Feral For Her Freedom
FIVE

Fear did not infect me. It could not worm its way into my bones and make me shake and shiver like a coward. I held my head high, well as high as I could with the restrictions of the muzzle restraining me.

I was brought to the front of the line and then waited for the first pool to be called forward. My circumstances were a bit unusual compared to the other females’ and therefore I was not placed into the lineup like normal. At The Finding, the females were judged based on the ‘beauty standards’ and separated into groups of fifty people which were called pools.

They would stand in a line as the top-ranking males walked through and inspected them. If they found their consort, they’d draw them out of the lineup and either accept them or reject them. If their consort was not found they would wait until the second pool, third pool, and so on. While the females were forced to stand and suffer until every male had gone through from highest ranking to lowest, the males got to leave and mingle, wandering through Rownoak. On the screens plastered throughout Rownoak, a streaming of The Finding took place and a timer counted down the time until the next pool.

The line in front of me began to move as the first forty-nine females filed into the room, while I brought up the rear, followed closely by Jericho and Jude. The females stood on the tile, a block of space between each of them. Their heads all slightly bowed demurely, their hands clasped in front of them meekly.

I, being in my special handcuffs, was unable to grab my fingers, not that I’d ever want to. My muzzle didn’t let me duck my chin, but I’d never have done it anyway.

We stood for what seemed like forever. I was the only one who continued to shift, my chains rattling with every movement, but I was restless.

Jude growled at me and gave me a good yank. I only returned the gesture, pulling him towards me with a sharp jerk. We both glared at each other, daring the other to make the next move.

He took a singular step when the doors opened, and the first group of males entered. They were all Ones. I could tell by the way their auras filled up the room. They swaggered in, some smirking while others just looked perpetually pissed. They started at the opposite end of the line. Pulling females forward to inspect them, turning them around, pulling the sleeves off their shoulders to inspect their collarbone and neck for any marks.

I didn’t know exactly how it was you identified your consort, a lot of the females said you could tell just by looking in their eyes, but obviously that was a lie. I looked on, interested to see how many of these females would be claimed.

I spotted a One bury his nose in a female’s neck, licking up her throat. I shuddered in disgust. His teeth then clamped down on her skin, and the female jolted, her face twisting in pain. Then the male lifted his head, pulling his teeth from her neck, leaving a bloody ring around her neck. He pulled her from the line and stepped away, keeping her behind him as he waited until all the males were finished.

I hadn’t noticed I had wandered forward until Jude tugged me back. I lost my footing and landed on my butt, my metal encased hands clanging on the ground. I shot up with a snarl and barreled into the Zeta agent. I was enraged I’d been embarrassed. I had been behaving and this is how I was rewarded?

Jericho pulled me off of his comrade and forced me on my knees. I thrashed and howled as he got my arms around my back, interlocking my cuffed hands with the hooks on the contraption. I tried with all my might to pull my hands apart, but they were locked together.

From his pocket he pulled another syringe. My struggles increased tenfold as he neared me and jabbed it into my shoulder. My body went numb and I lost all feeling in my limbs. My tongue was heavy in my mouth.

All eyes were on me as my shoulders rose and fell rapidly with adrenaline still running through my veins.

The Ones started to whisper among themselves, eyeing me cryptically. I wanted to claw their eyes out for looking at me in such a way.

Soon I was surrounded by them like I was some sort of circus animal they’d never seen.

“A feral?” one asked the obvious question.

“The feral.” Jude affirmed.

I eyed them all with disgust, I had no doubt I’d been in most of their territories at one point or another, right under their noses that they stuck so high up in the air. I had a smart-ass comment, but it would only be muffled and lost thanks to the muzzle.

“She won’t last,” another commented, turning my glare to him. “She’s not beautiful,” he picked at a piece of my hair, “and she’s not obedient. Too much hassle.”

Again, with the ugly comment?

He wasn’t such a looker himself. His arrogance was unattractive, and his baby face didn’t help matters. Besides, what was beauty anyway? Didn’t that vary from eye to eye? The standards of ideal beauty in our society were petite females with tiny waists, big eyes and a round face with a small button nose.

They all looked like children in my opinion. Weak and helpless, in need of guidance and a protector. I always rolled my eyes at the sight of these females, at how ‘innocent’ and ‘shy’ they were. Apparently being a spineless twig with bug eyes was attractive.

It all seemed backwards to me. Males were the exact opposite. Large and broad, accompanied with sharp features and cold eyes. The more opinionated and brash, possessive and hotheaded, the better. Two ends of the extremes. I’d much prefer they met somewhere in the middle.

Another male touched my neck, seeing it unmarked and traced his fingers across my shoulders. I wanted to rip away from his touch, but my body was anchored in place by whatever shit they’d injected me with. “To tame her would be quite a feat,” he said quietly, “a battle of wills.” Something almost like respect glittered in his eyes.

I kept my scowl, but I studied this male.

He was older than the majority of the males here. Probably in his mid to late thirties, while most of the ones here were late twenties, early thirties at best.

His inky black hair was gelled back, but the strands seemed too stubborn to stay back and were messy like he’d run his hand continuously through it. He had an oval shaped face with a strong jawline, it wasn’t blocky and square like most males. His eyes were electric blue, framed with dark lashes and straight brows above them. He looked like someone who frowned too much, never smiled, and was always stressed but never dared showed it. He was handsome, I wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

But that didn’t change the fact that he was a One and was a chauvinistic domineering prick and his hand was still on me. If this muzzle wasn’t on my face, I’d have snapped his fingers off for touching me.

As if sensing my angst, his hand withdrew, and he tucked them away in his pockets.

“Does that mean, you’re taking the female, Sarakiel?” One of the males joked. “Maybe you should just give up, it’s been ten years hasn’t it?” The male shoved the other Ones out of his way and stood before me, giving me just a glance before he turned to Sarakiel and added, “I thought you’d given up. It’s been three years since you’ve attended, I wonder what could have possibly drawn you back here?”

I looked between the males knowing there was more meaning behind his words than what I understood. Looking between them, I could plainly see their rivalry. Sarakiel feigned indifference, dismissing the other male as if he was but a speck of dirt on his shoes while the others baited him with underhanded comments to which he delivered a smooth response if he even bothered to respond at all. Either way I was down for a bit of drama, especially if it diverted the attention away from me.

“Maybe this is your consort?” I muttered a curse to whatever greater beings were out there that refused to throw me a bone as the One turned the attention back on me. Glaring at him for bringing me back into the spotlight, my eyes followed his movements as he brought his hand closer to me. He noticed my aggravation and wiggled his fingers mockingly before my face and patted my head like I was a cute little puppy. “It’d explain your missing consort,” he told Sarakiel absently, his attention focused on examining me.

When he tugged at the neckline of my dress, I felt my fangs elongating in my mouth.

“I do agree with Ramiel, she’s nothing exquisite. She’s as flat as a board, no curves either.” He smirked at me, showing his incisors.

How I wanted to flash mine back.

“Perhaps she’s your consort, Taraqel. You both have the same temper, maybe she can keep you in line.” Sarakiel’s face was straight as he said it, a calm tone and stance disguising the insult as a mere statement.

The other males chuckled at the absurdity of a female teaching a male his place. “Shut your trap Leroy.” Taraqel replied through his teeth at one of the laughing wights. “Everyone knows that your consort will be the true One of your territory.”

Leroy stopped laughing and growled, squaring up to Taraqel as they had a stare down.

I rolled my eyes as this turned into a male pissing contest of dominance. Honestly, I was suffocating on the testosterone.

“Is she the consort of anyone here?” Jericho butted in, not wanting to be here all night with the first group of males.

I held my breath as all of the males looked me over one last time. They shook their heads and walked away, clearing out of the room so that the next group could enter.

A sigh of relief left my mouth as the last of them trickled out. I was still consort-less.

“Don’t look so relieved, female,” Jude sneered, “that was just the first group. We’ve got all night to go.” I growled at him and received a whack to the back of the head. “Be quiet. I will not deal with this behavior all night.”

He’d deal with whatever I did tonight. It was his job, and he couldn’t do a damn thing to me until my consort was found. I stayed on my knees because my limbs were still locked from whatever they’d shot me full of.

As the next group of males came in, I thought of all the ways I’d hurt Jude when I escaped and was free again. So wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the male that continuously looked at me until he was directly in front of me.

“Remove the muzzle,” he told Jude his eyes on mine the whole while. I bristled at his authoritative tone. Jude was a Zeta agent and probably five years his senior. I inhaled his scent to smell his rank. My nostrils burned with the smell. He was a Two, figures. They always thought themselves something special.

He was probably three years younger than me, but he still thought he was the biggest baddest wolf in the room.

“That’s not a wise idea,” Jericho told him lowly, not impressed with him.

The Two shrugged off his warning. “You think a female will be able to hurt me?” He looked me over like I was about as terrifying as a kitten. “The cuffs too.”

“No–” Jericho snarled but Jude grabbed his shoulder.

“She’s a female, what can she possibly do?” the Two drawled. Jericho was about to inform him of everything that I could do when Jude stepped in, giving him a look. Jericho begrudgingly reached into his pocket for the key and took off the muzzle from my face and the cuffs from my hands. He gave me a pleading look to behave, but my attention was focused on the Two before me.

He came closer, too close for my liking. I gave him a low grumble in warning. He ignored it and I sensed Jericho tensing up next to me. He was about to step between the Two and I but then the Two pulled my sleeve away and examined my neck.

His pupils dilated and I knew.

This Two was my consort and he was about to sink his teeth into me unless I did something to stop him.

Jericho and Jude realized it a second after me, but they were too late to stop me.

One minute I was perfectly human and the next I was in my pure state. Whatever they’d injected me with had worn off or I had so much adrenaline in my blood it overpowered the serum. I raked my claws down the Two’s face, across the bridge of his nose and sliced open his lips that held the teeth he thought he could sink into my throat.

I slammed him down on the tile, my claws piercing into the base of his neck as I hauled him up and kept him in front of me like a protective shield.

“Holy shit!” One of the other males exclaimed, seeing me in the pure state and having overpowered the male so easily.

“Fuck!” Jericho hissed, “I knew this would happen.”

“It’s fine,” Jude was calm, “where is she going to go?” He took a cautious step towards me. “Besides, he’s her consort she won’t kill him.”

In answer I smiled evilly, flashing the whole room my fangs and plunged my hand into my consort’s stomach. Like I did to the wights by the river I pulled out his intestines.

I shoved the male to the ground, his knees cracking painfully on the hard tile. The Two coughed out a mouthful of blood, a hand going to his stomach. “This will be the fate of any who attempts to command me!” I howled into the room. The other females started crying in fear and huddled together as if that would protect them from me.

“You’re batshit crazy!” my consort shouted as he and another tried to hold his intestines in. “She’s feral,” he told Jude and Jericho like they hadn’t known, “you have my permission to euthanize her.” He spat at me like he had decided my fate. He didn’t know I had no intention of dying nor would I for a long while yet.

I only smirked smugly at the pathetic bloody mess of a male on the ground beneath me as my arms were yanked behind me and I was towed from the room.