by Ami Snow
Marcia awoke in a daze. She could make out the faintest halo of light in front of her, but it was definitely still night. The moon's glow was the only illumination in what she soon realized was a cave, sending a chill down her spine.
Oh, god. That monster... he took me! She clasped a hand over her mouth, but the sound of her clothing sliding over the rough stone echoed through the chamber. Only moments later, she saw an approaching light, scrambling back toward the wall of the cave, holding her hands up.
Chapter 3
Instead of any beast or monster, she saw a humanoid figure back-lit by the light of the full moon. He was tall, broad, and draped in some large robe. He held one large hand up as he entered the cave, the other coming up to light the lantern he held. It illuminated his dark skin, his stark white and gold eyes, the rough-spun brown fabric of his cloak.
“Don't be afraid. I'm Garrett.” Marcia whimpered, pressing herself hard to the back of the cave, her hands still held up, pleading with him to let her go, that she'd move out, that she'd do anything he asked if he just let her go.
“Stop talking.” His voice came hard and rumbling, a firm command that practically stole the words from Marcia's lips.
The lantern was placed aside, and the man pulled the hood of his cloak down. His hair was rough and kinked, though pushed back into a tight ponytail, leaving a puff of blackness at the back and little more. His broad lips parted, and he gave an almost bestial exhalation through his nose.
“I didn't bring you here—one of my brothers did. I told them that the town was off limits, and all they had for me was that your house isn't actually in the town. I... had to concede that point to them. Why would you live outside of your area?”
Marcia's brow came down, and she stared up at him as he advanced toward her. “M-my area?! My home is my a...” She pressed back a bit harder, realizing that she'd just lashed out at a man who had at least one horrifying monster for a brother, and was likely one himself. “I... don't mean to sound ungrateful. I'm sorry, but... what do you mean, 'my area'?”
“I mean your people's area. This mountain is ours. We've tried in the past to make them leave without letting harm come to them, but they are stubborn. They are... problematic, but not nearly as much as the other.”
She considered questioning him on the point, but decided to focus on the more pertinent question of if and when he was going to let her leave this cave and return to her home. She eased herself up to her feet then, but as she moved to advance toward the exit, she found him stepping up quickly to block her escape.
“Oh, no no no. You're not going anywhere, sweetling. You're here now, and that's just that. They'll just have to find another pretty, soft doctor. You'll never make it down the mountain. Not with that beast out there—and not without us dragging you back to keep you safe. Anyway, you crossed the boundary, and are subject to our law now.”
She growled a response, her fists tightening. “I didn't know that there even was a boundary! I just looked like an old available house just off to the side of the main street? What part of that looks like a border to you? How was I supposed to know that this was your 'territory' anyway? And safe from what? Everything is fine down in the town. I was safe in my house until you came dragging me out!” She crossed her arms, her brow knit tightly in anger and frustration. Why was he being so unreasonable?
“Safe from the wolves—or, from the wolf. We saw him coming back up the trail. We intended to take him, but as usual, he was too quick. Soon, our quiet little mountain will be rid of his kind completely. This is our home now, and we won't have any interlopers, including you.”
She took a small step back. What did he mean by “the wolf” at her home? It must have been some expression, but... There was something terrifying and strange going on on this mountain, and she'd had just about enough of it.
Marcia paused for a moment, then tried to bolt past him. She barely ducked beneath his grasping hand, and as she sprinted out of the cave, she heard a great roar behind her. It sounded as if words were supposed to be contained therein, but she could make nothing out. Her heart was thumping hard in her ears as she stumbled over branches and roots, ripping through tangles of vines, running blindly downhill in the hopes that she could escape the beast on her heels.
Chapter 4
Sprinting in a straight line away from the cave as best she could, she soon found herself in a wide open clearing with a fire pit at the center. Several benches were set around it, and there was evidence that a fire had been burning there not too long before her arrival. The smoldering hiss of the logs was still audible, even over the desperate thump of her heart and her heaving breath.
“Wait!”
She heard what she distinctly recognized as the beast's voice, his visceral growl underscoring his intention. There was no question in her mind as to what he was after. He was going to drag her back to that cave and do something awful—eat her, take her against her will—it didn't matter what it was. She could hear the ill intent in his roaring voice.
She felt some grasping force around her waist, and found herself sailing through the forest twice as fast as she had been before. All she could do was hold on.
The hulking beast that attacked her—at least, it seemed to be the same one—came from the side, delivering a crushing blow to her would-be savior's side, sending the both of them spinning and sprawling off to the side. Marcia rolled away far enough that in the moonlight, she could make out the large, somewhat lupine figure sprawled on the ground near her. In a moment, it leapt back to its feet, making a great rush for the hulking bear.
Marcia pulled herself into a small outcropping in the rocks, likely the cave of some small creature, mercifully absent from its home now. The desperate fight raged on before her eyes, the snapping of teeth and the bestial roars of the two combatant alphas filling her ears. She found herself, for the first time, truly regretting coming to Kinson.
The two great half-beasts wrestled and tore at one another. The wolf tried and failed to sink his teeth into his opponent, but the hulking bear's thick skin and fur completely thwarted the attempt. With a great swipe of his massive, clawed hand, the bear sent the wolf reeling into the tree behind him, the blow forcing him back into a seemingly full lupine form. He was a silvery gray wolf, large and proud, but he looked completely and utterly defeated in a panting heap against the tree. He panted and whimpered, twitching and making cursory attempts at raising himself up.
The bear's body began to change as he walked back toward the cave, the fur and claws receding, though he retained almost his full height and his imposing figure. Only now was it apparent that the wolf had managed to gash his chest, but he seemed entirely unfazed. Marcia shrunk back as much as she was able, but felt the strong hand grasping her wrist, beginning to pull her up and out of the cave she'd fled to. It was not the bestial claw he'd wielded only moments earlier, but it was no less menacing and terrifying.
No sooner than he'd begun to pull her from the cave, she saw the great wolf diving in behind him, sinking the long fangs into the man's shoulder, drawing a wild cry from him. He tried desperately to shake him off, but was dragged to the ground. Marcia scrambled from the cave then, making her way back to the clearing. From there, it was easy enough to find the path back down the mountain. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, the sound of roaring, of snapping teeth, of desperate battle behind her. She no longer felt as though she was being tracked or hunted, seemingly every monstrosity falling in upon the singular wolf. She felt badly for it—him—but couldn't do anything to save him.
She made it down to her house, but decided to pass it up completely, running through the thick fog that had descended over the town to reach the clinic. Thankfully, there was little reason to keep the door to the clinic locked, and she made her way quickly inside, bolting the door behind her and running back to the operating area. This door too was closed and locked, the rarely used frosted glass divider being pulled into place shortly after.
Marc
ia sat in the corner, huddled up tightly, knees pulled up to her chest, waiting for the first rays of morning to dispel the dense mist covering the town. She knew that by the time the sun cleared the horizon, everything would be alright. It wasn't as if she could sleep if she tried. Nevertheless, she found herself drifting off just as the first pale blue light began to break over the horizon, lighting the interior of the clinic.
She woke to a firm knock at the door, and eased herself up to her feet, coming to unlock it. Despite her ordeal last night, she was sure that none of the beasts would be bold enough to stroll through town in broad daylight.
“We need to talk.” Samuel stood, bloodied and gashed, bruised and hurt.
Marcia brought him into the clinic uneasily, stepping aside to point toward the back room where the operations were done. As he walked through, he faltered and fell, the impact sending him shifting rapidly back into his lupine form. Marcia stood over him, and with a sigh, wrapped her arms around him just behind the bloodied fore-legs, hauling him up onto the table with some effort.
He was well and truly unconscious now, having made it to safety after a night of running for his life.
Chapter 5
Marcia checked him carefully, finding innumerable bite marks, claw gashes, tears and rips. She was sure at least a few bones were broken, but those would have to wait, as she wasn't sure about the difference the forms made, and the cast certainly wouldn't hold between this one and his human form.
She stopped for a moment, reflecting upon the absurdity of it all—that she was treating what was essentially a werewolf on her operating table. The Labrador was strange enough, but this... this was too much.
She artfully stitched him up to the best of her ability, giving him a shot to numb the pain before doing so, ensuring that he wouldn't be awoken by her work. In truth, she intended to patch him up, then simply leave and stay with Cindy, figuring that he'd simply wake and return to the mountain. There was no reason for him to destroy the clinic or seek her out, she thought, so she worked as quickly as she could.
Samuel woke up halfway through the procedure, panting softly, the golden eyes staring up at her. Marcia averted her eyes, focusing hard on her work. She could hardly believe that the cocky, arrogant billionaire who stood inside her home unannounced and uninvited just yesterday was now laying on her operating table as a large, injured wolf. She questioned more than a few times if she was simply dreaming, or had taken some particularly bad bump on the head and was imagining all of this.
Each stitch was made carefully and with the utmost concern for his comfort, even if he had been rude and borderline terrifying. He defended her in the woods against whatever those... bear things were.
Before the job was finished, he was unconscious again. Marcia hovered over him for perhaps a bit longer than she intended to, and even found her hand on his shoulder in some comforting gesture. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing or why, but she felt a certain amount of guilt for what had happened to him. More than likely, he was injured fending off the others when she was making her escape—or, at least, keeping them busy. For that, she was infinitely grateful, and was sure she wouldn't have made it back without his assistance.
She stared down at him, wishing he'd wake and change, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. Instead, she slipped quietly from the clinic to grab a few things from her home and at least try to prop the door up to keep more wild animals from just walking in whenever they pleased.
When she returned, as she'd feared, he was gone. A single bloody print near the table was all that remained.
There must have been something more she could have done for him. She knew that one of his legs was broken, and that much was obvious. She'd seen quadrupeds with broken legs before, and they didn't fare well—especially not when they were being hounded by predators. She turned on her heel, walking quickly back to her home to gather everything she thought she'd need for a trip up the mountain. If I'm quiet enough, she thought, they won't hear me coming up the mountain and I can check on him.
By this point, her instincts as a nurse and caretaker had taken over her logical fear of what slept on that mountain. All she knew was that Samuel was terribly hurt, and was going to be a lot worse off if he got too far up the mountain.
When she reached her door, she was only somewhat surprised to see that it had been pushed aside, and the padded paw print was placed almost purposely at the door. It seemed he was unable to return to his biped form when injured so severely, and likely thought her home the best place to hide until he was mended well enough to strike back against those who had harmed him. Marcia found him laying in the kitchen, panting, laid over on his side.
She moved to the pantry where the first aid kit was kept, and returned with wrappings and stints for his broken leg. At least this would allow him to get around without too much pain. She brought water and food, which he ate eagerly. Before day's end, he'd gotten up and walked around some, and in the morning, she woke to find him in his human form on the couch, covered by a blanket and nothing else. She couldn't help her eyes drifting to his muscles, the slender and sinewy nature of his physique, the way the light shone on him through the window off to the side. He was truly a masterpiece, and she figured he'd have to be to survive what he survived.
Her presence stirred him, and he sat up, leaving the blanket draped loosely over his lap as he looked over his shoulder to her. “...good morning. I appreciate all you've done for me. I... didn't get your name last time I was here.”
“Marcia. I'm sorry I was so... short with you.” A little giggle, at that. “You were kinda in my house, though. Saying threatening things. I... thought you were, anyway.”
“I understand. We need to talk about what happened on the mountain, though. I think there are some things that need clarification, and I don't know what those bastards would've told you. Please, come. Sit with me.” He seemed unashamed and unconcerned with his state of undress, the blanket still laying only loosely over his lap. Marcia sat beside him, turning to him and crossing her legs on the thick, plush couch.
“My family has lived on this mountain for a long, long time. Our line stretches back to the first European immigration to the area. Ah... you may have noticed my 'condition' as well. It's common to every member of my family—or, was. We foolishly moved onto this mountain with the expectation that we would be safe from the world at large. It was inhospitable for us in the Old World, but was doubly so here in the New. Thankfully, our longevity allowed us to make some key investments, support some important people, make sure we stayed safe and secret. The house atop the mountain is our ancestral home, and most of the kin have lived there at one point or another.”
Marcia listened closely, finding herself leaning in bit by bit as he spoke.
“I've been living on this mountain for hundreds of years—in total, anyway. We never really interacted with the town, and none of the residents seemed too keen on coming up. I moved back in a decade or so ago after 'retiring' from my position as head of the Gray company. I made plenty to keep our family going, but... when I returned, I found we had some new neighbors. People like us. I thought that we might start a larger community, integrate, support each other... but they wanted nothing less than to collectively hold total dominion over the area.”
Samuel placed a hand at his chest, giving a soft cough. “Water, please.”
Marcia rose from the couch, filling a glass quickly to bring it back to him. He drank it down greedily, then continuing. “So... I don't really know what happened to my family, but one by one, they started disappearing. Soon, I was the only one left, because I was the only one fast enough to outrun them. They didn't come for me until everyone else had already gone. I'm not sure if they took them, killed them, if they ran away... I've never heard from anyone. I've been alone up there for so long, now.”
She nodded, giving a little frown. “I'm so sorry to hear that, Samuel. I can't imagine what it's been like to live up there all alone for so man
y years.”
He gave a soft, unexpected chuckle then. “It's not so bad. Not as if I was hurting for money or entertainment or anything. I ran my father's company for a great many years, until it started looking like I was too young to be 50. Ah... that happens every so often, with us. People start getting suspicious because of our longevity, and we have to either move on or simply withdraw from the public. That's why we founded this place, in truth. We needed a place to go where we wouldn't be bothered, where we could lay low for a few decades and re-emerge to live some other life, you know? It gives us time and the place to study whatever skills we'll need for our new lives, too. I didn't know the first thing about mining or running a business like that until my father taught me, here on this mountain. Ah... I think you should know, my mother was a human, and each human that binds to... someone like us, they become quite the same. We're largely immortal, but by far not invincible, as...” He gave a little cough. “As you can tell.”
Marcia nodded firmly. “I didn't know what I was going to do when you came to the clinic. When I saw your face, I really thought you were just... there to berate me more, or hurt me, or tell me that I had to go or what happened to you would happen to me—though I guess that last one is probably true, isn't it...?”
He nodded firmly. “They would've forced you to bind to one of their people, making you into one of them, making you work toward their aims. Make no mistake though—those ursine bastards are the interlopers, not us. I don't know where they came from or how they found out about our home, but they did not want cooperation and co-existence. They wanted to take over, and they've almost succeeded.”
