Page 14 of Feral: Part Two
I grab one of the pamphlets from his hands, scanning the text. The clinical language describes different "specimens" and their unique characteristics. There are sections on breedingprograms, behavioral studies, and something called "controlled pack dynamics."
"No one is going to create a fucking bear," I spit out.
Thane looks up at me, his eyes hard with a mixture of fury and fear. "And yet they've created a fox."
My hands shake as I continue reading through the documents. There are detailed notes about psychological conditioning, surgical procedures for bond removal and replacement, and something called "accelerated pregnancy protocols" that makes my stomach turn.
"They're not just studying us," I realize aloud. "They're perfecting the process. Learning how to create moreFerals,but I don’t think we’re supposed to be an attraction.The Collectiveisn’t that… I don’t know. It doesn’t really fit with everything else they’ve done.” I drag a hand through my hair, running through a thousand different ideas and coming up empty. “Every single pack in Wolfscorge is part of this experiment. It makes sense. Take hardened criminals off the street and out of jail. No one cares what happens to them, just so long as they aren’t out in public. Whatever happens in here doesn’t concern anyone else because we don’t mean anything to anyone. They wouldn’t suddenly make us an attraction. It doesn’t make sense.”
Malik steps closer to me, landing a soft hand on my arm. “What did his mother’s letter say?”
I glance over at Thane, who shoots me a small nod. I tear open the envelope and study the very few words staring back at me. I flip it over and then back to the words, wondering if the woman really only sent this piece of shit.
“Thane, I wish I could do more. I’m sorry. I hope the notepad will mean something to you. Love, Mom.” I chuck the letter onto the dresser, trying to swallow the sudden rage billowing beneath the surface. “I take it back. Fuck that woman. I wish I could do more. She sounds like she fuckingknew.”
Thane leans back in his chair and folds his hands over his stomach. “Kael, she did know. She came to visit me when we were in jail, telling me that we’d be going to a better place, that we’d be able to make our own ending. She said Dad had pulled some strings. She knew. It’s one of many reasons I didn’t want to open that fucking box. But now? Yeah, she gave us a clue. Maybe she had a change of heart, but she fuckingknewthat Wolfscorge wasThe Collective’sown petri dish and she didn’t do anything about it.”
And just like that, a woman I admired and respected is lumped into the rest of the bastards runningThe Collective.
Slate
I wake up in a flurry of white fur, my body stretching in ways that feel both foreign and completely natural. Every muscle extends with fluid grace, the sensation intoxicating like it always is in this form.
Looking around the den, I realize this form provides sharper vision. Everything appears more vivid. Colors that seemed muted in my human form now practically glow with intensity, and I can smell layers of scent that I never noticed before. The last time I was in this form, I was terrified and confused, but it’s like my body and my instincts are meshing with this primal part of me. And I fucking love it.
I try to shift back to human form, focusing on the feeling of skin instead of fur, but nothing happens. The transformation that came so easily yesterday now feels locked away. Iconcentrate harder, willing my body to change, but the fox form stays.What the fuck?
Standing up, I shake my entire body, my fur resettling against me, confusion taking over. There's definitely more fur than usual, but I can’t figure out why. Despite the confusion, I feel amazing in this form. Nothing hurts. The constant ache in my lower back that's plagued me for the past week or so is gone. Even my belly feels manageable instead of cumbersome.
The urge to curl back up and sleep for another few hours is almost overwhelming. This form feels safe and comfortable, like I could stay here forever and never have to face the complexities of human emotions and pack dynamics. But there's a crick in my back that needs stretching, and more importantly, I'm hungry.
My nose twitches as I settle back into reality, my gaze falling on two plates of food just outside my den. There’s a heaping pile of breakfast foods—eggs, bacon, toast, and sausage resting on porcelain. My stomach growls audibly, the sound more like a small bark in this form.
Some part of me is disgusted at the thought of eating in this form, but I also can’t force myself back into my human form. With every passing second, the pride and dignity I hold close slips away until I just say ‘fuck it’ and pad over to the plate, my fox instincts taking over completely.
A heavy moan tears from my throat, the taste richer than any I experienced as Slate, the human. It almost makes me want to stay in this form. I continue cleaning off the first plate, tempted to start on the second when I remember my beautiful Omega needs to eat too.
I frown and twist around, confused when I don’t see him lying in my den like he was before I fell asleep. A soft sound spills into the space that’s definitely not human, and it didn't come from me. My ears perk up as I step back inside, confused at the white fur nestled between all the blankets.
There’s no way.
Another snow-white fox face pops out from beneath a pillow, a snow white face nearly identical to my own except for the eyes. Those familiar gray-blue orbs that I'd know anywhere, even in this transformed state.
I move closer and nudge the side of the other fox's face with my muzzle, Preston purring at the contact. The sound vibrates through both our bodies, my confusion falling away.
"Slate?"
I hum in response, the sound coming out as a soft whine."You shifted."
"I did, but it makes sense. If we're a feral pack, the Omegas shift."
It’s a little weird hearing him in my head, but it has the same lightheartedness that his real voice does. I run my muzzle down along his neck, drinking up his scent before stepping back and sitting back on my ass.
Preston groans as he tries to sit up, his movements labored even in fox form."I think I'm going to pop. I can feel the babies moving around."
Looking at him now, I can see what he means. Even as a fox, his belly is noticeably distended, the white fur stretched tight over the curve of his pregnancy. But more than that, his scent has changed dramatically.
"You smell really sweet too,"I tell him, breathing in the almost overwhelming perfume that's radiating from his fur. It's intoxicating and every part of me wants to stay right here and protect him until the babies come. Well, there’s one part of me that wants to fuck him, but I can hardly move in this form or the other one. That will have to wait until after the babies come.
