Chapter 2
2248 Words
~Thomas~
I run all the way to an empty clearing, feeling confused, upset, alone and she is a figment of my imagination, great! I can’t even get that right!
Selena “Yes, you can my darling Thomas. I am real.”
I hear her silky voice close to me, her hand stretching out from nowhere and she materializes as if walking through water. Her blood-red eyes shining against her pale skin, covered by her red hood making it hard to see other features. Next to her is a beast of a wolf standing upright.
Selena “Thomas, this is Xavier. He will be showing you the ropes for now, until you have learned how to change willingly.”
Wait, what? I can change? At will?
Selena “Yes my dear wolf and many, many other things,”
She says when I look up at her. Fangs appear from her beautiful lips and I realize, I am in HELL. She turns around and leaves disappearing into the nothingness.
Xavier “Don’t let her scare you,”
He says in my mind walking me through the watery divide. How the hell did he do that!
Xavier “I sired you. You and I can communicate via telepathy, it’s called the link, oh and our mistress over there can also communicate with us this way because her blood runs through our veins.”
He explains while we enter the square, looking up to where the beautiful vision stands on the first-floor balcony.
Xavier “That is Selena, our mistress. But you should call her mistress. She gives each of her pack a ration of her blood per day to make us stronger than your normal werewolves. Her coven feeds on the townspeople, never killing them, but the night I bit you, she wanted you turned for some reason.”
He hands me a bowl of raw meat and I pull away at first but it smells so good.
Xavier “There, for now, you eat on the ground. You have some growing to do before you can walk like the rest of us.”
He takes a packet of blood and pours it out over the meat.
Xavier “Eat and when you are done, take your bowl over there.”
He points to the washbasin.
Xavier “Don’t wonder how to figure it out. The guys here…”
He slaps a guy on his shoulder who looks over at me.
Xavier “Will get you settled in the packhouse. Tomorrow we start with your training. Can’t have the mistresses guard with a weak link.”
He says laughing as he walks off and climbs the stairs to Selena. He bows his head when he reaches her and changes into the form of a man, a naked man making me look away as fast as lightning, earning me another table of wolves laughing at me. Everyone watching the new pup and his f*ck ups! I will show them. I will be the best puppy there ever was. If she wants me so badly, there must be a reason. I will train, and eat and train and eat until I am bigger than all of them.
They make me sleep on the floor by the door that night. It is hazing, making me part of the group that I protect them the first night. I am here to show how strong I am. Stupid wolves, like anything, will happen to them in a hidden castle! Filled with wolves and vampires, way stronger than me. Stupid wolves!
The first day I shove my bowl with my nose to the basin, getting dirt in my nose and sneezing for almost an hour. Day two after finishing breakfast meat, I pick up my bowl with my mouth crunching a bit too hard on the metal, digging a hole into the side. The cook does not look happy with me.
Cook “This will be your bowl from now on!”
He scowls, and I give him a nod in agreement and trot off to the square as if I am a royal prince, only to be grabbed by the nape of my neck by Xavier.
Xavier “Got the bowl figured out I see, even pissed off cook at the same time. Well done pup.” he laughs. “Today we are going to teach you how to move through the woods without being seen. If one of the pack or myself see you, we will be hunting you. This will go on until just before sundown. Survive today and you will live to see another day. If you don’t well then you will be tonight’s dinner.”
He smiles. His smile fading when he keeps quiet for a second and suddenly growls, looking up at the trees.
Xavier “You are lucky, mistress has specifically instructed that you not be harmed. We are only to tag you!”
He looks over to the other wolves who growl. Oh boy, this is going to make my life interesting in the packhouse.
Xavier “Now RUN!”
He shouts and I look like a black puff of smoke disappearing in the woods. I zig and zag until I am completely lost hiding behind a big tree trying to see if I can see anyone coming when
Selena “They are going to find you this way my little Thomas.”
She says right behind me, nearly making me jump right out of my furry skin.
Selena “The wind is behind you, blowing in their direction, no amount of hiding will save you, they can smell you.”
She smiles.
Thomas “What do I do?” I ask her panicked. “Xavier wants to eat me for dinner!”
Selena “He won’t dare!”
She says in a loud rumbling voice and lightning strikes above making me cringe.
Selena “My darling Thomas, let me teach you”
She runs her fingers through my fur giving me shivers.
Selena “I hope those are good shivers”
She smiles.
Selena “When you are being hunted, first you make sure the wind is blowing towards you so you can smell where they are.”
She helps me backtrack up behind them, my scent everywhere confusing them.
Selena “Then you need to divide and concur my dear Thomas. If you are on your own, you can’t take on a pack by yourself, so you need to be stealthy and take them out one by one.”
She shows me how to sneak up on them without making a sound. On my first try, I step on a stick thinking that is it! I’m going to be wolf meat.
Selena “Keep still and stay down.”
She whispers sitting down next to me. The wolf had looked in my direction but when he saw nothing and couldn’t smell anything he walked on.
Selena “See?” she asked. “Now let’s try again.”
The rules of training are that when you are tagged you need to leave the forest and wait in the square until everyone returns. Usually, the newbie sits there first waiting all day for the pack to play out their battle game until only Xavier remains howling in the forest, his pack howling in return to congratulate him. This time Selena had another plan for her dear Xavier. She guides me through the woods, helping me tag the pack one by one, no one the wiser on who tagged them. Until they reach the square and find that I am not there yet. It doesn’t take too much for me to catch on with my military training.
It is down to me and Xavier.
Selena “Now my little pet Thomas, I have shown you how to do it. Do me proud and tag him yourself, knock him right of that thrown he thinks he owns.”
She winks at me disappearing into the treetops. I can’t do this on my own!
Selena “You can my darling, you are ready.”
I hear her whisper in my mind.
Selena “Just do what I taught you.”
I smell the air, closing my eyes listening for any movement, and for that one smell that does not belong. There! I am smaller than him, making it easier for me to move softly. Making sure I keep the wind in front of me I stay in the long grass watching him chopping away looking for his last man. He counted how many were tagged by the whistles every time someone was sent out.
Xavier “That pup must be so tired and hungry by now, poor thing. That will teach him for his attitude this morning”
He thinks to himself. He is so arrogant he does not hide or even hide his thoughts.
I concentrate to keep my thoughts quiet as mistress taught me so I don’t give myself away. Xavier used it as a trick to draw out his men, but this time nobody fell for it. He howls but no howl returns, meaning there is still someone left. He starts getting frustrated and I stay in the long grass watching him while he sniffs the wind, his ears moving back and forth. He growls getting angrier and angrier by the second. He cannot take the chance of another thought and giving away his position, but he will be damned if one of his men outwits him!
Xavier “Show yourself! Let us fight this wolf to wolf!”
He shouts but nobody shows up.
Xavier “Coward!!!”
He shouts again, turning around to walk back out of the forest. He steps right beside me, putting his paw right on top of where I placed the tag.
Xavier “What? What the f**k?”
He looks down at his paw, he has been tagged, did someone drop their tag? Was it a clever maneuver of the coward? Either way, the sun was setting and the game was coming to an end in any case. He walked back to the square with the tag in his hand wondering what happened, to find his pack waiting for him and a howl come from the woods.
Xavier “What? Someone was still there? The coward! Wait until he returns. He will be doing punishments until his paws bleed!”
Xavier growls, seeing the faces of his men he starts looking through his pack.
Xavier “Where is the mutt? I said where is that damn mutt??”
Thomas “Here I am Xavier.”
I walk in from the side where the woods are.
Xavier “You did this?”
He asks, but I can’t make out his emotion. It’s something between anger and astonishment.
Xavier “You are the coward that let me step on a tag to win a war game?”
He says.
Xavier “It doesn’t matter how you die Xavier, what matters is that you died, whether it was an animal attack, a gun, or, in your case a landmine. You died. I won.”
I say honestly without being cocky. It doesn’t take much for his pack to agree with me. He growls not knowing what to say and storms off to climb the stairs of the first floor while the rest of us adjourn to the eating hall. We hear fighting coming from the square and some of the wolves go to have a look. We have to protect our mistress, the rest of us going to have a well-deserved dinner. They will call us if we are needed. Morgan runs into the hall.
Morgan “Xavier has been chased out of mistresses room. The guards are trying to take him to the dungeons but they need help.”
More wolves run to help. I don’t get up. I am the smallest and can’t even stand on my hind legs yet. Others walk into the hall.
Wolf “Thomas, the mistress is requesting your presence in her quarters.”
Slightly growling at me
Thomas “What did I do?”
I respond, but he says nothing, just sits down with the rest of them after things have calmed down. I get up, put my bowl in the washbasin, careful not to puncture any more holes into it, and leave to go to mistress rooms. I haven’t climbed stairs in this form yet and find it a bit difficult. Out of breath I reach the top and see two guards standing in front of a door at the end of a passage. The rooms have no windows and have been covered in something very sticky that blocks out all sunlight. When I reach the door, the guards step aside, one opening the door, once inside I hear the door lock. Oh crap, she is going to eat me!
Selena “My darling Thomas, why do you always think someone is going to eat you?”
She asks, laughing.
Thomas “Because I was bitten the first time you saw me?”
I ask-say.
Selena “Well the only thing I am going to eat tonight will be something attached to you and I can promise you, it will be pleasurable and still attached to this perfect body of yours when I am done.”
Her voice gives me goosebumps, making me realize, I am back in human form, naked, NAKED, in front of a GIRL!!
- Writer
