Chapter 4

“Rise and shine, mutt,” a deep, calm voice said with a hint of irony.

I opened my eyes to find that I had been moved to a different facility. The ache in my head told me they had used silver to keep me under, and I resented them for it. I stood slowly and glanced around.

I was in another basement of sorts, but this one held workout equipment, a makeshift boxing ring, and a rack of weapons on the far wall. The walls were cinder block and had long ago been painted red and blue to match the pads covering the floor, but the paint was peeling now and rubbed off entirely in places. One full wall was covered in dark tinted glass; I could see the Woman behind it watching us with her arms folded across her chest. I lifted my lips in a silent snarl and continued my survey of the room. A punching bag and knuckle bag hung in one corner, the opposite of which held chains and manacles as well as a big metal collar. I could smell silver mingled with the scent of sweat and moldy rubber.

The man who spoke stood a few feet away. He was tall and burly and could have passed for one of the security men at the fighting arena except that his buzzed black hair was peppered with gray and he had a thick scar that ran from his cheekbone down to his jaw. He caught my eyes on it and gave a grim smile. “Take a good look. It’s the only time a werewolf ever caught me off guard, and it’ll never happen again.” He drew the back of his thumb across his throat in a slashing motion. “He’s up on the wall in my office in wolf form if you need proof.” He shook his head. “Personally, I believe a werewolf should die human; dying wolf isn’t honorable.”

I wanted to point out that he was the one who had killed the werewolf in wolf form, but clenched my jaw instead.

A gleam of humor showed in his eyes. “The silent type, huh? I think we’ll get along just fine.”

He threw something at me and I caught it before it hit my shoulder. I stared at the knife in my hand and then back at the man, wondering if he was crazy.

He laughed. “Glad to see a werewolf with reflexes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to let a wolf recover from that one before we could get to training.” He snorted and crossed the distance between us, then took the knife from my hand and motioned for me to follow him. I glanced at the Woman behind the glass but she was gone. I hoped she was gone for good, but highly doubted it.

I followed the man to the lifting equipment and watched him wordlessly as he ran through how to use it. “I’m Bull, and I’m going to put you on a weight lifting regimen. I want you to follow it perfectly. Any mistakes or if you’re caught slacking off, I’ll have you in the ring against Dredge.”

He motioned back to the window and when I followed his gaze, my heart slowed. Standing behind the glass where the Woman had been was the strongest looking man I had ever seen. He watched us through tiny, bored eyes beneath thick eyebrows and shaggy blond hair. His arms, which were crossed over his chest like the Woman’s had been, were covered in veins as thick as my fingers and bore a patchwork of scars and tattoos that ran up to his shoulders. His neck was thicker than my body, and as I watched, he moved his head from side to side and popped it.

What took my attention, though, were the gauntlets on the bench beside him. They were huge and no doubt either made of pure silver or plated. I assumed they were plated like the bars on the cage because pure silver by itself wouldn’t be strong enough. Either way, the spikes that stuck out everywhere on the gauntlets didn’t look like fun, and I had no doubt that Dredge wouldn’t hesitate to use them.

I followed Bull back around the room to the chains in the corner. “This is where you’ll sleep,” he said unceremoniously. “I want you to live, breathe, and dream training because you have a lot to learn before we can pit you against the big boys.”

I didn’t dare ask who he was talking about. He motioned to the bag. “Punch it.”

I eyed the bag dubiously and threw a weak right. The bag rattled on its chain but didn’t move. Bull slapped me across the cheek hard enough to spin me halfway around.

“You use your full strength or none at all. I won’t stand for any of this half-baked crap.” He punched the bag and it swung almost to the wall. He caught it on the way back and stopped it. “Now punch it again,” he said.

My eyes watered from the sting of the slap and I fought down a surge of adrenaline to keep from phasing. I punched the bag with the anger that was building inside; the bag slammed into the wall and back at Bull with a force that almost knocked him over when he moved to stop it. He let out a surprised laugh. “Now that’s more like it.” He lifted his eyebrows at Dredge and I realized the room was miked. “We might have to reevaluate our training protocol. Teaching an Alpha’s going to be a challenge.”

Dredge nodded but looked like he could care less about the training protocol. He watched me with beady eyes, his expression giving away nothing.

“Hit it again,” Bull commanded.

I knocked it hard enough to bring down dust from where the chain connected to the ceiling. Bull gave a toothy smile.

He ran me around the training room until I could barely lift one foot in front of the other. I collapsed in the corner with the chains and barely moved when he locked the silver plated manacles around my wrists and neck. The silver was a fine grade and burned, but I couldn't find the energy to care. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that the only thing I had eaten was the steak the previous night.

“Hungry?” Bull asked with a wicked smile. “I have just the thing for you.”

He motioned and Dredge came in with a platter of something heaping and dark red. He set it at my feet and I realized it was a chunk of raw meat still streaming with blood. Whatever remained in my stomach rose to my throat and I turned away.

“You won’t get away that easily,” Bull said with a chuckle.

Dredge grabbed my head in both hands and forced me down on all fours in front of the plate of raw meat. The iron scent of the blood reminded me of Storm and I had to clench my jaw to keep from gagging.

“You’re going to have to phase into a wolf to eat that, you know,” Bull said in a taunting tone.

I shook my head and Dredge jerked me to my feet. Before I could move, he punched me in the stomach. I fell back to my knees and he kneed me in the head. Blood streamed from my nose and adrenaline pounded through my veins. He kicked me in the ribs and I couldn’t fight it any longer. I phased into wolf form and leaped at him. The chains attached to the wall pulled me up short and my teeth clicked shut inches from his face. His eyes showed not even a flicker of emotion as one meaty fist barreled me in the head, knocking me back to the floor. The room spun and I stayed down.

“Try that again and he’ll rip out your heart with his bare hands,” Bull said in a low growl. He and Dredge left without a backwards glance and the lights shut off when they closed the door. I closed my eyes and waited for the pounding in my head to stop.

I dozed off and was surprised to find myself still in wolf form when I awoke. My head ached and my mind reeled with everything that had happened in the last few days. I closed my eyes and tried to find a center of calm amid the chaos. I felt a strange pull to my left and glanced up at one of the tiny slit windows near the ceiling. A full moon shone through the window, its light touching the floor close to my muzzle. I inched forward until the moonlight fell across my face and let out a sigh.

The touch of the moon felt like the brush of my mother’s fingers across my cheek, a feeling I had kept buried deep down for fear that the Woman would find it and abuse it away like she had every other pleasant thing in my life. Werewolves remember everything from birth on; I remembered her face, her gentle touch, and my father’s smile. Their memories were the only soft things in my life, and I would never let the Woman have them. I took a deep breath and felt the bruises from Dredge’s battering begin to ease. The ache of my sore muscles from the unaccustomed day of training lessened and my nose twitched at the smell of the meat.

I hated myself for the way my mouth watered and my stomach twisted in knots. The moon caressed my black fur like no hand ever had and strength returned to my limbs. I rose and walked slowly to the plate, the chains rustling loudly behind me. It smelled almost as good to my wolf nose as the steak had the night before. I pushed aside any thought of Storm and the other werewolves and took a bite of the meat. My stomach gurgled in response and I couldn’t control myself any longer. I ate the meat as quickly as I could, then curled with my tail over my nose and the soothing moonlight on my muzzle.