by Naomi Clark
Sly rushed Eddie, going for a leg as he had with Moira. Eddie, bigger and tougher than Moira, whacked Sly round the jaw, sending him scampering back. Eddie barked triumphantly and dived at the feral, bowling him over and ripping his heavy claws through Sly’s flesh. The smell of the feral’s blood flooded the air and my heart skipped in wild excitement. I yapped and Eddie spun round to face me. Sly pounced immediately, going for the throat this time. Eddie yelped and tumbled down, rolling Sly over, but not before the other wolf sank his fangs into Eddie’s throat. The coppery scent of blood intensified.
Eddie struggled and thrashed, but Sly clung on with grim determination, jaws locked. I yapped again, scrambling from my hiding place to throw myself at the feral. As I lunged into the circle, the human with the pipe thwacked at me. The pipe connected with my ribs and I dropped like a stone, all the air knocked out of me.
I lay on my side, twitching and whimpering, watching as Sly hung onto Eddie’s throat, bleeding him out while the bigger wolf fought to free himself. He would die. Eddie was big and strong, but Sly was a fighter, a feral, not a soft-bred city wolf like the alpha. He would wear Eddie down eventually.
I forced myself up and took a pain-riddled step towards them. A shout rose up from the circle and the human with the pipe swung at me again. I dodged—barely—and lunged at him, driving my full body weight into his legs. He slammed into the car behind him with a thunk and a curse. I threw myself at Sly, catching his hind leg and biting down until he yelped in pain and released Eddie.
Eddie staggered away panting, blood dripping down his chest. Sly turned on me, twisting himself round to snarl in my face and shake me off. Up close he was demonic, splattered with blood and spittle, eyes wild. I sucked up my courage and attacked him, claws tearing into him, only for my human assailant to grab me by the tail and haul me off Sly. I tore myself free and spun away, hackles up, bloodlust pounding through me.
Eddie joined the fray again, springing clumsily at Sly and knocking him to the ground. Using his greater weight, he pinned the feral down, smashing one big paw into Sly’s throat. Sly choked and spat but couldn’t free himself. Eddie tossed his head back and howled in victory, preparing to finish the feral by ripping his throat out. I howled too, the thrill of battle flushing through me. Kill him, my wolf sang. Finish him.
Sly closed his eyes, submitting to his fate.
Eddie dropped his head to deliver the fatal strike.
And one of the humans watching pulled out a gun.
The blast echoed in the clearing, smothering my surprised yelp. Eddie never made a sound. The bullet hit him right between the eyes.
Eddie slumped to the ground, blood seeping from the bullet hole into his glassy eyes. The world seemed to stop for a second and my heart pounded so loud I was sure it was about to burst. A red mist fell over me; rage and hurt and animal madness. I howled, a high-pitched keening sound that hurt my ears, and rushed to the alpha’s side. Sly scrambled out of my way, but I barely noticed him. All my attention was on Eddie.
Whining desperately, I nosed at him, scenting him for signs of life. He had to be alive. Couldn’t be dead, that wasn’t the plan. He was an alpha. Alphas didn’t die. He had to be alive. I pawed at his shoulder, nudged his head. It lolled to one side, bringing the bullet hole up against my muzzle. The bitter smell of death hit me hard and I scuttled back, a wave of anger and grief crushing me.
Sly barked behind me and I whirled to face him, hunching over Eddie’s body. Hackles up, tail stiff, I stood guard over the alpha, daring Sly to approach. He eyed me warily but didn’t move. The humans encircling us whooped and jeered, encouraging us to fight. Their voices stung my ears, sickening me. I wanted to kill them all. Rip their throats out. Feel their blood rush into my belly, hear their bones crunch in my jaws.
Without warning I leapt at the nearest one, hitting him in the midriff. He fell with a scream of panic that was music to me. I pinned him down and tore into him, shredding his shirt and the skin underneath. My claws sank into him with a satisfying meaty squish as for a second I was all wolf, all beast, not a trace of humanity left in me.
And then one of them was on me, two of them, three of them, surrounding me, grabbing and hitting and kicking. Pain exploded through me as boots connected with my skull, my ribs, my spine and the world spun and flared. I was dragged off my prey and there were too many of them, too many faces, too many limbs. I snapped and bit but my jaws met only empty air and I was too dizzy to focus, my vision filling with stars.
And then the one with the lead pipe brought his weapon crashing down on my battered skull and the stars vanished and my last thought was that my mate would be furious when I didn’t come home.
EIGHTEEN
Consciousness returned to me in pieces. Scents first: blood, urine, rust. Then sounds: whimpers and muffled voices, dimly filtering through wooden walls. I opened my eyes, blinked at the bright sunlight glaring down on me. For a scary second I was blind and then vision returned, showing me a wire mesh inches from my nose. Cage. Small cage. I whined and tried to move. My muscles burned in protest and I froze, breathing quick and hard. Every inch of me hurt. Even my tail hurt.
I trembled, an onslaught of primitive fear rushing me. Cage. I was trapped. Imprisoned. I tried again to move, get a sense of the size of the cage. It wasn’t big. I couldn’t even stand up or turn around. Wild panic swamped me and I began barking madly, bashing my head off the cage door over and over.
Around me, other wolves jolted awake at my cries and began barking too, more out of surprise than anything else. I ignored them, ignored everything except my own terror. Cage. I was in a cage. I was in a cage. I was trapped. I was trapped…
Something hit the mesh right in front of my nose, startling me into silence. The whole cage rattled with the force of the blow and I pressed myself back as far as I could as the man in front of me lowered the baseball bat he’d slung against the cage. My heart hammered, pure adrenaline shooting through me as I met his gaze. It was Sly.
He was filthy, caked in blood and mud. His hair was pushed back to reveal his ruined ear. Great greenish-yellow bruises marred his face and throat. His wolf eyes gleamed, full of poison. I bared my teeth at him and he echoed the gesture, his canines stained with blood. Eddie’s blood. We stared each other down, hatred boiling between us. Then he smiled, slow and sinister, and gestured around the room with his bat.
I looked around properly for the first time, dread settling over me as I took in the grim scene. It was a small room and the walls were lined with cages. Most of the cages were empty, but a lot had wolves in. Young wolves. They’d all stopped barking when Sly hit my cage and now they stared at us with crazed eyes. Scrawny and scarred, they cowered away from him like I did, a sick fog of fear and need hanging over them all.
They couldn’t all be local or we’d have known about it ages ago. I thought of the Yorkshire cub, vanished without trace for weeks and wondered how big Sly’s operation was.
I turned my head back to Sly. He was still smiling. “Welcome to your new home, bitch.” He produced a hypodermic needle from his shirt pocket. Grayish liquid swirled inside and the sharp smell of Silver Kiss stung the air.
I began barking again, pushing myself back against the wall behind me until splinters dug into my rump. Sly curled his lip at me. “Not for you.” He moved to the cage next to mine and I craned my head to watch, hopelessly fascinated in spite of myself.
Unlike me, the wolf in the next cage was straining towards Sly, pressing himself up against the mesh and panting desperately. Under the smell of piss and sweat, it took me a second to identify my neighbor. Oscar. The realization made me sick. He’d come straight here Monday morning, I guessed, desperate for his Silky after Sunday night’s abortive deal.
Sly waggled the needle in front of him. “Want it? Want it bad?” he asked, husky voice smug and cruel. Oscar whined and laid his ears back, a yes please gesture. Sly unlocked the cage and Oscar crawled forwards on his belly, whining eagerly. Sly grabbed his
ruff and dragged him out of the cage, throwing the young wolf to the ground. Oscar twisted around so he faced Sly, his tail sweeping the dusty floor. Sly knelt down and jabbed the needle into Oscar’s neck, under the thick collar of fur there.
Oscar barked, then sagged to the floor, little grumbling noises vibrating up this throat. His eyes fluttered closed and his sides heaved as his breathing grew fast and shallow. He rolled onto his back, thrashing back and forth. Some of the other wolves began scraping at their cages, whining and yelping. One or two snarled and rumbled, striking as aggressive poses as they could manage in their confines.
I couldn’t help myself; I joined in, contaminated by their excitement and hostility. Sly raised his head to grin at me while Oscar ceased rolling and just lay on his back, breath labored. Then he sprang to his feet and rushed around the room, barking high and shrill. His eyes were wide and white and spittle flecked his muzzle. He stopped in front of my cage, sniffing me. I bared my teeth, trying to warn him off, but he simply raised his hackles and dropped into an attack pose, body low to the ground, leaning forwards. Despite the wire between us, I tensed, adrenaline racing through me. The chorus of wild barks and howls around us fired me up and Eddie’s death flashed through my head and I all I could think was hunt, hurt, kill.
I threw myself at the cage door, snarling and spitting at Oscar, determined to remove the barrier between us so I could just get at him. My claws snagged on the wire and it cut into the tender skin between my toes. I didn’t notice. It was just more fuel for my rage.
Oscar flung himself at me, our claws and teeth clashing frustratingly briefly as we both attacked the cage door while the other wolves sang their bloodlust and encouragement. Sly roared with laughter and kicked Oscar hard in the flank, sending him scurrying away for an instant. In the brief second before Oscar leapt at Sly, the feral opened my cage and I launched myself out, falling between him and Oscar.
Oscar spun midair, darting away from Sly to lunge at me instead. We clashed, forepaws tangling, jaws snapping, both blind with fury. This close, Oscar stank of Silver Kiss, like he was sweating it and the smell drove me crazy. It was enticing and sickening at the same time, like rotting meat. I twisted under Oscar and closed my jaws on his shoulder, sinking my teeth in deep.
He yelped and pulled away, leaving a spatter of blood on the floor between us. He was younger than me; a less experienced fighter and I sensed his surprise at the injury. He’d probably never had a real fight before, soft little pup that he was. He dropped to the floor, looking up at me with glazed eyes, waiting for my next move. I pounced, whacking his head with my paw and grabbing at his muzzle, drawing blood again before he tore free and darted away. He shot to the other side of the room, backing up against an empty cage, where he licked his bloody chops and regarded me with real fear.
I stalked towards him, excitement filling me. He cowered as I approached. I had him. He was already beaten, pathetic little runt. I’d have his heart’s blood on my tongue in minutes, the pack around me howling their approval. My own heart pulsed and skipped. I could almost taste his death already.
And then a new voice joined the chorus of bays and wails. I paused, flicking my ears towards the wolf battling to be heard over the others. I knew that voice; it stirred something in the fog that consumed my brain. My wolf-self retreated a little as my human-self remembered Moira.
She’d been hurt. I’d forgotten.
I swung towards Moira. She was caged between two skinny, battered wolves, laying on her side with one leg bent awkwardly underneath her. Sly did that. I remembered now and my wolf pulled back a little more, some of my wild anger slipping away. I trotted over to her, Oscar forgotten, and pressed my nose to hers through the diamond-shaped gap. Her nose was warm and the sour smell of old blood emanated from her. I sniffed at her leg, seeing that it was healing, but healing wrong. The broken bone hadn’t been straightened and would mend at a horrible angle. She’d have to break it again to get it healed properly.
My anger returned in full force on her behalf and the wolf took over again. I wasn’t interested in Oscar now though; there was only one target I wanted. I whipped round and flung myself at Sly.
Faster than I could move, Sly scooped up his bat and swung it. It connected with my ribs with an audible crack and I collapsed with a yowl. The world spun around me as I fought to breathe. Sly leaned over me.
“Feisty bitch,” he said. “Got plans for you.”
Nearby, out of my sight, a door creaked open and the scent of humans filled the room. Three men entered. I recognized them as some of the ones from last night and whimpered at the memory. Across the room, Oscar yelped fearfully, but all the other wolves had fallen silent. Eerily silent.
“So?” one of the men asked Sly.
He stood and nudged me with his bare foot. I didn’t have the wind just then to do more than cough in response. “We got a fight tonight,” he said, hefting the bat again. I closed my eyes before he brought it down on my skull. It didn’t hurt quite as much as the lead pipe had.
***
When next I came round, I was outside and dusk was falling. I was back in the ring of cars, under a storm-heavy sky. I shook my head, trying to chase away the dull ache that burned in my battered skull and something cold and hard tightened around my throat. I jerked in surprise and the choke chain tightened again, throttling me.
Despite the urge to tug against the chain, I forced myself to relax, picturing rabbits caught in snares. The harder they pull, the tighter the trap gets. I slumped to the ground and the chain slipped enough to let me breathe. I huffed in relief and looked around, wondering what the hell was happening now. I wasn’t sure I could handle much more. I wanted to change and slip free of the choke chain, but when I tried I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Maybe I had a concussion? My head was foggy and my body wouldn’t do what I wanted it to. I was trapped in wolf-shape and it scared the hell out of me.
There was nobody else around, but I could hear wolves barking and howling inside the barn. The memory of the cage sent a shiver through me. Sly’s last words before he’d knocked me out came back to me and I whined. It didn’t take much to guess what was next.
Sly couldn’t force me to fight, could he?
He didn’t have to, I realized. He just had to unleash another drugged-up wolf on me and I’d have no choice but to defend myself. Both my wolf and human self were in perfect harmony on that. I wasn’t going down without a fight, even if the idea made the bile rise in my throat.
Dusk turned to darkness and the cold seeped into me as I lay there, waiting nervously for Sly to appear. I flicked my ears as owls and bats emerged into the night, their cries breaking the heavy silence. The sounds in the barn faded. Maybe all the wolves were sleeping now. Maybe Sly had left me out here to freeze?
No. I heard humans tramping my way and Sly’s gravelly voice barking orders in their wake. A group of them came into sight, two of the bigger men dragging a wolf along behind them on a chain like mine. I wasn’t surprised to recognize Oscar. The knowledge ground at me, wearing me down as they came closer. Sly followed them, that wicked grin on his face. I wanted to chew it off.
Sly broke away from the humans to approach me, flourishing a syringe full of Silver Kiss. I growled but forced myself to stay still, wary of the chain. He knelt down and caught a handful of my ruff, forcing my head down to expose the back of my neck. I fought to pull free and bite his hand but he was so strong, too strong. And the choke chain constricted as he pushed my head around and it was all I could do to keep breathing.
There was a brief prick of pain as he slid the needle into my skin, but it was nothing compared to the injuries I’d already suffered. I hardly noticed it, not with blind panic at the thought of being drugged taking me over. I tensed up until my muscles winced, my whole being on edge as I waited for the drug to kick in. I was sure that every itch, twitch and tic was a symptom of the Silver Kiss worming into my system. I quaked and sniffed, picturing Oscar thrashing around on the barn flo
or and wondering if I was about to do the same, just lose control and choke myself to death in the throes of narcotic madness.
My vision swam and Sly’s face blurred. I raised my paw to strike him, but it was too heavy, too awkward to control. My lungs burned and my head felt stuffy, full of cotton wool. My limbs were stiff when I stood; no give, no flexibility to my joints. It scared me and angered me. I wanted to move, needed to, yearned to and this wolf was in my way. I hated him. Wanted to kill him. It would be so easy, just one quick snap. I could already taste his flesh and blood; smell his sweat and the dirt under his nails. Smell other wolves on him, each musky scent an intoxicating mix of need and fear.
My heart fluttered, my senses going into overdrive. He was so close, killing-close and I forgot the chain and dived for him. I was inches from him, inches from ripping his throat out, when the chain snapped taut and I was pulled back with a strangled yelp. Rage crushed me, bringing that red veil down over my eyes again. I twisted and thrashed and fought, all the time closing the chain tighter and tighter around my neck until lack of oxygen had me dizzy and half-blind.
Dimly, I heard chanting and jeering, heard another wolf barking at me. The sounds infuriated me; filled me with the pounding need to get free, get moving. I tore at the earth underfoot, yipping and panting, no clear idea of what I was doing, just knowing I had to do something. I heard a shout but it was human speech, just garbled noise to me. And then there was a dull clunk and the chain around my neck loosened. Heavy coils of rope slapped my hind legs and I stumbled, tripping over the leash.
I pawed the now blessedly loose choke chain off over my head, backpedaling to finally slip free of it. Before I could recover myself, Oscar shot at me and we clashed in a chaotic knot of teeth and claws. Over and over we rolled, tumbling and biting and scratching. Blood flew, his and mine, and the smell drove me crazy, blending with the scent of sweat and aconite that poured off us both. I felt moon-fevered, mad and animal to the core.