Saved By The Enemy?

Chapter 9 - Orders

CHAPTER 9 – ORDERS

 

“SHIFT BACK NOW!”

Startled by the man’s order Adelphia unknowingly obeyed. He observed his surrounding like her brother had done that day, unable to help the chill running up her spine she shifted. Once back in her animal form her nervousness eased as she realised that they were all alone in this clearing, no hunters hiding in the shadows like those cowards had before. Once she calmed down she turned to stare down at the man. Despite their obvious isolation he still seemed to be uncomfortable, edgy but even he focused on her now, telling her to stay put in wolf form, he left without further explanations. She lay down on the ground, wondering what to do. She could simply ignore his order, she had no reason to obey him and no desire to bend to someone else’s will ever again but neither did she wish to leave. With the man gone she had hours to wonder at his actions. As the bitter bite of the night’s cold began to set in she had tried to let the man know that he should change but when he did not understand she turned human to tell him. It would have been the first time she had spoken for several years now and she had been worried but it seemed her concern was unnecessary; she did not even manage to say a word before he interrupted her. Resting on her paws she resumed her silent wait. He would return when he wanted to, he was not her problem so there was no reason for her to worry about why her appearance had disturbed him. According to her ex-pack it was not unusual for a rogue to be scarred as most packs attacked them on sight so what was so surprising?She shook her head; no this had nothing to do with me.

                It wasn’t until morning that she heard the man’s now familiar footsteps-still human- as he came into the clearing stopping before her. In soft tones he began to speak, whispering a hurried apology for his earlier actions he went on to lift his coarse right hand in which he held a small clear box. A new human scent wafted over her nose, strangely awash with the smell of harsh chemicals. In answer to her obvious confusion he opened the white plastic from which he pulled golden threads. A wig.

“Your human hair is black.”

He didn’t need to say more for her to understand. A were’s fur should be the same for both human and wolf. Black to black, brown to brown, red to red and white to blonde. The fact that her colours opposed meant that her human and wolf were struggling against each other. An eternal fight that would take her life. She knew enough of the condition to know that there was no solution.

“The more often you shift the less time you’ll have left.”

 An unnecessary statment. She was already aware of that though she now understood the horror that had bewildered his face when she had shifted previously. She looked at the short white-yellow hair cut from a human and understood that the man wished her to wear it. A pointless action that would not change her predicament but she figured that this had to do with hiding her problem from others,that would explain his earlier fear that someone may have seen her. Without waiting for the man to speak again she changed back to her human form and took the human hair with shaking fingers. She felt the heat of the man as he came closer, close enough to embrace and with gentle hands he fixed the wig in place. Adelphia breathed in his male scent, unignorable and musky but not unpleasantly so. After the fitting he ran his finger over her face and for the first time in a long while she didn’t feel the need to shy away from someone’s touch.

“I’m Johann,” he breathed into her now golden hair.

“Adel,” her voice so soft the remainder of the name became nothing more than a sigh. She had meant to speak strongly but her vocal cords had rusted with disuse and she had been unable to do so. She let it go. It didn't matter what the man called her, she was not partial to her full name anyway.

“Adel, a beautiful name,” Johann replied unperturbed by the near silence of the girl's voice. It didn’t seem strange to him for anyone to be shocked into silence by the discovery that now faced such a young girl. There were incidences before of wolves’ fur colour opposing each other and these stories always ended with the death of the wolf before reaching their twentieth year, it was no secret in every pack legends were passed down of these unfortunate raraties. Amazing physical poweress in exchange for a short existance. These Oposites as they were called were above all others once trained they could be rivaled by none. Unfortunate. Even if the girl would never shift again she would still only have just a few more years left. Johann couldn’t allow Kuro to find out about this, if he did Johann was certain that he would kill her, he would see her as nothing more than an unwanted obstacle in his path, a weakness they couldn’t afford. Perhaps it would be better for the girl, a quick relatively painless death to the suffering of the next years as she feels her life force leaving her with no hope of recovery.

                He stepped away from her and spoke up again, offering to train Adel so that she can survive even in human form, from hunting to fighting he would teach her all the knowledge he possessed. If she were to never shift again she may be able to live longer and he would use the extra time to find a cure. There had to be one. He had sworn to keep her alive and he didn’t intend to just give up, he would find a way. Adel nodded her assent not speaking up again. The next few weeks passed with Johann instructing Adel while she silently obeyed not bothering to speak.

                The order came exactly four weeks later. Johann was in wolf fur attacking Adel while she remained human and on the defensive. He stopped when he felt his connection to Kuro come alive and four little words reached his consciousness. Come. Bring the girl. He changed and walked the way to the cave with Adel trailing slowly behind him. This was the first time that Johann had asked her to come with him to the rogue hideout. He had returned himself on several occasions never saying much about what he did during those hours nor the purpose of the team of rogues and she didn’t ask, the idea of meeting other wolves didn’t appeal to her and she didn’t mind the extra time she had for herself when he left. She observed the path taken making sure to remember the way. It wasn’t long before they arrived. The place was amazing Adel had never seen it’s equal (not that she travelled much before her escape) still she knew that the sight she now beheld was something to be admired.

Unlike the dark mud walls of the cave where she had been locked up these were a warm brown, the lights dancing created a golden hue and though the passageways were bare they were spacious and inviting. As Adel started to slow to admire the place Johann grabbed her hand and gave a light pull reminding her of the purpose behind this visit. A stern gaze met her fascinated ones, reinstating what he had said before coming here. She must be careful not to let anyone even suspect that her hair wasn’t her own, during the past weeks she had not removed it to allow her scent to replace the other human’s. They cleared many corridors until they arrived at a plain wood door like so many others they had passed but Adel knew that this was the door they had been heading to. It contained the odor of the black wolf that she knew to be the leader. Even behind the closed door she could feel his aura, dark and menacing. Johann let go of her hand, knocked then stepped inside as Adel followed close behind.

                The man who set behind the wooden desk was what she had expected. Broad shoulders, muscular and exuding strength that was out of place for this office scenery. He watched as they walked into the room and came to a halt before the desk, his cold eyes revealed nothing just as the day she had first seen them. She didn’t speak neither did Johann and silence engulfed the room. The silence stretched and she began to feel uncomfortable under the man’s close scrutiny. She looked up to Johann but he was looking at the man who had finally decided to talk.

“I gave you four weeks to train her. Now we shall see the outcome of that training. She has seven days to take control of the Red Hold pack. You will go with her and help. That is all.”

Shocked Adel couldn’t say anything. The man had amazing arrogance more so than all others from her pack. He had called them all the way her said a few lines and dismissed them. Johann didn’t share her reaction, he seemed to have expected this and after a curt nod he once again took her hand in his and they left.

                Back at their clearing Johann worked at coming up with a plan while instructing Adel on the Red Hold pack. The pack was a day away running in wolf form, two as a human. They had no choice but to go now. Four days of travel would leave only three to implement Johann’s plan.