Tiger, Tiger

Tiger, Tiger: Chapter 9

The van jolted as he spoke and he was flung into me. He just stopped himself crushing me against the wall, yet the close proximity to him made me want to curl up and die anyway. ‘On a track leaving the pack forest. Your father’s forest,’ I sent sullenly, hoping to get him to move away from me.

I got my wish as he jumped back like I’d shocked him myself. “You know who I am. Does everyone know?” He sounded shocked. Why did he have to keep talking to me?

‘Yes, I know that… Marcus Sole is your father. Only this van’s worth of shifters know. Why does it matter?’ I couldn’t help but wonder why this boy had been kept hidden away from everyone. Undoubtedly he was a son that Sole would be proud of.

He looked around in the darkness for the other shifters who I expected would be listening to half of our conversation. “I wasn’t supposed to be known about yet, distracted by anything. I – I don’t know why. I was being... prepared.”

“Well you should’ve stayed away,” someone spat angrily before he could finish the thought, with the same venom that I had been spoken to with. They were listening.

Sole’s son’s eyes widened. “What have I done to you?” he asked into the darkness incredulously. The tone I didn’t like tinged his voice again.

“You’re father, our Alpha, had organised this. Whatever this is. That’s what,” the voice snarled back, “Now humans are taking us away from our families and we have no idea where we’re going.”

His eyes grew wider. “What are you talking about? He’d never do that! He’s a good leader.” So Sole had even fooled his son, or he was a good actor.

“Well he did. We all heard. He betrayed us and there’s nothing more to it,” the voice continued with its same hateful tone. I doubted that the source of it would be so brave if it wasn’t separated from Sole’s son by cage bars.

I watched the latter shifter’s form fall back against the wall with a thump. Slowly he turned to me. “This sounds stupid, but for some reason I know I can trust you. Is this true? Did he do this?”

The trust in his eyes was painful to look at, so I didn’t. I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head between my paws. I was tearing up inside. It was so unfair how much something in me wanted to ignore who he was, but how fiercely the other told me what his family had done.

‘Yes, he did. Please don’t keep asking me questions. Just don’t,’ was my reply. I could take no more of this. He made a pained noise and I turned away, trying to let sleep claim me.

* * *

I was awoken by the sound of metal scraping across metal. It wasn’t a disappointment to be woken though. My nightmare, as ever, had returned in full force. As I slowly opened my eyes a thin strip of light shone through a crack in the door that was growing ever wider. The sky was warm with peachy morning sunlight. We had been travelling for a day already?

The silhouette I had grown to recognise as Mr. Ward’s stepped into the light and then up into the van. The van tilted and creaked as he entered. He held a box in his hands and began to distribute items into all the cages.

I only realised that they were bottles of water and wrapped sandwiches when he threw them into our cage. My eyes widened in surprise as the cold bottle rolled against my side and he smiled. “We don’t want you starved to death on the journey, do we now? I need you there in tip top condition.” He watched my face contort in suspicion and smiled again, “There’s no point in me doing anything to you now we’ve got you where we want you.” It seemed his mood had passed.