Caged Wolf
Chapter One: Dusk

Song of the Chapter: Lullaby of Woe by Ashley Serena

My life has become a waking nightmare once more, only worse than before. The day my pack was captured by humans wearing white contacts was the day everything fell into darkness. That day I became Jack’s puppet to use how he pleased, I did so for the sake of my packmates lives. If I didn’t give in to him than it meant the death of everyone I had come to care for. At the time I hadn’t felt I had a choice, even now I still feel like my options were limited. Today marked the third anniversary of this new life, today Jack finally broke me to the point that I lost myself in the monster I’ve become. Moments ago I forgot my packmates lives were at stake, I cared only about correcting my own horrid life. Today I threw everything I was protecting away, I locked the sliver of my old self away deep within myself. Jack’s bloodstains my lips, teeth and paws from when I struck him down tearing him limb from limb until he is unrecognizable. His body is still warm beneath my paws and I’m sure by now Allister and Draco have heard his death scream mixed with my own frenzied snarls. Red no longer hazes my eyes as I fall away from the mess beneath me shaking with fear at my own capabilities. I truly am the monster I never wanted to become. I’ve killed before but, this was different, this was a pure loss of control, pure feral. Jack pushed me too far for too long. I settle down in the corner with my head on my paws unable to tear my eyes away from the thing that was once Jack. I try to feel the things I once might have, remorse, pity, anger, something but I can’t. I simply feel hollow like I’m a pumpkin that’s been carved out. A person shouldn’t feel hollow after their rapiest and tormentor has been killed then again Jack used me for so many things maybe he permanently damaged my soul. Maybe the old Dusk is gone and replaced by this shell of a person full of death and terrible guilt that she can’t face. Guilt over the people I killed for Jack, over the children’s lives ended too early, over the Wolves I brought in for him. If one’s life could be defined by horrible things mine would need to be a novel. I blink and reach within myself for my bond with Noah, it is very faint but still there and I take comfort in the knowledge that my actions haven’t seemed to affect him, yet. Noah and my packmates are tucked away in a facility where they are being studied for being Wolves, Jack and I had a deal that if I were to do everything he wanted my packmates and Noah would never be harmed, they would be kept happy and healthy. Or so I was always lead to believe. The bedroom door comes flying open as Draco enters the room stopping dead at the scene before him. His green-dyed hair flops into his blue-contact eyes with the halt in momentum as Allister appears next to him wearing identical blue-contacts but has his original dirty-blond hair colour. They blink, I stare and then Draco produces a needle from his belt loop and moves for me, fury written on his face. I know what this needle contains, after all, Draco has threatened me with it over and over. Liquid death, a product Jack’s sister, Penny, produced for them from my very own bone marrow that the extracted from me and sent to her, a serum made specifically for me so effective I can’t burn it away. I sigh accepting my demise when Allister reaches out and stops Draco.

“Penny wants her alive,” Allister states simply though his face is almost as pale as Jack’s unseeing eyes.

“Jack ordered us to kill her if she ever disobeyed, to kill them all,” Draco announces venom in his tone.

“Penny’s in charge now and she wants the Hellhound alive, plus we need her if we still wish to harness her powers Draco,” Allister replies his tone non-negotiable as he pulls a pistol full of tranquillizers from his hip.

I feel several darts slip into my side but I don’t flinch, at this point, I’ve endured much worse. I close my eyes and let the drugs take me away as I dream of Noah and terrible deaths that flash across my memory.