Page 9 of The Wolf's Secret Baby

“Yes, although the pack may split if people remain loyal to him. Not everyone follows tradition.”

“And how does this work exactly, I mean, how did it come about? Was a curse placed upon you? Do you have these abilities because of some spell? What exactly makes you a werewolf?”

I stared at her blankly and rolled my shoulders. “What makes a tree a tree? What makes water, water? This is simply the way we are, the way we have always been.”

“And you want to conquer the world.”

“It is our right as wolves,” I echo the words Vance had spoken so many times, rallying us to his cause. “We are more powerful than humans and it isn’t fair that they get to swarm across the world with their cities. They need to be taught a lesson, that they are not the apex predator of the world. We are top of the food chain, and soon enough we shall make your people subservient to us and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Ambrosia’s head fell forward. “If you mean what you say, then plenty of people are going to die and I don’t mean humans either. I mean your kind as well. It’s not as though my people are going to go quietly. If you know anything about us, then you should know that. In fact, they might well scorch the earth before they surrender it. Do you have any idea about the technology we possess?”

My lips curled into a smile. “Do you have any idea of the technology we possess?” I repeated the question and noticed the shocked expression that flashed in her eyes. She hadn’t been prepared for that response at all, and she was lost deep in thought.

“You know, there have always been rumors of a hidden civilization, of a world hidden in plain sight. I never believed that it would actually be proven to be true. How long have you been existing here?”

“For as long as humans. This is not only your world. We are not guests. This is as much our history as yours, we just happen to keep it to ourselves.”

“Some wolves have, although that was many years ago. Humans have always had the numerical advantage. You breed like rabbits. There are always so many of you, and it has been difficult for us to have the means to balance the scales but that is changing soon.”

“What are you going to do? Is there a bomb?” her voice was laced with fear, and she became withdrawn.

“That’s not for you to know,” I said. I didn’t tell her that it wasn’t for us to know either. We weren’t privy to that kind of information. The only thing I knew was that Vance had a plan that would tip the scales in our favor. It must have been some impressive secret because only his closest confidantes knew. Everyone else was in the dark, but he promised that all would be revealed soon enough. It must have been a remarkable piece of technology because he seemed convinced that it would change the course of history.

I finished applying the salve and then rose. I told her to do the same. She took as long as she could, but gingerly slipped her feet back into her shoes and limped forward. I continued to give her directions. Thankfully we were almost there, and then the next phase of our lives could begin, and all of the secrets of the pack would be ours.

Chapter Six

Ambrosia

I tried to ignore the shooting pain up my legs and the painful throb of my feet. The salve helped to take the edge off the pain, but it hadn’t removed it completely. I had been waiting for a moment to escape, thinking that if I moved swiftly enough; I might be able to dart into some dark burrow like a rabbit and tunnel away from them. It was a futile thought, however, because I doubted I would ever be able to run away from them. I had to outsmart them. Speaking with them had revealed a surprising amount.

I kept reminding myself that although they were unbelievable supernatural creatures, a part of them was still human, and thus prone to the same frailties as anyone else. I had already sensed some discord between them, as they spoke in harsh tones to each other. While I hadn’t been able to hear the particular notes of their conversation, it was clear to me that they were not in agreement about everything. Then there was the matter of this mysterious Vance as well. I could hear the resentment in Typhon’s voice. If I could play on this, perhaps I could sow discord and create an opportunity for me to escape.

I was playing along with them for now, but I didn’t intend to do this forever. My eyes were roving about the landscape and my mind was whirring. I focused all of my knowledge on ideas that would hopefully lead to my freedom.

I thought back to advice I had given some of my patients who had been victims of domestic abuse. It wasn’t always easy to leave their violent partners, not when their lives were entwined together. For many of them it was a long, arduous process. They had to put certain measures in place in order to be free.Gathering evidence was a big help, for it would prevent the case from devolving into one person’s word against another’s. However, this meant that they had to stay in a dangerous situation. I advised them that in these circumstances it was best if they could mollify their abuser and be as timid as possible to limit the damage. I told them that they should always focus on the fact that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and that one day they would be free, even if it seemed impossible to fathom. Nothing ever lasted forever, I said.

I had to think like that now. I was in a terrible situation and there was so much I still failed to understand but I had to keep my wits about me if I was to escape. Perhaps I could exploit this rift between these wolves and their Alpha.

As for the war, well, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with that information. Were they being serious? What kind of weapon could these wolves have? Was there some kind of biological weapon that would be released in the air? My God… what if they had found a way to make the werewolf virus airborne and they would change all of us into them. That was certainly one way to ensure that humans would be defeated, and they wouldn’t need to kill too many people either. It didn’t seem real and even if I did escape, I couldn’t tell anyone about it because who would believe me? I would be the psychiatrist who had lost her mind, so I had to figure out what was going on if I was going to be able to defend myself.

The forest all looked the same to me. I tried to notice different landmarks in the hope that it would help me find my way back to the cabin if I managed to escape but the trees all looked similar. The forest was deep, and it seemed to go on forever. It was so easy to forget that there was a city nearby, filled with people. They were all going about their business, completely unaware that these werewolves existed. I had been one of them until a short time ago and I couldn’t quite believethat I was now standing with two of them. There was a nagging thought in the back of my mind that none of this was real, that somehow I had imagined it. I almost wanted them to shift again just so I could confirm that it was all true.

I wondered what I would have said to a patient who came to me with a story like this. I would have likely told them that they were suffering from some kind of delusion, that it was most likely a result of some past trauma that was revealing itself. I would have said that there were no such things as monsters, and that the werewolves symbolized someone in their life that had caused them harm, and they needed to challenge these thoughts to reveal the true face of the predator.

I never would have believed that it was literal for one moment and yet, here I was, living it. My entire world was turned upside down.

The trees thinned enough for me to see a mountain ahead. It loomed threateningly, blocking out the beautiful stars and casting a dark shadow upon the forest, making things seem even darker than they naturally were. Kull and Typhon came closer to me, making sure that I would not escape. They pointed towards the mountain. It seemed formless at first, no different to any other mountain in any other part of the world. However, as we grew closer, I began to notice the differences. There were walls hewn adjacent to the mountain, and a settlement had been hollowed out from the hard rock. It looked as though it flowed from the mountain, tucked between this and the forest, which helped to obscure it from anyone except the most ardent explorers and the most unfortunate. I could not imagine the wolves would take kindly to anyone venturing this close to their stronghold. I gulped, knowing that someone must have stumbled across this place in the past and they would have met a grisly fate. I feared that I would soon join them.

Facing one’s mortality was a strange thing. Technically any of us could die at any point. Life was surprisingly fragile, and with all of the chaotic elements whizzing around us there were often fine lines between life and death. Most of us were able to distance ourselves from this reality, for if we focused on it then we would go insane. I had patients like this, people who were so afraid of death it paralyzed them. They tried to minimize their risks as much as possible, even though a great many deaths happened in the home. They didn’t feel safe anywhere and this fear became their entire existence, so much so that they ended up dying in a sense anyway, for their lives were not filled with any sense of richness. Now I understood them better than I ever had before. My life was hanging precariously and at any moment it could be snatched from me. I had to trust the promise of these wolves and I wasn’t certain how far this promise extended.

The sight of their stronghold also brought things into stark reality. While we had been walking through the forest, I had entertained the notion that I might escape. It only seemed as though I would have to wait for one opportunity to flee, yet now the chance for this opportunity had dwindled. I was becoming resigned to the fact that this was going to be my life. I could tell myself that I could escape a thousand times over, but it didn’t increase my chances. This place with its thick walls and towering buildings and brooding facades was not a place from which people escaped. Fear tugged at my heart, and I found myself losing my composure. I slowed my pace. Typhon and Kull turned towards me with annoyed looks glaring at me. I shook my head.

“Please,” the words dropped out of my mouth in small, weak sobs. I felt pitiful, but life had never prepared me for this kind of situation. I was an academic, not some warrior. The instincts may have been present in my ancestors, but they had been buried beneath scholarly articles and high-minded ideals, in discussions about abstract concepts like moralityand philosophy, all of which seemed absolutely useless in this instance. “Let me go. You can still send me away. I won’t tell anyone about this. Nobody would believe me anyway. I want to go back to my life. I want to see my friends and family again. Please, nobody else knows I’m here. You can still do the right thing and send me away.”

For a moment I thought I saw pity in their eyes, but it must have been an illusion.

“You are our prize, and we must present you to the Alpha,” Typhon said. He grabbed my arm. There was no tenderness in the touch at all. He led me forward, quickening my pace. I gulped and it felt as though all my insides turned to liquid. I was fraught with tension and wished to be anywhere else.

---