Wolf's Path (Monstrous Hearts: The Short Stories)

A Raking of Teeth

Author's Note: For those of you who've read Wolf's Wife, this short story is a glimpse into certain moments of Alice's life before and after that book. All of it takes place before the events in Wolf's Bane. It's also my entry for the Wolves After Dark contest hosted by the Wattpad AfterDark Community. Good luck to everyone else entering!

Alice winced in the bright light, tugging at the handcuffs that kept her arms above her head in a useless attempt at shielding her eyes. She must have blacked out the night before, for her last clear memory was of taking a shot glass from Rob and glancing around while everyone else drank from their own glasses, expressions eager.

She also remembered how Magdalene's gaze had fixed on her, the entheogen already taking effect in the way her pupils dilated enough to reflect Alice's pale, strained face. A languid smile had softened those sharp lips, growing as Alice had finally swallowed her own dose of the drug.

Then someone in the room had started laughing, a shrill, manic sound that seemed to go on without the need for breath, and Alice wasn't sure if she'd started hallucinating or not as she gagged and then gagged again, throat closing up and teeth wriggling loose in their sockets. Then they fell from her mouth like pebbles, leaving her clawing at her bloody gums in horror even as Magdalene continued to watch, that wicked smile never faltering...

With a shudder, Alice tugged at the handcuffs again, taking in how loose they felt against her wrists. Props, probably. Another memory surfaced—the constant clicking of Rob's camera while he fucked her hard enough to make the bed creak, his usual photographer's calm transformed into frenzied panting and sweat-slicked skin. Her mind flinched and so did her body, quickly slipping free of the handcuffs. Then she pushed herself upright, still thick-headed enough that the world spun around her for a few heartbeats. Her sore cunt protested every movement and her bare skin felt inflamed. Even her throat felt raw. Had she screamed? That made no sense to her, for this wasn't the first night of its kind. Not for her.

The room had no windows and the door was locked. Alice knocked, then pounded, and then finally yelled. It was Rob's house she was trapped in; Rob's semen dried on her thighs. But when her voice rose high and cracked, it wasn't his name that filled the lifeless air. "Magdalene? Magdalene, I'm awake. Please, let me out. I don't feel well at all."

No answer, and her heart began to pound. Her fingers dug into the wood as she called out again, willing to shout until her throat bled. She couldn't be kept here alone; Magdalene had been testing her so much, lately, but she couldn't be that cruel. Not if she loved her.

Just as her voice rose into a shriek, footsteps approached from the other side. Then new light flooded over her and she flinched back, shading her eyes even as a silhouette leaned against the opened door and beckoned at her. A taste as bitter as ash filled her mouth as she realized Rob stood before her, alone and returned to his usual urbane appearance.

"Where's Magdalene?" she said, wanting nothing to do with him now that circumstance no longer demanded it.

"Gone. It took you longer than the rest to get over it, and she got tired of waiting around." Rob's voice guided her out into the rest of the house, and she tried to cover herself as he shut the door again.

Her shoulders hunched at his closeness—ridiculous, considering the previous night—and she turned away with flushed cheeks.

"There's a robe on the chair over there." Then his hand ran along her arm, skimming her breast, and she quickly pulled out of reach.

It drew a scoff from him. "You agreed to last night."

"I did." Her voice remained quiet while she shrugged into the thin silk. "But I don't remember anything that happened. Was Magdalene there?"