System of a Wolf - 29. Chapter 29

Lynn lay on the ground, her feet kicking behind her as she scribbled over a neko in a colouring book. She was bored; there was nothing to do in this room. A bed, a small table, and an open shower offered no entertainment. The neko was happy she had been given a book to play with, but even that was getting old really fast.

She was worried about Gara, and no amount of colouring could help that. The wolf was missing. He had vanished a day ago, and all she could feel was Erith hovering just out of reach, as though the elf was watching her. It was getting far too quiet in her head, and it made the neko sad.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts, and she felt something shift.

“Erie?” she whispered, toying with the tube in her arm.

The elf refused to answer, and the sense of loneliness only increased. Lynn stood up and opened the door, stepping back against a padded wall as she had been told to do the first day. A woman entered the room, a collection of syringes in a pocket and a smile on her face. Her eyes took one look at the scribbles on the floor.

“Hey Lynn, it’s time for bed,” she said in a high pitched voice.

The sound grated on the neko’s nerves, and her eyes flicked at the needles sitting in the woman’s pocket. Looking up again, Lynn saw the pair of elf guards outside the room, a pair of tranquilizer guns set in their hands.

“Can we skip the wolf juice please?” she whispered.

“Perhaps. Can you tell me what Gara is doing right now?”

Lynn searched, her eyes closing as her body moved. She couldn’t feel Gara at all, just Erith shifting, moving her slightly, a step at a time. Opening her eyes, Lynn pouted as her body was set between the guards and the woman.

“I think he’s gone,” she said. “I don’t know where he is.”

“Okay. I think we can skip the wolf juice tonight then. But if he comes back, you have to tell us.”

Lynn nodded, eager to avoid the medicine that made her feel tired. And Erith made his move.

Forcing himself to the front, Erith let his body shift, hearing the thump of the tranquilizers go off as he dropped to the ground. Gara blinked into the front of their mind, throwing himself at the guards and knocking them aside. Another thump sounded, and the wolf felt a sharp pain in his backside.

Erith pushed to the front, holding Lynn back as his thoughts bled into Gara’s mind.

‘Seven minutes.’

Gara leapt down a narrow hall, bursting into a room filled with silver. A chapel to the moon god, and the place werewolves went to die. He fled through another door, dodging the silver menace as yells and screams exploded around him. They needed to get to the office, find Erith’s keys, escape, and hide in the woods. All within six and a half minutes.

He put on a blast of speed, feeling the first effects of the wolfbane travelling through his hind legs. Pushing himself, Gara skidded to a halt next to a locked door. A push with his shoulders did nothing, and he tried again, harder and harder. The smell of metal was clear on the other side of the door, and he needed to get into this room.

The wood suddenly collapsed under his assault, and the wolf bounded into the room, quickling sniffing out a basket filled with keys. Grabbing the one that smelled like Erith, he leapt through a window, another dart hitting him as an eruption of glass cut through his fur.

A sudden drop made him panic, and his legs collapsed as he hit the ground, nearly fifteen feet below his jump. Erith took over as Gara retreated, his naked body covered in cuts and scrapes.

Change of plans.

The elf sprinted toward the car park, frantically unlocking his car as he ripped out the three darts poking out of his ass. He could feel the wolfbane trickling into his blood, and Erith’s legs collapsed as he grabbed the handle of his car’s door. He pulled it open, and dragged himself into the car, slapping his feet down on the pedals as the vehicle started.

His entire body ached, blood dripping out of a myriad of cuts and slices. And through it all, Erith despaired even as he forced himself to stay awake, to aim his car at the lowering barrier that threatened to cut off his escape.

Pressing the gas pedal forcefully with his dead leg, the elf leaned back as the car sped up. There was a loud bang as he connected with the boom gate, and Erith flinched as his windshield cracked. But he was free, and the elf took advantage of that, fleeing the car park even as his body slowly lost its fight with the drugs. His heart slowed, his body tingled from the poison, and Erith took a sharp breath, trying to force enough oxygen into his lungs to stay awake.

The last two weeks had destroyed the elf. He’d come with the best intentions, had been willing to do anything to get better. But when the Lumaran priests had learned he was a werewolf, the elf had been locked in a padded cell, forced to take wolfbane in an effort to cure himself by killing Gara.

Sure, he’d gotten a bit of therapy too, through the door of his cell. He’d learned he might be able to integrate Varen back into himself if he ever found the elf again. But none of that was worth Gara’s life, and likely his own life as well. Wolfbane was lethal, not just to wolves. By trying to kill Gara, the priests were killing Erith too, and he couldn’t let that happen.

And now, as he swerved off the road and into the woods to hide, the elf felt the effects of the tranquilizers hitting full force. He skidded to a stop barely a foot from a tree, just barely getting the key out of the starter to silence the vehicle, before succumbing to the drugged slumber of the poison.

“Something’s wrong.”

Blake stared at his food, his gut churning as he took in the casserole Dr. Marin had made. His stomach was growling, he was hungry, but the mage had no appetite.

“Why hasn’t Erith called? I thought you said he could call from the hospital,” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Dr. Marin replied evenly. “He might not have a phone.”

Blake scowled at his food, the feeling in his stomach getting worse.

“No, something’s wrong. I know it,” he insisted.

“Maybe it has nothing to do with Erith. You’ve been spending quite a few nights at Adam’s house this week. Do you think you might be getting more used to being at his house?”

“Maybe,” Blake admitted with a sigh.

He picked at his food, taking a large mouthful to give himself something to focus on. A buzzing noise sounded, and the mage startled, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Adam?” he asked into the phone.

“Hey Puppy, I just wanted to make sure you were eating.”

“Yeah, Dr. Marin makes sure I get plenty of food,” the mage said. “Why wouldn’t I be eating?”

“I don’t know. I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay,” Adam said, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“Oh. I’m okay,” Blake frowned. “I’m just worried about Erith.”

Silence followed his statement. The mage felt his gut clench again as the silence grew, and he let out a tiny whimper.

“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like me talking-”

“Where is he?”

“What?”

“Where is Erith? I’ll go check on him for you,” Adam said.

“Um… The Lunar Terrace, I think,” Blake said, glancing at Dr. Marin for confirmation.

“The Lunar Terrace?”

Adam’s voice picked up an edge to it, causing a shudder to run through Blake’s body.

“Okay. Blake, I need you to stay by your phone. I am going to pick you up in fifteen minutes, outside of the pack house. I want you to bring a change of clothes, something you think will fit Erith. We’re getting him out of there tonight.”

“What? Why?”

“Blake, please, just do what I say.”

The phone went dead, and Blake pulled it away from his ear, frowning at the blank screen.

“Adam wants to get Erith. I’m going with him.”

He pushed away from the table, heading toward the bedroom to gather the things Adam wanted. It didn’t take long before Blake was walking through the gate toward Adam’s car.

The man was on his phone, his voice raised as he argued with someone. Adam waved at the passenger seat impatiently, and Blake slid into the car nervously, falling back as Adam sped away from the pack house.

“I swear to the gods…” he growled, tossing his phone into Blake’s lap. “Shit, sorry. Force of habit.”

“What’s going on?” Blake demanded, watching the city flash around them as the car raced toward the forest.

“The Lunar Terrace acts as a Lumaran temple for the surrounding communities. At best, Erith is being ridiculed for being a werewolf. At worst, they’re trying to kill him,” the werewolf said.

“How are we going to stop them? Why didn’t Dr. Marin know this?”

Adam sighed as they pulled onto the long road through the forest.

“It’s not something they advertise. They’re nominally just a temple, but one of the priests at the prison I was in said that conversion therapy is offered by all temples. Again, it’s not common knowledge. I don’t want you to get upset at Dr. Marin for not knowing.”

“Who were you arguing with?”

“The temple. They’re not releasing any information on hospital patients. Bastards get you into their clutches, offering treatment for all your ailments, and then they try to turn you to their god. If you resist, they decide you must be mentally unstable and keep you there.”

“Then how are we supposed to get Erith out?”

“I don’t know,” Adam said quietly. “But we’re going to try. Because you need him.”

The rest of the race north passed in silence, Blake staring out the window as he tried to deal with the emotions racing toward him. A car blurred past them suddenly, the lights dim, and he let out a yelp.

“That’s Erith’s car!”

Instantly, Adam slammed on his brakes, skidding to a stop. He turned carefully as Blake tried to catch up to his pounding heart.

“He just went off the road,” Adam said, pulling to the side of the road and shutting off the car.

The two stared after the car, listening silently as the other engine fell silent.

“He stopped somewhere. I think he’s hiding.”

Adam turned to Blake, his face etched with frown lines.

“Blake, I want you to shift. If anything happens, you run. Follow the road as best as you can back to Astara, but make sure you are not seen.”

Blake gulped quietly, pulling off his shirt. He removed his shoes and his pants, before letting his wolf form take over. Hopping out of the car, the wolf took a deep breath, his head twisting in the direction of the other car.

The smell of an aquarium surrounded him, that smell of warmth and safety. But under that was the metallic scent of blood, and the wolf whimpered.

A hand fell on his shoulder, Adam petting him gently.

“Come on Blake, let’s go get your boyfriend.”

Blake huffed quietly, going to ground. He sniffed out the bloody scent, following it into the woods as Adam kept track of their position from the car. It wasn’t long before they found the car.

“He’s in there. Asleep, I think.”

Adam pounded on a window, then picked up a rock.

“I hope he doesn’t mind,” the man muttered, and Blake growled, stopping him.

The mage focused briefly, and the car clicked a second later, the doors unlocked.

“Good boy,” Adam smiled, pulling the door open. “Fuck, he’s not responding. We need to get him back to the city now.”