Slain

This is the last day of my life, yours too

Better be ready ’cause it’s coming to find you

Oh no, they don’t call it a lie, it’s post-truth

And now the blackest sky is falling over

you

–Moral Panic, Nothing But Thieves

<><><>

Dinner approaches way too fast. I only had a handful of hours to brace myself to face off with the alphas again.

Fluffy grabs my hand, muttering, “It’s just dinner.”

Before we left, we agreed that a little more physical contact would help to convince the alphas of our supposed relationship. Though I don’t like being tethered to something when my fight or flight instincts are so strong, Fluffy’s steady presence helps ground me.

The door to the dining room is wide open, and the sound of voices drift out. When we come through the doorway, all the chatter stops and every eye turns on me. I grip his hand tighter, my breath catching under their heavy stares as a scowl drops over my face.

Fluffy lets go and puts a hand on my back, urging me forward. I hadn’t realized I stopped walking.

“Ajax, Jack, I hope you’re doing well,” Nexus says, appearing before us.

Fluffy nods, slipping an arm around my waist. “We are, thank you.” Surprisingly, I appreciate the contact, it helps distract me from the heavy presence of the alphas.

Nexus gestures to the table, seeming at ease. “Let’s all take our seats then.”

Everyone moves to sit, many of them still watching me with disdainful expressions. It seems the only attendants to this dinner are the alphas and their betas. Akira sits in place of Fluffy, I’m guessing because Fluffy will continue to have his position suspended until we’ve proven we really are mates.

Fluffy guides me to my seat, his body tense though his face is impassive.

“I’m surprised she can look so civilized,” the green-eyed alpha says, watching fo ra reaction as I take my seat.

“If she could still phase, it would be a different story,” another alpha mutters and I remember the drawing in the book back in Fluffy’s room. Fluffy puts a hand on my leg as if to placate me. I bite my tongue, wanting to point out that we had our own reasons and people to protect.

Nexus shifts in his seat, expression calm. “We aren’t here to antagonize the girl.”

“Then why are we here?” the blonde alpha says, leaning back in her chair.

“We would like you to have a chance to see her as she is rather than the beast you imagine her to be.” I want to protest that no matter how well they know me, they won’t see me as anything other than a beast, but I hold back. The whole goal is to bring more of them onto the side of letting me live.

A few of the alphas around the table laugh at that. “That’s what she is, no matter how good at deception she is.”

“There’s no–” I start, but am startled into silence by Fluffy dragging my chair closer to him.

He leans toward me, his breath tickling my ear as he says, “don’t give them more reason to dislike you.” My anger is momentarily forgotten as a shiver runs through me from his proximity.

Fluffy says something else, but the words are lost on me. The room is spinning and my vision blurs. My stomach lurches. I’m vaguely aware that I’m on the ground, but the burning that starts in my veins shoves that observation away in a heartbeat.

My body burns as if I were tossed into a fire; muscles melting, blood boiling. Each heartbeat is like a bolt of lightning through my chest. My stomach lurches again and hot sticky liquid drips from my mouth.

The burning intensifies. So much that I would give anything to stop it. I’ve lost all control of my body, my muscles fried from the heat. Then the pain stops in an instant. There’s a lingering ache as the cold from the stone floor seeps into my skin, but otherwise, I feel fine.

I blink open my eyes, staring up at the beamed ceiling. The room is deathly silent.

“Jack?”

I turn to face the voice. Fluffy kneels beside me, real fear in his eyes.

“I’m okay,” I croak. My throat aches at the use and I realize it’s raw like I had been screaming. I try to sit and Fluffy is quick to help me up. All of the wolves have leapt to their feet, varying degrees of alarm on their faces.

“What just happened?” An alpha demands. I glance up, suddenly exhausted.

“Damon,” Fluffy grinds out. His hands are still on me: one on my back, the other my leg like he’s afraid I might collapse again.

“How could Damon do this?” An alpha asks incredulously. I lean forward over my knees, my stomach like a rock.

Fluffy glances at me, seeming to debate whether to tell the alphas the truth or not. “He forcibly took her blood.”

By the gasps and shuffling feet, I’m guessing they all know that’s not a good thing. I notice the distance the wolves put between themselves and me. Whatever Damon has done has only made my chances of gaining the alphas’ trust that much worse.

I open my mouth to plead my innocence, to try to undo the damage Damon has done, but a snarl cuts me off. Fluffy’s hands leave me, fur sprouts along his skin, his face elongates into a snout. Within seconds a large wolf is in his place, crouched in warning. Tattered pieces of clothing litter the floor around us.

I’m confused; this isn’t going to help anything. Then I see the other wolf across the room. One of the alphas. My dulled senses somehow missed him phasing.

He snarls at Fluffy, snapping his teeth as he edges forward.

“We haven’t decided to kill her yet,” Nexus says. The command in his voice is lost on the phased alpha, his eyes only for Fluffy and I.

“Teires,” Slate snaps. All alphas watch tensely, waiting for someone to make a move.

“I didn’t do this,” I say lowly, though I know there’s nothing I can say to change their minds.

The alpha snarls at me in response, edging closer, but Fluffy snarls back, placing himself between us. With slow, clumsy movements, I get to my feet.

This is not good. If this turns into a fight, which it looks like it may, I’m in no condition to protect myself. I have no weapons and whatever Damon did took its toll on me; I’m exhausted and slow. It’s like I’m not completely in control of my body.

“Teires, enough. We have to come to a decision first,” The blonde alpha says. She’s edged her way around the room so that she and her beta are closer to Nexus and Slate. It’s then I realize the alphas have divided themselves: Slate, Nexus, and the blonde alpha on one side, the green-eyed alpha, the dark alpha, the pale alpha and the other female alpha on the other side. The remaining four alphas stand farther back, seeming unsure what side to choose.

Tieres lunges over the table; his movements are so quick for a wolf his size; I don’t have time to react. Fluffy intercepts him a growl ripping from his chest that’s so vicious it rattles my bones. I stumble back from the mass of fur as the room breaks into chaos. Wolves phase on all sides, colliding with each other. One comes straight for me and it’s all I can do to dodge his gnashing teeth. Another lunges at me out of no where, knocking me to the stone floor. I fist my hands into the fur on his face, keeping his teeth only inches from my face. My arms shake from the strain and my grip begins to slip.

I kick up under his belly, but this is an alpha, not a lower ranked wolf like I fought in the pit. It’s like kicking stone.

He twists his face from my grip and rears back. As he snaps at me again, I shove myself to the side off his snout. I kick at his face, catching him in the teeth. He yelps, pulling back at the sudden pain. This gives me enough time to scramble to my feet. I search for Fluffy among the fighting wolves, spotting him across the room.

I start toward him, but another wolf slides in my way. He licks his snout, baring his teeth as he prowls forward. I glance around, looking for anything to use as a weapon, but the table with all it’s silverware and dishes is too far for me to reach. He barks, darting forward. I crouch, preparing for the hit. Before the wolf reaches me another wolf slams into his side. They go tumbling into another pair of wolves.

A hand grabs my arm, pulling me back. I struggle against it, turning to fight my way out, but stop short. It’s Slate.

“Hurry up,” he snaps, dragging me through the occupied wolves.

“Wait–” I pull against him, fear fueling me. “Fluffy!”

“He’ll catch up,” Slate growls, tugging me out of the room. Outside wait more phased wolves, a few I think I recognize, but I don’t waste time trying to figure it out. They form a tight circle around us as we rush down the hall. The advantage of being in Fluffy’s pack is there are more allies than enemies. “Just know, I’m not doing this for you, sun-spawn.”

I shrug off the insult, too concerned about Fluffy and where we’re going to care.

“Where are we going?” I demand. I can’t stop checking over my shoulder looking for Fluffy.

“We’re getting you out.”

We burst out of the pack house. The moon is high in the sky, bright and round: a full moon.

Nails on stone scramble behind us, snarls and barks following. I turn to see Fluffy running full speed out of the pack house, three wolves on his tail. He barrels through our group of wolves, slowing to match our pace.

Before I can question what’s happening, Slate picks me up and throws me onto Fluffy’s back. As soon as I make contact, Fluffy takes off, the wolves matching him. I grab fist fulls of his fur to keep from being thrown off. Wolves break from our group, slowing the others that follow.

Soon it’s only Fluffy and I with six of his wolves, weaving in and out of the small cordwood homes of his pack. Trees loom before us, their branches reaching for the moon like worshipers. Fluffy picks up speed as we enter the thick of the trees, his wolves struggling to keep pace. Wind whips the hair in my face, branches scratching at me as we go by. I lean close to his neck to protect myself from their fingers.

I can still hear the pound of feet and snarls of wolves. Movement ahead catches my attention and I grip Fluffy tighter.

“Watch out,” I shout. Just as quickly, Fluffy changes direction. The wolves ahead run along side us, snapping their teeth, but Fluffy dances out of the way, his wolves throwing themselves between us before they can make contact. With each of Fluffy’s wolves that engages with an enemy, another takes it’s place along side and behind us.

I feel helpless watching as wolf after wolf sacrifices himself for me. If only I could do something.

The wind drowns out the sound of rushing water until it’s right before us. I gasp, clutching myself closer to Fluffy, not having time to scream before he jumps. We sail over the rushing water, landing so close to the edge, but not close enough. We go under and I panic, tugging on him as if it’ll help us surface. The current drags us downstream, but Fluffy fights to pull us up. I choke out water as we break the surface, Fluffy paddling with all his strength to the other side. The sound of the wolves behind us is drowned out as the roar of water grows closer. The bank is within reach, a mere foot away when something slams into us.

I lose my grip on Fluffy’s back and the water is quick to sweep me away. Panic wells in my chest as I suck in water. I struggle to the surface only to be drug back under. Something grabs me by the back of the shirt, and I’m yanked out of the water. I suck in a breath.

Fluffy drags us to the shore, his fur soaked through to the skin, making him appear much smaller. I get my footing in the rocks, pulling myself up unto the bank. I turn only to see a wolf pulled by the current knock into Fluffy. He turns, snapping at the wolf, going for the throat but the wolf maneuvers out of his way. The wolf knocks Fluffy back in the water. I shout after hi, as I watch them get swept from the bank and down the river, my heart pounding.

I run beside the river watching as they alternate snapping at each other and trying to swim to the shore. Feet pound behind me and I tear my gaze from Fluffy to see a wolf running at me. I lunge for a rock, but the wolf stops short, ducking his head. Then I recognize him: Akira.

“Help him,” I demand, pointing to Fluffy and the other wolf, now much farther down the river. Instead of rushing into the water to help, he butts his head against me then tosses his head back. I don’t question it, grabbing onto his sopping fur and climbing on his back. He takes off as soon as my feet are off the ground, following Fluffy and the wolf down the river.

As we get closer, Fluffy clamps his jaws around the wolfs throat, ripping into it. The wolf struggles clumsily, but it’s a killing blow. The river sweeps him away as soon as Fluffy releases him, then Fluffy swims to the bank. I slid off of Akira’s back to meet Fluffy at the rivers edge, throwing my arms around his neck. He breaths heavily, nudging me with his nose toward his back. Reluctantly, I let go and grab ahold of his fur.

We take off into the trees again, slower than before, Akira right behind us. As I hold onto his wet fur, something hot leaks across my fingers.

“Your bleeding,” I shout over the wind. He doesn’t acknowledge it, pushing on to get us as far away as he can. I put my hand against the wound, just above his shoulder blade, hoping to stop the bleeding and hurry along the healing process.

The longer we go without sounds of pursuit, the more clearly I can think.

“We need to stop,” I say over the wind. Fluffy’s ear twitches, but he doesn’t slow.

“Ajax,” I say, knowing that he’ll know I’m serious.

Still, he doesn’t slow. I glimpse rocks through the trees. Fluffy finally slows his pace as we near them, turning slightly to run along side the rock formation. A small entrance comes into view; it looks like an animal den. He slides through it effortlessly, Akira close behind. He walks to the back of the den. The farther we go, the wider it becomes until it’s tall enough for him to stand up in human form. There, he stops. I slip off his back and he pads over to the back cave wall.

His bones crack and groan as he shifts to his human form. I turn to give him privacy. Akira trots past me and moments later I hear him shift as well. They rustle around for a moment, then light fills the cave. I turn hesitantly.

Fluffy stand beside a lantern, bare chested in only a pair of cloth shorts. I’m reminded of when he found me escaping from Damon, he looked just like this. Only this time, scratches mar his torso, teeth marks impressed on his arms.

“Are you okay?” I ask quietly, my lungs suddenly feeling like they can’t take in air.

He nods. “Are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks to you.”

Akira sits against the wall, looking just as beaten up as Fluffy.

“Where are we?” I ask, glancing around the small cavern. I notice a crevice in the rocks where they must have gotten the shorts and lanterns from.

“We have a few of these around. They’re safe places for our wolves to rest while traveling.” His voice shows how tired he is, low and gravely. “We can’t stay long.”

“You should rest,” I say, crossing my arms as a chill runs through me. “I’ll keep watch.”

He watches me for a moment, debating. “Akira–”

“Got it,” he says before Fluffy can finish. He gets to his feet and limps to the entrance where he settles down, just inside.

“How far behind do you think they are?” I ask, suddenly feeling awkward.

He slowly eases himself onto the ground, wincing. “Hopefully the river covered our scent enough to give us a days head start.”

We fall into silence, staring at each other.

“You could have died,” I finally say.

“So could you.”

I tighten my arms around myself, eying the scratches on his chest. “Do you want me to clean those?”

He shakes his head, leaning back against the stone and closing his eyes. “No, they’ll heal within the hour.” More silence. He peaks open one eye. “Come here.”

I hesitate a moment, suddenly feeling nervous. Slowly I cross the cave and sit beside him, leaning against the wall as casually as I can.

He doesn’t seem to notice as he lays down, putting his head in my lap. I breath shallowly; this is the most contact we’ve ever had but I won’t lie and say I don’t want it. I become more comfortable the longer he lays there, finding myself running my fingers through his hair, still damp with river water and sweat.

Within minutes his breathing becomes slow and deep. Though he’s asleep, I don’t stop playing with his hair. Something about the contact is soothing to me; so much so that I feel more content there, sitting on the floor of a cave with a hoard of wolves after me stroking my mates hair than I have in possibly my entire life.