Among The Wolves

Placement

I pounded the door when it still did nothing. With an angry huff, I turned away from it. That was when I spotted the window. Again, without the scooter, I made my way there. As I approached it, I could see that the windows had no opening. It was completely sealed on all sides.

My shoulders fell, and I sunk to my knees on the floor. I literally could not do anything for myself or for my family. The feeling of defeat came at me like sharp shards. It hurt in more than one place. I lowered myself to the floor and curled up into a ball. My sore leg stuck out like a sore thumb.

Wet droplets began to soak my cheeks. I'm so sorry, everyone.

I didn't want to move and yet I was far from sleeping. Surprisingly, I found comfort in the floating dark figures that shared the room with me. I stared at the shadows dancing on the wall. Waving to bystanders, playing tag, and poking at each other. I was mesmerized by how gracefully they flowed about the room. Very slowly I could see the shadows grow and become more luminous. It did not take long for them to conquer the whole room.

There was a gentle knock on the door. I blinked then looked away from the shadows. How long have I been lying here? What time is it? Is Hem'Lar here already?

Sure enough when the door opened, the familiar middle-aged man walked through. Hem'Lar stopped short when he saw the empty bed. I saw him lift his head and tilt it to the side. It nearly made me roll my eyes when I realized what he was doing. I still can't believe that they would still have their wolf senses even when they are in human form. It's almost... scary.

Hem'Lar spun around and looked directly at me. His brow wrinkled as he observed my lonely disposition. "Kek'Eeta..." His voice was flat. "What are you doing on the floor?" I straightened out a little from my curled position and sat up.

"I assume that you are fine." It was not a question, just a matter-of-fact statement.
I rubbed the side of my face and nodded.

"You shouldn't be on the floor, I am. Sure that even you are aware of how dirty it is."

I ignored him and sat up and faced Hem'Lar. "Let's, um... talk about what happens after healing."

Hem'Lar raised both eyebrows at me. He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." He moved over to the chair and sat down. Nodded toward the bed with his head. Begrudgingly, I complied. Getting up from the cold hard floor and resting myself on the soft bed.

"I was not only able to get the country of your new home but also the place and the name of your master." I groaned inwardly as he pulled single paper from his pocket. "Said country is Vir'Keyia."

Vir'Keyia... where is that? I remember the name. Oh yes! It is the second biggest of the eight sections in Wos'Theon. There are nine packs in Vir'Keyia. No surprise that the big 'ol Alpha M'est'r gets that entire third biggest country to himself.

The only problem is that Vir'Keyia is farther from the border than that prison base. If I get assigned to the pack further east it could take me close to two weeks of hard travel. If I get placed at the west side of Vir'Keyia, we are talking maybe a week.

Hem'Lar continued his one person audience speech. "You will reside in G'por'r's packhouse under Mes'Mu."

"Misses Mu?" I asked, making sure I heard him right. Hem'Lar paused for a second with his eyes narrowing but then nodded.

That's the first time I've heard someone with a normal name. Most of them have these weird titles in the front. I hope I can escape soon. This is going to be so hard to keep track of. What have I gotten myself into??

Hem'Lar set the papers down. "Any questions?"

"What will my duties be?"

"You will find out all that information and then some when you arrive at your placement. Your master should inform you of the details."

I nodded. "Okay." I do have another one, but he might think I'm weird if I ask. "How often will you come to check on me?"

Hem'Lar looked up for a bit, "That will be determined by events." There was a small snippet of silence. "Well, I will be going now." Hem'Lar got up with ease and started to walk toward the exit.

"Zeta Hem'Lar?" I asked quietly hoping that his hearing was good enough to hear it. It was. He turned to face me. "Could you not.. Well, I promise that... I won't... Don't lock the door please."

A mischievous smile formed, and laugh lines appeared. "I know what you did with the jail cell. I know you won't run, it will be impossible anyway. There are Etas all over. I'll leave it unlocked."

Was the cell door a test!? I should've known.

"There are some beautiful gardens right outside, when you are rested, you should see if Theta Ty'Mee would take you to browse it." Really? "I won't see you again for another week or so, so until then." Hem'Lar cast one last smile before walking out. There was no loud audible click this time.

I let out a long breath of relief, Thank goodness.

After Hem'Lar was good and gone. My thoughts went back to the events of the past few days. Bratir and his misconception of peace, the government and their unfairness. Why do they even have a base with rookie teenagers so close to the Wos'Theon border? It's kinda dumb if you think about it. And the classes that we take... Showing houses made of human skulls and remains but that is not at all what I have seen. Of course, I have not exactly seen all of Wos'Theon just yet. There might be houses like that. I shuddered. I hope they don't make my skull part of that collection or chew on my scalp like jerky. I shuddered again.

I curled up with a blanket and nibbled my fingernail as I contemplated what to do. I already have established trust with Zeta Hem'Lar. If I could just get that same trust from the Theta and the Etas... escaping might be possible.

Or perhaps I should wait until I get placed in Vir'Keyia... right now I am so close to the border that the security is much tighter. If I wait until I am in Vir'Keyia... sure it would take longer to get home but at least I will have a little bit more time to make certain that I would escape successfully... because if I get caught... that'll be my death sentence.

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This chapter is a little shirt and a little slow. Gotta keep all the excitement for your Christmas party!

Speaking of....

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄

🎶 🎵
Joy to the world... the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let every hear prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing!
And heaven and nature sing!!!!
🎶 🎵

The next chapter will be fun! We get to meet a special character in this story, so get ready!