Tamer Of Wolves

~Aftermath of Wrath~

Now fully clothed, I walk out from behind the tree. I avoid my guards' gazes, still pissed that they'd left me alone. As I walk by them, Lucy pipes up.

"Luna, we-" she tries to start but I cut her off.

"Save it," I command. She shuts up instantly. "How dare you leave me? Your Luna! What if something had happened to me out there?!" I yell at them, their bowed heads showing how scared they are.

"Alpha Ian was with you... He was the one who told us to return here," Meredith's voice is low, soft and full of fear.

"Oh really?" I can't believe how stupid this girl is. "Well, Alpha Ian was the one who nearly RAPED ME!!!" I lose it. Meredith whimpers and shrinks away from me. I swear a tear leaks out of her eye.

A hand rests on my shoulder, and I swing around quickly. It's Forrest. He throws his arms up in surrender. "Whoa, chill out there, tiger," he places both of his hands on my shoulders, and looks into my eyes. "Listen to me. Go to the Pack Doctor and have her take a look at that scratch." Forrest points at my scratch and I place my hand to it. When I take my hand away, there's blood covering the tips of my fingers. Tilting my head to get a better look, my Gamma says, "Must've still had some silver extract on his hands. Sloppy bastard."

He shoos me towards the pack house and I start up the stairs. I hear him bark orders at my two guards, but I am too humiliated to listen.

I walk down the countless hallways trying to find the Pack Doctor's office. Members from the pack all give me stares and as I pass, I hear rumors start and spread like wildfire. I block them all out, and focus on the stinging pain in my cheek. I finally reach the Doctor's office and I burst through the door.

Our Pack Doctor, Tabitha, shoots up from her chair as I storm in and plop right down on her examination table. I'm so pissed and humiliated that I don't say anything. She tentatively walks in front of me and examines my sliced cheek with her usual gentleness. With a questioning look, she asks, "Was this Ian?" By the look on my face, she knows instinctively her gut was right.

With a sigh, Tabitha walks towards the cupboards lining the walls of the small room. I admire Tabitha as I always have. She's 5'10" which puts her taller than Raven, Ian's father. Her dark skin is unblemished and unaffected by her 45 years on this earth. And her long beautiful light brown hair with blondish highlight goes down to her waist and sways as she walks. Speaking of Tabitha's walk, she always has a swing in her step, like she's always in a good mood. She's got a southern accent, and she could smooth talk her way out of any confrontation she'd had with Raven in the past.

Tabitha grabs a pair of tweezers, a bottle of peroxide and a clean rag out of the cabinets and sashays her way over to me. She pulls up her swivel chair to me and lays the rag and peroxide bottle on her bench side table.

"Lemme see your cheek, baby," Tabitha says. I oblige, tilting my head so she can see the slash.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Ian gotcha good darlin," she exclaims as she picks up the tweezers and moves them towards my face. Tabitha suddenly freezes; the tweezers are a couple inches from my face.

"What's wrong, Tabitha?" I ask, worried. The doctor's face is one of pure shock. She tilts my head towards the light.

"Does it sting?" She asks suddenly.

Warily, I nod my head.

"How long ago did Ian scratch you?" Tabitha asks. She's replaced the tweezers with her face; putting the tweezers down in the bench side table and examining my cheek closely.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" A voice sounded from the door. I look and see Forrest leaning against the threshold of the door. Tabitha notices him too, and looks in his direction quickly before turning back to my cheek.

"Why Forrest Blanchard, as I live and breathe," she chuckles before returning to my face.

"Well Tabby? Is she gonna die?" Forrest feigns panic as he walks over and pulls up a chair next to Tabitha so he can look at my face, too.

"No Gamma, she won't die. It's just there's something shiny in her wound and I'm not sure what it is." Tabitha scoffs. "By the way Marina. You didn't answer my question. How long ago did Ian scratch you?" She asks me.

"Maybe 10 minutes ago," I answer.

"Well shit," Tabitha sighs and leans back.

Forrest and I share a look. "What? What is it?" I ask, genuinely concerned now.

"Ian was in the torture rooms again this morning and I'd heard that he and Raven had been using silver extract to line their torture devices. He must not've washed his hands as throughly as he should've, and when he scratched you, it must've rubbed off and into your scratch," Tabitha explains as she grabs the tweezers and peroxide.

"That little idiot," Forrest mutters, rubbing his face with his hands. "How dare he hurt his Luna, let alone the Wolf Tamer!"

My head snaps up, earning me a scowl from Tabitha who could've easily stabbed me in the eye with the tweezers.

"Girl, do you want to lose an eye?!" She laughs breathily.

"Wait. Forrest, what do you mean by the Wolf Tamer? What's the Wolf Tamer?" I ask, looking at them both.

Tabitha and Forrest exchange glances before Tabitha smacks her Gamma behind his head.

"You dumbass!" She sighs.

"Ouch! Come on Tabby. She would've found out sooner or later. Might as well tell her now," Forrest grumbles.

"Fine. But don't let her get so shocked that she snaps her head up again and I end up cutting her throat. You hear me, darlin?" Tabitha points at me with a her eyes, giving me a warning.

I nod and let her work again. Forrest sighs and begins.

"Marina, you are special. You've been special since you've been born. You are what's called the Wolf Tamer," he says.

I nod for him to continue, but before he can, searing pain slices through my cheek as Tabitha pours a little of the peroxide on my cheek. I let out a surprised yet pained yelp as she dabs my cheek with the rag, and grabs her tweezers. She hands the bottle of peroxide to Forrest. "Make yourself useful and put this away for me, would ya?" Grateful for something else to do, Forrest springs up and strolls over to the cabinets.

Tabitha skillfully works the tweezers to where she can peel the melted silver sheets off of the wound. When she's done, she dabs the wound with the same rag and claps. "Done! You look as beautiful as you did before you got that hideous scar on your face!" As if she didn't notice the insult hidden in there, I laugh. "Gee thanks, Tabitha."

I stand up and look in the mirror. Three lashes the sizes of half-pencils are on my cheek. I turn around to Forrest who comes over and gently rubs my cheek. "You gonna live, kiddo?" He asks with his charming af smile. I nod. "Unfortunately for you, yes I will. So you'll have to live with me another day," I joke, smiling. He throws his arm across my shoulder, and chuckles. "It'd be my pleasure."

Forrest is like my adoptive father. I would trust him with anything. And I know he'd tell me anything, even what it means to be a 'Wolf Tamer.' But before I can bring it up again, he's out the door and down the hall.

I turn to Tabitha, hoping she can shed some light on why I'm so special, but she's got her headphones in and reading a magazine. Not wanting to be rude, I decide to leave.

It's not until I'm outside her office that I realize something: Tabitha was reading one of her daughter's magazines. She hates her daughter's magazines. She complains about how brainless they make my generation, so why would she be reading one? Unless she grabbed it out of nowhere just so that I wouldn't ask her about the whole Wolf Tamer business, I concluded.

I needed answers. I needed the truth. Taking a deep breath, I made my way to Ian's office. I needed to speak to Raven. He owes me an explanation.