Feral

Chapter 3

It took a while for Adrian to be able to move, let alone stand without resembling a newborn calf. He struggled to stand for a moment before choosing to sit, deciding against trying to remain on his two feet. It wasn't worth injuring himself over.

Plus, he really didn't like the way it made him feel like an infant to struggle to remain on his limbs. The way his legs trembled and threatened to slide to the sides reminded him too much of when Adrian was a hatchling.

Weak, incapable of defending himself and trembling on his gangly legs until he figured out how to use them.

His head spun, making him feel as if he was going to fall flat on his back, as if the world around him was moving in dizzying waves.

And even with the sedative slowly leaving his system, his muscles twitched and trembled. Quivering with the amounts of stress that had been forced on him.

He huffed and panted, feeling his limbs tingle as sensation started to return to them. It costed him a great deal of effort, but he managed to maintain his balance as he sat up, blinking in a haze as he did his best to draw some moisture in his dried mouth.

Whatever they had used to tranquilize him with, it managed to only give him minor discomfort and a hint of nausea that was quickly disappearing.

But it left Adrian trembling and salivating awkwardly until he managed to swallow it back several times.

Murmurs and chatter sounded behind him and Adrian stilled before looking over his shoulder. Several curious faces were staring back at him, fingers clutching the chain-link fence that separated the enclosures.

Shifters. Youngsters like him both predator and prey alike.

The boys and girls on the other side of the fence were fully clothed, all smiles and looks of curiosity and awe. Adrian huffed, shaking himself off before pushing on his feet. His muscles trembled but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain strong.

He couldn't look weak in front of so many predators... even though they seemed rather friendly with the prey just inches away.

"I didn't know we had a new arrival..." One of the boys murmured as more started coming out of the building behind them, curious at the small gathering of teens and young adults.

Adrian even spied a few children holding hands with the adults. Youngsters that relied mostly on their instincts or whatever they picked up from their parental figures.

"He's kinda cute..." One of the girls, a lioness, spoke as she tilted her head and purred. The male lion beside her instantly shot a glare at Adrian and bared his fangs on a venomous snarl.

A few growls and grumbles started up, the predators among the teens sizing up the new arrival and posturing, as was natural. They needed to see how the rankings had changed but they weren't all that worried over a scrawny kid.

The prey on the other hand were wary of the new arrival, wondering exactly what kind of predator he was, and what did he prey on?

Plus, the males weren't all that happy with a new contender who was already stealing away the females' attention. They wanted to make sure Adrian knew he wasn't welcomed by any means. Their instincts provoked them to defend their turf, breeding partners and food sources.

It made Adrian scoff as memories of his more volatile sibling came to mind. Always posturing and snarling at Adrian to show he was Alpha in their food chain but he had proven to Adrian that baring your teeth and flashing your muscle wasn't the way to become Alpha.

An Alpha needed to earn their spot. And none of these pesky brats stood above Adrian. Yet Adrian wasn't a fool; if he were to posture against this gang of teens, they would team up on him to show him his place. One on one, Adrian could potentially beat them but if they all worked together, he would be in for quite a fight.