Tori
Alone. I was so tired of being alone. I wasn’t used to being alone. I missed Fang. I missed Alpha. I was even starting to miss that ugly fucker Spike. I hadn’t been alone in years. Not since I was rescued. I’d get some time alone, a run in the early morning, a patch of sun while someone was out hunting, a trip into town to gather supplies, but I never felt alone.
Just temporarily apart.
This felt different. In the wild, if I were lost or needed help, I could call to them and they’d come. My pack would come and find me. It was embarrassing, but as much as they tormented me, even Spike came to my aid when I needed it. Whether it was from humans or tangling with a bear or getting stuck somewhere, they’d appear and I’d be safe again.
As much as I hated how they treated me, they took care of me.
Now, when I couldn’t call for them, I realized how important they were to me. I had fantasized at times about striking out on my own, going lone, maybe joining another pack… but Alpha was the one who saved me. Fang was the one who helped me find my feet, who taught me how to shift. Alpha had taught me how to hunt. Fang had helped me get over that horrible, human aversion to eating a fresh kill.
I was feeling better, physically. Stronger, healthier - my body was fighting off the poison, but mentally I was doing so much worse.
I couldn’t stop crying. I kept my face hidden, burying it in the blanket, hiding from the cameras that were undoubtedly still watching. Gwen was probably up there in her house, reveling in my suffering, laughing at how weak I was, how a mere human bested a werewolf. Sharpening some silver knife or brewing some new poison to use on me.
When the door opened again, I worked to force the tears to stop. One ability I had gained as a child was useful here: there would be no evidence of my crying once I stopped. My eyes didn’t get red or puffy, my complexion didn’t change. When the other kids stopped at nothing to make you cry each day, you learned how to hide it or you suffered more. None of the parents that supposedly wanted to care for me ever helped with this. I had spent hours in front of the mirror, staring at my own tear-streaked face, hating myself for that weakness, learning to control those subtle muscles, those telltale signals that they had gotten to me. Learning to hide my injuries.
I wouldn’t let Gwen know she had gotten to me. She was just another bully.
The moment she stepped into view, I glowered at her. “You know I’m going to kill you, right?” I kept my voice level, cold. I wasn’t going to let her have the first strike this time. “I’ll wait until you think you’ve trained me, and I’ll turn on you. I’ll tear your fucking throat out and eat your lungs, you human piece of shit. The moment you think you’ve won, you lose. You’ll be dead and just another meal.”
Gwen just… stood there. She didn’t have a bag, she didn’t have her book, just a bottle of water in one hand. She looked hurt. Like she was actually sad? But it had to be an act. A ruse. A trick from a dishonest bitch.
I kept going, attacking that apparent wound. “And after I kill you, after I eat your corpse, I’m going to go into your precious little town and I’m going to start with that bitch at the market. Then the big stupid stockboy. I’m going to kill every last person in that stupid fucking little town!” She turned, not even leaving the water bottle, walking back up the stairs. “They’re all dead and it’s your fault! You stupid fucking human filth!” The door opened, but I was on a roll. “I’m going to paint the walls with their blood! You hear me!? I’m going to let their cop get some shots off, I’m going to smile at him, and I’m going to eat his face while he’s still alive!”
The heavy door shut, locking me back in, that heavy thud declaring my win. Finally, I had gotten to her.
And the excess adrenaline turned inward. Into panic.
Fuck, what if she decides I’m too dangerous to live now? What if she kills me? Shit, I hope Alpha finds me soon.
* * *
Gwen
Keeping the tears in, keeping the hurt from showing took everything I had. The moment that door was closed, I fell apart. I had so much foolish, misplaced hope that she would remember me holding her gently, the way she said her human family never would. I had really hoped that we could find a path forward, that she could see I actually did care.
Her words hurt.
Wiping my tears away, taking a deep breath to collect myself, I stood and walked to the counter where the little spray bottle waited for me. I spritzed my wrists, the spot behind my ears, and finally, I sprayed a bit through the air and walked through it, letting the tiny droplets settle on me.
I wasn’t going to hurt her. If this worked, I’d never have to hurt her.
Running my hands through my hair, I took another deep breath. Then another. A third, cleansing breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. I had to be calm. I had to calmly explain why her words were unacceptable. And let the potion do its work.
Pacing my kitchen, I tried to formulate my strategy. I could grab the spear and threaten her, point out that she was making very bad decisions for someone who was helpless in a cage. But that was meeting her anger with anger, with the threat of violence. That would undermine my point.
But wasn’t that what a Packleader would do? The kind that she expected, who followed “might makes right” - it seemed to be how she lived her life.
River wasn’t like that, though.
I felt a tingle rush through me, from the top of my head to my toes, a tiny shiver that left my skin feeling taut. I couldn’t let her scare me. I had to help her.
How was someone so beautiful so horribly broken inside? It wasn’t fair.
The stairs leading down had never felt steeper, the staircase didn’t feel like it went to my basement workspace, it felt heady and strange. It was a passage to another world.
Vicky was laying down again. At least she wasn’t lashing out.
Fuck but she is beautiful.
The way the blonde highlights in her soft brown hair formed a halo around her head, draped across the velvety floor. Now that I was facing her, my heart was racing in a way it never had with her before. So much depended on this moment, on this interaction going well.
“I have to say,” I began, trying to think of how River would handle this. Those startlingly blue eyes, perfectly shaped in tanned skin, opened and watched me. “I didn’t expect you to threaten to kill everyone I loved. Seems more of a supervillain tactic than I expected from you.”
“Fuck off.” There was no fire in her voice, just a weariness. That was better, it would be easier to deal with that than uncontrolled rage.
“I’m supposed to let you go after that tantrum, right?” She sat up slowly, wincing in pain or discomfort or both as she moved to look at me from a less vulnerable position than being splayed across the ground. “That was your way of convincing me? Telling me that if I did what you wanted, you’d kill everyone important to me?”
Her cheeks colored and she looked away, but only for a moment before her head whipped around, those stunning blue eyes narrowing slightly.
"I told you, I can't stay cramped in one spot in human form, I need to stand up and stretch." She ignored the question, not wanting to admit that she had made a very stupid decision. I had no idea how long it would take this mixture to work, or if it even would work, but it seemed less likely to poison her than the last one. "Or I need to be in wolf form so I can at least pace the fucking cage you're keeping me in."
I knelt near the cage, just out of where she should be able to reach. It was possible that she needed to be closer for the potion to work.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I really do want to help you, Vicky.” I was putting all my chips on this play. I was giving up the hardline Packleader play, if this didn’t work… “But if you can’t be a good girl then it makes this very difficult. Can you try to be a good girl for me? Just for a little bit.”
* * *
Tori
The way she called me good girl hit differently that time. There was something different about the way she said it. I felt my cheeks flush, my heart thump… and I didn’t understand it. The faint scent of rose and mint wafted toward me, I’d smelled it when she first came down the stairs, but it was so much stronger now.
There was a lot less force to my words than I wanted. "You can't expect me to stop trying to escape, I'm supposed to be running free."
"Freedom is relative." She was behaving differently now, she wasn’t trying to bully me into submission. She was close enough that if I could become the brute, I’d be able to reach her. "I have the freedom to go wherever I want, but I live here. I have ties here. I have a life here. Wolf packs tend to retread territory and follow similar patterns. Is it really freedom to follow those instincts? It’s just a society with different rules." My heart danced at her smile. The way her tight braid laid over her shoulder caught my eye as she leaned closer. "If you're a good girl you'll eventually be able to make that decision though."
"Stop saying that... " I felt butterflies in my stomach, I felt... pleased, and I didn’t like that. It was much easier to be angry with her, but that anger had abandoned me. Grasping for it blindly, I could offer only weak protests. "I'm not your dog... I'm a proud wolf."
“I’m sure you are.” Her voice sounded heavy, laden with something I couldn’t put my finger on, but I- “You look like you like it though. Why push away something you like?”
It was like she read my thoughts. I did like it, and that scared me.
"No... " I wanted her to touch me, I needed her to touch me. I sniffed at the air, wanting her scent and not understanding why. Was this more of her witchcraft wearing off? First had been chills, then I had overheated, now my instincts were out of control? "Go away... " Through sheer will I pushed myself away from her, moving to the opposite side of the cage. "What is the moon now?"
I had only felt like this on the Blood Moon. This needy warmth that curled in my belly.
Was it the Blood Moon again already? They came twice a year, and it drove me insane every time. What time of day was it? Did her book tell her what this moon was going to do to me? Alpha wasn't here to help me this time... last time she had chained me up for my own good, I had tried to fuck both Fang and Spike that night.
"I guess I don't know offhand? I don't really bother to track it when River's pack isn't here." She followed me, moving around the cage to be closer to me. That heat was coiling, building up inside of me. Not a warmth, not a temperature, a need. "I figured you'd probably have a better feeling of where the moon is at given you're such a big, proud wolf."
This was the worst timing possible. This had to be her poison wearing off. It was still hot in the basement, my skin was itchy. I wanted to be in wolf form, my body wanted to be the wolf. I needed to get comfortable, everything was uncomfortable. Without thinking, I tore the shirt off, throwing it away. It was too hot. And yet, I buried my face in the blanket, trying to block out her words, arching my back to try and appease my body and wrapping my arms around my head.
"Go away!"
"You're quite lovely, Victoria." I could hear the smile in her voice. "And that’s an interesting angle you're showing me. Are you really sure you want me to go away?"
At first I didn't know what she meant, but it slowly dawned on me. I gasped, moving to the far corner and hiding myself under the blanket... but it was too hot, I was too hot and the blanket was stifling. I hid my body under it just the same, trying to get as far away from her as possible while my entire face turned red.
"Go... don't look at me." I had presented to her. I had done the same to Alpha, begging her to fuck me, begging her to let Spike or Fang or both or all three of them fuck me. I had wanted it more than anything else... and she had almost cracked when I began nuzzling her in just the right places... how she managed to control herself on the Blood Moon was beyond me. "Go away, you don't understand... "
"I don't think you want me to go." The blanket moved atop me, she was dragging it off of me, pulling it through the bars. I held onto it for dear life, but the act of her pulling it caused the blanket to give unexpected friction on my swollen parts. I moaned and lost my grip, gasping as she yanked it away, leaving me naked and humiliated.
She kept talking, her voice tickling the inside of my brain. Had her voice always sounded this sexy? "Based on what you were doing I think you want me to stay. Tell me though, is it the cage? Some people love being locked in one. Or perhaps it's the collar and cuffs? I've sold a lot of collars to men and women who love wearing them. Or do you just like me?"
"No... I don't like it... I want to be free... " My hips were moving with the need of the Blood Moon, my breath heavy. "Stop... "
"You're very convincing. Moaning and humping the air like that." With a flourish, she pulled the blanket completely from the cage, denying me any covering. I was there, naked before her, shifting in place in a way that I couldn’t fully control. A soft sheen of sweat had begun to form on my skin and I could feel her eyes on me. Worse, I liked it. I wanted her to compliment me. I wanted her to tell me I was beautiful, and that want kept me facing her as she kept teasing me. "It's a wonderful act. 'No please, I want to be free'. It's kind of funny to hear while you're presenting. Some people enjoy the thought of being forced into situations. Have you fantasized about being forced into a cage and collared, Vicky? Getting to be someone's puppy instead of being forced to be a wolf?"
Her words were like fire in my ears. There was something new about the tone of her voice that I couldn't resist, some ethereal quality to it that changed even as she spoke to me.
Maybe she was right...
"No... no!" I shook my head, dropping to the ground again and trying to cover my ears. "I don't like it... I don't want it... it's the moon... it's the fucking moon!"
“What moon?” She pulled her phone from her back pocket, glancing at it before setting it aside. “It’s three in the afternoon, I think you’re just horny.” She moved closer still, so very close to me. "I think all this time you just couldn't accept that this was what you were into. When I left you in here alone you just couldn’t help but think of the metal bars that you were helpless to bend. The collar that you couldn't pull off."
"No... " I looked up at her meekly, turning my head to face her, my breath hot and heavy in my throat.
"You wanted to finally be in a position where you aren't forced to be powerful. Where you can just be you."
"No... " She was grinning, she was enjoying this. "It's the Blood Moon, it has to be... or more witchcraft or... "
"Or you have kinks and fantasies." She shrugged so casually, like this was any ordinary conversation, but the mischief danced in her eyes. Those deep, deep brown eyes. There was the faintest touch of honey yellow to them, something I hadn’t noticed before. "Unless the Blood Moon has risen in the day, I doubt it's that. And I'm not sure why I'd use witchcraft to make you horny of all things."
I could only shake my head as she talked to me. It was taking everything I had not to beg for her touch, it was taking everything I had not to hump the soft bottom of the cage, or slide my fingers to my throbbing pussy while she watched. I was trembling from the struggle, my entire body trembling for her.
"You blushed when I called you a good girl. Are you sure you just don't want to be a good puppy for me? Maybe I'll give you a reward if you are."
The words made me blush again. I didn't want to be a puppy... but I wanted to be cute, right? I wanted to wear cute clothes and makeup, and what's cuter than a puppy? I needed her, I needed her to...
"...touch me... " I didn't realize I was speaking out loud. With a groan, I clenched my eyes shut and put my head to the ground again, my ass in the air.