Page 26 of Dawn of the Pack

She hands it to Nielsen smugly. “Here you are, sir.”

“Incredible.” His expression is awed and yet calculating, as if he’s considering how easily she could put a similar leash around his neck.

After a beat, he switches his focus to me. “Alright Leaf, I’m going to ask you one more time before I make you come with me. This doesn’t have to be hard; in fact, I’d prefer to do it nice and easy. Wouldn’t you?”

That he’s got a leash and is now threatening to forcibly remove me solidifies the feeling that nothing good waits for me outside this room. I know, logically, that it won’t pay me to resist; clearly he’s going to get his way no matter what. However, I can’t force my body to stop fighting in the face of such an imminent threat.

Nielsen shakes his head slowly, as if he’s a loving but disappointed father. “How does this thing work, Miss Wintree?”

“Just give it a tug like a normal leash. You’ll see.”

Without missing a beat, he yanks on the leash, hard. I was expecting a powerful pull; I was not prepared for an irresistible force that throws me across the room to land sprawling at his feet. The side of my face smacks the concrete floor, causing immediate stars to dance in my vision and a throbbing pain to spread from the impact. The rest of my body feels as though I’ve just been hit by a car, and I can do nothing but lie there and gasp for breath once again.

“Well, I’ll be,” Nielsen comments, as if he just witnessed something mildly entertaining. “I guess I don’t know my own strength!” He laughs at his own joke and Azalea joins in, her affected peals sounding rather forced.

Still chuckling, Nielsen crouches by my side. “Now, I’ll give you another shot, son. Are you going to walk, or is this how it’s going to be?”

My attempt to answer shoots immediate fire down my throat, so I nod in response, gasping for breath.

“Good, we’re understanding each other. Now, why don’t you hop up and we’ll head to your new room.”

Trying to ignore the shooting pains across my body, I force myself from the ground and bring my feet beneath me, standing shakily. My vision is blurred, my head spinning, but I stay erect and try to appear uneffected by the shocking blow.

“Good boy,” Nielsen comments, as if he’s training a rottweiler who just performed a trick. “Now we’ll head out the door and swing a right. As long as you don’t resist, I won’t pull, understood?” I nod again, and follow him stiffly when he walks toward the doorway that Billy disappeared through a moment ago.

Azalea’s heavy boots clomp behind me, and once we pass through the door, Nielsen says dismissively, “That’s all, Miss Wintree. I’ll call you when we need you.”

I don’t have to turn and see her face to know his abrupt dismissal pisses her off. “I think not,” she replies hotly. “I have a vested interest in making sure-”

“That’s all I said!” Nielsen thunders. “If I have further need of your services, I’ll let you know. Now get out! Billy, will you kindly show this witch to the door?”

Eager with anticipation, I turn to watch Azalea’s reaction. If she loses her shit for just a moment and strikes him, there’s a chance he’ll drop the leash and I can make my escape. Grannie could certainly undo the spell on this collar, and then I can go back to Smoky Falls.

But it’s a vain hope. Despite her face turning red with fury, Azalea doesn’t make a single move against Nielsen. Billy approaches her cautiously, gesturing her down a hallway that splits from ours, and in a huff, she turns on her heels and stomps away. “You’ll hear from me soon!” she shouts back at us threateningly.

Nielsen acts as if she doesn’t exist and continues down the hall. “Come along, son.”

I fall into step a few paces behind him, supremely aware of his grip on the leash. This place is like a maze; I try to keep track of all the lefts, rights, and forwards we take, but my brain’s too muddled and given that I arrived with a bag over my head, I don’t even know how I got to my old cell from the outside.

It’s obvious when we reach my new room: two guards are already waiting outside. My heart is absolutely racing in dread of what’s coming, but I follow Nielsen dutifully through the door.

To my utter surprise, the room has all the things he promised. There’s a comfortable-looking bed, a nightstand with a lamp that emits a warm glow, and a dresser. A stack of towels and clean clothes sits on the bed, and a doorway to the left reveals a small bathroom.

It’s not until I turn to my right that the full story hits me. Where the left side is a snug little space with a decidedly cozy feel, the right is an industrial wall-to-wall metal cage like you’d expect to find in a kennel. The interior is nearly featureless except for a large, sinister looking drain in the floor.

And directly behind me, just outside the cage, hang a number of torture devices on long poles, locked in a clear plastic case. Some look like sharp stabbing or cutting instruments, and one I’m fairly certain is a cattle prod. I don’t know what half of them are, which is even more disturbing.

“See?” Nielsen gestures. “Just like I promised.”

The memory of the searing pain when I tried to speak is still at the forefront of my thoughts, so I keep my mouth firmly closed. My eyes dart to him in alarm, and he knows what I’m thinking without me having to say it.

“Well, son, now that you’re here, we have a minor problem. I can’t claim you as my heir, truly, until you shift and prove you’re a wolf under that sheep’s clothing. I didn’t build this room for you, mind. It’s common for some folks to need help connecting with their wolves. So we have a program and it’s actually quite successful; often people just need the right motivation if they’re struggling to shift.”

Seeing my disgusted expression, he pats my shoulder in what I suppose is meant to be a reassuring way. “Don’t worry, son, we don’t start with the hard stuff. Tonight you’ll get yourself cleaned up, have a nice meal, and a good night’s rest in a cozy bed. Tomorrow we’ll get to work at Level 1. And if that’s all it takes, the better for everyone. But if you don’t respond to the treatment, well… let’s just say things get a bit more complicated. For those who struggle, we find that sharing the room with the cage, even when you’re not in it, is extremely motivating. I hope you won’t learn that lesson tomorrow.”

And with that, he unhooks the leash from my collar, smiles benignly, and strides back through the doorway, whistling.

Chapter Eleven

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