Monster

Visitors

I slowly opened my eyes, a bit disoriented. The water around me had now turned into a dark color. Oh yes... That's true... That was so long ago. Reaching out my hand to remove the plug from the bathtub and renew the water, I could see it trembling slightly. Angered by my weakness, I stood up abruptly, without caring for my wounds, and headed for the shower. I opened the cold water tap and offered my back directly to the jet. The pain made my jaw tense, but at least my thoughts cleared up. My she-wolf grunted, unhappy with this brutal treatment.

"Can you tell me what's the point of torturing yourself like this?

- You do know it very well. We cannot afford to be weak.

- Then, change, you'll heal faster.

- You don't need to tell me, I already know that. But I don't think you'd like to have your fur all bloody and slimy in the early morning.

-Pff, stop bitching and let's go hunting."

Relaxing, I let the power of my she-wolf flow through me. Once on all fours, I jogged away from the dominants' home while my wounds were healing, not showing the slightest sign of pain. Luckily, I didn't run into anyone that morning and my fur used to cover my scars, making them invisible to the curious eyes.

The hunt was good and as I was feeding on a young hare near the river that formed one of the borders of our territory, a wolf of the pack, Mark I believe, approached me carefully and mentally addressed me. I let down my mental barriers with a low growl. He had better not be wasting my time. Intimidated, he lowered his ears slightly.

"Fury, I'm very sorry to interrupt your meal, but the Luna is calling for you."

My stomach cramped at the memory of the last night, and suddenly the hare seemed much less appetizing to me. With a sigh, I dropped the half-eaten carcass to my messenger and rinsed my snout in the stream before rushing to the pack village.

"Here you are at last!"

Despite her amusements of the previous day, Ivana seemed to be in a terrible mood. Curious about what caused her to be in such a state of mind, I bowed my head obediently to greet her, hoping to find out more information about what was tormenting her. Pleased with my submission, she carried on with her monologue.

"I remind you the reason why I have set you up in my house is to have you there whenever I need you. I don't want it to happen again."

I flattened down a little more to the ground in order for her to understand that I apologized for being late. I could have addressed her mentally, but I preferred to avoid having to do so as much as possible. Wandering around her mind was far too disgusting and I did not want her in mine if it was not necessary.

"Anyway! We have visitors today and I expect you to be by my side. Your reputation precedes you as always, I want to be in a position of strength no matter what this Alpha has to say."

An Alpha? Well, that explains her discontent better. Our territory was particularly feared by other packs. No one ventured into it without a good reason, or else they would taste my fangs and claws. Few came back unscathed. Curious, I paid a little more attention to what my Luna was saying.

" Apparently, his pack resides in the Yukon. In other words, they have an extremely large territory. I wonder what brings him here... Anyway, you will stay here with me in your wolf form. They will quickly understand with whom they are dealing."

In other words, I was going to have to be the big shot, both threatening and protective. It was not the first time I had to assume this role, so it would be child's play.

"I hope that your reward from yesterday won't interfere with your mission. Otherwise I will be forced to punish you. Don't forget who your mistress is, Fury."

In order to show her that I was in full possession of my abilities, I came to sit with my back straight at the foot of her armchair. The Beta was already standing slightly backwards in human form. Our Alpha would soon arrive and took his place in the second seat. He would only be there for the image of the pack, since in reality the Luna would dictate all his words to him through their mental link. A real puppet show.

Ivana is not our Alpha's fated mate. The latter died in mysterious circumstances before she could give birth. In need of an heir, the Alpha had, despite his sorrow, to find a new Luna to the pack and ensure the continuity of his lineage. Ivana had already managed to plant her claws very deeply and ended up being designated as the new Luna when she gave birth to a little male before her position was even officialized. Some whispered that she was behind the death of the previous Luna, but having no proof, no one objected. It was a few years after I joined the pack and anyone who dared to mention the former Luna was severely punished. Suffice it to say that very soon we didn't hear any more about it. I learned this story by chance when the heir was born. I had just turned 10 years old. Two females were chatting  about it during their laundry duty. Alpha Gareth had been so devastated by the loss of his great love that he finally withdrew into himself, leaving the pack under the control of this bully made wolf. We only took him out on special occasions, but no wolf, whether or not he was a member of our pack, would ever delude himself about who was in charge.

The sound of the door of the big lounge brought me back to reality. The Alpha had taken his seat in his armchair during my mental wanderings. A powerful male entered and I heard Ivana breathing sharply for a second, distracting me from the visitor. Turning my attention to the man who entered, I frozed too. The first thing I saw were silver eyes. Big silver eyes perfectly identical to mine.