Silver: An Unholy History of Wolfkind

Chapter 2: Monster

"Shifting, the sign of my blessing, occurs during a wolf's teen-aged years. Usually."

Watching Valerie approach, Erin froze in panic. He clutched the silver knife in his hand, the blade heavier than before. It had become his only line of defence. But defence against what? What would she do to him, to his family?

Erin's heart fell to his stomach. To Valerie, he was a cockroach she would crush under her shoe. A fly to be swatted. A maggot who crawled out of the apple she intended to eat. He had ruined everything. Their family would be chewed up, spat out, and sent away with nothing to show for their visit. No, worse than nothing.

"Alpha Valerie," Erin whispered, not meeting her eyes. He gripped the side of the wagon to keep himself from collapsing in terror. Regardless of her intent, she would snap his neck in a heartbeat if he dared look at her.

"What monster? He's a pup!" Gemma demanded. She must have followed as he was dragged to the wagon.

"Gemma dear, you're confused!" Valerie stepped towards the Teagues. "That thing is no pup, and it has managed to charm you."

She was right, in a way. Erin had misled Gemma about his identity. She would not have wanted to interact with him otherwise. Already, she had begun backing away.

"By the name of Lahon, don't come any closer!" Erin shouted, even though it was obvious he had stepped backwards.

"Look how it threatens me unprovoked!" Valerie paused as though she was in thought. "Why would you insult me and Lessard Pack this way, Theresa? Did you intend to have it harm the members of my pack?"

Theresa's face was pinched as the conversation turned back to her. "No, it's nothing like that, you see-"

"Then if this was a mere lapse of judgment, I'm sure we can come to a resolution that pleases all parties," Valerie told her sweetly, but a smirk played on the corners of her mouth.

The sun beat down on him with renewed force. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, the world seeming to sway. However, he had learned something valuable: she liked to talk.

"I can send a wagon with more goods, along with a dozen of our most beautiful males, if such a gift would please you?" Theresa stammered, and Erin's stomach twisted. Teague Pack could not afford to give such a generous gift. He would never hear the end of it once they got home. Theresa had trusted him. He had broken that trust, and for what? A sound he had heard in the distance.

"I'm glad Teague Pack is so prosperous that you can offer me such a lavish gift, which I'll accept," Valerie bowed her head in gratitude. "However, I've heard no mention on your part about allowing Lessard Pack to remove the danger you imposed on us."

"Val, what about our other guests!" Another female had appeared at the threshold and was tugging on Valerie's arm, trying to lead her away from him. Faye Lessard. Shrugging off her grasp, Valerie stepped onto the porch.

"Honey, don't worry, I won't deal with it here," Valerie reassured her sister. "His kind are to be slaughtered on a new moon. The Goddess demands we bring it to the Temple, to do it properly..."

Valerie trailed off as she saw everyone's horrified faces. There was a flash of panic in her eyes, quickly pushed away. She had overstepped. Erin's stomach churned, the smell of rot invading his lungs again as he focused on his breathing in the hopes of calming himself. No one ever dared to say such a thing aloud. No, this could not be what she had been leading the discussion toward.

"You have some goddess-damned nerve!" Theresa was beside herself in anger. "I'm not killing him because of a myth!"

"I know it's hard to hear, I really do, but we must cleanse these woods of this abomination," Valerie continued. "We'd be damning ourselves to wander the Mists forever otherwise."