Huntress

Chapter 20

The queen asked me if I would walk myself. I said nothing to her, though I wasn't sure if it was because I felt like I couldn't speak or some part of me was too stubborn to verbally answer her. She took my silence as answer enough and nodded to two women who appeared out of the darkness somewhere. It was all very methodical. A wolf stepped away. A creature in human form bound the limb before I could even consider moving it. The process was repeated until I was tied like a little calf at a rodeo. And like those little calves, all I wanted to do was scream and thrash.

I was then tossed over a male's shoulder like a bag of trash.

The queen led the group, never once glancing back at me. They all moved forward with frightening uniformity. Humans and wolves padded through the darkened forest side by side. None of them bothered to even cast a glance at me now that I was bound. A couple people approached the queen for brief moments and I was able to catch snippets of conversation as we walked.

"Clementine is alright, but she's very upset."

Keiko nodded once. "As soon as Ajax is properly bandaged up, she can stay with him. I'll come to her as soon as I'm done, too. Just please keep her inside for now. We don't know if more of them are lurking around."

The person fell away, dipping back into the darkness of the woods. A sound wafted towards me, almost like seams tearing. I did my best not to think about it. But it was all around me. My head was bouncing with each step, my mind a little murky as I tried to wrap my mind around what just happened, but everywhere I looked, they were there. Grey wolves that were light on their paws, white wolves that were now coated in mud, brown ones with eyes so human it was hard to tear my gaze from them.

One way or another, I was dead. They didn't even have to skin me alive, though I was certain that Keiko would love to do that at this point. All these wolves this close to me meant that there was no way my brain could survive. Wolf drain was coming for me.

"We found a cell phone," someone said, falling into step beside Keiko.

My heart leapt into my throat. No. not my phone. It must have fallen out of my pockets during my desperate attempt to flee. It would take one text to Cassey to get a whole team out here. One call to Milo could bring it all crumbling down. Without thinking, I squirmed towards the talking pair. The man holding me made a feral noise in the back of his throat that immediately halted all of my movements.

"Can we get it to turn on?" Keiko wondered.

"No, it was in a puddle when we found it and it's in pretty rough shape. I'm not sure if we can salvage anything from it at all."

"Do what you can, but I'm not too worried about it." The relief came as quickly as the panic had come.

As much as I hated to admit it, even while I was bobbing on someone's shoulder, I could see the clear and concise way that the queen commanded and I could see just how much her followers respected her. There was not a glimmer of doubt. If anything, they all shone with adoration. Were they all so happy to follow her every command, even when it meant giving vulnerable humans like my parents a life long disability? Were they even aware that they had such an effect on humans? Would they even believe me if I told them?

The main buildings came into view and I was stricken with just how little distance I had covered. It felt like I had been running for miles before I had gone down, but it was all right here. And from the outside lights on the main cabin, I could see the glint of eyes in the opposing forest. So many. Too many of them. I had been a fool for ever thinking that I was going to make it out of here alive.

The group walked past the cabin and towards a smaller outbuilding that was some distance away. When the door was opened on the small structure, I saw the Keiko hadn't been lying when she called it a shed. I guess that even werewolves needed to prune trees and mow the grass every so often.

"Tie her to the lawn chair, then I want Noah sent in here. Everyone else is going to be searching for anyone else that might be hiding. But her and I are going to have a little chat," Keiko ordered.

And, as always, what she demanded was completed. I was dumped on an ancient plastic chair as if I were nothing more than a sack of old potatoes. With methodic efficiency, all four of my limbs were strapped down to the arms and legs of the chair. And, for the first time in my life, I prayed that I had wolf drain. And I prayed that it would act quickly, because with the way Keiko was looking at me, I knew she was going to get her answers out of me, even if she had to tear them from my very soul.

For a while, there was nothing but the two of us and the sound of the old light bulb overhead buzzing. She just sat on an old paint can, watching every twitch and breath. I had to fight my instincts, forcing myself to keep my eyes on her. As much as I wanted to search for weakness in the knots, a sharp blade, or any kind of distraction, I knew in my heart that they were pointless. Even if the knots failed, even if I could find a weapon and kill the queen, I was not going to make it off their territory alive and I was not going to get the chance to slaughter that little girl either.

The mission was over. I had failed.

The queen stared at me with her perfectly human eyes and I stared right back.

"When my people started dying suddenly, I didn't think some little girl with strawberry blonde hair was going to be the cause," Keiko said finally, running her eyes over every inch of me. "I have to tell you, you aren't meeting my expectations."

"When I was sent to take down a king and queen, I thought I would find someone with enough power and influence to not have to do the dirty work herself," I spat back.

At that, she smiled and leaned back against the wall. "If you think that any one of those wolves would deny the opportunity to rip out your throat, you are very wrong. However, you went after my mate. You could have hurt my little girl. I take that very, very personally. So, I'm going to be the one that finds out all your little secrets. You're going to tell me who you're working for and exactly where to find them. You're going to sing for me like a fucking bird."

I snorted. "What makes you think I'm not doing this alone? Maybe I just hate having scum so close to my home. Maybe I'm mad that my people are dying too."

She ran her eyes over me again. "Please, I know that you aren't capable of doing this all by yourself. So, tell me, who is pulling the strings?"

"As if I would tell you anything." It was a knee jerk reaction.

She was goading me and I had slipped up.

"I was hoping you would say that," she purred. "Now, we get to see just how attached you are to those fingernails as we rip them out one by one. And don't worry, I definitely have someone to do that for me."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What is the coolest animal you have seen in the wild?

I've seen a pika on a hike. He was so cute and chirped at us!