I have seen packs before, the mini-cities they create surrounding themselves to keep a secure border or barrier between them and the human world. Always far enough away from the accidental human who might trapeze across their lands unknowingly but close enough to be able to import and export products as needed.
It all makes sense, the distance, and the secrecy. I had grown up not knowing a single thing about the packs that clearly surrounded me. Humans and werewolves were never intended to live together. It seems unnatural and unlikely that such powerful beings have a desire to not lord over the weak and meek humans. By keeping them separate, they are protecting the humans and their young children.
Yet this pack, this pack, is different. The city is run down. Humans mingle with wolves and vice versa. On closer inspection, everyone looks different. Some look sickly and thin, while others look soulless and angry. This pack is beyond broken an
*Axel*The door closes behind me, but I am too exhausted to even turn to see who is coming in. It’s always the same people with the same goal. Nothing that ever comes through that door is good at this rate. I think I would much rather not know what to expect. I can hear the shuffling feet and I ready myself for them to come closer and restrain me like they always do.I play through my mind the different techniques they could try this time; they have tried none of the basic torturing methods used in the human world. I have heard water logging is terrible. I am so absorbed in my own mental preparations that I almost miss the audible retreating of the footfalls. It takes more effort than I am willing to admit, but I force my stiff, raw body to turn onto my back and I have to blink several times to get rid of the hallucination in front of me.Maggie lies on her side, facing me. Her leg looks like it is bent at a s
*Maggie*“GAH!” I scream as I bolt upright in a cold sweat, clutching my cracking leg.Spit flies from my lips as I breathe through the pain and try to keep my sobs to myself. I fall back grunting and sobs wrack my body, only making the pain all the worse. My muscles throb and my femur creaks as it tries to find its other half so it can heal. Each agonizing second it inches closer and closer to where it belongs. An audible snap echoes through the darkroom as I pound the ground with my first.“Mother fucker!” I drag my hand to my mouth and bite down, trying to muffle my cries. Shivers wrack my body in a confused state as every part of me tries to decide if it’s found relief or more pain.“What the fuck was that?” a voice asks softly from the corner.“Adriana?” I ask tentatively.“You know me?” She asks.I bend my legs and test it out, k
*Axel*“It’s coming whether or not you want it to,” Angus says from his chair at the other end of the long oak table.“That is something we can agree on,” I scoff.“Eat, you will need the strength for the Ultima. If he is going to transform strong wolves, then he will need his own strength.”I look at the display of various roast meats before me and I have to keep the drool from dribbling down my chin. Never in my life have I wanted for food as badly as I do at this moment. Every part of my stubborn nature wants to throw the food to the ground in defiance, but I know he is right. My body needs the energy. If I have any chance of getting out of here tonight when the moon comes up, then I need to get my strength up.Reaching out, I reluctantly take a turkey leg, a slice of ham, and a mountain of mashed potatoes. I start to eat civilly, taking a bite and politely chewing unti
A surge of power swells inside of me as my muscles tickle, and I swear I can feel every single one twitching as my clothing grows a little smaller. I close my eyes and breathe through the pressure building in my abdomen as I try to contain it, control it. If I can remain in control for long enough, then maybe, just maybe, this time, it will be different.I have sent every blue moon since my eighteenth birthday hiding from the source of my strength, fighting it off for as long as possible until it outgrew me and took me over. This time I am desperate enough to work with it so I can save the people I care about. If I can channel, or even have some semblance of control over it this time, then perhaps we stand a chance.“Brutus,” Angus calls in the distance as I try to center myself and relax, embracing each wave of power that the moon sends to me.All sounds around me disappear as I find myself swirling in
*Maggie*I stand by the window just staring at the moon, willing it to move faster. The sooner it is up, the sooner I can signal for everyone to attack. I was hoping to see Freddie one more time before the big attack, but he never came back and I’m not sure if I should be worried about it or not. It was never a definite plan, plan, but it would have put my mind at ease.I haven’t seen Adriana since they grabbed me and dragged me down to the dining room with Axel and Angus. I swear I can still feel his filthy lips on mine, and it makes me gag as I turn away from the window to contain myself. A man has never been so repulsive to me before. It’s hilarious how everyone tries to make Axel seem like he is the disgusting one when they are protecting a disgusting leech.I check the moon once more and groan at its defiance. Doesn’t it realize that I need it to do what I want? I impatiently bounce, shaking m
*Axel*Something tugs at my stomach as I try to find my way back out of my mind. I could feel Maggie, and hear her voice when she was talking about Adriana, but it had taken every ounce of my mental abilities to force the mind link to work. And now I am back to being a passenger and only feeling the emotions of the ultima. He is worried for the first time in all the years of being a part of me and I take that as a terrible sign.A low growl rolls through us in a possessive and angry manner and shows how he is letting me back in. I blink through the fog and look down at my strange looking body and around the courtyard from the tree I am perched in. There are hundreds of werewolves here armed with guns that they train on me and fire. My body acts on instinct as it leaps from branch to branch, trying to avoid getting hit.My eyes search frantically for Maggie. I can’t feel her presence any more and part of me thinks that may be a
“What about them?” “Can we have them back?” She asks, stepping forward, looking hopefully at me. I look at Billy and Jacob, who look as confused as I feel. “You are going to have to explain what you mean,” I say flatly. “Alpha Angus has many of our mates locked up, so we would fight. Or do what he wanted us to do… Can we have them back now?” The words get lost in my head as I try to comprehend how much pain they have all been in. Everything makes sense now, why Angus was able to keep a pack when he has no wolf. How they all willingly served him and allowed him to thrive off of their strength for years while he searched for me. “Yes.” I choke out, trying not to think about how terrible life must have been for each and every one of them. “Yes, you may have them back” In unison, every single wolf turns and runs through the mansion in stark silence as they move to free their loved ones from the clutches of the dead man
Maggie sags slightly and grabs hold of my arm tightly, squeezing it. I look down at her and see how pale she looks. Pain is etched on her face and I run my eyes over her, scanning for something that might cause her such pain. Alpha Wade is next to me within a moment, while his mate tends to Adriana. “The cut on her neck looks deep,” he says, bending down and looking closer. Maggie groans, holding her side, and I look down in shock. I had assumed the injury to her abdomen had already healed. Especially since she had been carrying on normally and her throat had been nearly slit. I bend down and gently pick her up, whisking her to the stairs where the lamps afford us better lighting. Maggie groans again in discomfort as I lay her as gently as possible onto the chipped steps. “Sit back Mags, let us look, ok?” She nods. Maggie’s top is drenched in her blood and I slide a glance to Wade, who waits for me to lift the hem of her s