by Deanna Hall
“He’s seen your faces. How do I know your guy won’t kill regardless?” I questioned.
“You have my word; you come he lives. Besides, lover boy won’t risk going to the cops. I already told him what would happen to you if he did.”
“Fine, you have a deal. One more thing. If Dakota dies, so do you.”
Snake laughed out loud. “You’re still a brave little spitfire, aren’t you. I’m going to have fun breaking you.”
I shudder as I called 911 to report a mugging. After which, Snake took my phone, smashing it under his heel. Within minutes flashing lights entered the alleyway. We stayed long enough for me to see Dakota loaded in the ambulance.
Snake’s guy was acting all concerned as he walked alongside the gurney. I quietly walked out of the bar on Snake’s arm. He blindfolded me once we got in his truck, then drove off. About an hour or so outside of town, we ended up at a well-maintained ranch with a big farmhouse.
Taking the blindfold off as we got out of the truck, Snake announced, “Welcome to your new home, Mia.”
Once we were standing in a large living room with couches and tables scattered about, he whispered to a young woman who was lounging on one of them watching TV. She took off upstairs. “Make yourself at home. Can I get you a drink or something to eat?”
Jerking my arm from his grasp, I mumbled, “Sorry, I lost my appetite.”
“Suit yourself. You’ll get hungry eventually.”
As I gazed around the room, taking in my surroundings, three girls in negligees came down the stairs. All three were high as kites, sickly and anorexic looking. “Hey, Ladies, you remember your friend Mia, don’t you? The one who got away?”
Christine looked like she was seeing a ghost. She came over, hugging me, then Denise and Makala joined her. It was a tearful reunion. “Look at you all grown up. What the hell are you doing here, Mia?”
Snake answered, “She traded herself for her new hubby. I’m excited to have her here. Who would have thought that scrawny, gangly kid would become such a beauty?”
Snake looked me up and down with a leer. Pulling me closer, he reached down my shirt, fondling my breasts. “Good size, firm, mm, mm. You’re lookin good, Babe, yet so young and fresh. That will be a big plus.”
“Let me go, or you will be very sorry you ever met me,” I growled, jerking away.
“Feisty. You’ll definitely be a hit.” Grabbing my neck with one hand, Snake started to lift my shirt. “Well, Little Lady, let’s go up to my room and have some fun, shall we.” Kick his ass and get the hell out of here, no problem, I thought to myself. “Take her upstairs.”
Two of his goons grabbed my arms. I went limp, so they had to hold my weight. Then I flipped over in their arms, kicking both of them in the head. When they stumbled back, one was holding his broken nose swearing. The other recovered quicker. He grabbed me by the waist, so I kicked him in the groin.
Two more guys came in. One, who was enormous, tackled me. I thrashed and struggled beneath him; only it was like being under a mountain. Even with the big goon helping, it took all three of them to drag me up the stairs.
Snake came over while they held me, ripping my clothes down the front. He grabbed my hair, pulling my head back as he started fondling me. He caressed my stomach and breasts. “Mmm, mmm, mmm. This is gonna be fun.” As his hand began to slip into my panties, I started to panic.
I needed to get out of there, now. Calming myself with deep breaths, I blurted out, “I need to use the bathroom.”
Snake laughed, “Be my guest. I wouldn’t want you uncomfortable when we get down to business.” The goons let me go, and I went into the adjoining bathroom, while they stood guard outside the door. As luck would have it, there were no windows. I had no choice but to make a break for it. I shifted. When I didn’t come out for a while, Snake opened the door.
The snake was shocked when a wolf stalked towards him, growling with its teeth bared. “What the hell, how did you get in there? Who’s the wise-ass who thought it would be funny to put a wolf in my bathroom?” Sanke demanded.
I started snarling and snapping at him before his goons could answer. He and the other guys started backing up, to startled too to think clearly.
I dashed through the bedroom door, running for the stairs. When I got to the main floor, there was no way out besides the window, so I crashed through it without even slowing down. I hadn’t expected Snake to come after me so quickly. Halfway across the yard, I heard a loud noise, then something hit me in the flank, accompanied by burning pain. I stumble as my leg buckled. Forcing myself back up, ignoring the pain, I kept running full bore into the night.
I passed a bunch of Snake’s lackeys as I ran. I heard more gunshots. Fortunately, by then, I was too far away for any of them to get a clear shot. As a wolf, I have a high pain tolerance. The bullet had mostly just grazed my hip, only embedding itself at the end of its progression, maybe an inch or so.
I had a few small cuts from the glass as well. My fur had protected me from the worst of it. My front paw had sustained a good-sized, rather deep cut. Other than that, I was in reasonably good shape.
After about half an hour of running, my surge of adrenaline had petered out. Not to mention, I was getting tired. Since I’d raced around with my pack longer than that playing, I figured it was probably because of the blood loss. As I slowed down to a jog, the bullet wound, cuts and abrasions were making themselves known.
I forced myself to keep going because I was afraid Snake and his crew were out looking for me. Therefore, I wanted to be long gone. After about an hour, I couldn’t even keep up a jog anymore. I was so tired my legs were trembling. I was afraid they’d give out on me.
The sun was coming up by then. Knowing how hot it would get in the desert, I looked around for a place to take shelter from the sun. I found a rock formation that formed a small, cave-like crevice big enough to protect me. Once I crawled in, I nearly collapsed from exhaustion. The pain in my hip and my paw were really hurting now.
I licked the blood away before laying my head down on my paws. I thought about changing so my wounds would heal, except I didn’t want the bullet wound to heal over with the bullet still in my hip. When I tried to get to it with my teeth, I found it was just beyond my reach. Besides, I was too tired even to bother, so I just went to sleep.
I awoke a few hours later, hot, hungry, and thirsty. I got up searching the area. I had absolutely no idea where I was. As soon as I stepped on my paw, it started bleeding again, and my leg ached. It was so hot out; I decided to crawl back into my hidey-hole and sleep until it cooled off. When I woke up again, it was late afternoon. Deciding I would follow the sun west; I climbed out of my little cave. Inevitably, I would find my way to a town sooner or later.
I finally had a bit of luck. I managed to catch a prairie dog to snack on. It wasn’t much but helped alleviate the hunger pains a little. I limped along in pain, with both my wounds dripping blood all the way. After a few hours of walking, I came to a road. I followed it, thinking I would get to a town quicker. I should have been smart enough to hide when I heard vehicles approaching.
The truth be told, I was in so much pain by then I couldn’t think straight. I was getting weaker by the minute, so I just kept trudging along. I didn’t realize the danger until I was caught in a net.
A short time later, I was right back where I started. Three guys dragged me, snapping and snarling into a barn, then threw me in a cage. Snake came over to me, pacing back and forth in front of my cage. “I don’t know how you got in my house; nonetheless, my prize got away in the commotion.
I assume she must have hidden until we all went after you and snuck off. No matter, there’s nothing but desert surrounding us for miles. We’ll either find her or she’ll die out there; either way, she won’t be testifying against me. Meanwhile, as soon as you’re healed up a little, I’ll make some money off of a good dog fight, at least.”
Snake pushed a bowl of water and slop into the cage before he lef
t. As miserable as I was feeling, I didn’t know whether it would be better to change and let him do as he would with me or stay a wolf and fight.
Not that there was any real choice. I couldn’t give away our secret even if it meant my death. Besides, I was pretty sure as a human, I wouldn’t be given a chance to get away again, so wolf it was. I drank some water and went to sleep.
Missing Again
Peter
CJ and I made the seven-hour drive to Texas in five hours. When we arrived at the Police station, we had to wade through a horde of reporters. It had been six hours since Mia had called CJ.
We’d called the police before we left. An officer told us they had found Dakota an alley behind a bar; however, there was no sign of Mia. Some of the patrons reported they had seen Mia leaving with a man that fit Snake’s description. They were searching but had no leads at this time.
From there, we went straight to the hospital to find out what Dakota knew. Neither of us was quite prepared for how bad he looked. He was bandaged up like a mummy and out cold. The nurse explained he had a fractured skull, compound fractures in his leg and arm, three broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen.
They had repaired all the damage and had him on a morphine drip for the pain. She said we could sit with him though he probably wouldn’t wake up anytime soon. The problem was we needed him awake, like now. CJ watched the door while I went over to turned off the alarm and drip. It took another fifteen minutes before we heard Dakota moan.
“Hey man, you look like hell,” I told him as his eyes fluttered open.
“Peter? Where’s Mia?” Dakota asked in a panic.
“We were hoping you could answer that question.”
Dakota groaned out, “They must have taken her. We need to find her before, before… we need to find her. Fast! Help me shift and get out of here.” Dakota started ripping his IVs out even though it was evident by the way he was panting; he was in a lot of pain.
“Calm down. We’ll find Mia. Here let me help you up.” CJ offered.
“I’ll find you something to wear while you shift.” I offered. CJ was helping Dakota into the bathroom when I left.
I went down the hall and found the doctor's lounge. Entering like I belonged there, no one even gave me a second glance. I swiped some scrubs and a lab coat. Once Dakota was healed, we slipped out a side door past the reporters with no problem. Dakota could feel Mia in the distance to the northwest. At least she was alive.
We headed to the Oil Can. We figure a chat with the bartender would be quicker than following the bond. His eyes widened when he saw Dakota. We took him into his office to convince him to tell us where Mia was.
At first, he insisted Snake would kill him if he talked but something in Dakota’s threat, or maybe it was the way his eyes glowed gold that made the guy believe that we would do worse.
We found out this guy was one of Snake's client connections. We figured our best plan was to pretend to be a bunch of college guys looking for a good time. The bartender made a call. We made it clear to the bartender if he gave Snake any kind of warning, we’d come back and make him regret it.
The guy assured us we had nothing to worry about. If Snake found out, he’d told them anything; there would be nothing for us to come back to. Given the terror on his face, we believed him. A short time later, some goons showed up to escort us to their ranch. Dakota hid in the back of the truck while CJ and I followed them out of town.
As soon as we got inside the farmhouse, we could smell Mia. What scared me the most was the smell of her blood. A smell I was all too familiar with. Snake greeted us then called some girls down. While CJ and I started pawing at the girls, I asked for a drink and started chatting up Snake.
I commented I preferred redheads. Snake told me he was fresh out. “I would have had the perfect little beauty for you, but somehow a wolf got in here last night, and the girl ran off during the commotion. I think the beast must have scared her off or caught up with her and killed her. My guys searched all night. If she’s alive, she won’t last long out in the desert, though. Shame too, she was as hot as they come.”
I acted all surprised, “A wolf? A real live wolf? Wow, man, that would have been something to see.”
“Yeah, it charged right through that boarded up window, then ran into the desert. I got a shot off and managed to wing it. Strangest thing, though, while my guys were out looking for our girl, they caught the wolf. Got it locked up in the barn.”
I saw CJ head pop up. “Dude, you got a real live wolf in your barn? I’d pay to get a picture with a wolf. My friends back at school would freak.”
“Fifty bucks, and you can take all the pictures you want.” Snake offered. “You got it, man. C’mon Cuz, let’s get a picture to hang in the dorm.” Keeping his arm around the girl CJ was with, we followed Snake out to the barn.
Sure enough, there was Mia. Despite the blood puddled around her, she struggled to her feet, snarling and snapping as we approached. She continued even when she saw it was us. “Wow, what a beauty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wolf that color before, even in pictures. It would make the coolest mascot ever. I’ll give you ten grand for her.” I told Snake.
“No way, that beast cost me big money, letting my little beauty getaway. Besides, I’ll get ten times that in dog fights. Even wounded, that wolf is a fighter. Its gonna bring in big bucks.” He grabbed a rake and slammed the handle into Mia’s side. She yelped in pain.
I was going to try and end this peacefully, but that was the last straw. I grabbed the rake from Snake’s hands, smacking him over the head. Pushing the girl away, CJ opened the cage while I faced off Snake. When he bellowed, a bunch of guys came running. They were packing guns and surrounded us. Mia leaped from the cage knocking Snake to the ground, closing her jaws around his throat.
Dakota, silently came up behind one of the guys, taking the gun from his hand. He walked over, pointing the gun at Snake. Snake’s eyes widened when he saw Dakota. “I’d back off, boys or your boss is gonna die. That wolf will rip out his throat before you any of you can get a shot off.”
While Dakota held off the bad guys in a sort of Mexican standoff, CJ called the police. Mia was getting weaker. When she wavered, Snake took advantage, throwing her off him. She slammed against the wall of the barn, hard.
Suddenly, he had a gun aimed at Dakota. Mia leaped at him just as the gun went off; then, she crumpled to the ground. When Dakota shot Snake, his men scattered. Dakota fell on his knees next to Mia.
After a quick examination, he said, “I need to get the bullets out and have her shift.” The girl that had been with CJ asked calmly, “Is that Mia?”
We all looked up at her. “How did you…”
“Her eyes and hair color. I’ve lived on the streets long enough. We’ve heard stories. C’mon, follow me. Quick before the cops get here.”
Police sirens could be heard far off in the distance. Dakota carried Mia as we followed the girl into the house. “I’m Christine. Mia and I go way back.”
“Huh, Mia told us about you. She considers you her sister.” I told Christine.
“The feeling is likewise.” We followed Christine up to her room. She gave Dakota a knife, lighter and come whiskey. “I’ll go stall the cops. Take care of my sister.”
“I’ll go with you, come on, CJ. We’ll tell them Dakota went looking for Mia.”
When we got to the barn, Snake was dead. Christine took charge. Picking up Snakes hand, that clutched the gun, she fired it near where Dakota had been standing. “There, now they’ll have a bullet for your friend to plead self-defense as we can all attest to.”
We could see the dust from the Police cars coming up the drive. “Ok, here’s the deal, after we went up to my room you guys told me what you were really here for. I snuck you guys out here to look for Mia. Snake and his men came out and caught us.
Your friend took one of the men’s guns and had it aimed at Snake while you called the cops. When Snake fired at your friend and misse
d your friend, he fired back. The rest of Snake’s guys ran. Mia wasn’t in here, so he went to the house to look for her while we waited for the cops.”
Not only was Christine beautiful, she was smart. I only had one question. “Why would we be looking out here for Mia?”
“Take a good look around, pretty boy.” Christine challenged.
We were standing at the front of the large barn. I had noticed the long line of cages on each side, filled with pit bulls earlier. “Take a closer look.” Christine insisted.
When I looked more carefully, I realized there were cages with girls in them, too. “My God.” CJ and I both said at the same time.
“They’re the ones scheduled to be sold because they’re too strung out to be of much use anymore.”
The police got out of their cars with guns drawn. “Hands up. Nobody moves.” We did as we were told.
Dakota was walking towards us with a group of girls and Mia in his arms. She was wrapped in a blanket. She had her arms around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder. She looked pale but unharmed. She gave me a weak smile. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey, Sunshine,” I said back.
It turned out Snake had twenty or more girls out here. They ranged from twelve to thirty. None were in very good shape. Some of the girls in the cages were too sick to even walk. The police immediately called for ambulances and back up.
After the Police got our story, they scolded us for coming out here on our own. We were permitted to leave but told to file a police report at the station in the morning. We took Mia’s sisters with us and all piled into CJ’s truck. Mia fell asleep in Dakota’s arms. She slept all the way back to the hotel.
Needless to say, the other two girls, who had helped Dakota remove Mia’s bullets, had questions. We answered them honestly. It wasn’t like we could come up with any other reasonable explanation after what they’d seen. We did emphasize it was imperative to keep our secret.