The Wolf Inside

Erin Blackthorne

Neither happened. I didn’t get to move, nor did the shifter break my neck.

Even after the pain subsided, I was too weak to hardly move at all.

Then the patrol turned up.

I groaned in pain as they pulled my arms behind my back and put a pair of cuffs on my wrists.

To my surprise, they weren’t werewolves; they were humans.

One of them grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.

“Look at that, another Blackthorne!” he smirked.

I heard the werewolf chuckle. “Not even a Blackthorne can resist a taser!”

I felt a sharp pain in the side of my neck; seconds later, the lights went out.

I remember one day when I was younger, sitting around with my brothers.

My father telling us stories of the spies and resistance in the Second World War.

He told us how they would never talk, even if they got captured.

How some had special fillings made of cyanide.

They would break them and kill themselves rather than give away their secrets to the enemy.

He then told us that we had to be like them if we were ever caught.

That was because they would torture us until we gave up our secrets or until we died.

Then he smiled and quoted Leonardo Da Vinci, ‘Our life is made by the death of others’.

Put your family first; one day you may need to be one of the others.

Today I realized I had to be one of the others.

When I woke up, I knew I wasn’t going to be on the edge of the forest.

Whatever the guard had put in my neck had knocked me out.

Now I lay on a bed in a small windowless room.

A cell of some description: metal door, concrete walls.

My hands still cuffed behind my back, and my head throbbing like a bastard.

By the time I was finished, it would throb more.

There was a sink and a toilet in the corner of the room.

All I had on was my tee shirt and underwear.

My boots were gone, which meant that my silver knife was also gone.

Another reason to have me killed.

Weapons that contained silver were outlawed.

If you were found with one, that was it.

Death!

I wondered why they just didn’t put a bullet in my head, but they somehow knew I was a Blackthorne.

I’d heard the guard say that before I blacked out.

They wanted information first.

Information that I would never give them.

I managed to sit and walked over to the door. This was gonna hurt, but then who said killing yourself would be easy? I started to smash my head against the metal door.

“I’m gonna make you proud, one last time, Father,” I whispered.

I managed to bash my head against the door several times before the guards came running in.

I hadn’t noticed the CCTV camera in the cell.

Blood had already started to run down the side of my face when the door burst open.

Two guards came rushing in and restrained me so I couldn’t do any more damage to myself.

Then I glanced up and saw him.

A werewolf.

I could tell by his size and his looks.

They always looked like they had just stepped out of a gym.

Always had that confident aura about them which said ‘look at me, look how perfect I am, look how insignificant you are!'

’ His dark hair was cropped short, and it was like his brown eyes were staring into my soul.

I smiled at him, a sardonic smile which said, you lost.

He looked at me, sighed, and shook his head. His hand was gentle as it cupped my jaw, and his thumb gently brushed my cheek.

I frowned as my vision started to blur. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was his deep baritone voice.

“Everything’s going to be okay, little one.”

I’d failed. Failed in my mission to retrieve much-needed supplies. Failed to avoid capture. Failed to kill myself. Worst of all, I’d failed my father.

All I could hear was a beep...beep...beep.

I groaned; my head hurt.

By all rights, I should be dead.

I tried to move.

When I realized I couldn’t, I opened my eyes.

There were tubes attached to my arms, and some sort of machine was beeping next to me.

I was secured to a bed.

Restraints on my wrists and ankles.

I screamed at the top of my voice and pulled against the restraints.

“Let me go! Let me go right now, you mongrels!”

A woman in a white uniform walked over; she looked like a nurse.

“It’s okay, miss. We just don’t want you to hurt yourself,” she soothed.

I looked at her; she didn’t look like a werewolf. She wasn’t big enough. In fact, she was quite petite.

“Please...you’ve got to help me. They’re gonna kill me. Torture me. Just let me go!”

She shook her head. “No one is going to hurt you, just lie still,” she coaxed.

I couldn’t believe she was so calm; she would stand by when a fellow human being was about to be killed. I started to pull at the restraints again, throwing my head back against the bed.

The nurse now looked slightly panicked; she must have pressed an alarm.

The door crashed open.

Two men came running in.

I should say one man and a werewolf.

The man was dressed similarly to the woman, all in white.

The werewolf I recognized immediately.

He was the same one who had stood in the doorway of the cell.

“Let me go, you fucking mongrel!” I screamed at him.

His face remained completely passive as I pulled at the restraints and continued to throw my head against the bed.

“Erin!” he began, “I need you to calm down.”

His voice was quiet and calm, which made me even angrier.

“You won’t get anything out of me. It doesn’t matter what you do...you might as well kill me now!” I screamed.

I carried on wrenching at the restraints and throwing my head around.

“And don’t you dare fucking tell me to calm down. How calm would you be if you were tied to a fucking bed!” I growled.

He walked over and put his hand on my head, holding it in place.

The pressure on my head wound hurt like hell. I couldn’t help but cry out.

“No one’s going to kill you. I don’t want to hurt you, Erin, but I won’t allow you to injure yourself anymore. If you keep your head still, I’ll let go...if not...,” he warned.

I closed my eyes and stilled my head. He was too strong for me. If I continued, I knew it would only cause me more pain.

He finally let go, and I screwed my eyes closed, waiting for the pain in my head to pass.

Then it dawned on me. How the hell did he know my name?

“How the fucking hell do you know my name?” I groaned.

He took a deep breath.

“As Alpha, it’s my job to know all the wolves in my territory,” he hesitated, “even the hybrids!”

I pulled at my restraints again. “I’m no fucking wolf,” I growled. “I’m a hunter, and I kill your kind...for pleasure!” I hissed.

He smiled at me. “You carry the scent of a wolf, Erin. Granted it’s faint. Mostly I can smell your fear, but it’s definitely there!”

He held out his hand, and the female passed him a clipboard.

He hummed, “you have significant amounts of Wolfsbane in your blood. It’s suppressing your scent, as well as your wolf. If you were a full wolf, you would likely be dead, so you must be a hybrid.”

He looked back at the sheet on the clipboard.

“When was your last dose, very clever to try and hide that from us. Not clever enough, though!”

I scowled at him. “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re a fucking idiot!” I hissed.

He hummed again, and handed the clipboard back to the woman. He walked to the wall, and picked up the receiver of a phone. I watched as he tapped in a few numbers, then spoke into it.

“I’m with the Blackthorne, I need your assistance.”

He hesitated, listening to whoever was on the other end of the line.

“As soon as you can!” He concluded the call and hung the phone up.

I stared at him. What was he doing, who was he sending for.

“I won’t tell you anything, I don’t care what you do!” I hissed.

He smiled at me again, “Don’t worry, Erin. No one’s going to harm you!”

I pulled at the restraints again, whenever someone said that, it usually meant the complete opposite. There was no way I was going to beg, but I wasn’t going down without a fight either.

The human male who had come in looked worriedly at the restraints. This made me struggle even harder.

The werewolf glanced over at him, he could probably smell his fear. Fear that I was going to get loose, and when I did they would all be sorry.

I glared at the man.

“How can you stand by and watch a fellow human being suffer like this? When I get free, you’re gonna be so sorry!” I hissed.

“Don’t worry, James, she won’t get loose, and she won’t hurt anyone,” the alpha reassured.

The man nodded back at the werewolf.

How could they be so pathetic? I carried on pulling at the restraints. Then the door opened, and in walked another werewolf; he was blond.

He came straight over to the side of the bed.

“Keep away from me, you fucking mutt!” I screamed.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, then turned to the alpha wolf.

He shook his head. “Sorry, Alpha Marcus, just fear and human.”

Alpha Marcus smiled. “Thank you, Stephen.”

The werewolf, called Stephen, turned and walked out of the room. What the fuck was that all about?

I smirked at him. “What’s it like to make an idiot of yourself, oh mighty alpha wolf? Guess you’re wrong!”

Alpha Marcus slowly walked towards me, grinning and showing his canines.

Shit, he was gonna kill me now. I just hoped it would be quick.

I closed my eyes, waiting, but all I felt was his hand slide under my neck.

The hairs immediately stood on end, like someone had put something cold there, but his fingers were warm.

He started to massage the back of my neck with his fingers.

I tried to move away from his hand, but he held it firm.

I moaned as a tingle of pleasure went down my spine. From the back of my throat, I emitted a small growl. I had no idea where it came from.

My eyes widened.

The more he massaged, the more pleasure erupted through my body.

I was feeling sensations I’d never had before.

If it had been another person, I don’t suppose I would have minded quite so much, but he was a werewolf!

My sworn enemy!

“Please...please don’t!” I moaned, as another jolt of pleasure made me tingle.

My resolve at not begging soon melted away. I had only prepared myself for pain, not the sensations I was currently feeling.

Then he whispered in my ear.

“You see, my little wolf, I’m never wrong!”

He pressed his nose against my neck as he sniffed.

“Hmm,” he growled with pleasure.

I shuddered, this time not with pleasure, but with disgust.

My brain finally kicking in, against my rebelling body.

I tried to pull away, but he still held my neck firmly.

The thought of a werewolf this close disgusted me.

“Don’t worry, little one, all will become clear very soon,” he whispered.

His fingers pressed gently on my temple.

“Sleep, little wolf,” he whispered.

As much as I tried to fight it, I felt myself once more drifting into oblivion.