Consider this an interlude between the last chapter and the next one. Sorry for the wait. I know this probably won't make up for it, but I tried.
It had been hours since she had moved. She lay curled between the thick, jutting roots of a tree, trying in vain to block out the moist air and the endless buzz of the birds and insects. Perhaps if she could make the monsters believe she was dead, she thought in passing, they would leave her.
A gust of Pax's hot, meaty breath toppled that fantasy as the jaguar lowered his head near hers and smelled her. "You need to eat, little one."
Ofelia didn't answer; she only squeezed her eyelids further together and nestled closer against the tree trunk.
Pax extended a paw and stroked her hair, watching her tremble. "We've no reason to keep you alive if you can't follow orders," he whispered. "Besides, starving isn't pleasant. I would know. Certainly not a worthy fate for such a pretty young creature as yourself."
There was a bitter retort festering in the girl's throat, but she forced herself to choke it back down.
The jaguar growled as he drew away from her. "Wait here," he snapped before stalking off into the moonlit jungle.
Ofelia listened as his plodding steps faded away. When they had gone altogether, she rolled onto her back, opened her eyes and let her tears slide silently down her cheeks.
The pack had been traveling all day and most of the night, dragging her along with them. Any landmarks she might have recognized been passed, and the sights surrounding her turned green and alien. Home could have been hundreds of miles away, for all she knew. Maybe it was.
As the realization that she was not trapped in some long, terrible sleep began to settle in her mind, the girl struggled less and less against her captors. Eventually she hung from Pax's jaws like a forlorn doll. The jaguar set her down and let her trudge along at his side, picking her up again only to climb down the steep cliffs they scaled as the desert turned to plains, and then to jungle.
The night air grew moist and warm as they dropped into a canyon overflowing with trees, bushes and flowers. Branches snagged at the sleeves and hem of her robe, tearing at the fabric. Something covered in thorns brushed harshly against her cheek, drawing a thin stream of blood. Rocks and holes littered the path: she stumbled over them, tearing more gashes in her knees and palms.
"Please stop," she croaked through her dry throat. "I can't walk anymore…"
The jaguars caught the scent of blood and began to stalk closer to her, salivating.
Pax forced them away with a growl. "We stop here until day. Keep watch, and stay clear of the girl."
He was coming back towards her now, with a ragged slab of raw flesh dangling from between his jaws. He dropped on the ground before her, then sat back on his haunches. "Eat."
"I don't eat meat," Ofelia answered, quiet and firm.
"You will now."
She glared at him and shook her head.
"Would you like your first lesson of us warriors?" His paws morphed into hands as he grabbed her, holding her by the jaw with one and ripping off a piece of the meat with the other. "You always do as I say. Now eat."
When she tried to pull away, the jaguar shoved a finger in her mouth and forced her lips apart. Her attempts at a scream were muffled by the slimy flesh that he pushed down her throat. Clapping her jaws shut again, he jerked her head back to make her swallow.
It was cold, hard, wet with blood, and it strained the muscles of her throat as it slid downwards. Ofelia struggled for air and gagged at the sensation. When Pax let her go, she flopped to the ground like a pile of skin and lay there trembling.
The jaguar paid no heed to her distress. "You'll grow accustomed to it. Once you're one of us, you'll even enjoy it."
"…What are you going to do to me?"
Pax's head jerked back around, as though he was surprised that the girl still dared to speak to him. "Hmm?"
Ofelia was still lying on her side, but her trembling had ceased. "I said what are you going to do to me?"
Pax rolled his eyes. He'd forgotten how sentimental some of these brats could be over the whole business. "You will feel a stiffness, and then nothing at all." He himself couldn't recall if there had been more pain or not, but he didn't care enough for the girl to try. "When it is done, you will wake as if from a long dream. In time the thoughts of all that came before will vanish. You will want and need only the pack, and you will be very happy." Or at least the rest of them would be. Many years had passed since they had brought in a female.
Ofelia stared at him while he spoke. She lowered her gaze as the words set in, curling up into the dirt. Eventually her eyelids drifted shut. A shudder went through her thin frame, and for a moment Pax feared she would begin to cry once again. The girl did and said nothing more, however: within the hour, her breathing had evened out and she seemed to be asleep.
The rest of the pack returned from patrol one by one. They had caught very little during their hunts, which had sapped what remained of their energy and put them in a foul mood. With nary a thought to their prisoner, they retired to the highest branches of the surrounding trees and melted into the foliage.
Only Pax remained on the forest floor, intending to watch over the girl during the night. But the hours passed and she did not stir, and he felt his own body beginning to grow heavy with the exertion of the day. Morphing fully into his feline form, he stretched out on the ground and closed his eyes. Before long, his ragged snores were echoing through the jungle.
Ofelia's eyes flew open. Now or never.