping at it, she held it to her ear. “Alex, it’s Nicolina. We found Richard, but he’s acting all submissive, and Frank, Sanders, and my father are utterly incapable of dealing with him. Richard whines and it’s the end of the fucking world. What should I do about it?”
There was a long moment of silence, and my female’s scent changed from annoyance to interest. “That’s it? Are you serious?”
I smelled her dismay long before she sighed. “He turned on them, Alex. I’m sorry. They’re… I mean… I’m not sure how to say it. What? Okay, I’m listening.”
My human’s mouth dropped open. “Well, okay. No, I’m afraid he didn’t leave enough for you to have that satisfaction. Father recommended a squeegee and a bucket.” There was a long pause. “I’ll tell them that.”
When my human lowered the phone from her ear, she offered it back to Frank. “You’re never going to believe what he suggested.”
“Alex wasn’t upset?” Desmond demanded.
“No, he didn’t sound upset at all. First, he asked me to tell you Richard’s still bound to him. Richard’s giving him a migraine with his bellyaching.” My female put her paws on her hips, glaring down at me. I snapped my teeth at her, voicing a single growl. “Alex thinks if you do something really shocking, you might be able to snap him out of it. Alex warned against trying to provoke him to violence like he is, and that it’s probably best if he stays away while we deal with him.”
“Was Alex nice enough to tell you just how to go about doing this?” Desmond demanded.
I didn’t like the tone the human took with my female. Bristling, I snarled, shoving against Frank so hard the human tumbled over my back and landed in a heap beside me.
“Richard, enough,” my human snapped. “God, you’re eve
n more obnoxious than usual. I can’t believe I felt sorry for you. Ugh. I want to throttle him.”
“No murdering Richard,” the older female chided.
“Nicolina Angelica Desmond, I’m running out of patience with you,” Desmond growled. “How are we supposed to shock Richard?”
My female giggled. “The Porsche might work. Alex says Richard gets upset if it gets even the tiniest scratch. When he sees it, he’s going to freak. Alex is with the car right now. It’s been towed off to a place about two hours from here. He also said forcing him to change might help, then you can do a few other tricks.”
Desmond’s eyes narrowed. “What other tricks?”
Bursting into laughter, my human doubled over, hugging her sides. “I can’t even say it. God, this is so embarrassing. I can’t believe Alex even suggested it, but I bet it’d work. I’m not it.”
“Nicolina,” Desmond growled.
“Oh,” Frank gasped. “Oh, Alex is clever. I’m not it.”
“Not it,” Sanders blurted. “I don’t even know what I’m not doing, but if Frank’s not willing to do it, neither am I.”
“It’s your lucky day, Desmond!” Frank said, reaching up to give my flank a slap. “Don’t worry, Richard. I’ll take lots of pictures.”
“Pictures of what?” Desmond demanded.
Climbing to his feet, Frank dusted himself off. “And ruin the surprise, Desmond? Let’s hit the road, go visit Richard’s Porsche, and meet up with his brother. We better buy mouthwash on the way. You’re going to need it.”
My female drove me away from our den with a mixture of growls, snarls, threats, and kicks at my flank. Wolves slipped between the trees, invisible in the gloom of the night-dark forest. The humans carried a light with them.
They were hunting as a pack, and I was their prey, and I didn’t understand why my human cooperated with them. She demanded obedience and punished me with her snarls when I defied her will.
“You’re ruthless, Nicolina,” Desmond stated, shaking his head. “Do you have to be so rough with him?”
“Yes,” my female replied. “Unlike you, I’m not a sucker for his whining and his puppy-dog eyes. Girl up.”
“I do believe she’s still offended over Christmas,” the older female stated, her tone and scent amused. “Nicolina, could you not taunt your father? He’s stressed enough.”
“He’s stressed? He’s stressed? I crashed Richard’s Porsche! I don’t want to spend three months with him waiting for the replacement,” she wailed.
“Baby, what are you talking about?” Desmond asked.
When the forested mountain made way for a road, I tensed. A line of vehicles waited. While most of them were quiet, there were a few with their engines rumbling and their lights on. I knew there was significance to the humans’ cars, but I shied away from the memories.
“Richard told me if I crashed his Porsche, I was stuck with him until it was replaced,” my female whined.
“Don’t worry. Richard isn’t going to blame you for what happened,” Desmond soothed. “You’re not going to be stuck with him.”
“I don’t know, Desmond. You turned his plane to glitter. Now his Porsche is dead? How much do you value your daughter? Though, that’s interesting. I wonder how much of Richard is kicking around in his skull right now. He did take Nicolina hostage over the plane. Do you think he didn’t turn on her because he remembered he was responsible for her?” Sanders asked, reaching down to rub my scruff. A yip burst out of me when he touched where my neck still throbbed. “Sorry, Richard.”
“She’s worth far more than the value of his jet and Porsche combined. I’ll replace his car,” Desmond replied.
Frank sighed, shook his head, and joined Sanders in stroking me, though he was careful to avoid my aching neck. “His insurance should cover it. I just wish I knew what exactly was wrong with him and how to fix it.”
“Trauma,” my human replied, her voice gentle. Ceasing her snarling and snapping, she crouched in front of me, rewarding me with a brisk rub between my ears. “Who’d want to remember something like that? I don’t. It was bad enough for me, but I can’t imagine what it was like for him.”
“Richard’s tough,” Frank whispered.
Joining my female, Sanders ran his hand down my chest, tugging at my fur. He sighed. “Everybody has their limits, Frank. He’s been through a lot lately. I’m amazed he has the presence of mind to be able to distinguish friend from foe. He’s not all there, that’s for sure, but he’s capable of restraint. His scent’s off, but he’s not expressing any of the normal behaviors of a mad wolf. First and foremost, he’s not attacking everyone too close to his territory. He also left Nicolina alive. When a wolf goes mad, they take everyone out with them when they go. By all rights, she should be dead, too.”
“I think my daughter is onto something. Trauma-induced amnesia, perhaps?” Desmond said, watching me with wolf-yellowed eyes. “Sanders, you had him for a while when he ran off with his Porsche. How does he compare to then?”
I hunkered down and whined. The humans flinched, and my female sighed. “That’s a horrible noise, Richard. Please stop.”
Sanders bent over me, resting his forehead on my muzzle. “Easy, Richard.” I closed my eyes, bumping my nose under his chin, relaxing as he stroked my fur. “He’s completely different. He played submissive with me, but he was doing a terrible job at it. There were a few times where he took me by surprise. He was docile, but not like this. And you saw how he reacted when his parents came with Alex. It was fear-based aggression. He was terrified. I’ve never seen Richard so frightened over anything in the time I’ve known him.”
“I have, and it’s always because of Alex getting into trouble one way or another.” Frank laughed. “There was one time when he took one of Richard’s ATVs and thought he’d make a run down the gully without telling anyone. When the hospital called, I had to peel Richard off the ceiling.” There was a long moment of silence. “And there’s your proof he’s not all there. Richard gets upset if anyone reminds him of that stunt. He’s calm.”
“No association,” Desmond murmured.
“Was Alex hurt?” my female asked.
“Alex knocked himself out cold. Minor concussion and a sprained wrist. Doesn’t matter. Richard doesn’t care about what actually happened. He cares about what could have happened.” Stepping to one of the vehicles, Frank opened the back door. “Think you can get him in, Nicolina?”
“Pick a different car,” my female snapped. “No dark SUVs.”
“What? Why?”
“They drove a dark SUV.”
“Roger.” Closing the door, Frank examined the line of cars, settling on a pale one. “Yours okay, Desmond?”
“Yeah, I don’t care if he rips up the interior. It can be fixed,” Desmond replied, pulling out keys from his pocket. “We’ll have to clean some junk out of the back.”
“I’ll help,” my female said, running over to Frank. I whined.
“Richard, relax. She’s just going over there. There’s no need to panic. Once this is over, if he figures out he can whine us into submission, we’ll never live this down,” Sanders complained, letting me go and thumping my shoulder. “Every time he whines, I want to hit someone.”
“Me, too,” Desmond grumbled.
“Why?” the witch asked, fiddling with the black box my female didn’t like. I turned on him, snarling at the device.
“Jesus Christ, Damien, put that fucking thing away before one of us rips your head off for threatening him,” Sanders snapped. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? If you are, you’re about ten seconds from succeeding.”
“He’s not a part of your pack, Mr. Sanders.”
Desmond growled, long and low. “Doesn’t matter. It’s worse because he’s not. He’s an unclaimed submissive right now. Even if he wasn’t whining so much, I’d be wanting him, even before considering the fact he’s Richard. Just put the Taser away. If I have to take it from you, your hand’s going with it.�
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The witch pocketed the device. “Happy? It’s not like it’ll do anything other than stun him for a few minutes.”
Sanders echoed Desmond’s growl, and as the Fenerec’s attention focused on the witch, I whined. The promise of violence hung in the air, the stench of rage filling my nose.
“Do us all a favor and take your little Inquisition elsewhere,” Desmond hissed. “I’ll take responsibility for him. Get out of here while you can still walk.”
“You can’t threaten me, Mr. Desmond,” the witch replied.
The scent of rage radiating from Desmond alarmed me into rising, knocking Sanders away as I stood my full height. Lowering my head to protect my throat, I bared my fangs. I focused on the witch.
Humans were frail, easy prey, a threat I could easily overcome.
“How much do you want to bet on that, Mr. Taylor?” Desmond whispered.
I lunged for the witch, snapping my teeth at his legs, forcing him to stumble backwards in a retreat. After pursuing him several paces, I halted, voicing a warning growl.
“Okay, that’s more like the Richard we know and love,” Sanders whispered, and when I tilted my head so I could watch him, he remained crouched, chin ducked to cover his throat. “Richard, going after an Inquisition witch isn’t a good idea.”
I flicked an ear in his direction.
“Richard,” Desmond chided, stepping towards me.
I snarled, whipping around to snap my teeth at the approaching wolf who wore a human’s thin skin. Jerking his hand back, Desmond glared at me, his eyes blazing with a golden light. “You did not just try to bite me,” he hissed.
“And there they go,” Frank said. “Desmond, I have this overwhelming urge to try to kick your ass right now.”
“Try it, Puppy. Go ahead. I’ll flatten you first before I put him in his place. You can lick each others’ wounds when I’m finished with you both.”
My female left the pale vehicle, stomped forward, and raised her fisted paw. “Someone’s about to get hit, and it might just be you, Father.”
Something clicked, and I knew if I allowed my female to strike out at Desmond, I would regret it—as would he. Digging into the ground with my claws for purchase, I charged the distance between her and the other wolves. I skidded, colliding with her, driving my shoulder into her legs. I tripped over her as she fell, and I twisted so I wouldn’t land on her. I hit the ground hard, the breath whooshing out of my lungs.