Chapter Twelve

Sam laid on the soft deer skins in as close to a fetal position as she could manage. She could no longer stand on two legs, but she hadn't yet progressed to the point where she could stand on all fours either. Her shoulders and hips ached terribly as they reconstructed and repositioned themselves. She wasn't cold, but she shivered anyway.

The thick fur coat that now covered most of her skin did not keep Sam from feeling exposed. When she had refused to relinquish her clothing Borin had been called back and he had taken them from her by force. It had not escaped Sam's attention that even though Alaria had given the orders she had turned her back while she was being stripped.

Sam tail tucked between her legs at the memory. She could no longer physically cross her arms over her increasingly canine chest. She had long since given up on trying to pick up one of the deer skins to wrap herself in. Her once useful opposable thumbs had been reduced to dew claws.

The two gray Wulves standing guard outside of her cell suddenly got to their feet. They wagged their tails as Alaria stepped up to greet them. Sam glanced up at the Alpha and then resumed her sightless staring at nothing. Alaria sent the Wulves to the front of the cave and knelt down in front of the bars. She went to reach through to stroke Sam's fur, but thought better of it.

"I truly am sorry that it came to this." Alaria said quietly. "Please do not fear though. Things will be different once you are a full Wulf, your instincts will change, you will come to realize that this world is the only place you belong."

When Sam didn't reply Alaria got back to her feet and turned to leave. Sam struggled to prop herself up on her awkward forepaws. Hearing Sam move Alaria stopped and turned back around to face her. The women stared at each other in silence. Sam eventually found her voice, but could only manage a whisper.

"What is it like?"

"What is what like?"

"Being raped by an animal."

Alaria stared at Sam in horror. The colour drained from her face and then rushed back as she became flushed.

"I only ask because I hope it will help me prepare myself for it." Sam continued calmly. "Is the humiliation worse than the physical pain?"

Alaria took a step away from the bars. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but she could not find the words to reply. Alaria's light green eyes brightened with unshed tears. She looked like she was about to leave, but she stayed glued to the spot.

"How many time do I have to suffer through it? If I give you a single pup will you let me go…or will you breed me until I physically can't take anymore?"

Alaria remained silent, locked in her own thoughts. Sam was beginning to tremble from a combination of fear and the effort it was taking to bear weight on her still shifting wrist joints. Ignoring the pain Sam stared up at Alaria with tears slipping from her own aqua eyes.

"It won't be the first time I've been victim to the Sins of the Wolf." Sam admitted quietly.

"'Si...Sins of the Wolf'?"

"I was sixteen, he was twenty. At the time I felt special that an older man was interested in me…until I discovered why. I didn't tell anyone, I should have, but I didn't because I thought it was my fault. There is something about that particular secret that gnaws at you from the inside. It changes you. Decades passed before I met someone that I could trust enough to tell, a young Air Force doctor. I still go to her about it sometimes."

"Saman…"

"She was one of the people I wanted to say good-by to, thank her for everything she's done for me. Being able to tell someone eases the pain…but soon I won't even have a voice."

"Our…our…" Alaria stuttered "our Wulves have voices..."

"I am not one of your Wulves."

Alaria was starting to shake now. Sam thought for a moment that the Alpha was going to cry. However the Wulf leader took a deep breath and collected herself. Her eyes hardened to the look of a leader once more. Sam bowed her head and freely allowed her own tears to slip down her slowly developing muzzle, fearing she had lost.

"You will not be taken by force. I promise you that." Alaria insisted in a steady voice. "You will choose your own mate, with your intelligence you certainly over throw Tanria as Alpha. As Alpha no male will dare touch you without your permission."

"And if I never give it? What then?!" Sam snarled in sudden anger. "Do you honestly think Borin will allow my 'genetics' to go to waste? Do you think for even a second that he doesn't already have plans to be the father himself?"

"Never!" Alaria cried in shock. "We never take our Wulf partner's form to engage in mating!"

"Then I guess I must have misunderstood the pleasure he took in tearing my clothing away from me. I must have misread the way you turned your back so you wouldn't have to watch. I'm probably imagining the tears in your eyes right now."

Alaria lost some of her composure once again. She shifted her weight uneasily as she searched for a way to explain. Sam lowered her ears, making her look even more miserable and afraid.

"Please, Alaria," Sam whispered desperately "from one woman to another, don't do this to me."

"I have no choice." Alaria whimpered. "Everything is going to be okay, I swear, your instincts will change, you belong here."

"If you truly believed that you would have let me go home, you would have let me say good-bye to my friends, you would have let me come back on my own."

Sam's words were like a slap in the face to Alaria. She took a step back and looked around the cave as if she was afraid that someone was suddenly listening to their conversation. Sam used the bars of her cage to force herself up off the deer hides so that her gaze was level with Alaria's. Alaria stood transfixed by Sam's eyes. They no longer held any white, the blue had expanded out to the rounding edges of her eyes, giving them a more animal look.

"Alaria, please, let me go." Sam begged. "I want to go home."

"You are home."

Before Sam could reply Alaria turned on her heels and rushed towards the cave's entrance. Sam's paws slipped on the metal bars and she found herself down on all fours. She tried several times to get up again, but it was impossible.

"Alaria! Alaria! Ala…Aloooo…"

Sam's voice caught in her throat and when she found it again all she could manage was a heartfelt wail that transformed into the mournful howl of a true Wulf.