Dark Aura (under editing)

Part 2 Wolf's den: Cruel fate

"Why hello there... mage. You're going to be some great use to us." I stare down at the floor with my head hanging. I don't have the strength to look at him. "If you cooperate with us, mage, no harm will come to you." My head remains low.

"Grr.... GROWL!" I snap my head up from the menacing growl. This must be the Alpha; he looks to be around his forties. His guards growled at me. Looks like I upset them with my disrespect for their Alpha.

"No need to get upset for this mage's lack of discipline."

"Grrr.." The wolf looks at me and snaps its sharp, grotesque teeth in my direction. I may not understand wolf, but that seemed like a threat...

"Tsk, what do you want?" I spat.

"That's better." I look away from his yellow eyes. "You're a mage, are you not? You should be familiar with the rare capabilities and necessities you provide."

"If you're referring to healing, then you are in a predicament." I say frankly.

"What do you mean, you don't possess the capability?" He roared.

"I don't possess it!" I say firmly.

"You expect me to believe a ludicrous lie just as such!"

"I'm not lying! If I did know, I wouldn't be stuck in this predicament!"

"Ah, I see. You refused to heal yourself so you can tell this lie and make it seem true..." Argh! NO! Why are werewolves so stubborn!

"No! I can't heal!"

"I understand, maybe that capability will soon be restored with a little assistance." I shudder at the thought. If only I had enough energy to fight back, right now, the best I can do is try not to give them a reason to kill me. Although they need me, wolves are very impatient and aggressive. If I'm not careful enough, they will kill me out of anger. My head throbs, probably from the magic I cast in the forest, I pushed myself despite how weak I became. On top of that, my ankle has no strength to it, if I move or stand, I'll fall instantly. I have no choice but to remain their prisoner... for now.

The Alpha walks out whispering to the guards in front of the cavern. Heh, they're probably thinking that since I'm a child, I'm more willing to agree to all of their demands. Like hell! If I had my magic to its full potential, they wouldn't be breathing! Heh, maybe I was better off in the village, I would've burned along with my wretched father. But no, I escaped my tragic death and now I'm here held as prisoner by scum! Well, on the bright side, they won't starve me, they need me alive. This way, I don't have to fend for myself. The cavern is deep underground, so there's no way to tell whether it's night or day.

Clang! A wooden bowl of liquid is thrown on the ground. Is this my meal? The wolf looks at me with distaste, "Supper." He spat with a distasteful tone. It appears to be some type of soup. The meat is questionable, and the broth is an odd color. Despite its appeal, I can't remember the last time that I ate. My stomach rumbles and my mouth waters. I scoop the bowl up to my mouth hungrily, wait. I look up and sure enough, the wolf is watching me. I slide my hand on the bottom of the bowl and let it slip through my fingers.

"AH!" I hold my hand. The wolf growls at me. I can sense it vibrate in the cavern causing me to shiver a bit. "I burned my hand." I say meekly. He hovers over me.

"You ungrateful bitch!" He pulls his fist back; I close my eyes tight waiting for his fist to collide against my face.

"Pierce!" the Alpha barked. Pierce snapped his head and stormed over to him.

"The mage emptied out the soup that you prepared!" He barked back. The Alpha's eyes glow yellow, his nails turn into claws.

"You do not raise your tone with me Pierce!" He roared. Pierce bows his head down.

"Forgive me Alpha." He says with a gentle tone. The Alpha reverts back to his normal human form.

"Go tend to the field, I don't want you in my sight." He nods reluctantly and looks back at me. The glare is full of hatred and anger.

I gulp, if it weren't for the Alpha, he would've beat me senseless. When Pierce is out of sight, the Alpha snaps at me. "You may not be part of the pack or a wolf, BUT YOU'RE IN MY DOMAIN MAGE! WHICH MEANS YOU WILL LISTEN AND OBEY, MY EVERY WORD!" I sit there appearing to be unfazed, I won't give him the satisfaction of him seeing me shudder. Wolves feed on fear, especially from mages. "WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU, YOU LOOK UP AT ME!" He roared even louder.

I bite my tongue, so I won't get myself more into trouble. I slowly acknowledge him, setting aside my pride. It's almost as if chains are binding me and moving me to his command. "WHEN I OFFER YOU SOMETHING YOU TAKE IT GRATEFULLY! WHEN YOU SPEAK TO ME, YOU SPEAK WITH PERMISSION!"

HOW DARE HE... HOW DARE HE STRIP MY PRIDE! TO BE LIKE HIS FAITHFUL MUTTS! HOW DARE HE SPEAK TO ME AS IF HE OWNS ME AND HAS CONTROL OVER ME! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY STRENGTH, I'LL CRACK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY, TEAR OPEN YOUR MUSCLES, AND GIVE YOU THE FEELING OF NEEDLES STRIKING THROUGH YOUR HEART! AND MAKE EVERY ONE OF YOUR MUTTS WATCH AS YOU SUFFER AND DIE BY MY HAND! AND THEN! THEN WE WILL SEE WHO'S MORE PATHETIC! The wolf guards creep up close to me standing next to their Alpha, I can sense the vibration of the low growls. They creep closer and closer with a swift motion snap! The wolf's teeth nearly grazed my ear. Snap! My body trembles. I hug myself close to keep me from trembling anymore. The Alpha looks down at me along with the wolf guards. He wears a smug expression. The wolves take back their post and the Alpha leaves. I can still feel my body shaking. How long do I have here? How long until they both had it with me and kill me? No! I didn't escape that hell hole just to die in this cavern with these filthy mongrels!

"ARGHHHHHHHH!" I cry out after another, another. Until my lungs burn, and my throat is sore. The echoes of my screams ring out the cavern. How did I get here again! Why am I here! I'm trapped and defenseless. All I can do is scream! Which will only exhaust me even more, but I don't care! It's the only freedom I have. I fall into a deep sleep. I'm startled awake by the sound of a wooden cup being slammed down. My throat is dry and sore, I trail my eyes up to see a wolf boy. He's not one of the guards in the front. He's young and isn't as strong as the other wolves.

"Here." He slides the cup towards me with his foot. His voice wasn't the slightest intimidating. But I could tell he did try, I glare at him with dazed eyes. I don't have the strength to even glare at him. "You need this." He insists. Oh? Do I? I don't move a muscle, he sits down across from me.

My body tenses, he takes the cup and takes a sip right in front of me.
"See, it's just water." I can almost mistake his tone to be more pleading than insisting.

He puts the cup down and holds it out for me to take it. Some herbs don't take full effect right away. I follow him closely; he looks panicked under my gaze. I hold my gaze on him making sure he looks perfectly normal. I observed him carefully as he took a sip.

The liquid did touch his lips, he places the cup down. I wait until he leaves to take it. I take a small sip and wait, nothing. I guess it is clean? I gulp the whole cup down, the water flows in my mouth. For not drinking water for a day, it feels like eternal bliss. When I've finally satisfied my thirst. The wolf boy comes back again, I don't feel as dazed as before. I shoot him a glare as he steps in the cavern, he's holding a wooden plate with bread.

He slides it with his foot in front of me. He sits down across from me and takes a small chunk of the bread and eats it in front of me. It's awfully tricky to bake bread with certain herbs. The only way would be to lather the bread with liquids. But even then, the bread would turn a different shade of color.