The Worst Werewolf

by Jacqueline Rohrbach

  Yuri had never cared for Anton—normal circumstances or not. Today, he was possibly the ugliest, shortest, dumbest, and dullest werewolf to ever live. Generous description of the swollen toad, Yuri thought unkindly as Anton bustled up to them with his clipboard posed, ready to record.

  “Smooth?” Anton asked as though he were too busy for full sentences.

  Yuri took a deep breath and started in, “Well—”

  “Problem?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Yuri stepped aside and pointed at Tovin, who was once again magicked to sleep and tossing fitfully in the backseat of the van. Drugs lasted longer, sleeping spells only kept the prey quiet for a quick feeding, but Yuri was unsure he’d ever wake again, drugged or magicked. Bloody and bruised, his face was hardly recognizable as the boy whose photo Yuri sent to Lavario.

  Garvey arrived minutes later. He hit the lock button until the horn honked—not once but twice. “Holy shit, sweet treat should have gone parasailing,” he chimed in when he saw Tovin. Later, if Yuri was around to see it through, she’d slap the smug off his face.

  As if guessing her thoughts, he gave her a lopsided smile and a cheery wink.

  “Eresna will make you pay for this,” she assured him.

  His grin became a crescent moon, waning until it vanished. He shifted from one foot to another, as though eager to leave.

  “This is bad.” Anton stated the obvious in an air that managed to be grand beyond his rank, yet nervous.

  Tactless, Nadine went in. “We know. Things—” She waved her hand in the air, searching for the right words. “—got messy.”

  That’s when Lavario and Mazgan came around the corner. Yuri had hoped for a little more time to clean the boy up and to get their story straight. By the time everyone was done with the formal greetings, she was nowhere near a satisfactory explanation to offer the powerful guardians. She was especially nervous about Lavario since Tovin was meant to be his servant. Guardians had the luxury of handpicking whom they’d feed from, and Lavario was known for being demanding. Eresna was the only exception. The Alpha Guardian of the Isangelous accepted whatever servant her pack gifted.

  Yuri fidgeted as he approached. If Lavario noticed her distress, he gave no indication. He was his typical grand self, dressed in a fine wool suit that had a higher thread count than any of them had years to their lives. As always, he was immaculately groomed—his slightly curly, dark hair smoothed back with a light product, his fingernails cut into round moons, eyebrows arched with haughty superiority over light-green eyes. Considered to be one of the most beautiful of their kind when transformed, he was equally desirable in his human form.

  And scary. Anton gulped. “There were some problems with the extraction of your servant, Guardian Lavario.”

  “What sort of problems?” Lavario’s green eyes narrowed as he scanned their faces. Yuri noticed Mazgan puff himself up. Something resembling a smile crept to his face, but he suppressed it quickly.

  “Garvey chased him through the woods, Guardian Lavario.” Nadine distanced herself and Yuri from blame and tossed Garvey under the bus in the process.

  Garvey didn’t seem to mind one bit. The mocking lilt was back in his voice when he responded, “Followed. To be fair I followed him through the woods.”

  Lavario ignored the lack of formal address, almost ignored Garvey completely. “Let me see Tovin.”

  Reluctantly, Yuri, Nadine, and Anton stepped aside to allow full view of the wreckage. Eyes narrowed as they scanned Tovin’s bloody clothes, bruises, scratches, broken bones, and matted hair. Although Lavario seemed calm enough, even serene, as he looked over the young man’s injuries, no one was fooled. Collectively, wolves felt the energy of transformation in waves that coiled through them, the feeling was either exhilarating or terrifying depending on the context.

  “That was how he was delivered, Guardian Lavario.” Anton rushed to drop all blame.

  “I see. Yuri, you oversaw this extraction?” Light-green eyes fixed on her.

  “Yes, Guardian Lavario,” she answered.

  “And did you know what Garvey intended to do?”

  “No, Guar—”

  “That’s enough, thank you.” He turned back to Anton. “Get a healer down here. Take care of this.”

  “You know that’s against the rules, Guardian. They must be healthy enough to travel before distribution. This is to everyone’s benefit. You wouldn’t want him to die after the first feeding.” Clearly, Anton went over this in his head before spitting it out. He rushed through the explanation with quick, breathless urgency.

  “Healing him now solves those problems. Heal him, distribute him to me.”

  “I can’t.” Anton said again, holding his clipboard in front of him as though he could call upon the powers of bureaucracy to save him from the wrath of the irate guardian. Yuri believed in the power of the system to do many things, but she was sure Lavario, a very old, very powerful werewolf, could cut through Anton until guts hung from claws like so much red tape. Anton must have come to a similar conclusion. “Alpha Guardian, Mazgan, I’m very sorry for Guardian Lavario’s upset, but you understand we cannot give Tovin to you?”

  “Of course,” Mazgan said smoothly. “But we will be compensated for the loss.”

  To Yuri’s ears, he sounded far too pleased. She could have sworn she’d seen him exchange glances with Garvey a few times. It had to be her imagination. The Alpha Guardian from the Varcolac was far too arrogant to associate with the likes of a False Moon.

  Relieved he at least had one of the guardians on his side, Anton let go of the breath he was holding with a loud whoosh that fluttered the papers on his clipboard. “Absolutely, Guardian Lavario is free to choose his replacement. Whatever one he wants.”

  Mazgan smiled. “Excellent. You hear that, Guardian Lavario?”

  Perfectly groomed fingernails gave way to hooked claws, a translucent white at the tip, then opaque black to the root. “I heard.”

  Lavario did not use Mazgan’s title. All of them, even Garvey, stepped back as the disrespect hung in the air between them. It was no secret that there was no love between the two, yet Lavario had always at least outwardly gone through the motions of deferring to Mazgan. Rank was everything. If the two major packs—the Varcolac and Isangelous—agreed on one concept that would be it. Varcolac wolves like Mazgan were especially prickly about status, believing they’d earned theirs through combat.

  “Pick one, then.” Teeth out and seething, Mazgan did not press it or strike out at his subordinate. Everyone was surprised, only Garvey was disappointed.

  Lavario didn’t say anything else until he reached the last van, the one that contained the servants of the Isangelous guardians and other higher-ranking wolves in the pack. Yuri did not like where this was heading. Not one bit. Even less when he ordered them to unload it with clipped precision.

  Carefully, Nadine and Yuri obeyed his orders. Humans were hauled out and placed on the sidewalk for Lavario’s inspection. Fine, expensive clothing worn by the potential bloodservants gathered white dust from the ground below while the guardian paced up and down the line.

  Finally, he selected. “This one.”

  Yup. Bad to worse. Yuri closed her eyes and begged for it all to be a bad dream. Lavario pointed to the bloodservant of Alpha Guardian Eresna.

  Guardian servants in the Isangelous were not simply food no matter what the pretenders in the Varcolac said. The man the Isangelous extracted for Eresna was a symbol of their commitment to their queen. He was affluent, intelligent, attractive, confident, secure, and talented. A gift to her. Abducting him was a risk. People would look for such a man, perhaps for years. Such a companion was worthy of a leader.

  “Be reasonable, Guardian Lavario. This one belongs to Guardian Eresna.” Anton was practically on his knees when he said this, doing what he could to pacify the irate wolf. Lavario simply offered a slight smile sans teeth, sans mirth, sans smile and pointed at the man again—Eresna’s bloodservant, Vincent. This
one. Seeing a lost cause there, Anton turned to his former ally. “Alpha Guardian Mazgan, surely you must understand this is not possible. Have him select another.”

  Mazgan looked beside himself with joy. “Your mistake. Your problem. Guardian Lavario wants this one.”

  Mazgan’s words surprised everyone, including Lavario whose face fell into defeated, agitated lines. Bold move, stupid move. Either way, it was now another mess for her and Nadine to clean up later.

  Governed by rules, by process, Anton gave into the whims of the higher-ranking wolf. Lavario got Eresna’s bloodservant. Tovin remained behind.

  CHAPTER TEN: ACCIDENTS

  Lavario came in behind Yuri as she placed Tovin on one of the bunks in the holding area. She greeted him as gracefully as she could. Terrified of what he might do, Yuri still had her pride to uphold. No matter what, she’d face Lavario’s wrath with dignity—her back straight, her head held high, her shoulders square. A soldier’s stance.

  He was not impressed. “A word, Yuri.”

  “Guardian—”

  “Cut the titles. Show respect by answering questions honestly.”

  “Always, Guardi—” She stopped herself, swallowing hard. “Of course.”

  “Why did you suggest Tovin to me?” Yuri could see the accusation that she had been a part of something on his face. What happened with Tovin was bad for Lavario. After exile, he was no longer an Isangelous Guardian. Life as a Varcolac meant he needed to be in control of what was his, powerful enough to maintain it. Losing anything—even if it was a pet—because of Garvey’s shenanigans made him seem weak, foolish. Asking Yuri if she was also involved was a courtesy he was willing to extend given her history as a no-nonsense, apolitical workhorse.

  “I thought you might like him.” Not a total lie. True enough she believed Lavario would be attracted to Tovin. More importantly, she saw Lavario as the one to take Tovin away from a bigoted, terrible world.

  Lavario’s voice was a low growl. “Come now, Yuri.” Lavario tilted his head to the side and lifted his lips with derision, showing his fangs. Violence wasn’t Lavario’s style—Yuri had only seen him lose his temper a handful of times during her little part of his long life—but he was making it clear things could go that way. This had to be far bigger than she imagined.

  “I had nothing to do with what happened today. I swear it to you.”

  He gave her a long look before withdrawing with a deep sigh. “Garvey?”

  Obviously. “Yes.”

  “And Nadine?”

  Yuri didn’t want to throw her friend to the fire, but Lavario would know one way or another. “She did not know what he planned. She assumed he was up to the usual, having sex, fooling around. She would never knowingly cross you.”

  He showed his teeth again very quickly and without too much malice. He turned his attention to Tovin, resting somewhat peacefully on the bunk. Yuri tucked him in while the rest of the possible rejects were scattered on the bunks, stored without much consideration until their fates were decided. “You care for Tovin.”

  Yuri said nothing.

  “Interesting.”

  For once he seemed sincere when he said it. To him, Yuri was little more than a signpost on an endless stretch of highway: something he acknowledged with casual interest but never lingered on beyond its immediate utility. Now he was studying her intently, trying to gather up what she knew, what she was hiding. He wanted to make it his own.

  Dry-mouthed, Yuri changed the topic. “How bad is this for you?”

  “Depends.”

  “On?”

  Lavario gave her a dark look. Willing to drop the title but less amenable to forgetting rank, he took exception to a wolf of Yuri’s status questioning him. Apologetic for not showing her former guardian the proper respect, Yuri demurred, “Forgive my prying in your private affairs, Guardian.”

  He waved his hand. “I am on edge, Yuri. The outcome depends on how much my daughter wishes to keep her status in the Varcolac. Mazgan told her she must choose between us.”

  Bad. Really bad. Yuri thought of the stern-faced Kijo. Those dark black eyes of hers were born hard, lacking sentiment. Loving her father wouldn’t be enough this time with her pack on the line. Unlike Lavario, Kijo knew how to walk away from the past.

  Angry for her former guardian, Yuri asked, “Why don’t you challenge Mazgan? What happened today won’t matter then.” No wolf from the Isangelous understood why their former guardian allowed himself to be ruled over. He’d gone to the Varcolac as an exile, but he was powerful enough to claim the role of alpha. Mazgan was a poor copy of Lavario, from his hair that was slicked back with a heavy, oily product to the shoes that were expensive because someone put a sticker on them rather than because they were well crafted.

  “It is a legitimacy issue. I cannot rule the Varcolac unless they suddenly decide I am one of them.” He wasn’t one to be taken off topic for too long. He pointed again at Tovin. “What is the likely outcome of this, Yuri?”

  “Tovin will be killed.” She did her best not to wince when she said it. It was a statement of fact about a process she’d gone through so many times before, not an emotional moment.

  “How do you feel about that?”

  That part was something she knew he’d already guessed on his own. Dangerous as it was to say too much, it was equally dangerous to do nothing. Lavario would make her pay for inaction. “Do you want to help me save him?”

  He considered. “Small win from this mess.”

  “I have an idea.” She looked him in the eye. “I’ll need your help.”

  “I am at your disposal.”

  Well, if that was the case…

  As a human, Yuri had been far more adventurous—living and taking with impunity the way beautiful, rich people could. Life as a werewolf made her far more reserved. Now that she was staring down the barrel of two guns, she lost very little by taking a risk. The worst he could say was no. “There is something you can do for me now.”

  “Tovin will need—”

  “This part has nothing to do with Tovin.”

  He tilted his head to the side again in an invitation to explain herself. Instead of using words, she stood on the tip of her toes to nibble at his lower lip. That should get the point across clear enough.

  * * *

  “Have you lost your damn mind?” Nadine asked Yuri fifteen versions of the same question every minute or so as they traveled down the hall on their way to Eresna’s chambers, Tovin in tow. The little group reminded Yuri of her dinner plate—of all separate elements not daring to overlap. Worked for her, especially since Garvey and Nadine seemed uncomfortable.

  “Lavario made you do this?” Nadine asked.

  “Smells like he had her up against a wall,” Garvey chimed in.

  Nadine licked her tooth. “He give you a real hard time, Yur?”

  “This could save Tovin.” She assured both, ignoring their stupid little innuendoes. The two of them could go on forever like human children if she let them.

  “What exactly do we gain if it does?” Nadine wanted to know.

  “Lavario’s good opinion of us, which is somewhat strained. He asked about your involvement in this.” Yuri gave her friend a hard look. Pale, Nadine nodded her head and gulped. Getting back into the good graces of the powerful wolf was reason enough for her. Being on the wrong side of Lavario was not where she wanted to be. Soldiers were only as happy as those who gave them orders. She was on board with the plan now.

  Garvey wasn’t. “Time for me to go.”

  “What type of wolf creates all this mess and then leaves, Garvey?” Yuri spit back at him.

  “A smart one. She’s going to slap me until my teeth fall out. Worst you two will get will be a stern lecture. You’re her favorite fetchers. Good dogs the both of ya.”

  “You’re a False Moon accident that does nothing but create other accidents. Why can’t you do your job?” Yuri felt her lips lift into a sneer.

  “This is the longest thi
s hall has ever been.” Nadine rolled her eyes at both of them. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do here. What’s done is done. Can we all agree on that?”

  Yuri never understood why Nadine liked Garvey so much, why she defended him. Reckless, feckless idiot. His only function was his ability to extract. Unlike most of their kind, he kept up with the fads, the trends, the slang, and the culture of humans. Yuri did the same to a lesser degree. Garvey immersed himself, glorifying in the fun of it, while she mimicked.

  Nadine gave them a mock thumbs up when Yuri stopped fighting and Garvey agreed to stay. They continued down the hall in silence until Nadine said, “Right then. Here we are.”

  Before them was the entrance to Eresna’s servant’s chambers. Ancient, the mahogany double doors were a carved atlas of the pack’s life—its ancestors, its battles, its symbols. Entwined through it all was a diamond-scaled, sapphire-eyed dragon Eresna was said to have rode on in the last great pack war. Rumor had it that the dragon’s soul was trapped in the wood, waiting for the queen’s touch to release it for another battle.

  All to guard the entrance to a servant’s quarters.

  Yuri acknowledged it without any resentment. Eresna was the Alpha Guardian of the Isangelous. Their pack was the only true one in Yuri’s mind. The Varcolac were little more than bullies who’d taken power by threatening to destroy the bloodservant system, by promising mass-scale bloodshed. Their “might makes right” way of governance was a sham from the start. Eresna had been powerful enough to make them stay, but she wasn’t cruel enough.

  The power on display here was the pack’s.

  The man Tovin replaced was meant to be theirs, too. He was supposed to be a symbol for the risks the pack would take on the behalf of their leader. A gift. Instead of the posh, handsome man Eresna was due, she’d end up with young man of no means.

  No one would look for Tovin. Beautiful though he was, he was like any other of the hundreds of thousands of people who vanished each year. There might be flyers, perhaps a few posters. Close family excluded, resources would not likely be spent beyond those few token gestures. Forgotten quickly, Tovin was the type of companion a wolf like Yuri might own.