The sound of battle had roused Aidan from where he was sitting. He was still on the rooftop, had been there since Dr Makovsky had subdued him with just a flick of his wrist. A whole day had passed since that incident, and Aidan had left the roof only for bathroom breaks and lunch. He couldn’t leave the facility yet: he hadn’t gotten the antidote he wanted. Besides, he had no other place to go now.
Before he’d come to Dr Makovsky for help, he had been a free bird of sorts, squatting with people who would keep him, moving aimlessly, never staying in one place for too long. He’d shuttled between Perkins, Rodstone and other small towns in the area. Even Beacontown had been no stranger to his wanderings. He’d once stayed for a week with an old lady mere houses away from where Lauren lived. He’d seen Lauren once or twice although she’d never seen him, and so when Dr Makovsky had asked him to be his eyes and ears, he’d been able to find her easily. Aidan raked his fingers through his dark hair, feeling the familiar weight of regret and sadness as it settled on his shoulders.
For the first few months of his life as a werewolf, it was almost like he had no control over what his body did or wanted. Sometimes he would get an intense craving for warm flesh, even when it wasn’t the full moon. And when the full moon came It was like liquid pain was coursing through his veins, like his body was at war with itself.
He’d hated his father so much for putting him through this hell of a life, and he’d hated himself more for succumbing so easily to it.
When the doctor had reached out to him, he’d been overjoyed. He’d told the doctor how he wished he could go back to being a normal human being and live a normal life, and the doctor had offered to help him, telling him he had a cure to all his problems. This was, of course, in exchange for spy duties, and Aidan had readily agreed.
Who knew he would begin to fall in love with the man’s own daughter?
Aidan walked to the edge of the roof to escape his thoughts and looked down on the battle raging below. Dr Makovsky’s werewolves seemed to be winning the battle, as the other pack were beating a wounded retreat. He’d caused all of this, he knew. The battle happening below and all the dead wolves scattered about were because of him.
The boy swore under his breath and walked away from the edge, guilt wracking his body. His mind flashed back to when he’d taken Lauren to her father, and he cringed as he remembered the look of venomous hatred he had seen as their eyes locked, and he’d tried to explain his reasons through his eyes.
All he wanted was to go back to being a normal person. Heck, he was eighteen already with no solid plan for his life. He could never have a normal existence if the virus was still in his blood. He hadn’t wished for all of this, for the dead werewolves down there, or for Lauren to be locked up with no way of escape.
No way of escape? Who said there’s no way of escape? His inner wolf spoke up.
“Shut up!” He snapped at his wolf, but an idea was beginning to tease at the corners of his mind, a way he could right the wrongs he had committed, a way to get Lauren to forgive him. If it would work, heck, maybe the guilt gnawing at his stomach would finally free him.
☆
“I need to be there. With them.” Lauren was standing beside Katherine’s bed in a wolf-like crouch. Her eyes were glowing amber and her fangs were digging painfully into her lower lip. The noise of battle was coming from the north wall of the cell, and although Lauren was facing her, Katherine could see that her body was leaning towards the wall; obviously she wanted to be on the other side of the wall, fighting with her comrades.
“They came to save you, didn’t they? Wouldn’t that be defeating the purpose if you were out there with them?” Katherine asked humorously, trying to make light of the situation. She placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder but the girl instinctively flinched, as though the last thing she wanted was contact.
“Mom, I can feel them dying.” Lauren said desperately, her glowing eyes shining with tears, and placed a hand on her chest “Here. Every time a member of my pack falls, I can feel the pang here. It’s too much to bear.”
“Sit down.” Was all Katherine said, but Lauren growled in defiance and ran to the opposite side of the room where the metal grate was. She banged furiously on the grate and yelled “Hey! Get me out of here!”
“Lauren! Shh!” Katherine half-whispered and tried to drag her back by the waist but the girl was as unmoving as a stone sculpture. She shook herself free from her mother and held the bars of the grate in her hands. She pulled at it, her body straining with the effort and the metal started to groan and shift. But before she could pull the grate free, a face appeared from the shadows on the other side of the grate. It was a security guard.
“Hey! Keep it down.” He growled, moving closer to her and furrowing his brow. Lauren had an unpleasant view of his scarred and pitted face.
“Let me out of here,” she snarled “Or I swear-”
“You can’t do anything, little wolf.” He retorted and waved the gun. “See this gun here? It’s filled with silver bullets. I’ve seen what the stuff does to people like you, and trust me, I’m not scared to use it.”
Lauren gripped the bars convulsively “I’ll tear you apart. I’ll-” Katherine reached out to her and pulled her back. This time she succumbed and leaned against her mother, her eyes still on the guard. A shadow behind him shifted and solidified: Lauren and Katherine could see it, but the guard was oblivious to its presence. He was still grinning as the shadow stepped forward and tapped his shoulder.
“Hello.” The shadow said. The guard turned back suddenly and the two women watched as something metallic flashed in the air and buried itself in the guard’s forehead. The guard grunted as the knife made contact with his flesh and he slipped to the floor, unmoving.
The shadow moved forward into the light of the dull bulb in their cell and Lauren felt her heart constrict as she immediately recognized who it was.
It was Aidan.
“Hello,” Aidan repeated, his green eyes on Lauren “I’ve come to rescue you.”
☆
“No.” Lauren said, freeing herself from her mother’s gripand moving to the door, the anger in her voice barely concealed “I can save myself.”
“You would have done that a long time ago if you could, wouldn’t you?” Aidan asked. “Guards regardless.”
“What do you want here, Aidan? Come to rub salt on the wounds you’ve created?”
“I came here to save you, wasn’t I obvious enough? Now step back and let me pull this grate out.” Aidan said. There was a note in his voice that Lauren couldn’t place. Was it sadness or a silent plea for forgiveness, or was he just tired?
“Leave it!” She snapped and curled her fingers around the bars. “I’ll do it myself”
Aidan watched with a stressed look on his face as she pulled against the metal bars. It made creaking noises and a fine layer of dust billowed from the grate, but it didn’t budge.
“You’re not strong enough to pull it.” Aidan pointed out, running his fingers through his raven-black hair in frustration. “Let me do It, please Lauren.”
“I am a werewolf.” Lauren retorted, bringing her face closer to Aidan’s. “I have the strength of a dozen men.” They stood on opposite sides of the grate, their bodies inches from each other. Against her better judgement, Lauren wanted to touch his face. Her hands desperately begged for the feel of his skin and she shook her head, trying to displace those thoughts.
“The strength of a dozen men would have no effect on these things.” Aidan clapped back. He ran his hands along the bars “See? They’re made of titanium. I would have more luck pulling it than you. I’m stronger than you, seeing as my father is an Alpha and the blood of an Alpha runs through my veins, and I’m also well fed. You can’t pull these things on an empty stomach, Lauren. When last did you eat anyway?”
Lauren could feel the familiar spirit of banter rear its head in her: the spirit that only him can rouse. “Doesn’t matter when or if I’ve eaten. I’ll try anyway.” She growled. “Anything to not feel indebted to you.”
“Lauren!” Katherine snapped “Please let him pull the damn grate!”
Lauren turned to her mother. In the emotions she’d felt after seeing Aidan again, she had completely forgotten that someone else was in the room with her.
“Mom, are you okay?” She asked. Her mom’s skin looked pale and clammy, and a sheen of sweat had gathered on her forehead. She looked like she was minutes from fainting.
“I’m fine Lauren.” Her mother replied. She looked like she was trying valiantly to stay on her feet “But I won’t be if we stay here any longer.”
“We need to get out of here, ASAP” Aidan urged, looking behind him warily. “Dr Makovsky could be heading down here soon.”
Lauren nodded reluctantly, giving Aidan a diadainful glare, and moved back to give him room. He flexed his fingers over the bars and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Then he pulled with a grunt and the grate came off in one clean clank.
Lauren and her mother moved towards the gaping hole where the grate once stood. Aidan threw aside the grate and grabbed Katherine, wrapping one arm around her waist. The many years she’d spent in that prison of a room seemed to be catching up with her.
“I’ll lead the way.” Aidan said to Lauren and moved forward with Lauren bringing up the rear. They walked past the dead security guard on the floor and into an almost totally featureless corridor. There were no windows, and no doors along the hallway. The only distinct attributes of the corridor were bright fluorescent lights set at intervals on the roof. The walls and floors were painted a boring, clinical white and quite bare.
Aidan gave Lauren a once-over. “What’s that on your wrist?” He asked.
Lauren looked down at her wrist. “Oh. My… Dr Makovsky placed it on me after I got here. Stupid thing.” She muttered, clawing at the blue metallic band. The thing was still glowing blue and she’d tried severally to remove it, to no avail. It usually sapped her of her energy, and she found out that she couldn’t morph the whole time it was on her.
She looked back up at Aidan “Any chance you can help me take it off?” She asked. Aidan shook his head.
“That thing can’t be removed easily, not even by the most powerful werewolf. Only something deadly, like acid, silver or wolfsbane can melt it off. Trust me, I know first hand.” He said.
She stared at him, wondering what he meant by that last sentence. Her eyes traveled to the ring of reddened and pitted flesh around his neck, and her mind flashed back to that night when he’d appeared at her window and slept in her bed, how he’d bolted after kissing her, holding his neck as though it physically hurt. Now she wanted to ask what had caused the apparently unhealable wound but stopped. Lauren didn’t think she could handle the truth from him.
There was a door on the other side of the corridor which seemed to lead outside. The three of them began to walk towards It, and were almost there when the doors burst open and a brindled black beast came in through the door. Lauren immediately recognized the werewolf, and she saw through the sudden tightness of Aidan’s lips and his clenched fists that he did too.
It was Jacob Boris, Aidan’s father.