Chapter 2
Lauren made her way downstairs to the basement with a feeling, she had to admit to herself what she would never say out loud within any fae's sensitive hearing range, falling short of glee or triumph. The wolf she was about to attend to had proven to be one of her best, most persistent opponents – a loyal supporter to the Valkyrie, a fierce protector to the Blood King. Loyalty and principle couldn't fail to inspire a certain respect in the human woman's heart and the glory of the species capable of taking the form of a magnificence animal fascinated her researcher's mind. The thought of turning the wolf into a cowering subservient dog was clearly not a joyful one but the Queen choked down the unaffordable emotion and steeled herself to what had to be done.
She entered the stone-walled corridor and followed its tortuous length to the barred cell, a syringe in hand, resolution at heart. The tableau that welcomed her, however, immediately gave rise to an anger mixed with delight – the prisoner was standing right in the middle of his cage, hackles raised, fangs bared, muzzle contorted in the menacing snarl that reverberated off the walls.
The Mesmer, positioned on the other side of the bars, was filling the air with colorful profanities and threats that sound empty seeing as Vex was certainly looking the more scared of the two fae.
"What is happening here?" Lauren asked, her tone arctic, though the development was an obvious one.
"The flea-infested son of a bitch shifted on me, your highness," the Mesmer executed a bow, looking up at her from under his dark, mussed-up fringe, "I barely started on … hm … interrogation ... "
"On torture, to call a spade a shovel," the doctor corrected him drily, "And surprise-surprise, the shifter shifted. Aren't you a genius of insight into a prisoner's heart, Vex."
"We had him hog-tied but he managed to work his bindings loose and skip free out of them in his smaller form," the Mesmer admitted unhappily, straightening up but head bent.
Lauren stepped closer to the bars, ignoring Vex's compulsively protective movement to stop her, and looked the growling animal over – the big fair-pelted wolf sported a few bloodied patches and his left front paw seemed to be curled up and off the ground to take any weight off the clearly damaged joint.
"I don't care how much fun you had time to extract or how much of it was thwarted, Mesmer," she annunciated coldly, torn between the desire to lash out at the petty sadist and the realization that she herself had encouraged him, "But I can't inject him until he is in his human form, you idiot! There's no telling how the serum would work on an animal!"
"I am so abjectly sorry, your Grace," the man was again bent almost double, the picture of fear-tinged remorse – their ruler was known to exact punishment for a lesser misdeed. Luckily for his hide, Lauren seemed to be much more pre-occupied with seeing her task through than with giving her subject a well-deserved comeuppance. She pressed her palms against the bars and caught the wolf's amber eyes with her own deep brown.
"That is clever of you, Dyson," she whispered knowing his pricked ears would effortlessly catch her words, "I didn't peg you for a brainy one before but you've surprised me. And yet, you've just bought yourself a little time to think over everything you're gonna lose soon enough. As soon as I'm back with some muscle and a pair of electrodes and you're forced back into your human form. You'll tell me everything – about Tamsin, about where I can find my prize – the Blood King and, moreover, you'll be happy to tell me, you'll be happy to serve me, you'll bring your former friends to me and rip anyone on your way to shreds. And all for me – the pathetic human you looked down your nose at!"
She smiled as she saw the powerless fury in the wolf's eyes and turned on her heels. "Follow me," she ordered the Mesmer, "I need a spare pair of hands to carry the generator down."
The clicking of the heels on the stone floor echoed down the corridor, accompanied with the heavier tread of the man's shoes and the wolf followed their exit, his ears at attention, his muzzle upturned. When the sound faded, he allowed himself to sit back on his haunches and rested his injured front paw. Then he gave his wounded side a tentative lick, out of instinct more than any hope to stop the bleeding. For a split second, the human part of his mind pushed forward an opposing idea – deepen the wound with a bite, let himself bleed out before his captor had a chance to make good on her promise, before she could turn him into a mindless traitor. After a short tug of war the wolf side prevailed, ruling out the unnatural option of suicide and proposing the more in-character way instead – fight, fight till the end, take out as many of them as he could, try and snatch a nice bite of the tyrant's flesh. Fight and hope against hope that he could stall the inevitable and gain some time for Tamsin to be alerted enough by his absence to relocate the Blood King.
He was still debating with himself as he heard a noise from the end of the corridor and tensed into a fighting stance, awaiting his tormentors, but the footfall on the floor was too light to be Bruce, the promised unbeatable muscle, or even the slender Lauren Lewis. Then a completely unfamiliar smell hit his flaring nostrils and the wolf bit down on the start of a snarl – someone tiny and stealthy, someone who had no business being there was sneaking down the corridor to his cell.
A girl came to a stumbling halt a foot away from the bars and tilted her dark-haired head to give him a once-over. Her huge transparent eyes seemed to take in every strand of matted hair, every gash on his skin, then they flicked over to the pile of discarded and ripped clothes he had had no time to take off before shifting.
"Shit! That's something I haven't thought of," she whispered to herself and approached the door to the cage. "Now steady, fluffy, I'm gonna open the cage with these," she jangled a set of keys in her right hand, "And you'll be out of here in a streak, provided you promise not to make a late dinner out of me – I'm ways too skinny anyways."
"Don't say a word, just nod if that's understood," she went on, a shade of a smile gracing her pale face, "Cos to say a word you'll have to shift into human and as your loincloth is out of commission, I am not thrilled at the prospect of your full frontal view."
The wolf behind the bars suddenly flopped back onto his haunches in an attempt to look as non-menacing as a full-grown predator only could and dropped his muzzle in an approximation of a nod. His eyes wore a guarded expression of doubt but he could not deduce a ploy behind the girl's actions and was leaning towards rolling with it – whatever his supposed savior had in mind could not be a fate worse than the one the blonde doctor had mapped out for him.
"Good boy," the girl muttered slightly relieved and slotted the key into the lock, "No theatrics, no unnecessary questions – it's so much easier to deal with animals, you know."
The well-oiled door opened without a squeak and the girl stepped back, unafraid and yet unwilling to put herself into the charging wolf's path.
"Go along the corridor in the opposite direction, there's a door leading into the backyard there – it's open, I've seen to it. It's an easier escape route, though there might be a couple of guards there. I don't care to know how you're gonna deal with them anyway," she hurriedly instructed as the wolf stepped through the open door, as if unsure of his next step, "Out and across the yard and over the wall. With so many willing to lay down their lives for her, Lauren is not really big on alarm systems or extra defenses. Hope your paw will carry you and good luck, fluffy!"
The shifter gave her another nod that, coupled with the pretty human expression in the glowing amber peepers, she correctly read as gratitude, and trotted with a slight limp in the designated direction. For a few seconds she stood listening to the soft pat of his paws on the stone and then went inside the cell and over to the heap of his clothing. She quickly rummaged through the ruins of his pants and shirt and jacket, fishing out a phone and a billfold that she hastily tucked in the deep pockets of her hoodie and was out of the cage and running towards the stairs that would lead her back into the house.
At the back door, unlocked and standing ajar as promised, the wolf halted and turned his ears back – he heard the soft sound of her sneakers against the floor, then the creak of a wooden staircase. He knew the young human had returned to the mansion, he knew her now – her scent, her voice, her face. He knew he had to see her again – in his human form – to do what he couldn't have done as a wolf – to say thank-you and to ask why.
A/N: Thank you for all the feedback I've been getting on the story so far. The only promise is a flashback chapter that might explain a few things to come soon. And yes, this one is a dark one, no one is a babe, many have gone through hell. Still, going with my gut and pretty much winging it on this fic.