Chapter Text
Teeth yellowed like the pages of an old book… eyes as bright as the full moon staring down on you from the sky… a beast of … this is what a Werewolf is…
It's one of the many creatures banished from the New United States of America, the one true safe haven for surviving Humans populus… or so we thought…
《♤♡◇♧》
The wind howled through the trees as Lacy crashed against the ground, air forced out of her chest with a sharp, painful gasp. Hands balled into fists, slamming against the huge form lumbering over her. She knew camping in the woods was a bad idea, she tried to warn them about bears and wolves. Her friends shrugged her off, telling her to quit being so paranoid, that it was all stories and myths.
Its teeth sank into her arm, she shrieked, the cry echoing through the silent woods.
Slinging her free hand into the side of her attacker’s head, her balled fist made contact with their piercing blue eye, its head flew back with a yowl of pain. Lacy thrust her body off the ground and tore through the forest, pain screamed through her body, lighting every nerve on fire.
Each step echoed through her head painfully, Lacy's legs stinging as thorns nick her skin. Panic flooding her mind, she felt like a rat in a trap. The blood trailed down her arm, splattering against leaves and dirt with every crash against a branch, or tumble over a rock or log. Her hunter had long since abandoned its prey in favor of returning to its den.
Only when she crashed into the pavement under a street light, did she take a moment to gather her surroundings, nothing was familiar. The area she had come out at hadn't been anywhere on a map, had she come across a private villa? No... There were multiple homes, but she hadn't even run for an hour, there was no way she had run fast enough to reach the village on the other side of the woods at that time...
Adrenaline? Maybe, she couldn't be sure...
She braced herself to stand, her body uncomfortably screaming for her to stay down, an unfamiliar feeling in her arms. Only when she tried to stand, her body awkwardly flopped forward, her chin hitting the pavement. Confused, she looked at her legs...
Lacy felt her whole world shift, dizzying nausea came over her, quickly her eyes tore from the large hind legs of a wolf that were hers. The image of her strawberry blond fur burned into her mind, the white paws, the claws.
Every movement felt unnatural as she slowly dragged herself up. Staggering to try and walk forwards. Where would she even go, where could she?
Words screamed in her mind.
RUN, HIDE, FIND DEN, FIND SAFETY, RUN.
Lacy looked around for anywhere to hide, a shed caught her attention, she stumbled forwards. Her paws took her clumsily to the small plastic shelter.
Lucky for her, the door hadn't been locked, and she was able to slide right in, it stank of stale air.
Kids outdoor toys littered the shelves, a few bikes stacked against each other sat in the back, and a kiddy pool lay on its side on the wall. Lacy pressed herself as far as she could unto the shed, curling her body around itself as tight as possible, squeezing her eyes shut.
It's all just a nightmare, you'll wake up tomorrow in your sleeping bag and have eggs for breakfast... it's just a dream... a bad dream... that's all...
It wasn't, she knew that, but she begged for it to be a bad dream. That she really would just wake up in the morning and eat breakfast with her friends around the campfire. That they would tease her about wolves and bears. Anything but having become one of the most feared, and cryptic creatures in the United States.
《♤♡◇♧》
"She refuses to change back?" A woman asks, her American accent is hard to miss among the German and English ones.
"Yes ma'am, but she's well trained, had a hard time breaking 'er of 'er flight response but now she's a 100% killing machine..." the Kennel keeper laughed banging a bar on the side of my cage.
I release a snarl of warning glaring at him, he jumps back a step, I can't help but feel proud of myself for it. Now I can see the woman, short blond hair, cold analyzing eyes, she's studying me. I huff, turning my head away from her and laying it back on my sore paws, the prongs of the shock collar dig into my neck, rubbing the thick skin under them raw.
"Stupid mutt..." he grumbled straightening himself," might 'have to do some obedience training with 'er, she's not too keen on obeying at first."
The woman gives a hum of acknowledgement," where is she originally from?" The woman asks.
"The states, like yourself, picked 'er up out of some poor lady's shed, scared 'er young'uns half to death," lies, all of it, she could barely move in that shed.
"I see... How is she with other wolves?" She questioned, her scent was both familiar and foren, of paper, coffee, and dust, something sharp and metallic mixed in with something sterile and harsh as well.
"Not too good, tried to pair her a while back, she ripped the poor sods ear off and mauled him good," he grumbled, rubbing his beard," 'ats why she so cheap, us wolf breeders got nah use for 'en blindly violent female like 'er, do you good though, will rip into anyone and leave a bloody mess."
I felt her eyes burning into the back of my skull, my fur prickled uncomfortably, and my paws itched to rear up and bash into the bars snarling, but i didn’t knowing all too well it would end in the thick collar around my neck sending a harsh shock through my body.
"Alright, have her shipped to the agreed location, your money will be sent once she arrives in one piece," her voice was calm, full of a commanding presence.
"Right, will do Miss Laswell."
Laswell... my new owner...
The words were like tar in her mind, dark, foul, and uncomfortably hot, there was no shaking off the hateful violent ideas.
《♤♡◇♧》
I hadn't made it easy, I broke several rods, ignored every treat, even when they offered raw meat, which had come to be a favorite. They finally had to tranquilize me, but even that was hard when I continued to fight off the medicine making me stumble around like a black out drunk.
When I woke up again it was the rocking feeling beneath my paws, surrounded by darkness, and the sounds of waves. My first time outside of the facility in a year, and I wasn't even allowed bars to see, just tiny slots that offered no light.
When the jostling of my prison finally woke me again, there were lots of voices, the sounds of a busy street, and birds, the waves against stone.
"What is in this and why's it so heavy!?" One man, his accent thick with age.
"Dunno, we aren't allowed to open it," a second, sounding similar in age, but clearly a smoker.
"Some kind of military shit," a third, younger, but his voice was rough.
Shortly after this exchange I was lifted into a truck, its engine whined as it began to move, taking me away from the salty seaside air.
Uncomfortable hours passed, every bump started to make my legs sore from sitting, but there wasn't enough room to stand. My back would press against the metal wooden top, and my legs would be crouched for hours if I tried to.
The truck stopped quite the number of times, for gas likely, or food, maybe the bathroom? But time continued to drag on in this tiny suffocating box. Until, finally, she was unloaded, the scent of gunpowder and harsh cleaners filled her nose.
"Oh good it's arrived, take it to this building, you see it here," a man with a nasally voice said,'' and leave it with the lady with blond hair," there was a grunt from the driver, and the truck moved again.
The next half hour was spent sitting quietly in the dark, the sanitized scent burning my nose. A door opened, steps approached, and the district sound of a crowbar wedging into wood drew my eyes upwards to the lid of my box. The wood groaned as the crowbar lifted the lid away from the walls, light peeked through, burning my eyes.
I tensed as the lid groaned again, and again, and again, until the lid popped off and slid to the ground. A familiar scent hit me, paper, coffee, dust, twinged with gunpowder and blood.
I fought with my screaming muscles to jump out of the box, away from the smell, and snarled at her. She grinned at my response to being freed.
"Well good morning to you too sunshine," she tossed the crowbar into the box, letting it land with a loud clang," come on, you have an appointment and a tour to do," she commanded.
I tilted my head in confusion, she didn't threaten me with a cattle prod, there was no painful shock for snarling at her? Hesitantly I glared at her, but followed, five paces behind her like a weary stray dog. Something else in her scent was familiar, a perfume I hardly recognized.
I have no other choice, following her is how I survive this new environment. She leads me down a white corridor, with lots of wooden doors, everything reeks of disinfectants. The fluorescent lights hum and burn my eyes, giving me a mild headache, it reminds me of when I was in school. Someone I can't remember would always laugh, calling me a vampire for cringing away from the lights.
We reach an open door, a woman in a white coat sits at a desk, typing away on her laptop.
"Laswell? I'm not expecting to see you for another month, is something-" she gasps upon noticing me peering at her through the door," Laswell you didn't!"
She looks horrified at the woman standing mere feet from her.
"We needed one, I found a healthy young and trained one, however..." she looked slightly guilty," she may have a few issues that have gone unaddressed..."
Her eyes landed on my legs, I knew what she was seeing, scars, missing patches of fur, and dried blood. I was unsure if she believed I had done it to myself, or if another wolf or wolves were responsible for these wounds.
"I see... well let's get her into the exam room and have a look," she stood slowly from her chair, my hackles twitched in response.
"If you bite her, I will make sure your punishment is equal to your crime... am I clear?" I wanted so badly to growl at her, but I kept myself calm, so far she had given me no reason to be tense, but it could all be fake. A false sense of security, to lure me in and give my trust, I would not fall for such a low trick.
The doctor lady led me to a room just across the hall. It had an exam table, with butcher's paper on it, similar to in a hospital. Various jars of packets and sticks and cotton balls covered a counter, and there were a number of shut cabinets with labels I barely recognized.
"Please sit on the table, if you don't mind," she spoke softly, her voice was a higher pitch than Laswell's, and it was a welcome change to the gruff harsh voices of her previous owners.
Obediently I hopped up onto the table, spun around slowly and sat myself comfortably, stretching my legs out for her to examine.
She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together," these aren't infected, but I should use some cream anyways," she sighed, opening one of the cabinets with a key off her lanyard, and pulling out a tube of disinfectant cream.
With a pop of the top and a slight squeeze a clear gel oozing from it, she applied some to a gloved hand before rubbing it into the wounds across my legs. Once my fur was thoroughly sticky with the stuff and she wrapped my legs in bandages, she gave me a smile.
I must have looked shocked because she snorted a chortle. I glared at her and Laswell when they exchanged a look before the poor little doctor burst out into full blown hysterics.
"Easy doc, don't wanna startle her," Laswell chuckled, patting the doctor on the back as she began to calm.
"Right right," she giggled, wiping away tears," come back here in a week and I'll give you a full exam and check on those wounds for you."
"One more thing doctor, she won't change into a human anymore, she refuses to, i'm unsure what affects it may have had on her health."
《♤♡◇♧》
A long day of poking and prodding around the base, trying to learn the dizzying number of buildings had fully exhausted any energy I had, Laswell led me to a room she had prepared for me. The door handle was easy enough to open with one of my massive paws, the room was a typical military bunk, with one king sized bed, a desk, a spinning chair, and a locker. There were also two doors on one side of the room, a bathroom and closet I assumed. Blankets sat folded at the end of the bed, two rather thick pillows sat next to them.
"If you decide to shift," she started," we have several sized outfits in boxes, pick the ones that fit and we'll order more," she gave a curt nod, leaving me in the doorway to my new room.
It felt wrong, being given a room, I'd spent the last year fighting so hard for some sense of being human that staring at the giant bed was odd. It made me uncomfortable, it was even stranger I had been given a desk...
What do I even do with a desk? I havn't had to read or write in over a year... I can barely remember how to read...
A pang of sorrow pricked my heart, once I was just a girl in collage who didn't know what life had in store, now I was going to become a violent military dog. Ripping out the throats of anyone they told me too, for what? A soft bed, a doctor, and warm meals in my belly...
Security, that's what I was doing it all for, but what would happen when I became too injured to go on fighting? What would happen when I finally reach an age where I can't tear through flesh? Would they do as they do with dogs and put me down? Or honor me as a human and let me retire quietly? The ladder didn't seem an option for me.
I gingerly climbed onto the bed, the soft mattress sinking beneath my weight, I collapsed onto the bed. The metal frame gave a small creak or protest under my heavy wolf form.
A heavy sigh escaped my chest as I blinked a few times, letting my exhaustion drag me into the blissful darkness of sleep...