Saturn

Luna I

Wet leaves.

Drip, a droplet of rain struck the ground to the right.

Drip, another even closer.

The stench of damp fur and dirt.

A hazy glow. Fog between the trees.

Sharp eyes have no trouble seeing.

A snort. The deer noticed something. Its ears turned. Front. Back. She stomped and snorted. She put her head down. Nothing different. She turned her head. Something else caught her attention.

A wolf lunged for her throat but the deer was too fast and she narrowly avoided the sharp teeth.

Hadley dropped to her belly. The other wolf stood and watched the deer's white tail disappear into the fog. He let out a loud huff, his breath creating a misty cloud.

Hadley's head raced. This was a rogue territory. This should only be another rogue, like her. She had crossed paths with most rogue wolves. She didn't recognize this one.

Drip. Water dropped from the tree branches above onto the leaves around her.

The unfamiliar wolf scanned the woods. It was dark. Surely he wouldn't see her shadowy form amongst the brushy ground. His lips curled back and bared his teeth. A deep growl rolled in his chest. Hadley stayed down. The wolf lowered his body and crept toward her. She bared her teeth and pinned her ears back.

In a flurry of snarls and barks, the two leaped toward one another, snapped and bit, and wrestled around on the forest floor until Hadley got her jaws around the male's tender throat. She growled long and low. He suddenly laid impossibly still.

Leaves behind her rustled but she dare not move and risk the male taking advantage and pinning her. A grunt came from the same direction. Hadley slowly bit down harder. The male yelped and tried to strike out with his paws. She strained to see what it was behind her but couldn't.

"Release him, rogue."

Hadley's eyes were wide and dark. Her ears pricked forward.

"Release him or you will be killed."

She could end the male's life in a moment and risk her own death right after or she could trust that the male voice behind her wouldn't kill her as soon as she let him go.

Reluctantly, Hadley released her grip on the wolf's neck and quickly found a new position away from the wolf that had given the command and the one she tussled with. The former wasn't alone but accompanied by several subordinates that stood around him like a guard. The male she had fought stood as quickly as he could and took his place beside these wolves.

"He attacked first," Hadley said. Her whole body was tense. She had never expected to encounter a group like this tonight. "As he should," the lead male replied.

"I did nothing wrong. He had no reason to attack.""Nothing wrong? You crossed pack borders, rogue. It is the job of our scouts to handle trespassers. Have you no knowledge of territories? How could a rogue survive without some knowledge."

"I crossed no borders," Hadley snapped. Panic was beginning to set in. Maybe she had crossed borders while following the deer and just hadn't noticed. Her hunger was guiding her. She was starving.

"The borders are close to a quarter of a mile from here," the leader said with a chuckle. Hadley tried to take a few steps back. The rain was starting again. She felt it begin to come down on her pelt.

The wolves surrounding the leader followed her backward steps with forward ones. She wasn't able to turn around before they had her pinned to the ground. The male Hadley attacked had remained beside the leader. His bones cracked and popped and within moments he was a naked man standing where his wolf did. Hadley snarled at him and he rolled his eyes at her. She felt pathetic pinned to the ground.

He had something around his neck-- a vial. He strolled up beside her and pat the top of her head as he stuck a needle in her neck. She tried to snap at him but missed and seconds later her head fell limp on the ground.

☾

The lights were too bright even through her eyelids and the metal beneath her was cool under her fingertips.

The smell was different from the woods. Sterile. A memory of alcohol her mother used to clean a gash in her leg as a child flashed behind her eyelids.

This wasn't the forest. This wasn't her wolf. She desperately tried to open her eyes and raise her head but they wouldn't stay open and her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. She tried to make a noise but it was only a whimper. Weak.

"Don't move!" Someone cried. "You weren't supposed to wake up yet. Stay still." They placed their hand on her forehead and kept her head down. Hadley turned her head and tugged her arms but her wrists were restrained. "I know you heard me. Stay still!"

Hadley laid defeated. Seconds passed and felt like hours but finally, she was able to open her eyes. The bright lights were on the ceiling. There was a lamp and it was tilted down on her midsection. "We are all done, young one. Relax." It was an older woman. She stood near Hadley's head now and she could see her. Hadley tugged at the wrist restraints again. "Please," she whispered.

"We cannot release you, I am sorry. Alpha's orders. You need rest and you have injuries. You can't be moving much." The woman patted her hand gently.

"Injuries?"

"You had lacerations on your stomach and sides. We had to clean and stitch some of them."

Hadley scoffed. "I've had worse. Why am I here? I need to go home."

"Oh love," the woman laughed gently and touched Hadley's forehead. "You're going to be here for a while."

Hadley grunted. "No, I am not. I have to go home."

"You're a rogue, love. You don't have a home."

Hadley yanked at her restraints. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back and tugged as hard as she could. Where was her wolf's strength when she needed it."

Give her another injection. They won't be able to take her anywhere like this," the woman ordered to someone else in the room.

She felt a pinprick in her arm and suddenly the bright lights on the ceiling weren't as bright anymore.