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“It’s just the antidote, honey. We gave it to all of them; your whole family got this,” the doctor says in a soothing tone, but her words are lost on me. I’m trapped, reliving every moment of terror and helplessness.
A whimper flits past my lips as the doctor reaches for my arm. She’s already touched me so much. Too much! She peered down my throat, made me stare into lights, prodded my belly, and listened to my lungs.
It happened before, just like this; all of it! They did it. The men who took us.
I fucking can’t!
“It’s okay. I’m really good at giving injections,” the gentle-faced doctor says. “You won’t feel a thing.” She raises her hand. Silver glints in the light as the syringe descends.
No!
Panic surges through me, and suddenly, I’m no longer in control. My body shifts, fur sprouting from my skin as my bones contort and reshape. Within seconds, I’m on all fours, a snarl ripping from my throat.
“Honey!” The doctor stumbles backward, her eyes wide with shock. Bounding away from the examination bed, I back into the corner.
She steps forward again, approaching me, and I give a half-lunge in warning. A metal tray filled with gleaming instruments crashes off a nearby table with a clatter.
The doctor stops in her tracks, then cautiously moves away again. “It’s okay, Cedara. I’m staying right here.” She puts up a hand. I growl in response, a rattling sound that comes from deep within me.
Suddenly, the door swings open, and the woman who brought me here – Casey – is framed by the light that streams in through the doorway.
“What the fuck?” she barks out. I snarl at her, baring my fangs. When she takes a step forward, I snap my jaws viciously. She stops in her tracks and then looks over to where the doctor is pressed up against the wall. “What the hell is going on here?”
“I- I just tried to administer the antidote.” The woman looks over at me. I glare back malevolently. My lips curl. I spin my head around to look about me. There’s no way out. I’m trapped, caged once again, and the only way I know how to respond is with the wild instincts of the wolf. Reason and humanity have fled, leaving only the instinctive drive for survival. I won’t let them hurt me, not again.
Never again!
“Stop this right now,” Casey snaps. “This is not how we do things in Steel Lakes! Change to your human form. Now!”
I respond with another threatening growl.
“Dammit! Do as I say!” Her eyes begin to glow, teeth protruding past her lower lip. I pull myself to my full height as I stand off against her. Her fists clench, her shoulders bunching as she angles toward me. I brace myself. I’m ready to fight if I have to.
“Don’t do this,” a new voice breaks in. “Not like this, Casey.” It’s the male who’d been with her before. Edirn. He has a hand on her shoulder. At his touch, she immediately softens a little, the tension rushing from her.
“This is not acceptable,” she mutters. Edirn is looking at me, an uncanny sharpness in eyes that seem almost too blue.
I don’t like this. I don’t like any of this. I want… I want…
Barrett.
My next growl has a whining edge to it.
“We should get her family,” the doctor says. She’s not cowering anymore, but she hasn’t moved from where she’s standing against the wall. “They’ll be able to help.”
Edirn is still looking at me. I find myself staring back.
“No,” he says eventually, not taking his eyes from my face. “Get Barrett.”
Yes!
With a quick nod, Casey turns on her heel and sprints away. Edirn steps into her place, and I snarl at the movement. He lowers his eyes and stays still.
“Don’t worry. Those men won’t hurt you here.” There is a rasp to his voice that is oddly soothing. “Just take it easy.”
I eye him with suspicion.
“You can trust us. This is a safe space.”
