Chapter 2

“Get me needles,” Maia announced as she moved closer to the lying wolf on the ground.

“Get her what she wants,” Dylan roared and motioned to one of the betas around him. His nose was wrinkled in distaste. “Let’s get this done and over with.”

The beta ran and, in moments, was back with a pack of needles.

Jared yelped in his mind, hoping she wasn’t about to do what he thought she was about to do. He swallowed, inching back, his fur scraping against the sand as his wide brown eyes went around the circle of men around him.

Scents of pity rose around him, and he was beginning to hate the foul smell that tasted like bad okra in his mouth.

She smiled as the beta dropped the needles on her outstretched palm.

“I need four strong wolves to hold him down.”

Four heavy set men walked out, and Jared felt the urge to run. He imagined the pain he would have to go through if even one of them clamped his hands on his frail wolf body, and his brain was crippled by the thought of enduring the fear of being held down by four.

Maia smiled as she bent down beside him, running a hand through his fur. He shook in delight, accepting the comforting touch.

He closed his eyes in a thrill, lost to the sensation coursing through his body, and wondered how she did it. His bones stretched with a revitalized figure, and his eyes snapped open with realization.

She was a healer.

Her voice and her words were kind as she spoke up beside him. “This will only hurt a minute, dear, but you will be glad you endure the pain.”

He swallowed, his gaze fixed on her face to show he could hear her.

She nodded. “So, shall we begin? I’m sure you also want to return to the human form you are familiar with.”

He bared his teeth, and she nodded, understanding what he couldn’t say with words.

She glanced back at the men and made a gesture for them to come over. They didn’t need to be told what to do as they all crunched low on all fours and held a part of his limbs.

The grip was firm but gentle, a discovery that shocked Jared, and he blew out a puffed and tense breath, waiting for the sting of the needles to befall him.

He assumed she would poke him with the needles and relaxed, thinking he had nothing much to fear.

He was sure he could get a breath in between the removal of the needle before another one was inserted into his body.

His eyes went round in horror, his heart thumping as she removed a small dart gun from a box he didn’t notice before.

She loaded the needles into the gun, and he struggled against the hold of the men, trying to break free.

A loud howl broke through the night, his cry of fear and distress.

The hold on his limbs became tighter and more painful, and he watched in horror as she inched back.

Her lips were twisted in an apology. “Told you it was going to hurt.”

Before he could nod or curse at her, she fired. He was amazed at her firing skills. She was skilled with the gun, and he hoped she was as good at being a healer as she was with shooting.

The needles rained into his fur without ceasing, lodging themselves into his skin and poking at him, biting his flesh and sending pain through his nerves.

He yelled as she continued. His vision dimmed, and he screamed, light dancing in his eyes.

He blinked and heaved, his breath coming in short gasps. He opened his eyes, his eyelids twitching, afraid of what he would see.

He turned and gasped, his eyes shooting wide open as one of his hands brushed against his body.

He was human. He was human. He yelled, tears streaming down his face as he laughed.

Maia nodded and smiled at him. “Pain is the biggest factor to trigger a wolf and also a means of getting you back into your human form.”

Jared frowned as he realized how stupid he had been. He wondered why he had never thought of it that way before.

If only he had thought of it sooner, he would have rammed his head against one of the trees in the woods.

“Get him some clothes,” Dylan’s roar jarred Jared out of his thoughts. “The last thing I want to be subjected to in my home is the undeveloped private of a teenage boy.”

Chuckles went round the field, and Jared cringed in shame, glaring at Dylan, an annoyed growl rumbling in his throat.

The beta who went to get him clothes hissed as he threw them at Jared. “Don’t glare at him that way, boy, if you want to live.”

Jared nodded and thanked him for the clothes.

Dylan pointed at two betas. “Stay with him and bring him to the court when he is done.”

He turned and walked away, the rest of the pack – except the two he ordered to wait – moving behind him and his mate.

Jared sighed, wondering when the night would end and if he would eventually have a good night’s rest.

He jumped to his feet and pulled the trousers over his legs. He glanced at the sky as he buckled the clasp.

It was close to dawn, and he rubbed at his tired eyes, wondering what else the pack had in store for him.

Judging from the little he had glimpsed of Dylan’s attitude and the way the rest of the pack feared him, he didn’t need to be told it wasn’t anything good.

He dragged the jersey over his head and stared at the betas, looking ready but not feeling so.

“Gentlemen, shall we?” he smiled, making a weak attempt at humor to calm himself down.

The scowls on their faces didn’t budge an inch, and he nodded to himself. Okay, lesson learned. They were not the humorous types.

“Let’s go,” he tried again.

One of the betas nodded and threw a pair of shoes down at him. “Wear that, and let’s go.”

Jared nodded. “Thank you.” He bent low, slipped his feet into the sneakers, and laced them.

They were not his exact size, but they would do. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about getting blisters on the soles of his feet.

Even if his body was going to heal, the pain he would feel for a while as the objects cut through his skin was not something he looked forward to.

He bounced to his feet, clapping his hands together to dust off the sand, and looked at the betas.

“I am done,” he said, faking a smile.

He assumed Dylan might not be hard on him if he saw that he was not a weakling. He knew from experience that men like Dylan hated weak people.

Without a word, they turned and walked, fully aware that he was on their tail.

The court Dylan referred to seemed to Jared a mere building made and supported on all fours with wooden stands and covered with a roof on top.

The only feature he could see that made it look like what Dylan referred to was a big chair that he was seated on, looking bored, a smaller one beside his where Suian sat, her smirk on as she watched his entry and the gathering of the rest of the pack. Some sat or stood according to what they found comfortable and faced the royal wolves.

Jared snorted, muttering under his breath. “I thought it was one grand place. Why bother calling this kind of place a court and not building something better?”

One of the betas walking with him hissed. “Because we don’t plan to be here forever.” He shook his head, his voice low.  “Watch what you say in front of Dylan, boy, if you still like using your tongue.”

The other beta snorted, chuckling as he did. “Tell him the facts, Aiden. His tongue would be the least of his troubles when he is at risk of losing the whole head.”

Fear raced through Jared’s body, and he swallowed but refrained from letting it show on his face.

He glanced at Suian, fully aware her eyes were watching and waiting for each of his moves. He smiled at her, and she snorted, averting her eyes back to Dylan.

Dylan grunted, and the betas pushed Jared forward. He stumbled and almost lost his footing. He blew out a relieved sigh in a phew of air as he succeeded in averting his fall.

Dylan looked a bit impressed at him, and Jared’s heart calmed down, the roof of his mouth no longer dry as he looked back at Dylan.

Clearing his throat, Dylan fixed a heated glare on him. “What is your name, boy?”

Jared squared his shoulders, looking at Dylan in the eyes. He could feel the disapproval of the pack rumbling in the room.

Dylan hid a smirk as he looked at Jared. The boy had quite some spunk in him, but regardless of it, he had no need of a turned wolf, more so, one who felt he could weasel his way into being accepted by the pack by pretending to be strong.

He would not have the boy, even if he was a true-born wolf. He seemed too confident for his liking. The last thing he needed was for the boy to be accepted and then oust him later on.

He would never allow history to peg it down that he was overcome by an impure werewolf.

Jared smiled, feeling good about himself. Though Dylan hid the smirk well, he was relieved. He felt certain that Dylan liked him already as he wanted, and his voice was loud and clear, filled with assurance as he spoke.

“I am Jared.”

Dylan scowled. “Did you travel from a long distance? What brought you here?”

A frown flitted on Jared’s face, and he shook his head. “No, my lord. I live...lived nearby. I am from Riverrun County.”

Dylan growled, his eyes red and blazing with fury as they roamed through the pack. Unsettled members shuffled their feet and avoided looking at him.

Suian placed a hand on Dylan’s lap, a sly smirk on her lips as she looked at the pack. Jared could see that she enjoyed the rise of the emotions swirling around the room.

He shook his head to clear the assault of feelings bombarding his brain. He thought he could only sense the emotions of people around him because they were humans.

A creepy sense of weirdness flowed over him as he realized he was sensitive as well to the feelings of the werewolves. He had thought they would have a better mastery of clamping down on how they felt.

“I never knew wolves lived in Riverrun County,” Dylan hissed, his voice a brutal taunt. “Who turned this boy?”

Jared looked around, his eyes moving over the crowd with Dylan. He would also like to know the person who changed his life.

As he did, waiting for the confession of his sire, he thought of how he ought to react. He had no idea if he should be grateful to the person or be mad and scream bloody hell, gunning for his throat.

Because of the bite, he had become stronger, more attractive, and could live his dreams. When he thought of it that way, he felt compelled to think of the bite as a gift.

He had also gotten himself into this mess, a child who could no longer go home to the embrace of his parents and had eventually brought sorrow and pain to their hearts.

He shook his head, his eyelids blinking to clear the tears in his eyes. He couldn’t afford to think of his parents right now if he didn’t want to be seen as a sissy by Dylan.

When he thought of it that way, he saw the bite as nothing else but a curse.

Curtis’s favorite quote when they were little flashed through his mind.

There was nothing good without its buts, and there was nothing bad without a shimmer of blessing in it if only one could open their heart to see the light in the dark.

He had always scoffed and thought Curtis was crazy, but now, he perfectly understood what he meant.

“Who the heck turned this boy?” Dylan growled one more time.

Aiden plopped down on his knees, crying and rubbing his hands together to plead for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, my lord.”

“Aiden,” Dylan scowled, leaning back on his chair, annoyed. “I thought I gave the order that no one is to have anything to do with the people of the town till I gave the other.”

Aiden nodded. “Yes, my lord, and I didn’t mean to defy you. I didn’t mean to turn him.”

“What do you mean that you didn’t mean to turn him?” Suian hissed under her breath. “Did he find out you are a werewolf and plead with you to bite him? And you can’t tell me you don’t know how much we despise humans. You now dare to turn one and make him come into our midst.”

Though the sarcasm was humorous, no one dared laugh. They all looked at Aiden, pity and fear for him in their eyes, and their stances were tense as they wondered what his fate would be.

Dylan was unpredictable, but he was still a good leader who had the interests of the pack at heart.

Who they were worried about was Suian. She could decide that Aiden was causing too much trouble for the pack and ordered him to be punished, and Dylan adored her too much to disregard her words, not even when they were said in public.

Dylan would first roast in hell willingly before he overturned the orders of his mate, and she knew that all too clearly and reveled in the power she had.

Aiden whimpered, raising his head to glance at the two of them, his palms rubbing against each other in a frantic motion.

“Forgive me just this once, my lord,” he cried, looking at Dylan. He glanced at Suian. “My queen.”

Dylan snorted. “Just this once?” he repeated, his nostrils flaring in annoyance as he spewed a breath. “Just this once? Do you have any idea of how many times you have said that?”

Aiden bent his head in shame. “My lord,” he croaked. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”

“Do you have a sense of responsibility at all? Do you remember how you almost got us to clash with the Nok pack?”

Aiden nodded. “I remember.”

“And do you remember how you pleaded for me to spare you, and I did?” Dylan continued, his temper rising.

Aiden nodded again, tears falling off his face. “I do, and I am grateful for your kindness, my lord.”

Dylan hissed. “If you do as you have said, why would you bring a despicable mortal vermin before my sight?”

Aiden trembled as he rushed his words out in a plea. “I have no idea of how he got here. I didn’t have any idea who the wolf was until Maia came and helped him snap back into his human form. It was then I remembered I had seen his face before.”

“Why did you turn him?”

“As I said, my lord, it wasn’t intentional. I never entered the town as you ordered us not to. I was out in the woods one day on my way back from the assignment you gave me, and as you all can remember that the day I came back was after the full moon. I stayed in the woods that day as it was a full moon and I was already shifting. I hoped to wait the turn in the woods and continue the journey home the next day.”

He paused and then continued, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry. I just missed the freedom of running around the woods in an open space all along. I never knew I would have company until he came running through the woods, and I couldn’t resist the pull of scaring him. I felt like a predator again and had never been as alive as I had felt that night. I ended up biting him.”

Aiden swallowed. “I actually wanted to kill him off, but others came into the woods before I could do that, and I had to run away.”

Dylan hissed and rubbed at his forehead in agony. “You have always had self-control issues, Aiden. I don’t know why I keep putting up with your folly.”

Aiden swallowed and bowed low. “Thank you, my lord.”

Jared gulped, afraid as he realized it was a narrow escape from the death he had had that night.

He stiffened as Dylan cast his cold, fierce eyes upon him. “You can’t stay here, vermin. You are lucky I am in a good mood. As much as I hate your kind, you are a victim of this, so I will spare you. You have to leave now. Impure-blooded werewolves are not allowed in my pack. I can’t stand it.”

Jared stared at Dylan in shock. He couldn’t believe the guy just said he was in a good mood with all the glares and scowls he got all night. He felt sorry for whoever would be the object of the guy’s irritation if he was in a bad mood.

Jared scowled. “My lord,” he began, imitating Aiden. “I have nowhere to go. In case you didn’t notice, I am a wolf now, not a human.”

Dylan shrugged, showing a sign of indifference. “Your dilemma is not my problem, boy. I don’t want to see you here tomorrow, and that is what I am concerned about.”

Jared could only stare. “Ah!”

“This is the Feng Shui pack, and I will not have a vermin as a member,” Dylan said with a note of finality in his tone.

He rose from the chair and walked out of the court, followed by his mate.