Slain

I’m wrecking this evening already and loving every minute of it

Ruining this banquet for the mildly inspiring and?

-There’s a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, Panic! at the Disco

“I’m like, 75% sure that this is counterproductive,” I say as I trudge behind Fluffy, dreading this dinner we’re heading to.

A few hours after Fluffy and I went up to his room, a dress and matching shoes were brought up, bringing my attention back to my fast approaching doom. I still don’t know what to think about this whole situation, much less how to get Zane and I away from these wolves. I have, however, decided that Fluffy is missing a few screws up there, because there’s no way he’s this good of an actor.

Fluffy sighs at my weak attempt at talking him into not making me go to the dinner. “I don’t think you understand what counterproductive is.”

“I most definitely do and this most certainly is at least 75% that.” He holds back a laugh, trying not to encourage my behavior, but it’s too late. I’ve already caught him, which leads me to believe that I’m getting closer to getting him on my side. “So instead of counterproducting, you can just show me to my room and I’ll be off to bed, causing absolutely no problems and not wasting time productiving...counterly...” I frown at the last half of my argument, a bit confused on what exactly I was trying to say.

Fluffy openly snorts at my words this time. “Like I would believe that. There’s no way you’re being left in a room alone for a long period of time. And what is it with you and the word counterproductive all of a sudden?”

“I’m trying to sound smart and persuasive,” I shrug. “Apparently it’s not working.”

“Look, if I didn’t have to make you go to this, I wouldn’t, but this isn’t my choice.”

We near a set of double doors that muffles a soft chatter drifting from within.

“Yeah, whatever. The food better be good,” I grumble, giving up on trying to talk my way out of the dinner.

Fluffy ignores me, reaching the double doors and pulling one open. Behind the door is a brightly lit room, a large metal chandelier dangles from the ceiling above a long, wide mahogany table. Most of the matching chairs are filled with males and a few females. Lining the stone walls are female servers just waiting for the command to begin dinner.

As soon as Fluffy opens the door, all eyes turn on us. My back stiffens involuntarily at the sight of so many wolves and my mind begins running through escape plans, still unsure about the actual content of this dinner. My shoulder squared and my face set into a stony glare, I walk in, as prompted by Fluffy. He closes the door behind us and leads me to a pair of empty seats near Scruffy who sits at the head of the table. A woman with caramel toned skin and rich brown hair sits to Scruffy’s left; I assume she’s his mate as Fluffy pulls out my chair for me.

“Ajax, Jack! How are you?” Scruffy asks with a smile as I take my seat. Fluffy takes the seat on Scruffy’s right, just on my left, as he replies, “we’re good, alpha.”

“Uh, actually, I’m not,” I say before Scruffy can say anything. He looks over to me, taken aback. “I feel like this is counterproductive.” I ignore his bewildered expression and Fluffy’s murderous gaze.

“And why is that?” Scruffy seems genuinely curious about my answer.

“Because while we’re sitting in here talking about who knows what, I could be sleeping. Or literally anything else other than listening to all of you drone on about stuff I don’t care about.” Fluffy puts a hand on my knee in warning, but I ignore him completely.

Scruffy has regained his composure by now, so he doesn’t outwardly react to my words this time. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Jack, but this dinner is actually all for you.”

“Mmm, is it really though?” I squint my eyes at him in question. “’Cause I certainly never asked for this. I don’t even know why we’re here to be perfectly honest. Fluffy explained it to me, but it still doesn’t really make sense to me since I have absolutely no say in anything. Why do I have to suffer through this dinner if my opinion won’t be taken into account?”

The others sitting around the table watch Scruffy and I’s encounter with wide, disbelieving eyes. Scruffy sits back in his chair thoughtfully. “You’re right, Jack. Why don’t you give us your opinion, then.”

“I was going to anyways,” I say, unappreciative of his obviously sarcastic comment.

“Jack,” Fluffy finally growls out. I glance over to him, remembering something.

I point my finger at Scruffy and say in my best tattle-tail tone, “he’s looking at me.”

Fluffy covers his face with his hands in a mixture of anger, mortification, and disbelief. To my surprise, someone farther down the table begins laughing. I turn to find the culprit, my eyes landing on Akira. I hadn’t noticed him, or the Captain who sits across from him, when I walked in.

Deep, rumbling laughter sounds from my left making me redirect my attention on Scruffy, who has begun laughing at me. Now that Scruffy is laughing, the others at the table seem to think it’s okay and follow suit. I’m left sitting in confusion as the whole table, minus Fluffy, fill the room with hearty laughter. I was trying to be offensive, not funny.

Fluffy removes his hands from his face and locks eyes with me, still unamused despite the laughter now filling the room. “We weren’t in here two minutes before you caused problems,” he hisses. “What happened to not pissing off the people we need on our side?”

I frown, just now remembering that discussion. “Sorry, I get cranky when I’m hungry.”

The laughter dies down around us and Scruffy speaks again. “You’re very unusual.”

I find his comment offensive and Fluffy can apparently tell because he slaps his hand back onto my knee and speaks before I have the chance. “Yeah, she definitely is.”

“A bit disrespectful,” a man near Akira says. I make a face at that. I’m not disrespectful, I just don’t like being told what to do.

Luckily, no one acknowledges that comment and Scruffy signals for the meal to be served. The women standing around the room immediately begin bringing steaming bowls to each person seated around the table. As my bowl is placed in front of me, I peer down at the steamy liquid in disappointment. This is all we get?

I look over at Fluffy, debating on whether it’s a big enough issue to bring up. Scruffy begins sipping at the broth and it’s as if everyone else at the table had been given a silent signal to eat as well. Everyone picks up their spoon in unison and sip their broth while I watch in confusion. Wolves are so cult-y, I swear.

Fluffy nudges my arm gently. I meet his eyes and he gestures for me to eat. Carefully, I pick up my spoon and sip at the broth as some of the males near the middle of the table begin small talk. As soon as each person finishes their broth, a servant is there to whisk the bowl away. The conversation begins to drift back to me as the last bowl is removed from the table and plates of steaming food are brought out. I’m relieved as a plate is placed on the table before me, taking in the freshly grilled meat, potatoes and greens. The conversation momentarily pauses as Scruffy takes the first bite, quickly followed by the rest of the table.

After a few moments of contented silence, a man with near black hair and sharp, intelligent eyes breaks the silence. “Traditionally, she would act as the beta female and assist the Luna with her duties as well as counseling the pack, but is she capable of such responsibility?”

I listen to his words with narrowed eyes, chewing slowly as I think. I never wanted to be part of a pack and I certainly never thought I would have a highly influential position anywhere, but hearing people question my ability to do something really rubs me the wrong way. “Hang on,” I say, cutting off whatever the captain had been saying. “Why wouldn’t I be capable of any of that?”

“To begin,” the black haired man says, his tone biting. “You’re an outsider, you don’t know how we do things here, you’re too hot headed to make rational decisions, and you have done nothing to gain our trust.”

“First of all, I’ve been here about two days, and most of that time I was locked in a cell, so I don’t see how your last point has any relevance since I haven’t had an opportunity,” I begin, angered by the man’s words. “Secondly, you don’t know anything about me, much-less what I’m capable of.”

Scruffy calmly raises his eyebrows, watching me lazily. “And what about the hot-headedness?”

“Well, I can’t really argue with that one,” I admit with shrug.

Scruffy hums in satisfaction, turning his eyes to the woman to his left. “What do you think?”

The woman turns her hazel eyes on me, her expression giving nothing away as she studies me carefully. “I think she is capable of the duties expected of a beta female. She only needs to be taught her responsibilities.”

“With all due respect Luna, I don’t think having an outsider in such a high position would be beneficial to anyone but our enemies,” the black haired man speaks up.

The Luna seems unbothered by his opinion, folding her hands neatly in her lap, her eyes sweeping over the rest of the table. “Her personality is one that demands to be followed; she could even act as an alpha female if necessary. I think we could benefit greatly from her being a leader of the pack.” The wolves around the table begin to make sounds of protest, but the Luna speaks over them, demanding their attention. “Of course, she will have to be under close watch for quite some time and will have to be taught how to lead a pack, but I am willing to work with her and I have faith that our Beta can keep her in line as well. She wouldn’t be his mate if she couldn’t handle her duties.”

I bite my lips in an attempt not to laugh at the excessive use of the word duties and Fluffy seems to notice. He nudges my arm in a silent warning to behave. The other wolves seem oblivious to my juvenile behavior, too caught up in the seemingly detrimental opinion being delivered to them.

Scruffy nods in agreement with his mate, seeming won over by her argument. “Those are all very good reasons to allow her the beta female position. Disagreements?”

“The luna has brought up some interesting points, but I feel that the danger of having one of our biggest enemies in a leading position of the pack would cause more harm than good,” the captain says. The other wolves around the table nod in agreement with his words.

“She could cause the fall of our pack,” another wolf says, building off of Denim’s words.

The other wolves nod more vigorously in agreement. “We don’t know what kind of communications she has with her people here. We can’t afford to let her in on any of our packs important business.”

“Slayers don’t have communication with each other the way we do. The only way she would be able to communicate with her people is if someone here were to help her,” Scruffy says. He doesn’t seem to see me as a threat, which I still find offensive.

“Can I have an input,” I say, raising my hand. All eyes fall on me so I take that as a yes. “I never asked to become a part of this pack, first of all.”

“See, she doesn’t even want the position,” one of the wolves says, cutting me off.

“I wasn’t finished,” I grind out, giving him a glare. “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. I didn’t ask for this, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of whatever duties you’re talking about. And the whole “giving my people your secrets to help destroy you all” thing doesn’t hold any water because I was abandoning my village when you guys abducted me. I was basically kicked out and even if I hadn’t been, they wouldn’t trust anything I told them anyways.”

The captain spreads his hands in a sort of “I told you so” gesture. “Even her own people didn’t trust her. So why should we?”

“Hold up,” I say incredulously. “I just told you I had no reason to rat you out to your enemies and you go and turn that around to use against me? It sure sounds like you’re looking for any reason not to trust me.”

“Why didn’t your people trust you?” The luna asks patiently.

I slowly peel my glare from the captain to look at the luna. “Because I was too vocal. I wasn’t passive enough for them. One thing about Slayers is they don’t like their women to talk back. That’s not something I’m too fond of.”

The luna nods, seeming satisfied with my explanation. “I don’t think we have any reason not to allow her a chance at her rightful duties.”

“You mean other than her race?” the captain says, earning a growl from both Scruffy and Fluffy. “Forgive me.” He bares his neck to his alpha and beta, lowering his head in respect.

“It’s decided then,” Scruffy says with finality. “She will be allowed to learn her rightful duties and evaluated based off of that.”

All of the wolves at the table apart from the luna bow their heads at the alphas words. With that finished, we all finish our meal in relative silence. Once all plates have been removed, dessert is brought to the table, a type of cobbler it seems. I’m nearly stuffed, but somehow find room in my stomach to put away the slice.

With dessert finished, the wolves begin to excuse themselves from the room, heading to bed. Fluffy leans toward me slightly, asking, “are you ready to leave?” I nod, ready to be away from all of these wolves that obviously despise me as much as most of the people in my village.

At my response, Fluffy stands, turning to the alpha and his mate. He bares his neck to them in what I assume to be a show of respect. “Thank you.”

They nod their heads in acknowledgment. I stand, nodding at them both, unsure of the whole neck baring thing. They nod back, not taking offense.

“I would like to meet with you tomorrow to begin discussing your position,” the luna says to me. I nod in response, not sure what else I can say. It’s not like I have a choice, I’m still basically a prisoner here.

Fluffy turns, putting a hand on my back to lead me from the room. I allow him the contact so that I don’t cause a scene in front of the other wolves who are already doubtful of me, though my first instinct is to jerk away from his touch.

As soon as we’re a good distance from the room, completely alone, I step out of his reach, glaring up at him. “Paws to yourself, sir.” He rolls his eyes but doesn’t make a move to touch me again. I begin to realize we aren’t headed to his room. Looking up at him questioningly, I ask, “Where are we going?”

“Home,” he says simply. I’m not gonna lie, the way he said that sent tingles through my body and butterflies flutter in my stomach. I scold myself, pushing the strange feelings away as we walk out of the large, castle-like stone building into the cool night. The light flickering in the distance from the rest of the pack is actually breathtakingly beautiful against the ink black sky and twinkling stars as it creates a warm glow that encompasses the well built log buildings. A gentle breeze blows as we walk, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin from the approaching fall weather. Fluffy notices and says gruffly, “We’re not too far.”

We walk down the well-kept cobblestone road past building after building, most of them with pitch black interior. It seems that we’re walking through the middle of the pack with all of the shops. Most of them are closed now, only a few with warm firelight dancing in the windows and happy chatter pouring from the open doors.

“Hopefully I can give you a tour of the pack soon,” Fluffy says, noticing my wandering eyes.

“Okay,” I breath absentmindedly, too entranced with the homey feel of the town before me. Even though the streets are deserted, I get a warm, comforting feeling; a feeling I never got from my village. It feels, dare I say, like home.

Fluffy leads me down a branching road that seems to lead toward a residential area of the pack. We pass many nice homes, all of them well taken care of with nice, neat landscaping and sleek architecture. We come to the twelfth house on the right, a medium sized house just as neat and sleek as the others we passed, but seeming to be missing something that I can’t quite place. Fluffy leads me up the porch steps, across the large cedar porch and to the front door. He stoops to pick up a package that lays in front of the door before pulling out a set of keys and slipping one into the black lock. Turning it until it clicks before turning the handle, he pushes the door open and steps inside. I follow hesitantly, closing the door behind me.

A light flickers to life in the middle of the room before a lamp is lit, brightening the room enough to see. My eyes run across the spotless room, taking in the sleek cedar floors, large stone fireplace and vaulted ceiling. A couch and a few chairs sit in the middle of the room around a darker wood coffee table in front of the fireplace. Fluffy now crouches in front of the fireplace, working on getting it lit as I take in the house. To my right appears to be a dinning area followed by a kitchen, though it’s hard to tell due to the lack of light in that area of the room.

Out of curiosity, I wander over to the dark area. Once my eyes adjust to the darkness, I’m able to make out a dining table with four chairs around it and, as I suspected, a kitchen farther in the darkness. Light suddenly flares up on my left and I turn to find Fluffy lighting a lamp that’s mounted on the wall leading into the kitchen. I hadn’t even heard him walk over here.

I direct my attention to the now lit kitchen, noticing how small and cozy it is. There’s a stove against the left wall, a pot rack is mounted above it with iron pots and pans hanging from it. Black wooden cabinets line the other three walls, with the exception to the area where a closed door stands against the back wall, probably leading to the ice room. On the right wall is a small window over a black iron sink and faucet surrounded by cabinets until they reach the small division into the dining room.

“Do you like it?” Fluffy asks, startling me.

I look over at him, unsure of how I should feel or even respond. I actually like it a lot, but I now realize what the other houses seemed to have that this house doesn’t. The house is beautiful in architecture and was obviously built to feel cozy and homey, but it lacks a personal touch. It’s as if no one lives here at all. “I do. Is it yours?”

He nods. “Every high ranking wolf is given a home of their own. I don’t spend much time here though.”

“Why not?” I ask curiously.

He shrugs, his eyes running over the kitchen as he thinks. “It’s too empty, I guess.” I nod in understanding. We stand in silence for a few seconds before Fluffy clears his throat. “Come on, I’ll show you your room.” He turns and walks across the living room to the other side of the house where a short, dark hallway stands. Following him into the hallway, he gestures to a door immediately to our left. “That’s the office.” We walk past it to the only other door standing at the very end of the hall. Fluffy pushes the door open, going to light the lamp across the room. Once the lamp is lit, I’m able to see a large bed with its headboard against the wall sitting with a nightstand on either side of it, lamps mounted just above them. A wardrobe is pushed against the right wall and a rather large fur rug lays across the wood floor. On the left wall is a door, which I assume leads to the bathroom. On the wall next to the bathroom door is a small stone fireplace as well.

Fluffy goes to the wardrobe across the room and places the package that he still has in his hands onto the floor of the already stocked closet. “Those are your clothes. More should arrive within the week.”

“Is this your room?” I ask suspiciously.

He nods, walking over to the fireplace and lighting it as he says, “I’ll sleep in the living room. As long as I can trust you aren’t going to try to run away while I sleep?”

I snort, finding that funny for some reason. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to escape while you sleep.”

He stands, brushing his hands off and points to the door on the left wall, “That’s the bathroom. Come get me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” He walks past me out into the hall. “Thank you,” I say softly as he passes, surprising myself.

He smiles at me over his shoulder before disappearing into the living room. Confused with myself, I close the bedroom door and walk over to the wardrobe, opening the package in the bottom to find a set of neatly folded pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. I slip out of my dress and into the soft, warm pants and top before flopping onto the large bed and crawling under the plush covers.

I feel kinda bad kicking him out of his own room, but there’s no way I’m letting him sleep in the same bed as me and he definitely won’t allow me to sleep in the living room where the only real exit is.

What he doesn't understand is that I can’t leave here until I can get Zane out, so he doesn’t need to worry about me running away. At least for now.

Snuggled down in the warm blankets, the soothing sound of the crackling fire lulls me quickly into a deep sleep.