My head was throbbing when I woke up. Rubbing my temples, I sat up and heard the jingle of chains. When my eyes were able to focus, I saw that my feet were in chains. The room I was in was dimly lit, with thin bars in front of me keeping me caged.
"What the fuck is going on?" I groaned.
"Oh, your finally awake, sleeping beauty."
I looked up to see a fat man with a buzz cut sitting at a desk looking at his phone.
"Your lucky," he continued.
"An order came down to kill you, but then you turned into a wolf, and the higher-ups decided that there were better uses for you." he finished, never looking up from his phone.
"Who ordered you to kill me? I asked.
For the first time, he looked up at me. His dull green eyes looked like they were contemplating.
"Well, I am not supposed even to be talking to you, but they don't pay me enough to give a shit," he chuckled. "Also, I technically don't know this, so should you blab, they can't trace it back to me. It was some guy named Tobias saying he wanted to protect his boss from some gold-digging whore." He said, popping some food he found on his desk into his mouth.
Fucking Tobias, I always knew that he never liked me, but I would have never guessed that he would order me to be killed. What kind of driver has the resources to order someone to be killed anyway. Then something else the guard said rushed into my head again.
"You said that your higher-ups found a better use for me. What is that?"
The chunky man cocked an eyebrow up and simply said "money" before going back to his phone.
Money? Oh god, were they going to hold me for ransom to get money from Milo? Would he pay them? I know he loves me but is he the kind of man to cater to threats, or would he let the police handle it? I wonder how much money they are going to ransom me for? My heart started to race like I'd just run a marathon, as all these thoughts swirled in my head. This fat guard seems to want to talk to me. He'll probably be willing to tell me more if I ask nicely. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to ask my next question when someone barged into the room. It was a tall stern-looking man in a suit.
"Oh, I see you're awake," He said, running his hands through his thinning blonde hair.
"Who are you, and what am I doing here?" I said, scooting closer to the wall as he approached me.
"It doesn't matter who I am." He said, reaching into his pockets, "And as for what you're doing here..." he paused and looked down at something that he'd just pulled from his hands. "All I gotta say is, are you ready for the carny life, you little bitch?"
Pointing something at me in the instant he finished his sentence, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was as though a large mosquito bit me. I looked down to see a dart sticking out of my chest. I reached up to yank it out, but it was as though someone turned my arm into cement. Reaching up felt as though I was lifting 200-pound weights, and I was on my hundredth rep. After seemingly an eternity, I managed to grab the dart and let my arm fall to my side. I looked back up at the blonde and tried to speak, but it was as though someone stuck my lips together with super glue. Taking a deep breath, which seemed to be the only thing that I could do easily, I concentrated on my wolf and the power that my Alpha blood has bestowed on me. Searching for the connection, I could not feel my wolf; I could not communicate with her either. This block was not of her doing either. Having had her shut me out for the last couple of years, I know what the mental wall she throws up to be left alone feels like. The absence I was feeling now was something different it was almost as if she was not there. That couldn't be; I was born a werewolf, and my line is pure, so there is no way that they could strip me of my wolf.
I searched instead for my alpha power. I could still feel it coursing through my veins though it felt weakened. Weak as it was, It confirmed that Elly was still with me. The nasty blonde that came in had a cold smile on his face as we locked eyes. Calling on all the powers that I had left, I was able to form the words "Why.... What..." before exhausting myself.
"Hahahaha, ha" The blonde held his stomach with one hand as he let out a sinister laugh. "You must have been a powerful little wolfy. Most people aren't able to say a word, let alone lift their arm to take out the control dart." He sneered. "I'm glad I came in here to do this myself. Now I can relay to the Witch that we will need a more potent potion for you. We can't be taking any chances at all with our new star attraction.
The man placed whatever he shot me with back in his pocket and took out a pen and paper; after jotting some stuff down, he handed it to the fat guard and said
"Take this to the witch upstairs, will ya, Alex."
"Sure thing, boss."
He said, grabbing the sheet and headed out the door.
The boss turned to look at me again and placed his hands behind his back.
"Now, to answer the questions that I'm sure are swimming through that pretty little head of yours," he said, pacing back and forth. " When we captured you two days ago, we sampled your DNA and had some witches cook us up a brew that would let us control you and your wolf." He continued to pace as he spoke, "You sit when we tell, you stand when we say, you piss on our schedule, and we say jump, you don't even say how high, you just do it!" he cackled. I felt the little strength of will I gathered to speak shatter as he told me that they had stripped me of my free will. Also, two days, I have been gone for two days? Was Milo looking for me, or has Tobias told him that I'm dead?
My thoughts were interrupted by Alex returning with a drink in his hands. The boss gestured to my cell when Alex looked at him questioningly, and Alex placed the cup he was holding on the ground in my cell.
"Now, crawl on your hands and knees bitch, and drink what's in the cup." the boss said coldly.
My hands flew forwards and touched the ground on their own. Stop! Stop right now! STAND! I scream in my head, but none of my limbs are listening to me. They continue to crawl forward towards the cup. Everything feels like it is in slow motion, and I am watching a movie from the worst angle imaginable. Except it is not a movie, it's my body, and I cannot get it under control. After what seems like an eternity of crawling, I reach the cup and bring it to my lips. The cold liquid inside was thick sour, and oozed down my throat. My blonde captor walked closer to the cell and put his hands on the bars while throwing hateful yet lust-filled looks my way.
"You know you look pretty good there on your knees." He said while licking his lips. "Right where a pretty petite girl like you should be."
pausing, he shifted his weight before continuing,
"If I told you to suck my cock would you?"
He threw his head and let out a cold laugh, " Of course you would, like a good little slut" he sneered before glaring at me again. As the boss walked closer to the cage, he shifted his hands to his crotch, and not a minute later, a mysterious woman with flowing red hair and pale white skin appeared in the room.
"Please do not touch the prisoner Anderson" she stated sternly.
"Ugh, you bitch witches are always ruining my fun."
She grabbed his arm and left the room.
I sat and thought about what they meant once they were gone from the room. I am to be the star attraction, Anderson said, which must mean I'll be putting on shows. This might have been something that I would have liked if anyone would have given me a choice, the irony. I didn't have much time to get lost in my thoughts because someone walked into the room just a few minutes later. They ordered me to stand and put on an old-time dress. My body immediately did as instructed. Attempting to draw on my wolf or powers for strength felt like trying to swim in quicksand. Whomever this person was kept barking ut orders, and with each order, a fog seemed to roll into my brain. It became harder and harder even to watch my body obey. Once I slipped into the dress, the stranger ordered me to stay still as a slender woman applied makeup to my face. When they were done, I was handed a script and told to do nothing other than reading and memorize, for that would be the show I was to perform from now on. The writing was about a young woman who was bitten by a monster when she was out gathering food. The first night with a full mon saw her turn into a beast as well. She then went on to terrorize the village until she was captured and killed. Halfway through the scene, I would shift behind a haze and be in wolf form. On the last page of the pamphlet were my instructions for day to day life. The Witch planned everything from eating, sleeping to even peeing. Essentially they put me on autopilot; that way, I took care of myself enough to be able to star in my act. An act that I repeatedly replayed for a year. After my on-screen shift, I would stay in wolf form and wait backstage. I went on stage after the bears did their show. Elly would jump through fire hoops, balance on a ball, and run an obstacle course. She, too, was forced to repeat this tired show for a year. Often I would try to draw on my wolf's strength to break the spell I was under. It never worked, and every couple of nights, I would have to drink the liquid. There were nights that I came closer to breaking the spell than others, but on those nights, the slime that they forced down my throat would become more bitter, and it was getting to the point where I could dam near chew it. Eventually, I was not even present enough to watch my body do the things they forced it to do. Consigned to my life, I was beginning to get used to it; the show was cheesy, but the Witch made sure the boss didn't torture me, and the carnies fed me.
It took about six months for me to give up hope that Milo would find me and around nine months to give up hope of escape through my own will. Instead of flight, I try to find ways to comfort myself. Elly and I have grown closer during this time, though. All we have now is each other, and she has also lost hope of breaking the spell on our own. I wish to have the same hope that my wolf does about the moon goddess saving us. Had I been at home and captured defending the pack lands, then maybe she would take pity on me but not at the pitiful coward and deserter that I am.
Then one day, while I was wallowing in a deep pool of self-pity, the Witch barged in, fumbling with keys in her hand. A red-faced and angry Anderson was hot on her tails.
"That is MY BITCH, and you cannot take her. I already let you control how I use her. I won't let you fucking loan her out," he screams before jumping in front of my cage.
The Witch stops in her tracks while staring daggers at Anderson.
"I suggest you take a good long look at the contract you signed before you yell at me. You may be in charge of these grimy little groups of human freak shows, but anything that falls in the supernatural category is ultimately ours to do what the fuck we want with."
The Witch flicked her wrist, and he went flying to the right side of the room, breaking some set pieces. Turning her head to where he landed on his back, she continued.
"This is the first supernatural we have helped you control, so I can understand why you thought you were in charge, but If I may make another suggestion, it's that you learn your fucking place when it comes to us before I lock you in it." she scoffed at him. Looking at the keys in her hands, the Witch sighed and threw them aside before making a fist, crushing the lock on my cage.
"You've pissed me off, so now you have to pay to fix that, you sniveling piece of shit." the Witch sniggered at Anderson without looking at him. "And you," She said, staring at me, " The king requires supernatural assistance on something, so your new boss is Admiral Zack Middleton. You'll accompany him to some stupid island for something and be back here next month. We have bottled plenty of your control potion, so no need to ask what you'll be doing. He'll tell you when he's ready. Now to get you ready for transport."
Watching her look around the room, I could see the Witch's face flash the slightest hint of sadness before composing herself and continuing,
"Lucky for me; there isn't much to do." She spun to face pressing forward,
"Pack the few clothing items you have here and follow me when you're done," she said,
waving her hand, causing a man to enter the room with a small duffle bag placing it at my feet. Immediately my body turned to face my tiny cell, grabbed the clothing the witches kidnapped me in, one costume, and threw it into the bag. My body turning once again, it informed her I finished packing, to which she responded with a hearty
"Good!" Flicking her crimson hair back, she marched forward with her sky blue heels clacking against the wood floor with each step. Once again, I could do nothing but watch as my body moved on to follow her tailored clue skirt suit from the prison tent. I found out the carnies always set my tent up on a truck throughout my imprisonment, ensuring they didn't have to do much when it came time to move. My prison tent was in the back of the trailer, with a wall separating it from the rest of the truck. The carnies would set up their lunch table and take breaks in the trailer, using that wall to hide my sad state. We passed through the doorway before the Witch waved a hand back at me.
"While you were packing, we had the witches transport the truck to the right location. Driving is cool, but humans need to learn magic." she cackled before stepping out of the truck. My feet stepped down as I looked up to see we were in a shipping dock. The musty smell of lake water filled my nostrils as I saw light waves lap the side of a tiny vessel. A man with grey hair exited the boat and shook the Witches pale hand. She turned to look at me and smiled.
"Well, I would say good luck, but your a prisoner, so that ship has sailed" She giggled maniacally before disappearing in a puff of blue smoke. The older man walked up to me, introducing himself as Wesly. He promptly commanded me to take a seat as he ferried me to the other side of the dock. The sun-kissed my forehead and radiated through my body, reminding me how alive I still am. Tears seemed to escape my eyes even though I couldn't cry the way I desperately needed to. The trip felt fleeting, but Wesly commanded me to leave the boat after a couple of hours. He walked with me across the inlet, leaving me in the hands of another strange man. This tall, burly blonde directed me to a larger vessel that was bobbing on the ocean. I followed him to below deck, where he led me to a tiny cell in a line of other cells. All the occupants were sitting quietly with their hands folded. The only movement they made was to turn and look at me. The blonde waved me into my cell, telling me to sit on the bench.
"Look at me," He demanded.
"From here forward, you'll sit quietly on this bench with your hands folded. You may look around and may stand if something goes numb. The only time you are allowed to leave this cell is to use the bathroom, after which you will immediately come back here. You'll eat all meals as directed. You won't starve yourself to get out of this." My body sat. For untold amounts of time, all I did was eat, sit, and use the bathroom while looking around at others forced to do the same. Only when the cells were full did we see Admiral Zack Middleton. Walking the hull, hands behind his back, he bellowed out our orders.
"Up till now, you all have been sitting patiently, and I'm here to let you know why. You are to be fodder in our war against the heathens on Riara Island. They lock us, humans, out to plot and scheme for our downfall, well, not under my watch! We sail out for the island on this night, and you will wait in these boats until I give the command to crush the armies." The Admiral stated as he paced back and forth.
My eyes followed as he left the room, and my mind raced. What fucking irony is it that I ran away from home to avoid fighting over land only to be captured and forced into a land dispute anyway? Was this the moon Goddess condemning me? Her way of telling me that I should have fought for the gifts passed down through generations? Well, no matter. I have no choice anymore. The large ship started to shudder as it was pulling away from the harbor. Here we go, time to sit here and wait to die.