Red {Wolf Rebellion I}

Chapter 16~Where The Monsters Are~

The real world is where the monsters are.
-Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

Chapter 16~Where The Monsters Are~

Seven years of training at Red had me reaching for the dagger I always kept inside my boot, while my brain chanted one word.

Wolf.

The familiar surge of adrenaline made me hyper-aware of my every action. My eyes tracked its movement as my fingers brushed the dagger's hilt. But Carmine's arm was suddenly trapping mine. "Easy there, Ruby."

I struggled against him as the wolf took a step forward, and I berated myself for not noticing it earlier. His voice, the way he moved, it all pointed to the same conclusion. They were all the same.

"I wouldn't come any closer." Carmine's voice only made me struggle more. How could he do this to me? I'd trusted him. I'd trusted all of them.

"What the hell are you doing!? Let me go!" But he ignored me, keeping my body pinned against his.

Then it hit me. There was a wolf not five feet away, yet Carmine was completely calm. He knew.

"How could you, Carmine? After you saw what those wolves did to me?" I twisted, trying to find leverage to throw him off me. The wolf in front of me, Carmine's hands on me, it was all too much after today. "Let go of me! Get off me!" I shoved the panic down, even as my eyes met the one thing I'd spent my life destroying.

"Calm down Ruby!" The harshness of his voice was so unlike him that I flinched. "Did it ever occur to you that Cas hasn't even tried to attack you?" Carmine's words made me pause, but only for a second.

"Why would I know what you're planning? It's a damn wolf, they're all the same." The wolf let out a low growl, and the next thing I knew, it was human again.

"I take offense to that, princess." He reached for a pair of pants across the back of a chair, and for a split second I looked away. Then I reminded myself that he was not to be trusted, and I forced my gaze back.

No matter what I thought of Red, I couldn't erase seven years of training ingrained in my brain. I couldn't-wouldn't-turn my back on a predator.

He made the mistake of moving forward again as I glared at him. Even if he didn't seem like a threat, he was still a wolf. Wolves were still the enemy.

"Stay the hell away from me." I warned, swallowing against the emotions that wanted to take over. "And someone better start talking."

I felt Carmine's arms tighten, before he spun me around to face him. "We will. But you can't attack Cas, you have to let us explain first." I could only nod under the intensity of his gaze. "I swear he won't hurt you."

He pulled me toward a chair. "This may take a few minutes." I lowered my body to the chair, eyeing Cas warily as he leaned back against the table, crossing his ankles.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. He had the prowess, the agility, even the way he watched everything, like a predator. All trademark tells of a wolf, but he didn't try to attack me, or look at me like I was a toy there for his amusement. I'd never heard of a wolf having that much control, and it made me leery that he'd eventually snap.

Why hadn't I recognized it right away? He hadn't acted completely human when Carmine was talking to him. So was he just an anomaly in an already horrible mutation? My thoughts answered that question for me. No. I hadn't realized he was a wolf, because he hadn't acted like the ones I knew. We'd always been taught at Red that the wolves act on instinct, that they're animals, predators who have no higher reasoning other than violence.