Bound to the Wolfless Moon

Chapter 4: I'm Human, Right?

Stunned at my situation, I remained silent. Worried that my chest would flop out of my tank top, I wiggled a little to adjust myself. I couldn’t see anything through the bag, but I could breathe well enough not to complain. These didn’t seem like the type of people to field questions, so I kept them to myself.

After what felt like hours, I could tell we were out of the city. I heard the crunch of gravel and the thwack of tree limbs along the side of the van. My captor was silent save for even breathing. I could tell they were close, which meant someone else was driving the van. If there were only two of them, maybe I could outrun them once the van door opened. They didn’t restrain me at all, so maybe I could use that to my advantage.

I wondered where we were heading, but most of all why I would be a target. I was no one special. I might have annoyed a few people in class, but never to the extent that they would want to abduct me. Was this random? They seemed pretty coordinated for that to be the case.

Eventually the van rolled to a stop. I heard the driver door open and shut. After a moment, I heard the side door slide open and felt a tight grip on the back of my neck pulling me up to a sitting position.

“If you run, I’m going to rip your throat out. Don’t test me, I haven’t had a good chase in a long time,” the same low voice rumbled at me in a hushed tone. He sounded like he wanted me to run. Terrified, I gave a tiny nod to acknowledge my cooperation. He used the firm grip on the back of my neck to guide me into a standing position and out of the van.

Since I had a bag over my head, I couldn’t see my surroundings. I could tell there was a light in the distance. Grass tickled my ankles. I could smell pine trees and a campfire. The ground was uneven, but my captor did well to guide me without any clumsy falls.

After what would have been several city blocks, I could hear several whispering voices but couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. It got warmer as we advanced, possibly approaching whatever fire I’d been smelling.

My captor tightened his grip on my neck to pull me to a stop. I complied and did my best to remain calm. I could feel my body shaking with tension, and my eyes watered with fear. I took a deep breath to try to remain calm. I could hear steady footsteps approaching just in front of me.

I felt the bag slide over my face, tickling my nose and ears. Once my eyes adjusted, I could see an older man of around forty standing in front of me holding the bag that had been over my head. He was tall and broad with well trimmed blonde hair and a clean short beard. He wore a well-tailored suit that seemed out of place for someone spending time in the forest.

“So this is Gabriella.” He spoke, but it felt like more of an announcement than something directed at me. I tried to shrink down a little, out of habit, but the grip on the back of my neck pulled me upright and caused me to stare up at the pillar of a man. “My scribe is going to ask you some questions, and you are going to cooperate.”

As though being cued to do so, my captor guided me by my neck and sat me down on a nearby stump before releasing his grip. I took a moment to rub my neck and take in my surroundings. We were about fifteen feet from a large fire.

I could make out several shadowy figures, but not many details without making it obvious I was looking. Behind the large blonde man, I spotted Hikaru on his knees chained to a post. Their head was down, and I couldn’t tell if they were conscious. They were wearing the same thing as earlier, but looked like they’d been in a nasty fight.

Suddenly it clicked. This must have been the ‘them’ Hikaru was referring to. “But I didn’t say anything, I would never!” I called out toward Hikaru, unsure if they could actually hear me or not.

A skinny guy who looked to be about my age approached with a tablet and crouched in front of me. “Hey, keep it quiet. You don’t want to spook anyone here, got it?” His tone was soft and sincere.

He had deep red hair and his pale face was splattered with dark freckles. He tapped a few things expertly with one hand on the tablet. “Your name is Gabriella Thompson, I know where you live, work, go to school, everything. What I need to know are your parent’s names.”

I blinked up at him, obviously scared. I quietly uttered, “My uncle’s name is Greg Thompson. He lives in -” He raised a hand to cut me off.

“I know all about your uncle, I asked about your parents,” he said plainly.

I clear my throat. “My father was Geoffrey Thompson. And my mother was Valentina Colombo. They passed away when I was very young, I don’t remember them at all.” I tried to speak as clearly as possible, but it was always difficult speaking about my deceased parents Especially since I knew so little.

“Colombo…” he said passively while flicking his finger to scroll through the tablet. His eyes widened subtly as though he found something of interest. He stood and handed the tablet to the blonde man who looked it over intently. After taking his time to read whatever was on the tablet, he made a calculated approach toward me.

He reached down and tilted my chin upward to get a look at me, as though I were an entry in a dog show. “Tina failed to report any offspring before her disappearance. She must have known we wouldn’t be pleased to hear of her union with her mystery man.” He jerked his hand away from my face and turned toward Hikaru.

“This is great news for you, though. Looks like we have a use for her after all, which means you get to keep your little plaything.” The blonde man walked over and placed a firm grip on a handful of Hikaru’s shiny hair, lifting their face to look at me. Their eyes were open, but just barely. They looked exhausted and ashamed. Their perfect lips were cut and swollen.

“Since our least favorite omega pup has chosen to be so careless as to reveal himself to you, that puts the whole pack in danger. You’re extremely fortunate in being kin. If you were human, I would have no choice but to kill you both for the security of the pack.”

My eyes widened when he said I wasn’t human. Obviously I was human. What else would I be?