She had no way of remembering quite how long she had been collared to this tree. Just that she had been there long enough that the weight of the chains, didn't seem quite as heavy as they use to. She had become use to their presence around her neck. At first, the loss of her freedom had been a difficult pill to swallow. Now she just felt a seeping numbness. Something cold and dark, that had creeped further into her mind the longer she was here. Holding her just as much a prisoner as the hermit that had captured her to begin with.
Tranquilizer, he had once gloated. Deliveries were made to him by a scentless figure in black and red robes. The reason for her confinement, remained a mystery to her. Whoever the hermit was, he had been tasked with keeping her contained. In the beginning, she had wasted her breath trying to get answers out of the old man. Screaming her confusion as often and as loudly as she could. The only responses she ever received were knowing grins. Something that hinted she was merely a pawn in some unknown game.
Thoughts of the hermit enticed and expanded her anger and rage. It was refreshing to feel something other than the near acceptance she had adopted. The animal within her paced. She longed to feel the crunch of the hermit's neck between her teeth. The urge was so strong, it had become a near tangible need.
There was no way for her to break these chains. She wrapped a hand around the cool metal leading to the collar around her throat. Squeezing as hard as she could, ignoring the pain as the crude links began to cut into her skin. She didn't have superhuman strength. No. Nothing so special as the ability to fly, or being able to crush trees with her bare hands. She huffed, a near chuckle, at the thought. The humans would probably label her a werewolf. Though the label wouldn't be entirely accurate. She was not swayed by the moons hold. She held control over her shifting. Most of the time, anyway. Not that it helped her now.
Closing her eyes, she tilted her head upwards towards the object of her most recent thoughts. The night brought with it some semblance of peace. Inhaling deeply, she tried to quiet the rage within her, taking in the forest around her. The trees rustling in the breeze, their leaves slowly making their way to the ground as fall took hold. The dirt, underneath her feet, cool and refreshing. The occasional chirp of a cricket. In the distance a river gushed, cutting its own path through the forest. She could almost pretend that she was not a captive. That she was free to run through the forest and do as she pleased.
A door slamming yanked her out of her daydream. She turned minutely towards the noise, pulling her lips back and letting loose a quiet growl. Her oddly long canines, glinting in the moonlight. Rage bubbling quickly back to the surface replacing the brief peace she had felt. The smell of the hermit that was responsible for her confinement hitting her sensitive nose. The stench of rot and alcohol surrounding him, nearly causing her to gag.
He turned in response to her outburst, an angry expression on his face.
"Shut the fuck up, stupid bitch! Can't you see a man's trying to enjoy himself here! Can' even do that will all the damn racket your making"
Bending down, he picked up a rock and chucked it at her. Laughing hoarsely when it hit its target, before making his way over to the pile of firewood stacked haphazardly near the back of the run-down shack. He busied himself grabbing pieces of wood to carry back inside.
Shifting her body away from her the object of her hate, she once again tried to lose herself in her thoughts. Hoping that, even if only for a moment, she could forget her current predicament.
She woke suddenly. Her body snapping into alertness even as her mind struggled to keep up, drowsiness clouding her thoughts. She had been resting so peacefully… that thought rung with wrongness. She had not truly rested since being brought here. Looking back at the shack, she could make out the hermit sitting at his makeshift table. The cracks between the boards doing little to hide him. Overall there was nothing unusual about his activity.
Then what was it that had her awaken so suddenly?
She turned, surveying the surrounding forest slowly. Her eyes scanning over the foliage, trying to find the cause for her unease. Even as she searched, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her body warning her about a threat that she had yet to identify with her eyes.
Standing up, she placed her back against the tree. Feeling more protected in that position than sitting on the ground, waiting for whatever it was to decide its next move. The chains around her next rattling loudly with the movement, feeling heavier than they had in a while on her slender neck.
Inhaling deeply, she scented the air around her. Hoping that it would provide her with any sort of clue. The shack behind, emitted a majority of what she could smell. The stink of the hermit, his clothes, alcohol and the animals he would kill, masked many of the scents of the forest. But vaguely, so subtle she could almost convince herself it wasn't there, came tendrils of the most tantalizing scent. Spicy. Dangerous. Something, that made her stomach tingle in excitement.
Confusion enveloped her.
She turned back again to look at the hermit's shack. Hoping, for once, he would make an appearance. However, all was quiet from within the building. Scowling, it was not surprising that he would be completely useless the one time he might be needed.
As she looked back towards the forest, she felt her breath catch helplessly in her throat. For there, on the very edge of her chains reach, was one of the biggest men she had ever seen.
It was as though time, momentarily slowed, as she processed his sudden appearance. He was wearing a set of deep blue coveralls, with a heavy looking pair of work boots. In his pale hands he held a knife, gripped tightly. His face, obscured by a white emotionless mask. His eyes hidden by the shadows it cast.
She inhaled sharply. The surprise of his sudden appearance, releasing her from its grip. With it, again, came that same tantalizing scent from earlier. This time much heavier, as the cause for it was standing mere feet from her.
She blinked. Her back was still pressed against the tree, the bark digging into her skin. The man took a slow step closer. Her brain screamed at her to get ready to fight for her life. Her heart raced in excitement at the man closing the distance between them. Her eyes furrowed in confusion at the two, very different, reactions. Yet with the next step he took, there would be no question about her response.
She pulled her lips back, opening her mouth to display her long deadly canines. Growling loudly and savagely, there was no mistaking that she was not human. For no human could possibly make such a noise. The sound, echoed through the clearing and the warning was obvious.
The masked man, paused in his approach. Silent as death. Staring at her, with the slightest tilt of his head. She growled again viciously in response. Chained to a tree or not, she would fight. Regardless of the futility of doing so. She could feel the animal within her begging to be released. Something that was not possible while she still had the metal collar clasped around her neck.
The sound of the shacks door getting practically ripped off its hinges momentarily captured her attention. The hermit stormed out of the shack, quite obviously enraged at being woken from his drunken slumber.
"I told you stupid bitch! Shut the fuck up! I gave you a chance and now I'm gon' make you shut up!"
In his hands, he held the same gun he would use to shoot the darts that would cause her to sleep. Her eyes widened. If he shot her, she would die. She would not be able to protect herself from the masked man. Turning back quickly, she was shocked to see that the man in question was no longer there. He had vanished.
The muffled pop of the gun sounded in the clearing. She looked down at the side of her arm, were the drug carrying dart now resided. The pinch from its entrance, sharp and annoying. She fell to her knees, struggling to fight the fast-acting drugs. She could feel her body trying to pull her into slumber, and she took one last desperate glance around for the masked man that had caused this. Finding nothing, she collapsed. Her vision hazing over, as she was forced into darkness.