Chapter Ten
Twitching in her sleep Sam ran full speed through a field of wildflowers. The colours around her were oddly muted and dull. However the world was alive with brilliant sounds and mixture of fascinating scents. What she lacked in vision she made up for in other keen sense.
Coming to a stop at the edge of a murky forest a soft sound caught her attention through the cacophony of singing birds and rustling leaves. It was almost as though she could hear some hidden creature's heartbeat. Stepping into the trees she abandoned the auditory input and concentrated only on the thick musky scent that rolled over her.
It was like a trail had been blazed through the dark forest just for her to follow. Coming closer to the source her eyes caught the outline of a doe peacefully sipping from a small stream. Hoping to catch the deer unaware she crawled in closer on her belly before bunching up her muscles and launching at it.
The doe had one ear on her surroundings and took to the air just as Sam did. She easily cleared the stream and dug her hooves into the mud on the far bank. Charging through the shallow water Sam took off after her.
The hunt was on and the thrill of the chase gave her a speed that until now she had never dreamed of. Taking the path with the most obstacles the doe leapt over the fallen trees with the grace of a bird in flight. Although forced to go under most of the objects in her path Sam was still gaining on her quarry.
Breathing hard Sam pushed her pace to its limit. The terrified doe darted through the trees blindly. Taking a wrong turn the deer found herself out of the forest and back into the flat plain of wildflowers. With nothing in her way to slow her down Sam was able to close the gap between them.
Using instinct to time herself Sam broke stride to leap into the air. Teeth connected with warm flesh and the pair tumbled to the ground in a tangle of hooves and paws. Readjusting her attack Sam latched down on the young doe's throat bringing a gush of steaming crimson blood.
Startled awake by the violent dream Sam spit out the feather pillow that she had destroyed. She sat up groggily, picking a feather out from between her sharp teeth. Sighing heavily she looked over at River. The Wulf-mutt had just woken as well and was smacking her lips.
"I hate to break this to you, River, but in the real world you'd never out run a healthy deer, let alone be able to bring it down by yourself."
River looked up at Sam and wagged.
"Which I suppose is why it's a 'dream'." Sam sighed.
Looking down at the back of her hands Sam's heart and stomach clenched painfully. Her transformation was not reversing, if anything it was progressing faster than before. Turning her hand over Sam inspected the way her fingertip were widening and growing a dark black pad. Alaria insisted that she spend most of her time trying to connect with River, but if something didn't change soon she wasn't even going to be able to walk up right anymore.
"River, I don't know what else to do. I can dream with you, but you don't listen to anything I have to say. You keep trying to show me why I should want this, but I don't. Honestly. You have some amazing abilities, but I don't belong in your world."
River got up and nuzzled against Sam's chest.
"Yes, yes, I know you love me. I love you too, if I didn't I would have let the General shoot you. Why can't you just love me how I am, or rather how I was?"
Sam thought about what she was saying and instantly felt ridiculous. It was clear that River simply didn't have the intelligence to understand any of this. Sam tried to pull her knees up to her chest for a bit of psychological comfort, however the joints were now so canine that she couldn't manage it. Laying back down Sam stared sightlessly at the blizzard of feathers surrounding her. She could feel her eyes stinging with tears, but before she broken down she sat back up and shook her head.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Carter, and do something about it."
Getting out of bed was tricky, particularly with the smooth hardwood floor of the tree house. She set her foot down, noticing that it was far more paw-like than when she'd gone to bed. It was increasingly difficult to keep her balance on two legs, but she was determined to fight to keep her balance despite the fact that her new instincts wanted her to get down on all fours. Once on her feet Sam looked around the room critically.
"Okay…let's take this problem back to basics. What do I have, what do I need?"
River jumped down off the bed and trotted over to a silver dish full of fresh meat that Alaria must have placed there. While River took care of breakfast Sam continued to try and logically solve out her problem.
"Well…I have a tail, and I need a shave." Sam sighed in defeat.
Sam looked down and noticed that River had brought one of the pieces of raw meat over to her. River placed it on the floor and looked up at Sam expectantly. Sam hated the way the metallic scent of the blood actually made her stomach rumble rather than turn.
"I'm not hungry." Sam lied.
River gave Sam a few seconds to change her mind and then wulfed down the rest of the meal. After a few minutes of debating with herself Sam took the treacherous journey down stairs. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to navigate the stairs and this morning she found that she had to sit down several times to keep from falling off the spiral staircase since there was no rail.
Downstairs Sam found Alaria sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the small stone fireplace. She seemed to just be staring into the flickering flames. When Sam made it to the bottom step she looked over her shoulder at Sam and River and just rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the fire.
"Alaria?"
The woman looked back over her shoulder and bared her dull teeth at Sam.
"Oh…Tanria." Sam corrected uneasily. "Um…good morning. I don't suppose I could talk to Alaria?"
Tanria got to her human feet and stared at Sam coldly. Her eyes slide down to where River was cowering at Sam's side. She bared her teeth again, this time adding a low growl. River tucked her tail and pressed up harder against Sam's leg, almost causing her to lose her balance.
"Easy, River, she's not going to hurt us."
Clearly disgusted with the pair Tanria sat back down to stare at the fire. Realizing that Alaria wasn't in the house Sam stepped outside. It was early morning, just after dawn. The little town nestled in to the forest had a low laying blanket of white mist hovering just above the ground. Everything was extremely quiet, which was odd, usually at least one of the Wulves were howling or the birds were singing. With her new ears had come a sharper hearing, and the lack of sound made her unease.
River didn't look any more comfortable. The normally out going Wulf was practically stuck to Sam's side. Her tail was pressed against her belly and her ears were down. She kept looking up at Sam for reassurance. However, feeling uneasy herself she found she couldn't lie to River.
The sound of a twig snapping behind them caused both River and Sam to whip around. Borin, the alpha male, was standing behind them with his black Wulf at his side. Even though he smiled his look was not a friendly one.
"Good morning to you both." Borin greeted. "May I assist you?"
"No, we're fine." Sam replied quickly. "Although if you can tell Alaria that River and I have gone back to the Stargate I would appreciate it."
"The Stargate?"
"Yes."
"What for?"
"We're going to go home." Sam said simply.
"Why?"
"As much as I appreciate everything Alaria's tried to do for us, it isn't work, and being on this planet just seems to be making me change faster. I have some things I need to say to my friends while I'm still able to speak."
Borin did not respond to her explanation. The black Wulf looked at River and licked his muzzle. Sam didn't like the look in the Wulf's bright eyes and casually slid her hand onto her sidearm. Borin still didn't seem to have anything to say.
"I…uh…I'll contact Alaria in a few days, maybe I'll come back once I have my affairs in order."
"You must stay."
"What?"
"I can not allow you to leave."
"'Allow'?" Sam repeated as if she'd found the word insulting.
"You are one of us now."
"Even if I end up on all fours that doesn't make me 'one of you'."
"Return to Alpha Alaria's home, now." Borin ordered calmly.
Sam took a step back as she unlatched the strap that kept her sidearm in place. She didn't want to draw the weapon just yet and cause an incident. However she wanted to be ready to defend herself if Borin truly wasn't going to let her leave. Borin did not react to her backing away so she took a few more steps.
There was a sudden change in Borin's eyes, very similar to the one that took place in Daniel's when he took Jackson's form. The black Wulf now stepped forward with human intelligence and intention in his yellow eyes. When a dozen gray Wulves stepped out of the mist to joint their Alpha male Sam finally pulled out her weapon.
An almost human smile slipped across Borin's lupine features when Sam tried to aim the weapon at him. She wasn't sure if he had known that the new pads on her fingertips would prevent her from getting to the trigger or if he had simply never feared the gun in the first place. Either way Sam was without a defense.
"Alaria!" Sam cried.
The snow white Wulf had been standing behind her. Alaria padded up to Borin and he respectfully bowed his head. He gave a low growl that Alaria seemed to understand. She tilted her head back and howled. Becoming increasingly nervous Sam took a few more steps away from the gathering pack.
Tanria had heard her partner's call and came out of the house to join them. Alaria switched places with the Wulf. The look of disgust on Alaria's human face changed to one of sorrow as she took her proper place. She took a step towards Sam and River, causing them to take a step back.
"Saman…"
"Alaria, I want to go home." Sam interrupted.
"As Borin said, we can not allow that." Alaria whispered.
"You want to hold me prisoner?"
"No, I do not wish that."
"However," Borin growled having taken his human form once again "we will if you insist on attempting to return to your former world."
"There is nothing 'former' about Earth." Sam snapped angrily. "You don't even want mutts in your society, why are you trying to keep us here?"
"River is nothing more than a dog now," Alaria replied "what little Wulf she had in her she has given to you. You will be pure."
"You were never trying to help me." Sam accused as she bared her sharp teeth at the Wulves.
"No."
Sam didn't wait for any further explanation she dropped the gun, knowing it was worthless. She turned around to bolt, however it was too late. The entire pack, both human and Wulf, had now gathered and had silently surround her. There were too many of them to fight and she could barely walk at this point let alone run.
"River, run!"
River looked around at the pack and whimpered.
"It is unfair of you to ask River to abandon you now." Alaria said. "She will not lea…"
"River! Find Daniel!"
This time River didn't hesitate to follow the direct order even though it was impossible. She spun around and dashed off into the forest. A few of the Wulves went to chase her, however they stopped as Alaria held up her hand.
"She will return." Alaria assured the pack. "She can not hunt on her own and she will crave to be with her partner."
"Alpha is right." Borin smiled. "It is this one we must worry about."
Sam's new instinct caused her to bare her teeth at the approaching Wulves and their partners. With her balance compromised by her increasingly ill equipped bipedal legs she quickly began to lose the fight that ensued. Several of the men ended up with bloody noses and one other was knocked to the ground completely. However in the end they pinned her arms behind her back.
Although she managed to twist out of several men's grasps there was always another to take his place. When Borin came up with a murderous look in his eyes she momentarily stopped struggling. With terrifying strength Borin ripped open her shirt and pulled it off her shoulders. The man holding her released her long enough to tear the rest of the shirt away from her before capturing her again.
"No!" Sam cried as Borin took a hold of her waistband. "Let me go!"
"Borin! Stop!" Alaria barked. "What are you doing?"
"Her clothing is only going to become more restrictive, best to remove it now in case it injures her."
"It does not have to be done here in front of the whole pack."
Borin gave Alaria a shallow bow of respect. As he backed away from Sam he winked at her in a way that chilled her blood. Before Sam could try and get a final kick at the guy Alaria made a motion for the two strong men holding Sam to follow her. Borin changed places with his black Wulf and came along as well.
They traveled to the far side of the forest village to a large cave. The walls were covered in a brightly glowing fungus that added to the natural light from the entrance. The small back chamber of the cave had been sectioned off by a set of metal bars with a gate. They had laid out several fine deer pelts to cover the stone floor, but it did not make the cell any more inviting.
Once she was on the wrong side of the bars she turned an injured expression on Alaria. After a moment's hesitation the Alpha ordered the men to leave. Borin sat down and stared at her with his toothy jaw held open in a wide grin.
"Borin, leave us."
Looking insulted Borin bristled his fur. However he knew better than to cross the Alpha female and got back to his padded feet. Sam watched him leave, fearing that he might decide to hunt River down. She had told the Wulf-mutt to leave for her own protection, but she was regretting that decision now. Clearly unhappy with the violent turn of events Alaria stepped up to the locked bars with a heavy sigh.
"Please, Samantha, I must ask that you remove what is left of your clothing. Borin is correct, they could lead to injury."
"Alaria…I trusted you." Sam said in a desperate attempt to win the Alpha's sympathy.
Alaria looked as though she was going to cry. She bowed her head slightly so that Sam could no longer see her tear brightened eyes. Sam reached through the bars and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. Alaria looked up at her with guilt painted on her face.
"Please, Alaria, why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you are beautiful, strong, intelligent…and your children will have all of those qualities."
"What?"
"You are everything we want in our Wulf pack's bloodline."