--
"Raise her up!" Dimitri yelled, and the young girl was lifted by her shackles. she hung there by her arms, trying her hardest to breathe. They were repairing and reinforcing her cage for tonights show. The afternoon matinee had already started. Thankfully she wasnt a part of that. The repair didnt take as long as Dimitri thought it would. the ring master inspected and approved it. "Now give her a bath. she wreaks." he said as he walked away to introduce the next act in the matinee.
Dimitri sneered up at her. "Roscoe!" He yelled, "get the hose! its bath day."
---
It was almost showtime. 10 Warriors entered the large tent. spreading out and sitting in seperate areas. There needed to be witnesses at every angle. They needed to be sure that what they had planned would be justified. Music filled the massive tent as people filled the stands. The circus was being held in the human town, about a 45 minute drive from where Steele's pack lived in their own private community. Steele took a deep breath. He was attempting to find the girls scent, but the smells filling the air made it difficult for Steele to pinpoint anything. Popcorn, Cotton candy, cigarette smoke, bad perfume, and body odor, all wafted around the huge tent.
A curtain in the back of the tent lifted and a dozen or so clowns poured through the entance all dancing to silly music. Steele looked around the audience. Children were there clapping, and cheering and laughing. Steele had to close his eyes and bury his rage. he glanced around and met the eyes of all his warriors. They were of the same mind. Humans were disgusting. It was one thing to find amusement in the tricks, and talents of other humans. But to spend money to be entertained by the exploitation and torture of an individual was disgusting.
Steele grew restless, the trapeze artists, the cannonball man, the clowns, none managed to keep his attention long. Time crawled by as he waited as patiently as his wolf would allow. Soon now. Very soon.
--
It was almost time. The horses were attached to her cage just waiting for their moment. Anxiety had her in its grips. She lay on the floor of her now empty cage. Any second now the curtains would part, and her "performance" would begin. she could feel her heart pounding furiously in her chest. Her wolf whimpered in her head, feeling her anxiety. Tears started to slide down her cheeks as panic took hold of her. Would she ever be free of it? The fear, the anger, the torture, she just wanted it to end. The sound of a drumroll caught her attention. It was time. She gulped, heaving deep breaths trying not to lose herself in panic. The horses started moving, they knew their queue. She layed on the floor of her cage, the only home she'd known since her wolf came out. She didnt even know how long she'd been here. How long she'd endured the torture. "Someday." she thought holding to the last shred of her sanity. "Someday I'll walk out of here. Someday I'll be free."
--
The curtains parting drew Steeles attention. The horses came through the entryway pulling the cage behind them. A thick black sheet covered the cage, now he could smell her. Her scent filled his nostrils, awakening his wolf, a low growl escaped his mouth as he fought for control. This was going to be harder than he realized.
"Maybe this was a bad idea" he thought as the black sheet was ripped off the cage. There, laying on the floor of the cage, was a disheveled and terrified young girl.
Her hair was matted and hung in clumps around her shoulders. She wore a thread bare tanktop with ripped and torn pants. Steele growled low in his throat seeing the shackles around her wrists and the chains keeping her to the floor.
She lifted her head and scanned the crowd her deep brown eyes wide with terror. Steele held his breath as his wolf raged inside him, it was all he could do to maintain control as his soul echoed one word over and over,
"Mate."