4: Jack - In The Pack (9 page)

Wait. We were in crinos then. You see what they did to me? Warped the whole night. Only bits and pieces...holy shit. I remember why they ran off.

I heard them make a kill. A cat. It squealed more than once while they took it down. A mountain lion, I think. My memory’s fuzzy.

And then they howled. And the ones on top of me, leaped off, urged me to follow. At that point, I wasn’t thinking. And if I was, I was only thinking...what the hell? Or...why the hell not?

Leaping, bounding after them, sniffing ass all the way, I think, making sure my booty didn’t leave me in the dark, I chased them. The place was big, that’s all I can say. I forgot that I was inside, in a habitat, it seemed so real.

And when we came upon the rest of them, there was nothing unnatural about taking that meal. Some of them were already eating. The scent of fresh blood was in the air. The deed was done. I was starving.

I know that they chose that particular prey because it’s a natural, if you know what I mean. I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t find fault.

I can’t look a house cat in the eye now. I want to make it up to all of them. But sometimes, I think about going to China.

Of course, that’s just my sense of humor. I still prefer room service, cooked food. I’m just trying to give you a full understanding of where they took me, what I had to overcome. They led me into a world where there were no holds barred. But that’s where they made their mistake. They admitted me to their inner circle, thinking that they’d made me one of them--in the same breath that they’d warned me how unstable my position was. And, if anything, I’d gained one sure knowledge. The only place to be in a pack...is at the top.

The meal was quick, and it was only taken, really, to give us stamina to keep going with the initial party we’d started. At least, that was the way I saw it--the way I insist on remembering back to it. And besides, I’d been told they wouldn’t feed me regular food until I participated.

Call it the mark of the devil. Call it Revelations. I’m telling you...
wake up
. The beast is among us.

And if you’re not careful, the beast will
be
us.

So, I found myself in the longest kiss ass event of the year, I think. But what do I know? They could hold those all the time at Lobos. I should remember to ask Hood. Nah. I’m afraid I’d find myself back in there.

I have a reason for telling you about this. Those women wore me out. They made me, yeah,
afraid
is the word I’m looking for. Afraid to participate in group sex ever again. I mean, that was hard on me. I was good for shit...for what?
Days
. Anytime sex puts you out of commission for that long, you need to rethink what you did.

And believe me, I rethought those hours plenty of times. But I keep coming to the same conclusion; all I need is one good woman.

This process I went through, call it purification by fire, baptism by immersion. I was so far under that I couldn’t breathe. I sure as hell couldn’t think. And, if nothing else, I’m a man who likes to think through consequences, weigh my choices.

They took that away from me in there, and put everything on a base level.

But I got out.

Oh, not in my time. In theirs. But I bit my tongue, bode my time, played the game, pretended to agree--without capitulating too fast. There were too many watchers, cunning people looking for telltale signs of trickery.

I was put through many tests, a ton of exercises to measure my responses, my skills, how much wolf nature had taken me over. But I think I said this before, I’m a fast learner. I can adapt. Now, that may be the nature of the wolf. Whatever.

I set my eye on a goal, and figured out what path I needed to take to get to it. I’m halfway there.

So, suffice it to say...I survived it all.

And I found myself sitting with Hood, in civilized clothes, in human form, chatting about the weather. I had worked hard over the space of, I think, months--to convince him that I was ‘with the program’.

I guess I finally passed the test. Or, at least, was up to a new level.

Here’s a disconcerting thing...I could go to sleep in one place, and wake up somewhere else--with days passed. They didn’t hide that time loss from me. All I can guess is that they’d done a test on me that they didn’t want me to remember.

Multiple tests.

The more they did, the more time I lost, the more I plotted revenge--committed names to memory, listened to conversations around me. I could not believe the depth of their operations. The scope of their reach.

Hood said, “You know why we did this. Right?”

“What?” I played stupid for just a second, then smiled. “You mean...made my life a living hell?”

He didn’t even blink. He shrugged as if it didn’t matter at all. C’est la vie. That’s life as he knew it. It was all hell to him.

But then, Hood’s a lone wolf. Oh, he plays at ‘pack’, but the man needs to settle down, find a match that works for him. Maybe that’s the problem. With all the genetic info in front of him, he can’t bring himself to settle for anything less than perfection. I feel sorry for him.

I knew, at that moment, that I could never settle for what he had. Oh, he had all the money in the world. Or, at least, enough to burn. And plenty of females within reach. And with his arsenal of medications, and the facility he had at hand, he could fuck his brains out.

Except, from what I heard out of the mouths of bitches, he was stingy with his personal favors. Had had them all once, then discarded them. Let me restate that. He took them all often in the habitat, but it wasn’t ‘in his bed’. Only Giselle had held his interest there for very long. And she’d disappeared.

They got downright bitchy when I asked about it. I don’t really care about her. Just natural curiosity. And, I think she’s a key to something, a lock I haven’t found yet. Hell, I’m not even sure what they’re locking up.

Well, I know some of what they’re locking up.

So, Hood says to me, “Hell would have been letting you out to work through this on your own.”

“So you say.”

“You don’t seem to care if you ever leave here. I can’t help but wonder if it’s an act.”

I shrugged. Leaning back, nonchalantly--I hope, I said, “I figure my family thinks I’m dead by now. I’m sure my lawyer saw to those details, good man that he is.”

Hood tipped his head. I knew I wasn’t off on that mark.

“So, here I have food, females, a roof over my head.”

I have to admit, the feel of the outdoors that they’d simulated had more and more appeal to me. I’d always been an outdoors type of guy. And I think that’s part of why I was selected for the program. Funny, huh? I was a natural choice...to be unnatural.

I asked, “What more can a man want? I don’t have to worry about death or taxes any more.” I grinned. “Death would be a favor--something I don’t fear any more. And taxes? I’m off the hook on that.”

He chuckled. “I freed you from both worries.”

I offered him a mock bow. “And you sent me room service...numerous times.”

“Gestures of friendship, that’s all.”

“How can I ever replay the overtures you’ve made to make my life better?” I was joking, of course.

But Hood’s eyes grew serious. I felt, more than saw, a change in him. An alertness. He asked, “You think you would like to try?”

I leaned forward, instantly wary. “What did you have in mind?”

Oh, I knew it had to do with the genetics research. I knew he had found some matches for me. The bitches continuously talked about the extraction of semen that they had to submit themselves to--after I’d been with them. They didn’t like that.

But, I didn’t realize this until later, they were all human-born garou, chosen for variety’s sake, to appeal to my natural man. Actually getting pregnant by me wouldn’t have been a positive in the werewolf book of generations. I explained that, didn’t I?

I think that was the first time I ever saw indecision in Hood. Oh, I think it killed him to do what he did. I think it went against all his own morals. But it proved, more than anything, how much he believed in what he was doing.

In short, he sacrificed the one thing precious to him. I have no doubt that he felt like he’d put his most beloved on the chopping block, and held her head down for the axe to fall.

Not Giselle. He didn’t have half the affection for her. I’ve already said that. At least--he never showed it if he did. Though, now that I think about it...maybe by lining me up with Giselle in the first place, Hood showed that nothing he cared about, or no one, would get in the way of his ultimate purpose.

I think I told you that Hood has never fallen in love, as far as I know. Right? I’m rethinking that. I mean, that doesn’t mean Hood doesn’t love anything.

He beat around the bush. Wringing his hands a little, he said, “You’re one good-looking son of a bitch, you know that?”

I laughed. “Trying to butter me up?” I held my hands in the air. “Sorry, you had your chance. You’re not gonna find me butt up, with you on my back ever again. At least, not without a fight.”

That made him laugh. We both looked away, blushing. It was funny as shit.

He said, “Yeah, well...we do what we have to do.” The air between us changed--just for a second--remembering back made us tense. But, we both knew that, and on dwelling on it, wasn’t what we were sitting there for. His words echoed in my head. “We do what we have to do.”

He was right. I could tell that was why he was talking to me like he was. He felt that it was time to move on. He was doing what he had to do.

And, by God, I was ready, too.

“Just lay it out there. All I can do is say sure, or kill me now. Right?”

Hood smiled at me. I felt genuine affection. Perhaps it was the fact that his DNA, in some degree, ran through my veins.

He rubbed his face a few times, then finally said, “You were selected for breeding purposes. You know that.”