37

You wake roughly, jerked back into consciousness by a scalding pressure on your forehead. Your eyes fly open, blurry at first, but eventually clearing up to reveal an elderly muzzle staring down at you. Your swimming thoughts try to put a name to the face. "M-Mitena?" The elder nods and removes a damp cloth from your face.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to pull through," she says. "That was quite the shot to the throat you had there. If you weren't in wolf form it might have taken your head clean off."

You sit up with a start, ripping a sweat-drenched white sheet off your furry body. The attack! "What happened?" you ask with a gasp. "Is everyone alright?"

The elder's features crinkle with concern. "You shouldn't be up and about yet. We managed to repel the attackers, but we took some losses." Seeing the panic in your eyes, she puts her hand over yours in an attempt at reassurance. "I checked to see if those close to you were okay. Well…in truth it was the other way around. I was looking for your friends to let them know your condition. Either way, they're safe, and it looks like you pulled through as well. We're lucky it wasn't much worse. If you hadn't managed to raise the alarm, the HSM soldiers might have swept over us by surprise."

"HSM? They were here?"

Mitena nods. "Williams's fanatics, yes. I caught hell for saying so earlier, but we're lucky it was them and not the army. The army wouldn't have blown their cover by shooting at you from a distance. These people hate us so badly that they just couldn't contain themselves. But I'm starting to worry about the army too. Sonoma hasn't come out in the open about it yet, but some of my eyes and ears in the camp say that General Rivera's been under a lot of pressure lately, and she's been cutting off aid. Sonoma's been furious about it. But either way you cut it, we're lucky the attack was just a bunch of fringe lunatics."

You cough and a stabbing pain erupts in your throat. "I don't feel very lucky."

"Well, you're lucky, anyway," Mitena says, hand-waving you dismissively. "Now that you're through the worst of it, you'll be good as new within the hour as long as you stay in wolf form. You're better off than those HSM soldiers Sonoma captured."

"There are prisoners?"

Mitena nods. "Three of them. Sonoma was asking about you not long ago, and she suggested you may be interested in the interrogation. I can't say I approve of her methods, though. Maybe you can talk some sense into her?"

"I'll do my best, but Sonoma doesn't seem very interested in what Haven wolves think lately."

"Hopefully she's not going too over the top. We don't want to prove the HSM right about us."

"I'm starting to think her more violent methods are acceptable. She might even need some help."

Next

"That's the truth," Mitena says, shaking her head slowly. "The old stereotype of the Haven wolves as cowards still sits in the backs of many wolves' minds. Most of them hid during the Purge and the war. But Sonoma needs to learn to forgive. And she shouldn't blame you pups for the sins of your fathers, either." She escorts you to the door. "Take care of yourself. I don't want all my work on you to amount to nothing—I'm not fond of wasting my time. Anyway, Sonoma will be expecting you."

Next

You hear the labored panting of someone running up the hill toward you as you close the door to the elders' cabin. When you turn around to face the camp, Bly crests the edge of the hill and comes to a quick stop in front of you, positively beaming. She wraps you in her arms and kisses you.

"You're awake!" she exclaims, obviously relieved. "Mitena said not to keep bothering her while she's working, but I've been checking on you as often as I could. How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'm just glad I was in wolf form when they shot me. Mitena said I might not have survived otherwise." Bly hugs you harder and you have to tap on her back to let her know you need to breathe. She releases you immediately, a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry. I'm just so happy to see you walking again. Did I hurt you?"

You shake your head. "I'll be okay. The wound barely hurts anymore."

Bly sighs with relief. "We're lucky there weren't too many of them. It's almost like the humans didn't know how many of us to expect. Either that or they were willing to throw their lives away just to kill a few of us. Maniacs…."

You look back into the main camp. "Elder Mitena said Sonoma wanted me there to interrogate the prisoners with her. Does that sound a little strange to you?"

"That's what I thought," she says. "She said to send you by yourself; wouldn't let me come in. It gave me the creeps. Maybe you should just steer clear of it."

You sigh. "Like it or not, she's the packleader for now; I should at least see what she wants. It can't hurt to show up and keep us informed about what's going on."

"I don't like it, Holstein. Be safe."

To the Interrogation Room

Streaks of dried blood the color of rust mark the path to Sonoma's interrogation room—a newly-built cabin originally intended to be a barracks, now re-purposed for something far more sinister. Groans of pain stray the distance between the unfinished windows and your ears, leaving little to the imagination regarding the goings-on within. You hesitate on the threshold. In your wolf form you can smell three unknown men inside along with a wolf you believe to be Sonoma, but it's difficult to pick out individual scents masked by the overpowering odor of bile and the metallic tang of recently-spilled blood. You put your hand to your neck and wince as it twinges painfully. These men invaded our camp and sniped me from hiding like cowards, you think to yourself. It's hard to work up any sympathy for them; in fact, your inner beast swells with joy at the thought of bloody revenge.

I embrace the idea of revenge; these men deserve what's coming to them for what they did to me and my pack.

I refuse to sink to their level; these men don't deserve to die just because they tried to kill me.

Maybe they do deserve to die, but I simply can't condone torture and beatings.

I'll reserve my judgment until later, when I have enough information about the truth to make an informed decision.

Next