Brother Wolf

Ch 2 Release

The man standing in the hole glared up at me with hatred at first, blinking against the dim light. I could see his confusion when he realized I wasn't who he was expecting. I tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the stench from the underground prison. There was an almost empty bucket of water, and another bucket three-quarters full of waste, and not much else. There were a few boxes and cans of food shoved in a corner. The man wore a filthy pair of jeans and nothing else. I looked at him with pity.

"Come, brother, let me help you out of this pit," I said gently. I laid flat, reaching an arm down.

He just stood there a moment, some measure of hatred returning to his features. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"The man who is going to help you get out of there," I replied with a touch of humor. "I am called Brother-to-all-Wolves."

He pulled back the arm he started to reach up, a sneer crossing his features. "Wolves," he snarled, leaping suddenly, grabbing me to pull me down with him. Not wanting to hurt him, and knowing Mac had my back up above, I allowed myself to fall. Twisting and changing form as I went down, I landed on four legs.

The man instinctually backed up before taking a step forward. "I'm not afraid of you, wolf," he hissed. I smelled the adrenaline that made his heart beat faster. Being this close to him, I detected no trace of a wolf on him.

"Brother, you good?" Mac called out.

I smoothly rose until I was a man once more. My rapid shifting had the man back up again, his eyes wide.

"I'm fine, Mac," I called back. "I think he's human."

I spread my hands out, palms facing the man. "I truly desire to help you. Events have occurred, of which you are unaware. I am Brother-to-all-Wolves," I said again, "king of the werewolves. I have come to free you. I will not tolerate this kind of abuse in my realm. The others here have chosen to leave the one who bit them and kept their wives captive. I..."

"Their wives," the man said, his eyes getting a haunted look to them.

I knew then, what had happened, if not the details. When the man focused on me again, he seemed surprised to see my compassion.

"Come, brother," I told him gently, "let us leave this filth. You need a shower, and probably a good meal as well. Let's begin there, and we will talk."

"Talk," he sneered, poised to fight. "Where is the bastard that killed my wife? He's the one I want to talk to."

"He waits on my commands," I told him, his words confirming my suspicion. I tried to calm him down. "He is never going to hurt anyone again. You have my word. I..."

The man lunged at me, either unable or unwilling to constrain himself. I evaded him by stepping sideways, striking his kidneys with my elbow. Snaking my other arm up, I grabbed the back of his shoulder, ramming my hip into his torso. Pressing his arm down, I squatted low, maneuvering him down with me into a simple arm lock.

He struggled, managing to slide out of my hold. Gaining his footing, he pulled himself upright. He lunged at me again, pushing us toward the wall of the narrow space. Shifting to a wolf, I dropped below him, turning back to a man as I rose to grab him again. He swung with his foot, trying to kick me in the shin.

I wrapped my leg around him, and we both fell sideways, bumping the stinking buckets over. Putting my years of wrestling to good use, I twisted, getting on top of him. It was easy to lace my arm under his and behind his head, pinning him with a half-nelson, despite the slime we rolled in. He struggled against me, to little effect.