Toy Wolf

Chapter 1: bad day

I landed on the cell floor with little ceremony. The door slammed shut behind me and I stayed with my warm face pressed against the cold concrete. My insides were knotted with another dose of silver, but other than that, today hadn't been unbearable.

I heard a creak from the metal bunk bed, and Stefa landed lightly next to me.

"Hey Wolf," she said softly. "Bad day?"

I shook my head, and let her help me up from my position on the floor. When she had first arrived, her purple hair had been vibrant and confusing. Now, I used it to track the time. She had nearly three inches of dark brown hair above the purple.

"I hope they'll bring us dinner," she said, sitting with me on my bed. "I haven't eaten for so long, even you look tasty. And Wolf, I hope you understand how desperate that is."

I smiled and nodded. The shock collar around my neck kept me from speaking; it was supposed to stop my wolf form from howling, but interpreted speech the same way. It also kept me from shifting into my wolf form. Stefa didn't seem to mind carrying the conversation and would often fill in my side anyway.

"Speaking of, I think you might be the only werewolf here," she remarked. "We have vampires of course, and I hear there are others; someone was saying how most werewolves die in the first two months. You've made it four."

I flashed her a smile and she snuggled up next to me.

"You're so warm," she purred. "I can hear your blood pump in your chest. It's calming."

Stefa hadn't bitten me yet, despite threatening nearly every day. Mostly, I wasn't certain she could; they had fitted her with a mouthpiece that kept her fangs from showing. The first month she had spoken with a muffled lisp, but now, I barely heard it. She also wore cuffs on her wrists; Stefa had explained that they were magnetic and the scientists used them for control. I would have preferred cuffs to my collar.

It was odd how cold she was, and how little she smelled. She didn't smell like blood or death. These were things I wished we could discuss. Still, having someone here was better than being by myself. It made the prodding and the experiments more bearable. She wrapped her arms around my thin shoulders and rested her head.

Some days we will sit like this for hours, but to my surprise the door slot rattled and a tray clattered on the ground. Stefa stretched and released me to bring the tray to our laps. They had brought her a cold bag of blood and a protein shake for me.

Stefa held the bag against my bare chest as I drank down my shake. It was gritty and unappetizing, but I hadn't eaten in days.

"I feel so sorry for the other vampires," she mused. "They have to either drink cold blood, or let it warm and congeal. Disgusting. You're not a bad cellmate, Wolf, though a mite chatty. I feel like I can barely get a word in edgewise."

She was teasing, of course. I was slowing learning how to detect her sarcasm.

"Well, while you're occupied with your dinner, I'll tell you how my day went," she said. "They wanted to test our reflexes again; I supposed trying to see if we were faster or slower when we haven't fed in two weeks. I was faster; but I'm a bit older than the other vampires they have captured." Stefa shook her head. "Most of the vampires here are only a year or two from being turned. They're basically feral; no wonder they were caught."

Stefa had never told me how she had been captured. I imagined it was not a happy story. I worried about my family when I had a chance to think about them, but knew that they, regardless of what was happening at the farm, were better off than I was.

She checked the bag of blood and removed it from my chest.

"If you would?" she requested.

I let my canines grows just a little and I used them to rip through the plastic without spilling a drop. The scientists had no idea that I could partially shift; it was my last secret and one I was desperate to keep. Stefa knew, but that was because there were few secrets between us.

She nodded her thanks, taking a swig of the blood with a happy sigh. Her face immediately lost its hollowness and she smiled.

"After our tests, they wanted us to fight each other for blood," she said. "I refused. The little ones need it more than I do. Three more died today; I can't imagine the others lasting more than a month of this. I know we're not human, but sheesh. It seems like a waste of resources. I doubt they want to go hunt more of us. Or make more of us. I don't know how this place works."

Stefa took another long sip and leaned against my shoulder as I set my cup back on the tray, wiping the sides of the cup with my finger to get the last bit of nutrients. Stefa hadn't eaten in two weeks; I couldn't go so long, but I hadn't eaten in a couple days. My normally thin frame was skeletal and I wondered how I would fare in wolf form. Full moon wasn't for another couple days.

Stefa finished the bag, not throwing it on the tray until she had relieved it of every drop. She took the tray and placed it back against the door. The guards mostly left us alone, and both of us knew that was because we took great pains to make their lives as simple as possible. We did not protest, we did not try to run, and we did not fight back. From what I had heard about the other vampires, Stefa was as much of anomaly as I was. I hypothesized that this was the reason we were cellmates.

"Get some sleep," she told me. "I'll keep watch."

Vampires didn't sleep, or at least, that was what Stefa told me. I lay down on my stomach, and Stefa's cold fingers touched my back gently, seeing if I had any more welts or bruises.

"It's a mess," she sighed. "Not you, Wolf. Just...today. Go to sleep."

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Welcome! This is the second book in my werewolf story. It leans on its own; the character are totally new save poor, dear Conor.

Thanks for reading!