by Cara Wylde
“The Administration is ten times crueler and more unfair than the Council of the Elders.”
“Yes,” I intervened, “but one of its strongest policies has always been to keep our world hidden from humans, to keep humans safe from us, and us safe from them. They will never allow the Council to get their hands on something as powerful as the Wolf Spirit, something that can be used as a weapon.”
Garrett thought for a moment, then finally nodded. I was right, and he knew it.
“Okay,” he sighed. “I will talk to my father. But if we want the Administration to listen, if we want to stand a chance, we have to be one hundred percent honest. We have to tell them everything, starting with Sierra’s connection with the Wolf Spirit since she was a child, and ending with her becoming our mate.”
“Agreed.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Wisteria
The glass cage I woke up in this time was larger. I was somewhere underground, in some kind of cold, damp, natural basement, and the four walls of my cage had been placed directly on the ground. A small spring flowed through, from one corner to the other, and in the hours I spent isolated here, alone and abandoned, I understood that I was supposed to drink from it, bathe in it, and also use it as a toilet, as the water flowed constantly and rapidly, taking all waste into the depths of the basement that seemed to be more like a cave, renewing itself in this whole natural process. I had a bed, one change of clothes, and enough space to pace around and exercise if I wanted. The light was artificial, coming from various light spots in the ceiling. It wasn’t very strong, which meant that I could sleep even if they never turned it off. I was fed through a plastic tube that came down from the ceiling and ended right above a plastic bowl next to my bed. Thus, they could keep me in here, feeding me without ever having to see me in person. I soon identified the cameras strategically positioned outside the glass walls, and I knew they were monitoring me every minute of every day and night.
When I woke up, my bowl of food was full of what looked like biscuits. I took one and sniffed it before biting into it. It seemed to be made from cereal, so it was nothing too tasty, but at least it was safe to eat and nutritious. But if they were going to feed me only biscuits, how were my babies going to develop and grow healthy and strong inside me?
It all came to me in a rush of images, and I touched my belly, doubled over, and fell on my knees. The doctor talking so coldly about my three pups, treating me like I was a bitch that was only good for breeding… The members of the Council – all those old, wrinkled bastards, – congratulating the doctor and the nurses for a job well done. They didn’t want me. They didn’t care about me. All they wanted was the Wolf Spirit, and now they were making plans to get it out of me through my babies. They were insane! They believed the Spirit was going to attach itself to one of the pups, but they were wrong, weren’t they? They had to be wrong. I cried until I had no tears left. Dehydrated, I reached for the cold, fresh water and filled my fists with it. I splashed it onto my face, then drank greedily. In an attempt to soothe myself, I moved to the edge of the spring and sank my bare feet in the water, focusing on how it rushed around my ankles and between my toes. I sighed and lied down on the ground. What was I going to do?
I still felt dizzy, my brain foggy and my body weak. Whatever they had given me hadn’t worn off, and I wondered if they were ever going to let it wear off. I had a feeling they were going to keep pumping me full of drugs, because they were afraid of the beast. Indeed, if I had felt strong enough, if my mind had been clear, I would have tried to summon the Spirit and let it take over, so it could crush the glass cage, this whole basement, and the building lying on top of it. I felt the familiar rage of the beast deep within me, but it was like the soft, feeble flicker of a dying candle. It wanted to emerge, but it couldn’t. Just like the Wolf Spirit had kept my consciousness subdued when it had taken over, now the drugs were keeping its powers and consciousness subdued. I needed its strength and madness like I had never needed it before, but no matter how much I tried to draw the beast to the surface, I felt it infirm and limp, like a leg or an arm that didn’t work anymore because its tendons had been sliced.
I stayed like that for a while, until my feet turned so cold that I could barely feel them. I grabbed another biscuit from my bowl and crawled into bed. I had no pillow, and the sheets were old and yellowed by time and, probably, the sweat and fluids of other prisoners they had kept in this awful cage, but the blanket did its job and warmed me enough so I could doze off. I kept both my hands upon my belly, stroking the tiny beings inside me and whispering words of encouragement until I found myself in the land of dreams. Or nightmares. I was the one who needed courage, though, not them. They were safe for now, sleeping peacefully in my womb, protected from the terrible world outside, from the greedy Council, the horrors of Dark Moon Prison, and the pain and sorrow of what their own mother had done. Did I deserve my fate? Maybe. Yes, it was possible. I wasn’t a saint. Did they deserve this fate? Absolutely not.
I was awakened by voices outside my glass cage. I sat up in bed, my anxiety peaking when I saw one of the members of the Council talking with some old woman I had never seen before. She was dressed oddly – layer upon layer of long, colorful skirts, a light blouse with a flower pattern, and about a dozen strings of beads hanging from around her neck. She didn’t look wealthy, nor like she had any taste or interest, at least, in the way she dressed. Around her wrists, plastic and metal bracelets rattled as she moved.
“Hey! Let me out of here!” I yelled at them.
They stopped talking, both turning to me and studying me for a long minute. Neither of them addressed me, though. They were still treating me like I was an inanimate object. Well, not inanimate, since I moved, talked, and was currently growing three pups inside me, but an object, nonetheless. They treated me like I wasn’t smart enough to understand what they were doing and why.
“Please, let me out,” I tried again, in a sweeter voice.
They only resumed talking and ignoring me. I got out of the bed and approached the glass wall. Their voices were slightly muffled, but I could understand them if I focused. I realized that I was feeling even dizzier than before, which didn’t make any sense. I should have been rested, more capable of thinking clearly, but I was not. Had they snuck in my cage and administered the drugs again? I checked the inside of my arms. Nothing. I touched my neck. No, there was no sign of any new injection. When my senses were dulled, my body healed very slowly. And they hadn’t removed my collar either, knowing full well that it weakened me, too. I stole a glance at the bowl of biscuits. Could it be possible that they were putting the drugs in them? That was dangerous, wasn’t it? What if I ate the entire bowl?
“This is impossible, Councilor. I can’t do anything if she is in a cage.”
My attention was drawn back to the strange woman. She had a heavy accent that I couldn’t place. All I could tell was that she wasn’t American. Maybe she was from some obscure country in Europe.
“You will have to make do.”
Even if the old man was angry, it was clear that he respected the woman and didn’t want to offend her. This was the first time I was actually witnessing a member of the Council of the Elders using diplomacy. Toward me, they had all been cruel, disrespectful, and dismissive. I meant nothing to them, but this woman seemed to have some influence. I wondered whether I might be given the chance to talk to her alone. There was something motherly about her… Maybe I could convince her to help me. She seemed to be a werewolf, just like us, but I couldn’t catch her scent from behind the glass walls, so I couldn’t tell whether she was a Beta or an Omega. If she was an Omega, though, I knew she must’ve had many pups of her own. For sure, if this old, despicable man left her alone with me, I could get through to her.
“You don’t understand,” she said. “If the Wolf Spirit is inside this Omega, I cannot perform the ritual here. The Wolf Spirit likes nature, the forest, water, trees… It has to be a
full moon, under the open sky, and I need enough space to build a fire. It will not come out of her otherwise. Also…” She stepped closer to the glass, her eyes squinting as she gave me a careful onceover. “Is she… under some sort of medication? Her eyes look funny.”
“It’s the only way. If we don’t sedate her, the beast comes out, and it’s very, very strong.”
The woman huffed. “And how am I supposed to pull it out of her and transfer it into a new host when the beast isn’t even awake inside her?! I can perform the ritual, and the Spirit wouldn’t even hear me, let alone follow my directions!”
The Councilor was silent. The woman waited for him to say something, and when he didn’t, she raised her hands toward the ceiling and made a gesture of pure frustration. She was probably thinking that she was talking to an idiot, which she was, in my humble opinion. Good. If she had a bad opinion about the Elder, then maybe I could use it in my favor.
“We can’t risk the beast taking control,” he finally said in a grave, calculated voice.
“Then the plan falls through.”
“Plan A. But we also have plan B.”
“Yes. It is possible that the Wolf Spirit might attach itself to one of the unborn pups, but it will need a little help. A little push.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
She grinned. “I will prepare a concoction that the Omega needs to drink twice a day. The recipe has been passed down from mother to daughter, for generations upon generations in my pack.”
“What does this… concoction do?”
“It’s more like an herbal tea. It will slowly poison the Omega’s mind, until the Wolf Spirit won’t like the host anymore and will look to attach to the closest being whose mind wasn’t affected. Don’t worry, the Omega will be perfectly healthy physically, but her mind will deteriorate. Nightmares, hallucinations, paranoia… If we’re lucky, maybe we can get a bit of schizophrenia… The Wolf Spirit doesn’t enjoy a splintered mind.”
“But the pups will be okay…”
“The pups will be just fine.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I started screaming and hitting the glass wall with my feet, fists, and knees, with everything that I had. Tears streamed down my face, but all my pleas, threats, and curses were ignored. I fell to the ground, curled into a ball, and cried so hard that I could swear the whole earth was shaking with me, feeling my pain, wailing and praying with me.
“I thought you said she was sedated,” the strange woman observed.
“I’ll get someone in here…”
Just as the Councilor turned toward the door, it flew open and Marcia Frost barged in, sweaty and out of breath.
“Marcia, what’s going on? Why are you in this pitiful state?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I got here as soon as I could… A phone call. The Administration. Their representatives will be here in minutes to take Sierra Carmine into their custody. They demand a fair trial for her, and until the trial, they want to hold on to her themselves. I just thought…” She was breathing hard. “I thought you’d want to be prepared…” She motioned at the glass cage. “You know…”
“Jesus Christ!” The old man raged. “Who told the Administration?!”
“I… I don’t know, sir…”
“You don’t know? Then find out!” He stormed out of the basement, throwing over his shoulder: “And get someone in here! Give her better clothes, too.”
I took a couple of deep breaths, releasing them slowly. With each of them, my hope grew once more. I knew who’d told the Administration. My Alphas. My mind was fuzzy, but I remembered well what Father Rivera had confessed to me. The reason no one had punished his abusive father for all the horrible things he’d done to him, to his pack, and to the entire werewolf community was that he had friends in high places. Very high places.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Father Rivera
Everything moved fast from that point on, but not fast enough. Every hour away from the Omega was torture. At Dark Moon Prison, I prayed when I wasn’t holding mass or hearing confessions and slept for only three hours a night. I was restless, I was tormented, my back was covered in angry scars. My skin wasn’t healing fast enough. After I went to see my father back home, I locked myself in my room and didn’t come out for one day and one night. I’d humiliated myself. But I would’ve done it again if that was the price for getting Wisteria back.
My father hadn’t wanted to see me, but I insisted. When I told him I’d found my mate and that the favor I needed from him concerned her, he agreed to a meeting. Going back to the land of my pack, to the land where I’d spent my childhood, ignored, beaten, confused, was the hardest thing I’d done in the past fifteen years. My mother didn’t want to see me, and that was fine by me. I didn’t want to see her either. I resented her for having raised me to be the man that I was – a wounded soul, my mind riddled with dirty, lustful thoughts, my body capable of unspeakable sins. It was enough that I had to sit down with my father, face to face, and look into each other’s eyes. Before I went to see him, I made sure not to eat anything for twenty-four hours. I would have puked my guts out otherwise.
My father was old but just as strong and frightening as I remembered him. His hair had gone completely gray, and his eyes were even crueler than before. He was a sad man, I realized. We met in his living room, and as I stepped over the threshold of my old home, I saw that not much had changed. The walls were painted the same blue they had been when I was a pup, and the furniture was the same, albeit more worn-out. I understood these people were frozen in time, and that was the worst thing that could happen to any creature on this planet. My mother and my father had fallen out of love years and years ago. The dozens of pups she’d given him hadn’t done a thing to restore the connection and intimacy they’d lost. On the contrary. I remembered that every time a new baby was born, it was as if my mother hated my father even more for the pain he’d put her through, and my father returned that hate tenfold. They were miserable. Yes, I’d found my mate at Dark Moon Prison, sentenced to death, accused of having murdered her entire pack. Yes, I had to share her with two other Alphas, and still… I was better off than my dear old parents. And that gave me strength. The whole meeting with my father, Wisteria was on my mind. Her name was like a mantra – it soothed me and gave me confidence. That confidence must have been what my father felt, because he listened to me carefully, then agreed to make a phone call. Even far away, locked up in a dingy cell, Wisteria was my rock. What my father sensed was her strength and determination speaking through me.
Now, I was in a small chapel across from the courtroom where the trial was about to begin, and I was thinking that, for sure, my father himself must have not known why he’d agreed to help me. The whole situation must have confused him. It didn’t matter, though. The Administration went after the Council, slapped their greedy hands away, and took Wisteria into custody. She was waiting for me. She was waiting for us.
Speaking of us… I felt Alaric and Callum behind me. They had come to tell me it was time. I stood up, crossed myself, and went to meet them at the end of the pews.
“I told you so many times,” Callum started, exasperated, “stop praying to God! It isn’t helping! As long as the Wolf Spirit is inside Sierra, God can’t do shit.”
“Please don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. Not here, at least. Have some respect.”
Alaric rolled his eyes. He didn’t care about God, and he didn’t care about the Wolf Spirit either. He was a true atheist. Callum, on the other hand, came from a pack whose females worshipped the Wolf Spirit, albeit in secret. He’d never admitted believing in the Spirit himself, but he did have it tattooed on his back. As far as I was concerned, that said plenty.
“You’re only going to enrage the beast,” Callum muttered as he exited the chapel. We followed him across the street and into the courthouse.
The courtroom was filled with people. More than I had expected. The members of the ju
ry had been carefully selected – young werewolves, middle-aged werewolves, and an older Alpha of a respected pack. Usually, there weren’t more than two or three Alphas in a jury, as they were well known for being biased when it came to justice. Alphas saw things in black and white. So, most of the jury was made up of Betas and a few Omegas.
Callum, Alaric and I sat down in the back. We caught a glimpse of Wisteria, and my heart jumped. I sensed a similar reaction in Alaric and Callum. She turned in her seat at the front and smiled when she saw us. We’d been just a little bit late, none of us wanting to see the guards bring our mate in cuffs, parade her in front of an audience that was out for blood. I saw Michaela Thistle a few rows ahead, and I knew she was probably the only one in this courtroom, except for us, who wanted to see the Omega walk free. She had a toddler with her, a little pup with blond hair and sky-blue eyes. A Beta female gave him his plush toy back when he dropped it, and I could only guess she was the nanny. This was no place for a child, but I could see why Michaela wanted the boy to be here. He was Wisteria’s little brother. Half-brother.
The judge entered, and we all stood up. The trial soon began, with the two lawyers making their depositions. For the most part, the werewolf community had borrowed everything it could from the humans. Their legal system seemed to work, so we developed ours in tandem with theirs. Doing certain things their way… It helped. It helped us stay in touch with our human side, and it definitely helped stop the pack wars that had ravaged our community hundreds of years before. The humans didn’t know we existed, and that gave us the opportunity to study them from the shadows, adopt what worked, discard what didn’t. That was how the Administration was born, and our community was doing better thanks to it. The Council of the Elders, on the other hand, was a remnant of the old days. The trial today was going to be just another proof that it had to go. That it was time for the werewolf community to finally leave the past behind, fire the Council, say no to toxicity, and look toward the future.
