Authors: Naomi Clark
When we reached the place Glory and I had
fought Sly, I stopped, shifting my weight and whimpering to catch
the others’ attention. Eddie and Moira fell back to me. Eddie
cocked his ears and tilted his head, as much of a questioning
expression as a wolf could manage. Since I couldn’t tell him that
my nerves had finally overridden my exhilaration, I dipped my head,
pretending to be scouting for scents. In reality, I was a tangle of
memory and fear.
I could smell my own blood now, preserved by
the cold weather. And I could see the furrows in the frozen earth
where Glory had dragged me out of the water. Once more my mouth
stung, even though the wound there was well healed now. My legs
shook and it took all the strength I had not to turn tail and
run.
I pictured Molly’s thin, scared face and
steeled myself. She’d gone through far worse than I had at Sly’s
paws. I held onto that thought as I raised my head to look at Moira
and Eddie again. He was shifting impatiently, she was snuffling
around at the water’s edge, clearly picking up on mine and Glory’s
musk there.
Eddie yipped at her and snapped at my ear. I
flinched away, following meekly when he set off. As we moved deeper
into the wilder part of the reserve, I noticed human scents as well
as the werewolf ones. I thought I picked out Oscar, but it was too
faint to be sure. The idea rattled me. After what Vince had told me
this morning about Oscar, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to
imagine he’d run here for more Silver Kiss.
And over it all, Sly’s scent burned in the
air like a living thing, spiked with Silver Kiss. Back and forth
he’d come, countless trips to and from the city to supply his
desperate customers, or lure them here.
We followed the river round a sharp bend and
then all stopped at the same time, like we’d hit an invisible
barrier. A large barn loomed out of the shadows ahead. The stink of
werewolves, humans and spilled blood permeated the air. If I’d been
human I might have gagged on it; to my wolf-self it was an
interesting, even exciting smell. Cars were parked haphazardly
around the barn, though there were no lights on inside.
So this was it. This was where Molly had
been forced to perform for her fix. I growled and Eddie echoed me.
Moira flicked her tail and dropped low to the ground, surveying the
scene. As far as I could see, the place was deserted. Was Sly back
in the city, dealing drugs or dumping bodies?
Eddie slunk towards the barn, low and slow.
I settled down with Moira, waiting for the alpha’s signal.
Best-case scenario—Sly was elsewhere and we could free any wolves
who might be inside and leave. Worst case—everyone was elsewhere
because Sly had been tipped off and we’d wasted the trip here. I
really hoped that wasn’t the case. The cars implied there might be
people around somewhere, but…
A cracking twig behind me was the only
warning I had. Before I could even whip round, Sly pounced.
I rolled reflexively,
dodging before his teeth closed on my throat. His weight crushed me
to the ground though with no way for me to shake him off.
Bastard!
He’d hidden
downwind from us, had probably been following us since we first
entered the reserve. I writhed under him, trying to dig my claws
into him. Moira leapt at him, knocking him off me and scraping her
own claws over my belly in the process. I yelped and twisted onto
my feet. Moira and Sly circled each other warily. She was bigger
than me—not as big as him, but still large enough to make him
wary.
I barked for Eddie, but he’d vanished into
the shadows and I could hear human voices. A thrill of fear ran
through me. A few seconds later, Eddie’s gravelly howl split the
night, summoning Moira and I.
Her head jerked up, her attention off Sly
for a fraction of a second. It was all the time he needed to dash
in and take her down. He struck her leg, fangs ripping through
flesh and sinew. Moira howled as she collapsed, almost drowning out
the sick crunch of snapping bone. I lunged at Sly, grabbing his
ruff and yanking him away from Moira as hard as I could.
We sprawled on the hard earth and he pulled
free of my grip, leaving me with a mouthful of fur. I spat it out
and rounded on him just as Eddie howled again. Sly shot past me
towards the sound, leaving me torn between Moira and the alpha.
Moira lay on her side, her damaged leg
bleeding heavily. I bounced over to sniff the wound. Ripped muscle
and wet bone gleamed dully in the feeble moonlight. I tentatively
licked at the bloody mess and she snarled at me, biting at me. Her
teeth scraped my nose and I jerked back.
Eddie howled once more, frantic now, and
human yells and jeers rose up in the night. I abandoned Moira and
raced towards him.
In a ring of cars, Eddie and Sly circled
each other. A handful of humans, all reeking of beer and bloodlust,
stood around them. One clutched a length of pipe. The others were
unarmed. Sly and Eddie feinted at each other while the humans
whooped and cheered. I guessed that this was just another version
of the games Sly set up for them here all the time. I crept closer,
hiding between a couple of the cars.
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.