Beast

Chapter 10

Waking with a gasp, I immediately start coughing. I try to sit up but my body screams in protest. My eyes feel gross and crusty, but I manage to open them. A small, orange bulb dangles from the mouldy ceiling, allowing me to see the steel bars that surround me. There are about twenty other suspended cages; one holds something grey and furry, like a bigger version of the pup, but I can’t make out what it is because it’s curled up, and the only other filled cage holds a malnourished man who watches me with a frown. “Where am I?” I croak. 

“The Hunter’s basement,” his voice sounds just as croaky as my own. I try sitting up again and succeed, but not without having to grit my teeth to stop from crying out. A Weight falls onto my lap making me jump and whack my head on one of the bars that run along the top of my cage. The puppy! 

“Hey little guy!” I whisper in happiness and settle him into a comfy position. The poor thing looks as bad as I feel.

“You have a protective pup,” the man says. I look up and manage a weak smile.

“Thanks.” I kiss its furry forehead, happy to see a familiar face. He snuggles into my tummy with a shiver, it is cold in here. Goose bumps cover my skin and my teeth want to chatter, but I’m still gritting them to keep my pain at bay. It’s not working very well. I look back up and see the man still staring at me, it makes me feel uncomfortable and I resist the urge to shift under the weight of his stare.

“You smell familiar.” He squints at me, lifting his nose into the air like a dog. 

“Smell?” 

 “Yeah, I’ve smelt you before.” He audibly inhales deeper. “Alpha?” He tilts his head, staring wide eyed.

“My name is Esme, not Alpha,” I’m beginning to get concerned about his mental state; obviously being in this cage has made him crazy.

“You don’t know what we are, do you?” He scratches his over grown hair, causing flakes of dirt and other stuff to fall out and drift to the floor of his cage. I try not to gag.

“Human?” I frown, what else could we be? His shoulders start shaking before I actually hear him laugh, it sounds rough on my ears, like sandpaper.

“Whew!” He wipes away invisible tears from under his eyes. “Oi! Hugo! You need to see this!” He cackles again, slapping his thigh comically. 

The matted, grey, furry mess moves and a head, a wolf head to be exact, rise above skinny shoulders. Its dull eyes meet my own and all I see is agony. It whines, but even that sounds like effort for the emaciated thing. The little pup in my lap cries back, and it’s a beautiful display of communication and support between two beings of the same species, offering each other much needed support. The wolf never removes its eyes from mine, and I can’t find myself to look away either. He needs help, as does the croaky man and the little pup. Perhaps a reassurance will help. “Warren will send help, my papa went back to get him.” The wolf’s eyes widen and the croaky man chokes.

“Warren?” He wheezes. “You mean the Prince?” 

The wolf growls at croaky, immediately shutting him up. When the wolf meets my eyes again, they are bright now, with hope and excitement I don’t know, but they are a piercing yellow that suddenly change to blue then back. I feel my own eyes widen. “What are you?” I whisper.

“Werewolves.” Croaky kindly answers. 

“Werewolves?”

“Didn’t I just say that?” Croaky looks at the wolf then back at me. The wolf huffs, and then tries to stand. “Hugo, don’t, you’ll hurt yourself more.” Croaky actually sounds concerned.  Hugo just bares his teeth. He manages to get up on all four paws, but his entire body shakes. I can clearly see how skinny he is now. No muscle or fat anywhere. I hug the pup closer to me; I will not let him get like Hugo, on the verge of death. Hugo slowly turns so he is facing me then collapses on the floor with a grunt. “I-If you are werewolves… the why doesn’t Hugo turn into human form?”