A Beast Among Gods (The Mac Tire Chronicles)

by Garnet Davenport

  “Look—” I started.

  “No, it’s all right. I don’t want you feeling sorry for me. I’ll be fine,” he said and then got up to take his tray to the trash.

  I hadn’t meant to make him feel like I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have made him push himself if I hadn’t. But anytime someone gets close to me, they die. I can’t let it happen again. On top of that, I want to make sure he wasn’t just kept here because of me. It’d just be harder on him the further he gets.

  “William, you’re needed in the Commander’s office,” one guard came up from behind me and said.

  “What if I don’t go?”

  “I’ll be forced to escort you there myself.” He growled.

  I’d like to see him try. I scoffed and then stood. I came to the same height as him. I saw his Adam’s apple move once up and down. He knew exactly what I was. Everyone did now. I was the freak who turned into a beast. Not ogre. Not mac tire. I walked past him and into the hall. He was quiet as he walked behind me. I turned to ask him which way to go, but he had started to move around me. He was cautious and avoided getting too close to me.

  I liked that. I didn’t want any of them close to me. They smelled like a fungus. It made me wrinkle my nose whenever I was close to them. I’d never noticed the scent on me before, but it had to be there. I wondered if they could smell something different about me. Was that why they wouldn’t get close?

  “Through here.” He growled.

  I followed him into an office area where he went to a large dark wood door and knocked.

  “Come in.” A familiar growl came from the other side.

  I remembered it from when I was young. I had wanted to play quietly in the floor of my father’s office, but every time I asked, he would growl at me and call for my mom to take me away from him. I had wanted to spend time with him once upon a time, but that quickly had changed, and I spent much more time with my mom.

  I saw him sitting at his grand desk, just like when I was little, and he barely looked up to acknowledge me at all.

  “Sir, your son,” the guard said.

  My father looked up from the leather-bound book he had been writing in and scowled.

  “Sit,” he ordered.

  I immediately felt like I needed to sit. I forced myself to stand. He’s eyes glowed an emerald green, and I dropped to the floor. Both knees on the hardwoods, my head down, and completely at his will.

  “That’s better,” he said, standing from his desk. “Leave us,” he ordered to the guard.

  He quickly left, closing the door behind him. When we were finally alone, he walked over to a tall wood armoire and opened the door. He pulled a braided leather riding crop from the door.

  “You see, William, when you ride a horse, that horse must be broken. And you are just like the horse.”

  He gently brushed his hand over one end and then flicked it out with such speed that it whipped out and hit the side of my face.

  I felt it hit and tear open the skin just below my cheek. I pulled my finger away and saw blood.

  “You will remember your place.” He moved back to his desk and set down the whip.

  “I don’t want to be here. You should have stopped looking for me.” I growled back.

  “Now, why would I have done that? You are my blood. A Fabrizio.”

  “I’m not a Fabrizio. I have never been.”

  He roared and slammed his fists on his desk. “If you want your friend to remain safe, you will accept who you are and stop fighting back.”

  “What friend?” I snapped, hoping he wouldn’t mention Jamie.

  He looked down as if he was reading something and then back up at me to answer. “J. Dawson.”

  I tensed hearing his name.

  “That’s what I thought. You want to protect your little friend. If you don’t break like one of the wild mustangs, then your friend will find out what it’s really like without protection.”

  I ground my teeth together and growled, “Fine.”

  “That’s better. Now, go back with the others and continue to train. You will be pushed through the ranks quickly.”

  I got up off my knees and turned my back to him.

  “One more thing.”

  I turned back around, silently questioning him.

  “Dawson needs to get better or he’ll be removed. Permanently.”

  I felt my mouth go dry. I was Jamie at one time. I needed someone to protect me, and they did. This man in front of me was the one who has torn down every person who ever cared for me. I wouldn’t let it happen to this boy. I would be the protector this time.

  I went back to find Jamie and apologize to him for how I treated him earlier. It wasn’t right. But at least now I knew he was here to make sure I stayed in line. His life was literally on the line.

  Inside the training room, there were several pairs of boys using Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Gripping and pulling each other to the floor. At the back, I found Jamie paired with a boy that looked twice his size. The boy was about to break Jamie into two. I moved quickly, using a burst of mac tire speed, and rushed to them. I pull the boy from him and threw him against the wall. His body slumped to the floor, and he curled inward, groaning.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, bending down toward Jamie.

  “Fine.” He huffed then brushed himself off to stand.

  I went to help, but he pulled away.

  “I’m fine,” he snapped.

  “Okay,” I said, holding my hands up and backing away.

  “Just leave me alone,” he snapped and walked off.

  I would have to make it up to him some other way. I made the choice to protect him, and I was going to make sure that he was safe. No matter what.

  “Ohhhhh,” the boy groaned from the floor.

  “Don’t ever touch him again.” I growled.

  ➣ Chapter 11

  Forgiveness to Friends

  I followed him at a distance until he got back to his room. He shared his room with three other boys. As soon as he was through the door, two of them had stood and took a step toward him. When they saw me come in behind Jamie, their eyes widened, and they took a step back.

  “Get out.” I growled.

  They quickly moved around us and left us alone.

  “Stop. I get it. You’re sorry. Whatever. I don’t want to hear it. I’ve had too many people continue to let me down throughout my life. I don’t need any more,” he explained.

  “I’m still sorry. I just don’t want you to care about someone who is going to treat you like crap and make fun of you.”

  “You mean like you?” he snapped back, crossing his arms over his small chest.

  “I’ve never tortured you. I’m made you keep fighting,” I said, wanting him to look at me. “I talked to my father.”

  He looked up at me then and said, “What did he say?”

  “I’m the reason you’re here, and if I don’t stay in line, he’s going to make an example of you.”

  He audibly gulped.

  “I’m not going to let him hurt you. I swear.”

  He looked into my eyes and gave me a quick nod. “All right,” he said so quietly.

  I looked around at the two metal bunkbeds against the walls. There was barely any room in here for one person, let alone four. I had plenty of space in my own room. I would have them move him into my room. I’d be able to protect him with him there. I wouldn’t have to worry about him at night if he was there.

  “I’m going to have them move you into my room,” I said.

  “What?” he gasped.

  “There are too many things that can happen to you in here. You need to move out,” I said and turned around to go tell the guards to put another bed into the room they had given me.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I’m going to tell them to put another bed in my room.”

  I found a guard at the end of the corridor. He stiffened when I came closer.

  “I want another bed put into my r
oom. He’s going to move in there with me.”

  “I’ll have to verify with the Commander,” he said and swallowed.

  “What are you waiting for? Do it,” I demanded.

  He grabbed his radio and spoke into it. “Can I get confirmation to move Jamie Dawson into William Fabrizio’s room?”

  It took longer than I’d like for a voice on the other end to come through. This was going to happen one way or another. I’d tear apart anyone who would attempt to stop it from happening.

  “Verified.”

  One solitary voice had come through the radio to confirm everything in one word. At the time, I hadn’t known that this one word was going to change everything about my life and the journey that I was on. The biggest thing was that Jamie’s life was never going to be the same.

  “I will have a bed moved in immediately,” the guard said.

  I turned to Jamie, who had followed me out. He stayed far enough away to keep out of reach of the guard, which told me more than anything else. It hadn’t just been the other boys that had tortured him. The guards had it out for him as well.

  But none of that mattered now. I would be his protector. I would save him from a life of torment from everyone that was bigger than him. He’d never be pushed around again.

  “Tell the other guards to stop picking on him.”

  “Or what?” He scoffed.

  “Or I will start picking on you.” I growled and narrowed my eyes on him.

  When I had, I knew that they had glowed green for a moment. He bowed his head to me. I knew what being the Commander’s son meant. I had power. It was almost as if I was the Alpha’s heir. In some aspect, I was.

  I turned my back to him and walked back toward Jamie. I pulled him around by his elbow and toward his room.

  “Let’s get your things.”

  When we got back into his room, he looked at me, confused.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Did that just happen? I mean really happen?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You came in here, starting fights, defending me, telling guards what to do, and they bow to you.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I did. It’s going to matter what I do from here on out. I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I’ve spent my life watching everyone around me get killed. It stops here.”

  “I shouldn’t have survived through the trials. I’m not going to make it just because you want to keep me safe.”

  “You will. Grab your stuff.”

  He started to clean his things out of the one and only drawer he had been given. He threw them into a bag and picked it up to carry it back into my—our room.

  I tried to take it from him, but he pulled back.

  “I’ve got it.”

  “Okay.”

  As we walked to my room, several other boys watched us, whispering and holding their hands in front of their mouths. I hadn’t cared. Jamie hadn’t cared. He’d probably been the one everyone went after until I showed up. He was the punching bag for all the older boys.

  “Here,” I opened several drawers, “you can put your things in here.”

  “You don’t need the space?” he asked.

  “I’ve got what I’m wearing. That’s it.”

  “They’ll give you more uniforms.”

  I hadn’t wanted them. My plan was to keep my eyes open just as John had taught me and find my way to get out. I’d have to factor in Jamie now to keep him safe, but it wouldn’t change anything. I’d leave from here, run from my father one last time, and take him with me.

  “I don’t need more uniforms,” I murmured.

  “What’s happening here?” he asked.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

  “You. Here. You came in angry and then helped me out. You gave me some of your food and got me through the trials. Now, you’re just going to stay? I thought you wanted nothing to do with this place.”

  “I don’t. But they don’t need to know that. When there’s an opportunity, I will get us out of here.”

  ➣ Chapter 12

  A Death Which Meant Nothing

  It had been eight months since Jamie had moved into my room that I had watched them all, the guards, the council, my father, the Commander, and the other boys. I had a plan set in motion. Jamie and I were days away from leaving this hell. I had talked to him about the plan in secret. No one else knew anything about it. No one could. They’d stop me from leaving and punish me by torturing Jamie.

  They had already taken him to beat several times when I had not done exactly what was asked of me. I had growled and told them no. The first time they came in the middle of the night, it took six guards to hold me down while they took him. It had been three days before they brought him back to me. My only friend in the entire world.

  He hadn’t blamed me, even though I blamed myself. I worked harder to find a way out from that day.

  When they returned him to me, his face was swollen, he could barely see through his black and purple swollen eyes, and there were cuts all over his body. They had beaten and whipped him until I did exactly what they had wanted and then some. I had made a decision that day to follow everything they had wanted to spare Jamie from his fate.

  There was a brief time period between dinner and lights out when we would talk about our lives before we met. His parents were killed in an automobile accident when he was young. He had been here ever since. They had called him péiste. He had told me it meant worm. He wasn’t pure-blood. His mother was human.

  He couldn’t grow the same muscle as us. Even I developed differently as we trained. While the other boys had built muscle and became slower, I had kept my agility and gained speed with my muscle. I was faster, stronger, and deadlier.

  When my first full moon came, I felt a pull to run in my mac tire form. I needed the transition. I had seen my wolf only a handful of times. Most of the time, my ogre had risen. My skin turns an unnatural green, mossy color as my muscles grow larger and golden brown hairs cover my body. More on my back, arms and chest. I needed to let my wolf out; he was close to the surface and pleading with me.

  I asked to leave the walls that day. The guard had told me he would have to get permission from my father to let me leave. I had waited the entire day, feeling the urge to run and be free.

  I had been sitting with Jamie in our room, waiting to find out if I’d be able to let my mac tire free for the full moon. Jamie had wanted to see my wolf, wanted to meet him, and my wolf had wanted to meet him for a while at that point. We had been sitting and waiting, talking about my wolf. I could feel him pacing inside.

  “I can’t wait,” he had said, inching closer to me.

  I could feel his nervousness. It had been eight months locked inside the walls with nowhere to run.

  I felt his hand as he placed his over mine. I looked up into his eyes. The same eyes I had fallen in love with. He leaned forward, hesitant, but I leaned in to meet him. Our lips met each other’s. I moved my lips over his. It was our first kiss. A special moment I would always remember. My first kiss and first love.

  We had pulled back, his hand still over mine, a slight smile on both of our faces. He felt it too. I had known it wasn’t right to love another boy. Not in an ogre clan. But I hadn’t listened to my gut. I hadn’t stayed away.

  There was a knock at the door. Jamie jerked away from me. The guard was standing in the doorway.

  “The Commander has decided to give you permission to leave the walls tonight,” he said.

  “We get to go?” Jamie asked.

  “No, only him. With eight guards.”

  “That’s something,” he said to me.

  “I wanted you to meet my mac tire.”

  “I know. But one day. Take this and let your wolf out,” he said.

  “You must come now. You will only get thirty minutes,” the guard said.

  “Go,” Jamie said.

  “I’ll be back,” I said and got up to go
with the guards already positioned outside our door.

  I had seen them before. They were the ones who had held me down while they took Jamie the first time I disobeyed.

  “Follow us,” the largest one said.

  I turned and looked back at Jamie. He gave me a warm, yet nervous smile.

  We walked down the corridors toward the door that led to the outside. I stood in front of it as they radioed for the door to be opened. The first clicking sound made me wince. It had been sharp and piercing. But within a few moments, there was moonlight. My mac tire howled.

  “There is an outer wall you will not be able to go past, and if you attack any of the guards, you will be punished. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” I said.

  “Go,” he said.

  I took a step from the compound. The first step into the moonlight made my skin start to transition into fur. My clothes ripped, I bent down onto my knees, and bones popped and broke as everything shifted and my wolf appeared. The browns and grays blended together, making me camouflage as I moved onto the dirt.

  I let my mac tire run. I found the edge of the trees and followed the outer wall all the way around. I felt the dry dirt move and kick up from between my toes. My paws dug in, and I breathed hard as I weaved through the old trees.

  A sharp pinch hit my chest, making me trip and fall to the ground. I tried to get up but felt weak. I pushed myself up, feeling a physical pull toward the compound. Another pain ripped at me. It tore right at my heart. I felt a rip.

  Jamie.

  I forced myself to run. I needed to get to him. Something was wrong. I bolted past all the guards. I was tearing up more ground than before. At the door, they had started to close it to keep me out. I knew something was definitely wrong. I slid through the opening of the door just as it was about to close. Then I ran through the corridor and to my room.

  When I got inside, it was a mess. Everything was thrown everywhere. The bed was ripped, the dresser was knocked over, drawers skewed and spread across the floor. I smelled it—iron. Blood. On the other side of my bed, I rushed toward a pool of red. Jamie was trying to speak. His eyes were distant and glossy. His throat had a knife suck in it. Someone had done this to him.