I was sure that both arms were dead. When Jody untied my right hand, it looked like a giant bruise and blood rushed painfully back to the limb. It took everything in me not to cry. It was late morning. Normally, clean-up was a crew of four people, all of whom could use both hands. However, when they arrived, Jody immediately dismissed them. A job that should take under an hour took me until lunch.
I didn't finish, but Jody cut me loose so she could focus on preparing the meal.Jody literally had to cut the fabric from around my swollen wrist.
I hurried out, anxious to leave that horrible place. Normally I would have asked about breakfast, but I knew there was no chance. As quickly as I could, I headed straight for home. Once inside, I carefully began to examine my wounds. Normally I would have gone to the clinic, but something told me that I should avoid all people today. I couldn't imagine how the day could get worse, but that was not a question I wanted to entertain. The sun had come up on a chilly day. Shouting down the hill indicated training exercises had started.
I sat down for a few minutes on the edge of my cot, dangling my head. Two days. Surely, I would shift before then. Then, they would all see what a mistake they made. I stood up, even as my body urged me not to, screaming for me to rest. Flicking on the bathroom light, I hissed when I saw myself in the mirror.
My right hand had largely turned back to its normal color, but my wrist was bruised. My shoulder was in incredible pain, but it looked okay, if not swollen. I had to figure out a sling, at least for tonight. A huge bruise starting at my shoulder and crossing my back formed from where I had landed on the table.
I would shift and finally get some justice. I just had to shift.
Right as I finished applying a gauze pad to the burn on my forearm, a voice speaker phone echoed over the camp.
"Attention Redwood Pack. Your attendance is required at the meeting house in five minutes. Five minutes in the meeting house. Third lunch shift will begin fifteen minutes late."
What was with Redwood and five minutes? Five minutes to change. Five minutes for a meeting. Why not a cool half hour?
My heart lifted a little. It was mandatory attendance, which meant everyone would be there. If I could connect with Berry, I might be able to get a sling from the clinic. I dressed quickly in a long sleeve, lightweight black dress. Tossing a navy-blue cap over my braided hair, I headed out. Stray strands were bursting out from the braid, but the thought to braiding them again made my arms ache. There were crowds funneling toward the door like a stream rushing over rocks. The fighters were just ahead of me, and I caught a couple of their eyes. Some looked at me with thinly veiled excitement and others with cruelty. They were excited for the Hunt.
There will be no Hunt. I will shift before then. I'll shift. I'm just a late bloomer. Late bloomers still bloom.
I spotted Berry and quickly jumped into the flow of people. A few people around her walked faster once I joined, but most gave me a friendly smile. Clinicians. Bless them.
I nudged Berry, and she turned to me with a bright smile. "Hey!" she exclaimed, looking up under my baseball cap to confirm who it was, and hugged me. I immediately winced as my shoulder jostled, and she retracted. "Again?" she asked in shock. I nodded. The crowd stopped as it bottle-necked at the door. She began to roll back my sleeve, but I stopped her. I took her hand and gently placed it on my shoulder. Her eyes widened. "Come to the clinic. Let me help," she said and began to pull me back against the crowd.
I shook my head firmly.
"The alpha doesn't have to know," she said passionately. One of the fighters turned and looked at us suspiciously. He was incredibly handsome and very tall. And intimidating. She stiffened. She was a relatively high-ranking werewolf. She could sense and diagnose injuries with only a touch to a wounded area. But, with omega parents, even that wonderful of a gift only made her an epsilon. Yet, an unmated epsilon could still face punishment for stepping out of line. I shook my head.
"Fine. Let me grab some stuff and meet you at your place. I can go after I get off work," she settled, looking at me with anxious eyes. I smiled softly at her and nodded. Gratitude flooded my veins. She began digging through her bag and pulled out a dark red scarf. She tied it into a loop and tossed it over my head as the line began moving. "This can do for now," she said, quickly gently setting my arm inside the makeshift sling. I gave her a half hug as we moved forward.
I honestly don't think I would be alive right now without her. Once I shifted, I would make it up to her.I just had to shift first.
We entered the room. The lights were dimmed, casting attention to the front stage. We settled for standing in the back. The rows of metal folding chairs were full of werewolves anxious to prove their worth to the alpha.
The alpha stepped onto the stage, and cheers went up, primarily from the front of the room. He raised his hand magnanimously, accepting the praise as though he had just cured cancer.
"Redwood!" he bellowed. The crowd cheered back. "I have some very exciting news. In three days, we will have the females of another pack join us for a mating carnival." Cheers went up, louder than before. He smiled and raised his hands, basking in the noise. "Now, because of our reputation—" at that, the men started going wild, "we have a visitor tomorrow, the beta of the pack. He will be there to hear about our pack before they bring the ladies! So, let's be on our best behavior!" The cheers went up again, followed by howling. His eyes wandered the crowd.
Somehow, they found me. I panicked and quickly tried to duck behind a few people, but the alpha's eyes were all-seeing.
"If the little wretch who ruined my breakfast would come up on stage," he called. Everyone followed his eyes and landed directly on me. My heart pounded in my chest. I wasn't unfamiliar with public humiliation as the only late shifter here. But, with the Hunt approaching, it was ominous. Berry quickly put her hand on my back reassuringly. "Some of you may not know this, but in two days, Redwood will be having a little Hunt." These cheers were deafening. Hands began to push me forward, and I reluctantly made my way to the stage. The path in front of me cleared quickly, as if I was infectious. The alpha yanked me on stage by the front of my dress, and I collapsed onto my knees in front of him.
I quickly stood up, careful not to jostle my arm.
"This little lady will be Hunted in two days. Look, boys! She isn't mate material but look at that body!" he crooned. I stood there and closed my eyes, red hot embarrassment washing over me. He wasn't even smooth with it. Look at that body? I knew he was an idiot, but that line was dreadful. "Now, I consider myself a magnanimous alpha, so I have decreed that she be given this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon to sweeten herself up for us. I would love a Hunted in a little red dress and heels." The crowd was loving this, jeering at me
The alpha leaned in and whispered in my ear. I tried to flinch away, but his heavily ringed hands curled around my neck, gripping it in place.
"Trust me," he said. I blinked a few times. Trust him? Why would I trust him? He looked at me and for the first time, I saw a tinge of humanity in his eyes. I frowned.
He turned back to the crowd.
"Tomorrow, let's greet our new guest well. The day after, we Hunt! The day after that, we will host some lovely ladies and try to find you mutts a mate!" The crowd cheered and began to filter out.
A lone voice called out. "What pack?"
I turned and saw that the alpha's ears had perked, but he pretended not to have heard. The crowd stopped moving, mildly interested in the answer.
"They asked 'What pack?'" someone closer called, trying to help.
"Yeah, what pack?" another echoed. The crowd began to pick up with the same question. The alpha was trying to escape through the crowd, but when the voices grew too loud, he casually stepped back on stage.
"What pack?" he asked. He paused, and everyone could practically hear him thinking. Our pack had frozen in anticipation. "Cedar," he said casually and put up the mic. Silence washed over us.
If we were known for our structure and playboy nature, Cedar was known for its fierce fighters. Even the females could snap a wolf's neck in a second. If any of our boys got mated with one of them, they were in for a lifestyle change.
The crowd's enthusiasm dissolved like salt in water. I stayed on stage, anxious to be out of the public eye, but not trusting the glob of humanity that was pushing toward the exit. Two days. Alpha Maximus turned back and whispered again in my ear. "Go to the clinic. I will ask that my personal nurse tend to your injuries."
Terror froze me in place, but he didn't seem to notice. He exited out the side door. Once everyone was gone, I quickly left. Berry was still standing outside. Her maroon scrubs seemed to highlight her maternal anxiety. She quickly stepped over to me when she saw me. "What did he say to you after the meeting?" she asked. Worry was written across her forehead.
I opened my mouth and closed it. I pointed up at the clinic.
"He told you to go to the clinic?" she asked. I nodded. She shook her head. "Why?" she asked. I shrugged. We began walking toward the first apartment building. It was familiar to me; I had lived there for the first fourteen years of my life.
My life began relatively normally. I was told that I lived with my omega parents until the age of two when they disappeared. I had no memory of them. After they left, I became the omega baby, cared for by the omegas as a group. Primarily, it was a group of women. Helen. Margie, Mama May. Sarah Beth, Carol.
Once I came of age to shift, my prospect rose. I had done well in my classes, and I was showing promise. The problem was that I never shifted. Most werewolves shift at age 12. At fourteen, I moved into my own place. My adoptive family was scared that somehow my slow shifting would ruin their grandchildren. At almost twenty-one, I was essentially human.
Our entire pack was structured on your ability once you shifted. Powerful wolves moved up ranks and weak ones moved down. Ones who never shift are Hunted.
After all, what kind of werewolf doesn't shift until twenty-one?
We entered the clinic, and Berry gestured for me to sit down. Once I touched the chair, the alpha's physician strutted in with a clipboard. She was sharp; from her cheekbones to her nails to her pencil. "Come here," she said abruptly, looking at me. Berry looked down, and I quickly followed her back to one of the rooms. She walked faster than I ran, it felt like. "Sit down," she instructed.
I followed her orders as she had me remove my sling and shirt. She poked and prodded around, trying to discern the problem. I did my best to keep my face still, but her sharp fingernail was merciless. When she tested my shoulder, her face turned hard.
"From now on, don't be an idiot. If you dislocate your shoulder, don't use it," she warned. I nodded slowly. As much as I appreciated the medical attention, she was a jerk. Surely, she knew of the alpha's violence. He had bloodied his fists many a time against my face.
When she was finished, she gave me a sling for my arm and instructions to rest. Her sharp hands handed me a small bottle of pills and told me to take one now and two before I went to bed. I did as she asked, swallowing the pill and almost choking as it got caught in my dry throat. Thankfully, she left, and I quickly drank from the sink in the room. I grabbed Berry's scarf and exited; thoughts were racing through my head. Was there something behind the alpha's request? That I should trust him?
Could he be considering me as his mate instead of Charlotte?
I shook that off. Even if that's what he wanted, it was certainly not what I wanted.
By the time I made it to my cabin, I could barely keep one foot in front of the other. There must have been something strong in those pills. I was exhausted. I hadn't seen Berry on my way out, but I knew she was busy. I folded her scarf and set it gently on the bathroom vanity.
Door closed. Door locked. Locked again. Bed. Sleep.