Sidney
Click! Clang! Click! Clang! Click! Clang! The sound is coming closer as I ready myself in the tiny cell to pounce, I will not let them take me again. I hear the chuckles and taunts as I let loose the snarl in my throat, my wounds have healed, but new ones always come when the taunting starts. I wait until they unlock the cage and then...
I wake from the nightmare with a growl as I sit up in my bed and shake the haunting thoughts from my weary mind. I'd broken free of that awful place over a year ago now, but it's memories still had yet to fade from my conscience. A paw being slapped down on my leg drew my eyes down to my two worried boys who were whining up at me for their breakfast. Ollie was a three year old fawn brindle American pitbull terrier with a huge white patch on his chest, I'd rescued him from euthanasia at a pound I'd worked at 10 months ago.
Then there was Tyson the 2 year old Alaskan malamute, husky cross who had plopped his head into my lap and was giving me puppy dog eyes. I had rescued him when I saw his previous owner abusing him in his backyard, I gave the guy a choice hand over the pup or hand over his life, lucky him he didn't fight giving up the dog. They were both bonded to me as their owner even though I'd only had them for a year, a little less for Ollie, but I absolutely adored both of them.
"Alright, alright. I'm up. Now how about some breakfast?" I smiled as I reached out to scratch them both behind the ears. They were quick to rush to the kitchen of our small rental as I climbed out of bed and followed them with a smile. I said good morning to my 6 year old grey tabby cat Sassy along the way, she sat in her spot watching me until she saw me going for the food and hurried up to her own bowl for breakfast. She was the newest of my pets and had been a stray in the neighborhood until she adopted me as her owner 6 months ago. "See, I knew you loved me when there was food involved." I teased as I petted her and finished dishing out breakfast to all three of my pets.
I settled in to have a bowl of cereal once they were taken care of, I often kept them better fed and cared for than myself, but they were worth it. I had spent months on the street after escaping my captors, I took whatever work I could and raised money any way I knew how. I was lucky to raise enough to pay the rent on this one bedroom, one bathroom place but I still struggled to keep it up. The location wasn't what I'd wanted either, considering the neighborhood wasn't in the best part of town. The worst part was the nearest forest was 5 miles away, not good for a shifter like myself.
I made it work though, it wasn't like I had any other choice for the time being, but I was hoping to make changes. I had done some online courses and I'd worked with my fair set of organizations trying to help any animals in need. So the last few weeks I'd splurged and bought a laptop from my savings and started applying to random jobs that peeked my interest online, still nothing had showed up in response yet. I finished my cereal and a cup of coffee before grabbing the dogs leashes and taking them out for a morning jog. What I wouldn't give to shift here and just run alongside them freely for a while.
It had been weeks since I'd shifted and let the wolf out for some exercise, the tension was starting to show more now, my temper had gotten shorter the last few days. The mechanic job I was working part time at had been difficult for me to control my snappiness and my colleagues were starting to notice something was up. If I didn't get myself cooled down quick bad things would happen, I needed to run again, sooner rather than later.
I dropped Ollie and Tyson back at the house before heading for work at the mechanic shop, it was a long walk without a car. I had a different way though, walking while I was on the main traffic areas and running with heightened speed when I wasn't. It was a lot quicker than regular human pacing, and it got me to work a lot faster too. I got straight to working on the Ford pick-up that had issues with its motor, not bothering to acknowledge my pervy human boss who had perked up at my entrance. I hated being around him or anyone else on two legs for extended periods of time but if I wanted to pay bills it was something I had to put up with.
I did my work, collected my check and bolted for home as quickly as possible. I ate an early dinner and fed my pets before walking them in our usual routine, then it was on to check emails and get ready for tonight. One of the job offers that caught my attention worked with sick or injured animals on a nature preserve and was fairly vague on details, but I still applied as quickly as I could for the job. I noticed that the location was farther away than most of the others but considering my qualifications I knew it wasn't likely I would get the job anyway, even if it was my dream job by specification.
I sent out some more applications before taking the dogs out to play for a bit and heading inside to get ready. I changed into some black satin shorts and a black tank top as I headed out to the location I knew well, the evening hours shrouded me in darkness. The warehouse was a dangerous place for human and beast alike but if you were smart and played your cards right, it also provided some quick cash when necessary. I slipped through the shadows to the sign up sheet, sliding the mask onto my face as I wrote down my alias and waited.
This was where the fights happened, anyone who signed up could earn a huge wad of cash in a single night if they could put on a good show in the ring. I hated coming here but I did so out of necessity at least every other month, and I fought whoever they wanted me to, however they wanted me to. Tonight I was up against two opponents at once, both of which were twice my size and equally marred by old battle scars. I never focused on the names in places like this, I didn't want to remember them in my nightmares.
I stepped into the ring as I eyed the two huge humans, their size nothing compared to my strength and agility. The fight was over quickly with me announced the victorious fighter, the knife wound to my side ached but wasn't deep enough to turn deadly. The men I'd fought had to be carried from the ring so the next fighters could take their positions, but I had made sure their wounds were superficial. I collected my money and hid it away in my bra as I slipped out into the night, ripping off my mask as I slunk home in the shadows. Tyson was the first to greet me with a whimper as he nudged my bleeding wound, ever my loyal protector.
"Relax big guy, it's just a scratch it'll be better by tomorrow." I murmured the words as I petted him gently and headed for a shower. I cleaned up the best I could before heading to bed, part of me wanted to stop going near the fights but another part of me craved for them, needed them. After all I was an alpha wolf without a pack to rule, how else was I supposed to curb the dominant blood in my veins without the fights? Yeah being a female alpha was complicated, and a roaming nomad added to it didn't help matters. A she wolf like me is unheard of in our hidden society, in the shifter world wolves like me don't exist, and I intend to keep it that way, for as long as possible.