Almost Feral
“Jesus Jordan, you said you only planned to scare her!” Elijah stated as he watched him carry a bloodied, unconscious Morgan in his arms.
Nostrils flared, Jordan’s breathing remained erratic. “Yeah, but she pissed me off.” He wasn’t in any mood to be chastised for his actions, especially not by his Beta. As he placed Morgan in the limo, he cursed under his breath. “I’m going to grab her some clothes,” he mumbled, and made his way back into her brownstone. The smell of her blood in the apartment made his canines throb. “Fuck!” he screamed, hitting the wall so hard, his fist went through the drywall. Thankfully, no one was on the other side, or he’d have to explain how he hulked the thing.
“She tastes so good, Jordan…so good.”
A low growl escaped his throat, hearing his wolf’s giddy nature. “This is your fault. You and your damn bloodlust.”
“Nice try, but this is on you. I may have made you bite her, but you came here on your own. It was you that scathed her with your fangs, you who accidentally nicked her, not me.” Every muscle in Jordan’s body seemed to stiffen at once. What had started out as teaching Morgan about the scary side of appropriation turned into him finding his Luna. How had he been so careless? He’d worked with her long enough. He should have known. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, kid. You know human pheromones are low in intensity. They cover them up with all that junk. Hell, I missed it too. I mean, we’ve been busy! Mergers don’t happen on their own, but that sweet blood told it all. She’s our mate. Can we keep her? I want to keep her.”
The loud booming in Jordan’s head signaled his oncoming migraine. It didn’t take a genius to know this was a problem in more ways than one. It wasn’t like he could just leave her. Her vulgar mouth and erratic nature were bound to turn her feral. There was no other way around it. She was going to have to stay with him.
“No, we cannot keep her, but she will stay at the loft so that she can learn how to be a member of Dark Moon.”
“You sure that’s the only reason?”
“Oh, sod off,” he shot back, before quickly grabbing some of her clothes. Returning to the limo, he slid in and folded one leg over the other. Pretending to busy himself with paperwork, he ignored Elijah, who peered at him.
“So you want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Not even a little?”
Jordan huffed. He wasn’t about to admit he screwed up, or that she technically belonged to him. He knew Elijah would never let him live it down, and he was too old to audition a new Beta because he had murdered his first. “It’s not a big deal. I just had a better idea. You know how people are integrated into situations so they can learn more about them?”
“You mean like that show Scared Straight? It’s a show where kids are put in prison alongside prisoners to show what their future holds if they continue along a negative path.”
Jordan looked up from his paperwork and wrinkled the bridge of his nose. “No Elijah, not like that. I turned Ms. Pierce so I could immerse her in werewolf culture. Teach her a bit, help her grow, maybe even rile her up along the way.”
“So basically, the werewolf edition of Scared Straight?” Elijah asked as he pressed his lips into a fine line.
“Oh shut up,” he muttered under his breath, causing Elijah to belt a laugh. Turning his attention back to his work, an important thought popped into his head.
Mental note: must binge watch Scared Straight.
Covered in sweat, Morgan thrashed about as a burning sensation ripped through her center. More than anything, she wanted to scream out, but her agony forced her voice to remain in her throat. Her vision blurred, she looked around the foreign room, attempting to make sense of the surrounding silhouettes.
“What if she doesn’t survive the change?”
“She will.”
She continued to convulse. The pain coursing through her body was too much to bear, but she refused to pass out. Using as much strength as she could muster, she screamed at the top of her lungs. “What did you do to me?!”
One silhouette moved closer to her, his face still unrecognizable. “Breathe, Ms. Pierce. It’s almost over.” The smell of leather permeated her nose. Reaching out, she grabbed Jordan and pulled his face closer to hers. The gasp from the other spectators filled the room at the sight of her touching their Alpha. “Breathe,” he whispered, unphased by her sudden aggression.
“I can’t,” she managed to get out as tears fell down the sides of her face. Baring her teeth as the pain tore through her again, she released him and clung to the smooth fabric under her. A low foreign growl slowly vacated her throat.
“We need to strap her down, Jordan. She’s getting too aggressive,” Elijah said.
Her heart felt like it could rip through her chest. Who were these people? Where had Jordan brought her? What were they going to do to her? The fear of the unknown terrified her, and from the depths of her body, she heard a soft voice speak.
“We need to run. Now.”
She felt the room spin and knew a blackout was inevitable. Clenching her eyes together tightly, she held her breath, hoping the darkness would take away the pain.
Jordan watched as Morgan’s body rose from the bed. Her nails now elongated to claws, her body rigid, she squared off across from him, half turned. Her breath was harsh against her lips, and her brown eyes stared wildly at him, signaling her wolf was in protective mode. From his peripherals, he could see his pack members’ eyes yellowing and their bodies hunching, all prepared to attack the new wolf.
“Nobody move,” he warned those around him, knowing any of them could rip the novice wolf to shreds. Morgan’s eyes darted from person to person and landed on a nearby window. Racing to it with newfound speed, she jumped into the glass, shattering it before taking off. “Nobody is to go after her but me. Do you understand?!” Jordan barked. Silent nods and submissive head bows flowed around from everyone except Elijah.
“We should have strapped her down, Jordan,” he mumbled, low enough for only him to hear. Ignoring him, Jordan transformed into his large black wolf and crawled through the shattered window in search of the wolf who had escaped.
The cool air hit Morgan’s back as she slowly struggled to regain consciousness. She looked around, taking in the surrounding atmosphere. The large trees of the forest seemed to hug the blackened sky, keeping anything remotely familiar hidden from view.
How did I get out here?
She didn’t know where she was, but she knew she needed to get away from Jordan and the crazy people who’d taken her. The smell of smoke caught her nose. Her senses heightened; she raised her head to get a better whiff.
Maybe if I follow it, I can get help.
She followed the smell, and before long, stumbled upon a campfire. The embers of the fire blazed, and through the bushes, she could see a couple sitting comfortably together on a log. She raced towards the pair. “Please help me.” The horror on their faces sent a chill up her spine. The woman belted a scream.
Why are they so afraid of me?
Morgan placed her hands up in protest. “I’m sorry I scared you. I won’t hurt you, but I really need hel—” Her words hitched in her throat at the sight of her hands. Elongated claws with translucent hints of white fur stared back at her. Placing her hands to her face, they shook as she felt her teeth jarring from her mouth. Her knees weakened, she dropped to the ground and cried.
“Wha-what’s wrong with me?” she sobbed, but the woman’s scream continued to ring in her ear. “Stop fucking screaming!” she shouted, covering her ears, but the woman continued to yell. It was then that she noticed the man reaching for a glistening metal object near the campfire.
He’s trying to kill me?
She sprinted towards the couple. Her hand collided with the woman’s face, sending her tumbling to the ground. Tackling the man effortlessly, she looked at him deeply in his eyes. The more she saw the fear in them, the more her blood boiled. How could he fear her? She was the one in danger. She was the one pleading for help. She wrapped her long-clawed hand around his throat and squeezed, enjoying the sounds of him choking for air.
If I have to suffer, so will everyone else.
Her body was in a frenzy. Her heightened senses brought her almost to a peak of euphoria. The sound of rustling bushes caught her attention, and she looked just in time to see a large black wolf coming her way. Tackling her, the wolf overpowered her and locked her hands under its paws. “Let go of me!” she screamed, trying hard but failing to get it off her.
“Breathe, Ms. Pierce.”
It sounded like almost a whisper, but she was sure it was Jordan’s voice. Looking into the familiar yellow eyes of the wolf, she relaxed. The erratic beating of her heart slowed, and the anger inside her subsided. “Mr. Wolf?” she murmured lightly, but Jordan didn’t answer. Instead, he released her and gradually shifted into human form. Morgan sat up and re-examined her hands. The sight of her normal fingers caused her breath to stick in her throat. The unconscious man and woman sprawled out on the ground around her made her eyes tear. “I…I did this.” As her bottom lip quivered, Jordan folded his arms across his chest with a stoic expression on his face.
“They aren’t dead, so congrats on not going feral and becoming a rogue.”
“Why the hell does that even matter?!”
He bent down to her level, and his eyes shifted in color again. “Because if you killed them, I would have killed you. Rule number one of the Dark Moon pack: all rogues will be slaughtered.”
The twist of his face made him look more animalistic than when he was fully in wolf form. His callous words rolled from his tongue, rooting her in place. “You would really kill me?” she whispered.
“Without a second thought. Luckily, we won’t have to worry about that.”
“You’re a monster.”
He smirked. “And now so are you. You’re a werewolf, Ms. Pierce, and a part of my pack. So with that being said, you’ll be living with me for a bit.”
She stumbled back slightly, causing her foot to hit the log. Tumbling to the ground, she scooted away. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Then you’d rather try to make it on your own? Trust me, you won’t last through the night.”
Extending his hand, Jordan waited patiently for her to take hold of it. Slamming her hand into his, she stood, but avoided his eyes and focused on the crackling of the roaring fire instead. “I want to live in my place. I think that’s the least you could do for me. I’ll follow the rules and do whatever is needed, but don’t take away my freedom.” She brushed away an oncoming tear. “Please.”
Jordan grinded his teeth and silence fell over them. Reaching out, he forced her to look at him and her shoulders slumped. “You can stay at your place for now,” he said.
“Thank you.” She moved away from him and looked back at the people she’d harmed. “Will they be okay?”
“I’ll take care of it.” He pointed to a small amount of light that shone through an opening in the brush. “Follow the light. Elijah will meet you part of the way.”
“Okay.” On autopilot, Morgan walked away and soon disappeared from his sight.
Jordan ran his hands through his hair and glanced at the couple again. Their breathing shallow, he closed his eyes.
Thank God she didn’t kill them.