Page 32 of The Wolf's Secret Baby

He turned slowly and curled his lip in a menacing snarl.

“You’re so weak I don’t even have to turn into a wolf to beat you,” he growled. He punched me again. I reflexively raised my hand to block the blow, but the force of it reverberated up my arm. This only seemed to anger him further. He swung again and I ducked. I hit back with a counter punch, slamming my fist against his tight stomach. His body was packed with muscles. They were taut and tight and his skin felt like armor but I knew that if I stood any hope of defeating him I was going to have to be quick and I was going to have to make every blow count. My fists moved in a blur and then I put everything I had intoan uppercut. It started from my feet. This primal energy surged upwards and traveled all the way to my fist. I rose up and struck him on the chin. Vance’s neck snapped back and there was a hushed gasp from the crowd, because Vance was rocked. He flailed back and lost his balance, teetering. Pain throbbed in my fist but I tried to shake it off. Vance then shook himself out of his stupor and turned to look at me but I realized I had done something that nobody had done for a long time, something that the wolves in the crowd might never have believed they would ever witness.

I made Vance bleed. It was just a trickle out of the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with his thumb and stared at it, as though he was stunned to see his own blood. He licked his lips and shook his head. It may not have counted for much but at least it proved that he could be wounded and that he was just as mortal as the rest of us.

“I see. First blood. I think it’s time we showed our true forms. It’s the only way this can be settled, and this has gone on long enough. It’s time to give you a lesson about the true power of wolves,” Vance said. As the last word slipped between his lips he embraced the wolf within. His body swelled and bulged, his bones breaking and reforming beneath his flesh as he shifted. His dark fur sprawled over his body and his evil, beady eyes stared at me. Soon enough his mouth was a snarling snout. Saliva dripped from his fangs, each one as deadly as a dagger.

I did the same, looking deep within myself and hearing the howl from the wolf within. It came rampaging out of me. The ancient arcane energy that governed my kind dulled the pain of my changing body. I felt the world come alive as all of my senses were heightened. I could scent Vance’s blood, the metallic tang prevalent in the air. Aggression radiated from him. It was like a drug to me. All of the anger, all of the pain, all of the abuse we had suffered coiled within me and fueled my fury.

And then there was Ambrosia. She might have cautioned me to work through my aggression and find some other way to release it but I was doing this for her. If we failed she would not be safe. I had rescued her once and now I was about to do it again. For myself, for Kull, for Ambrosia, I would do the impossible and kill Vance.

He kicked up dust as he came charging towards me. His teeth were bared and his eyes were filled with a menacing and malevolent desire for death. His claws were unsheathed, as though every single part of him was a weapon designed to tear me apart. I knew that all he wanted was to cut me into ribbons and leave me a bloodied mess on the ground. I was to be the first casualty of this war that was going to break the world in two.

But Vance had been getting his way for too long. It was time he learned that others were going to stand up to him. I snarled as I set myself, bracing myself for his impact. He came charging towards me in a whirling blur and threw himself at me. I caught him, just about avoiding his snapping jaws and swiping claws. We tumbled across the ground, our bodies entwined together, a mess of fur and dust. The crowd had fallen silent, although I could not afford to pay attention to them. Every sense and every instinct had to be focused on Vance, because if I let myself stop for an instant then it was all going to be over.

I pushed myself away from Vance and whirled around, trying to attack his flank. I reached out to swipe at him but he turned his body away. As he curled his body he tried to snatch my tail with his teeth but I just about managed to avoid this. We took each other’s measure for a while, knowing that if we gave an opening it might well have been fatal. I studied him carefully for a weakness, hoping that his arrogance might force a mistake. Then, he stalked towards me, putting aside any goading strategy, no longer trying to coax me into a mistake. No, he sought to end this and prove himself the stronger wolf, the indomitablewolf. His body was packed with muscle and the fury flowed from him. He increased his pace and threw himself at me again. He scratched and swiped. I tried to roll free but this time he had a better hold on me and I could not escape. Pain flared through my body as my flesh was opened and blood poured out. I howled in agony and fought back valiantly. I tore at his fur and felt his flesh open as well. Warm blood flowed like a river around my claws, staining them with a scarlet hue. His breath was fetid and he kept angling his jaw towards me, trying to clamp my neck and end this. I just about managed to hold him off. The wounds may have been superficial but there were so many of them they took their toll. With every drop of blood that seeped out of my body I became a little weaker. My concentration was scattered and my blows lost some of their force. He was pounding at me relentlessly and I knew that it was only a matter of time before his stamina proved more persevering than mine.

The growls and snarls were a cacophony around me. I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t going to stop until I was dead. I had suffered through so many things but I had never truly fought for my life before. Vance’s claws slashed and his teeth kept snapping at me. I held him off as best I could but his oppressive weight sought to crush me and I didn’t think I would be able to hold him off for much longer. He didn’t seem perturbed at all by the pain. It was as though it meant nothing to him. How could I possibly kill him if he didn’t show any signs of pain? Was I hurting him at all? Did he have an endless supply of blood?

And then it happened.

I could feel the mistake. I was too slow in adjusting my body and it was all the opening he needed. He slammed his claws in my stomach and pinned me to the ground. I squirmed but it was already too late. He drove his mouth to my flank and his teeth were spikes within me. I gasped and a strangled howlemerged from my throat. I looked down to see him ripping out a chunk of flesh. Black spots danced around my eyes and I willed myself to fight back but my limbs weren’t moving as they should and it was getting harder to think, and the world was becoming muted and everything seemed so far away. Was this it? Was this what it was like to die?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ambrosia

Tension was rife in my body. I kept looking towards the depths of the forest, wishing that Kull and Typhon would rush back towards me and tell me that they had been foolish for leaving, that returning to the pack was futile and they would have been able to stand a better chance of surviving by remaining with me. I feared for their lives. They promised me that they would be safe but I knew they were lying to me. I had been in their pack. I saw the way they were treated and I knew that the wolves weren’t going to give them any patience. They might have had their traditions but would they apply to Typhon and Kull? I wasn’t sure. I hated the thought that they were going to give up their lives like this. There was still so much I could learn from them, and so much they could teach me. They were my wolves…

But despite all of this I knew that I would be unable to help them. It wasn’t as though I could fight and their pack was not going to listen to reason. They had a better chance of survival than I did, so this was where I needed to be. It didn’t mean I had to like it, however.

I barely spoke to Vali. I think he knew that I wasn’t in the mood. He tried to offer his sympathy but I needed peace. He sent out his attack parties to various outposts, ready to strike. We returned to the outpost we had visited before. I remained hidden. I didn’t carry a weapon because it wouldn’t have done me much good. My breaths were shallow and my heart was racing. This might well have been the final day of my life and if I was to die then at least I could console myself with the fact that I had experienced something incredible with Typhonand Kull. I had finally put my inhibitions aside and explored the darker nature of my psyche, while pushing the limits to my sensuality. I adored both my wolves for different reasons. They had so much in common and yet they were so different as well. I was determined to see them again and if Vance did rob us of the chance to be reunited then I would find a way to make him pay. I wasn’t sure how but I would make sure of it.

Vali was accompanied by the same two warriors that had come with us before. Vali sent one of them down to the outpost gates. He pummeled the door, and then ran back into the tall grass. They had covered themselves in mud to obscure their scent. The gates opened and a wolf emerged, stepping out and looking from side to side. He seemed puzzled and shrugged. He examined the area and there was a tense moment where he might have caught the scent of the hidden warrior but then he turned back to the outpost and lumbered towards the gate. However, just as he did this, the hidden warrior emerged and fired an arrow in his back. It was shot with such force that it pierced the wolf right through his body, the tip of the arrow protruding from his chest. He looked down in shock before he fell to his knees, and then slumped to the ground. His body was dragged away, and the gates were open.

Vali and the other warrior ran down to join their assassin. They crept into the outpost and moved through the shadows. I watched from afar, given strict orders not to move. I think Vali was concerned about what Typhon and Kull might to do him if anything happened to me. They moved through the buildings, making noise to catch the wolves’ attention, and then striking swiftly and without mercy. They stabbed at necks with arrows, sliced tendons from ankles and made sure that every blow was efficient. There was no glory in this combat. Everything they did was designed to kill as quickly as possible, preventing the wolves from fighting back. This method was going to be repeatedthroughout the forest in the various outposts that Vance controlled. It was yet to be seen how successful Vali’s other warriors would be but we could only do as much as we could.

Vali and his men scoured the outpost for other wolves before he declared that we were safe. The dead wolves were piled up. I tried not to look, for it made me shudder. We followed the path inside the cave. The light was dark and it took a while for my eyes to adjust. Vali and his men did not seem to suffer the same delay. The tunnel opened towards a chamber, which was empty. I walked up to the computer terminal and began to press buttons. There was a whirr as the machinery became activated. Lights flickered to life and I gasped as I saw what Typhon and Kull had seen, so many wolves linked to tubes, their faces blank, frozen in stasis, waiting to live.

“This is monstrous,” I said. Vance had bred a generation of slaves. It made me feel sick inside. “We have to get them to wake.”

Vali nodded to his men, who raised their bows.

“It’s just a precaution. Can we start by waking just one? I’m not sure I feel comfortable with bringing all of them to life at once. They might not be as reasonable as Typhon and Kull seem to think,” Vali said. It was a valid concern. Perhaps it was for the best that my wolves were not with us as they were not unbiased. We had no idea what was going to happen with these wolves. Since Vance had influenced them they might have been devoid of any individuality at all and if that was the case then we were going to have some hard decisions to make.

The layout of the computer terminal was simple, thankfully. I managed to work out the symbols for the different soldiers, as well as how to activate them. I chose one at random. There was a grid that symbolized the soldiers. At first they were all dark. I pressed one button and they all became illuminated. When I pressed this button again, it led to an option where Icould select individual soldiers. At least the wolves had made this thing simple. I chose at random, taking a deep breath as my finger hovered over the big red activation button. I pressed it and closed my eyes, hoping that I had gotten things right and that this wasn’t going to bring all of the soldiers to life.

At first nothing happened. Then, there was a hiss. A tube detached from a soldier and a plume of steam was revealed. The mask that had been attached to his face dropped away, and I was shocked to see that they bore a shocking resemblance to Typhon and Kull. This really had been an extension of the original experiment. They hadn’t mentioned anything about this to me, so I assumed they hadn’t realized. The soldier staggered forward. It took him a few moments to get used to his limbs. He walked towards the glass and stared at me. He tilted his head to the side.

“What are my orders?” he asked. His voice was flat and neutral, devoid of emotion. His eyes were hollow as well. My heart went out to him.

“Do you know who you are?” I asked.

“My designation is soldier 247. What are my orders?”

“That’s the thing 247, you don’t have any orders. There isn’t going to be a war. You don’t have to fight.”

“That makes no sense. We are bred to fight. I know this.”

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