Young Writers Society

Cry Wolf: The Case of the Missing Bone Totem

“Wakey, wakey…come on ‘Bree, time for drills.”

There was a sharp snapping sound and sunlight suddenly poured in from the open windows, bathing the bed and its sleeping occupant. He flinched and rolled over with a muffled snarl.

“Dammit man, don’t you get tired of this?!”

Aubrey squinted up at the figure standing over his head, wishing for all the world that he had something thick and heavy in hand to hit him with.

“Nope, the faces you make every day— priceless. Now get your ass out of that bed…don’t make me have to get in.”

There was a cheerful note to the husky voice but Aubrey knew from experience that the threat was no empty one. He sighed and planted his feet on the ground, bones popping in protest as he got to his feet.

“It’s fucking six o’clock, Silas.”

In any other situation, his towering height and menacing glare would have set the record straight but the other boy didn’t even bat an eyelash. Silas’s 5’8’’ frame bench pressed double his weight on a bad day and besides, he’d been stared down by bigger people than Aubrey. All he did was pick up a discarded pillow and swat Aubrey's head with it.

“So take it up with Zander.”

He took a step back toward the door, a wide grin in place. “Come on, all we’re doing today is gym work. I guess he got tired of watching you whine and moan like a bitch in heat.”

Aubrey said nothing but his face tightened as they crossed the threshold and walked into the cool corridor outside. He’d gone through this routine for eight days and was finally beginning to get the ropes. Responding to Silas’s taunts was about as productive as punching air. They marched down the hall in silence for a few seconds, and then the other boy gave him a sideways glance.

“Word of advice, I’d keep the backtalk to a minimum; Alpha won’t find your attitude amusing today.”

They came in front of a pair of translucent swinging doors, behind which Aubrey could see the vague outlines of shadows in movement. Rhythmic sounds of clanging metal rang faintly in the background, punctuated now and then by grunts and scuff marks. He took a deep breath and a blank mask slid over his features, stepping in line behind Silas as the latter opened the door. The large state of the art gym dotted with bodies in motion, most of whom froze in their actions. Aubrey willed himself not to quail as twenty nine pairs of eyes swiveled his way and then turned back to the figure in the middle, still bent over a pair of weights.

Zander barely looked up from his work bench, but that slight glance was enough to make his displeasure known. “You’re late.”

The words were smooth and controlled, betraying none of his exertion even as his glistening body strained over the dumbbell. Silas twitched and took a step forward, head carefully trained on the ground.

“Sorry Zander, the kid was still asleep.”

Aubrey bristled internally at being called a kid by someone his own age but knew better than to voice his objections, not when his life could literally depend on his silence. The past eight days had taught him the finer points of submission.

Zander's simmering amber eyes pinned on him for a moment before moving away to the door.

“Tomorrow is another day; don’t waste our time like this.”

With that, the tension that had been rapidly coalescing in the room dissipated into the air. The others continued with their workouts and Silas walked away, leaving his charge alone. Every morning without fail, the thirty other people in the gym gathered together to start their day with the kind of rigorous exercise that would break a seasoned decathlete. They had to; the members of this pack prided themselves on their moral order, born from intense physical discipline.

For the past eight days, Aubrey’s presence had become a break in their routine and many were still adjusting to having a human—a meat boy—in their midst. But a pack was a pack and the Alpha's word was law. Besides, Aubrey reminded himself, it wasn’t as though he wanted to be here in the first place. That thought unhelpfully brought back his ire at the whole situation and his frown tightened. Forget this; since they’d already disrupted his sleep for the day, he might as well get something out of their bonding session.

He made his way to one of the five treadmills along the wall and, ignoring his two ‘pack mates’ on either side, turned the machine on. Soon the pounding sound of his feet hitting the floor was the only thing he could feel or hear. He shut his eyes and imagined this was his usual early morning run through the woods behind his apartment complex. A small smile tugged at his lips at that thought and he began running faster, taking deep breaths as his body automatically went into the familiar route. The smell of dew soaked grass tickled his nose and he could just hear the twittering of birds high up in the trees overhead. Sunlight peeked through the leaves here and there, dotting the dark mosaic with splashes of color-

“Earth to Aubrey.”

He opened his eyes to meet Silas’s stare and started, nearly tripping over himself on the still moving machine. The other boy was literally standing a hairsbreadth away. How could he not have noticed?

“Damn don’t come up to someone like that—trying to give me a fuckin’ heart attack?”

Silas shrugged unrepentantly and gestured toward the door, where the others were trailing Zander out of the room. “Time to go, Kiddo.”

He scowled and killed the treadmill. “Stop calling me a kid.”

The other boy merely chuckled and shouldered the door open. “Well that’s what you are, I ain’t trying to be rude.”

Technically it was true. When he was brought here Zander had passed down responsibility over him down the line and that was what continued to happen until he was shunted over to the very bottom of the ladder. Silas was the youngest and least ranking member of the pack. Aubrey didn’t even have a position in a pack’s hierarchy. He spared a half glance back as they walked away. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to go through this all over again tomorrow. That was what he kept telling himself every day, that tomorrow this whole fiasco would at last be over and he’d finally be free.

“Alright, breakfast at ten, and don’t be late for this one.”

They were standing in front of his door. He nodded and turned the knob while the other boy walked away, cheerfully whistling a tune.

His room was well furnished with a king sized bed, a small living area with a television and a bookshelf he hadn’t even glanced at. It came self contained with a bathroom and overlooked a small garden. Aubrey could almost forget that it was a prison cell, if not for the thick iron barricades over the window and the fact that his door was made from solid steel. In fairness he had to admit that no one had really harassed him throughout his stay, and the bars could just as well be meant to keep his jailers out.

He sighed and stripped off his sweats, making for the bathroom. They’d warned him twice about being late and it was best not to test Zander’s patience. He still chaffed at the restrictive nature of life as a member of a pack, especially the fact that one man’s word was the law they followed to the letter. It didn’t help that said man could barely tolerate him and every minute spent in the same vicinity felt like eternity in the lion’s cage. Aubrey supposed it was all part of the package of Zander being a predator but swore he’d shaved years off his life in the past eight days. A scowl formed on his face as he thought about it all, and the reason he was even in this situation in the first place.

“Damn you Flitchling, this is all your fault.”

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Aubrey opened the door and nearly walked into the five men standing on the other side. They were familiar faces now, what with the new case his boss had just taken on, and so he didn’t think much of it until they grabbed for him.

“What the hell?”

“We’ll be taking him with us, you know, for insurance.”

Flitchling took a step forward, his features folded into a frown as his green eyes suddenly darkened. “That was not part of the agreement.”

The one he’d called their Alpha shrugged, his grip tightening around Aubrey as he bucked and strained. “Think of it as extra motivation for you to find the Bone Totem as quickly as possible.”

The Ylf looked like he wanted to say something but then hesitated, turning to his assistant. “There has been a change of plans, Aubrey. You must go with these gentlemen.”

Aubrey was floored by this turn of events; he’d expected his boss to do everything in the opposite of that. “What are you talking about? I ain’t got nothing to do with all this!” Even with the tension in the air, he could see the glimmer of amusement in the older man’s eyes.

Flitchling gestured to the other five still keeping a hold of him. “I believe that is an unnecessary action, seeing as I have not refused your request. Please unhand my assistant before you force me to take drastic actions.”

The words were spoken lightly but the threat was very palpable. The Alpha growled softly but released Aubrey and the others followed suit. Flitchling inclined his head slightly as his assistant hurried to his side, outrage plain in his expression.

“Tell me you’re joking, that you’re not really going to leave me with these guys.”

“Actually, I have come to the conclusion that their side is the safest place for you to be at this point. The House of Tae are the very people who contracted our help—surely they have no reason to do you harm. However, I cannot guarantee the same for the other houses I will be dealing with from here on.”

Aubrey shook his head, unconvinced by this line of reasoning. “They are all werewolves! You said it yourself that they are unpredictable at best and no different from animal at worst…and you want to leave me with them.”

Flitchling ignored the strain of hysteria his assistant’s voice, turning aside to their waiting audience. “I would like a few minutes to talk with him.” He moved before they could respond, pulling Aubrey into the office and shut the door.

“There is another reason I have been so accommodating of our clients. An investigation on the Houses should include all six, no? However, I will be so occupied with the remaining five—”

“—so you want me to check out the Tae’s while I’m with them,” Aubrey finished for him morosely. “But that doesn’t make sense; they are the ones who came with us with the whole missing Bone case in the first place.”

The Ylf nodded and crossed his arms. “However, that does not exclude them from suspicion. Think about it Aubrey, who would gain the most from the current state of chaos among the Houses? Instigating an investigation is most effective way to throw suspicion off themselves and still bide the time until the Big full moon.”

The younger man sighed and rubbed his face, trying to ward off the panic in his midsection. “But then if they’ve got the Bone…what if you don’t get Joey Red Stone to do the dream walk thing and time runs out?”

Flitchling’s face was an inscrutable mask as air became heavy with dread. “Let us hope, for your sake at the least, that the Big full moon does not rise with you still in the House of Tae.”

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It took Aubrey twenty minutes to shower and change into a tee shirt and a pair of jeans from the closet his captors had so kindly furnished him. They were designer clothes and a little more expensive than he’d normally favor, but the main problem was the fact that the short sleeves left his arms exposed. Aubrey didn’t feel comfortable showing off his scars in an environment where battle wounds were more or less an invitation for someone to pick a fight.

Well of course, he thought sourly to himself as he exited the room, first I’d have to be acknowledged for that to happen. He made his way down the maze of corridors to the main hallway, the sheer size of the Tae mansion never failing to impress as he took in the animal statues that stood guard at every entrance.

The mansion was divided into sections that housed the pack that lived within, most of whom were direct descendants from the ancient clan of Tae. Aubrey remembered snippets of his conversation with his boss when the older man tried to explain the hierarchical structure of the werewolf society.

“Werewolves almost always move in packs. Now these can range in size from as little as four or five to as many as thirty people. The Alpha stands at the top of the ladder and each rung has decreasing authority.”

He’d almost constantly cringed at Silas’s utter submissiveness to Zander when they first brought him to the mansion but even now, understanding the reasons for it didn’t make it any easier.

“The packs in a given area usually form a clan. This way, there is a governing structure to settle disputes or recognize when werewolves from different packs decide to bond. There are six main Houses under which all the clans in the North American continent submit depending on the region. These are the true authorities which speak for werewolves as a whole.”

It also made sense that his pack mates had such overlarge sense of importance; after all they were the future overseers of the entire species in the continent.

Aubrey made his way to the kitchen where, to no surprise, his packmates were already gathering. He kept to the background, noting that the Eta wasn’t in their midst. The kitchen was an elaborate affair, with enough space to take a group twice their size without belching. It boasted of eight different cooking stations, three of which were already in use, and almost every kind of equipment known to man.

Aubrey didn’t know how they allotted duties in the pack but every time he came in for breakfast, there was always at least four people manning the burners. The system was efficient because it meant no one ever had to wait long to be fed…usually. The others began straggling in ones and twos and eventually caught Silas’s entrance. The other boy had switched his grey sweats for black pants and white wife beaters, his black hair standing in spikes over his head. The trademark crooked smile was in place and his dark eyes raced along the room, ostensibly seeking his charge because they homed in a second later.

The doors swung open again at that moment and Zander stalked in, flipping his cell phone shut with a grimace. Aubrey swore in the past eight days, the twenty five year old's face had acquired enough wrinkles to rival a mastiff. He felt an unexpected flash of sympathy toward the alpha and quickly squelched it in horror. Stockholm syndrome— that was what it had to be. Why else would he be sympathizing with someone who had been an asshole to him from the day they met? Within minutes, the kitchen stations were all occupied; the dining table was piled with platters of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages, and someone was passing around platefuls of toast and pancakes. Without any order to do so, the pack all sat at the table and Aubrey sat beside Silas.

They all stared at each other in silence as conversation slowly lulled to a halt. The seconds ticked on and on but there was no action. Aubrey dug his teeth into his cheek deeper and deeper as he watched the food in front of him begin to cool. No one as much as glanced at their plates even though he knew that with their super high metabolism, they were all probably starving. He also knew that no one would—they didn’t dare.

One of the very first rules of the code, one that werewolves shared with their remaining canine cousins, was the fact that the Alpha had first cut…of everything. None of them was going to eat until Zander took his first bite. What the hell is taking him so long? Aubrey threw the head of the table an evil look. The Alpha sat with his arms crossed, an expression of growing irritation on his face.

At that moment, the human’s stomach chose the inopportune time to growl and protest very loudly, earning him the protracted gaze of every eye around. He held the stares defiantly and then realized someone was missing….oh. Anita. After what felt like eternity, the doors swung open and she sashayed in, the voluminous curls on her head bouncing with every lazy step. The table shifted like reeds in the path of the wind as she approached, filling the air with the pleasant redolence of her perfume.

“Good morning everyone!”

Zander’s eyes flared for an instant as he turned to glare at her; she matched his gaze with a casual smile and walked around the table to the only other empty seat…right next to Aubrey. Silas made a sudden move and he half glanced at the Eta’s stiff expression.

“Hi Aubrey, sleep well last night?”

Momentarily befuddled by the cloud of sweet smells and sunny smiles that just swept his way, Aubrey hastily nodded and tried to keep the tremor from showing too much his voice. Act cool man.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Apart from Silas, who was obligated to, Anita was the only other person to reach out to him ever since he came into the mansion and they hit it off straight away. Well admittedly he had already begun developing some sort of a crush on her. She always had that affect on him; something about the intimacy and warmth in her smile made it feel like a privilege to be even acknowledged by the older woman. Not even Zander seemed to be immune from her charm, and that the Alpha’s powers of intimidation didn’t seem to work on her either. Anita nodded and reached for her fork and he noticed that Zander had finally begun eating. Finally! He eagerly reached for pancakes and eggs off the platters as they were being passed around.

“So, got plans for the day?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “Nah not really, stay in my room I guess.”

Only he and Zander knew the true circumstances of his presence with the pack. Their working cover was that Aubrey had been in an accident and lost his memories. Zander and his friends found him wandering the fringes of the property and brought him home while they tried to find anyone who knew him. It sounded weak to him but so far no one asked any questions, not that they would.

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.” She leaned slightly closer and he caught a stronger whiff of her perfume.

“Yeah…well.”

Anita rolled her eyes as she reached for one of the sausages on his plate and made short work of it. “I know, how ‘bout I check in on you later? We could hang out and stuff. You’d like that, right?”

Aubrey became distinctly aware that there was a strained silence on the table and many eyes were on them. Perhaps it was because of the instinct he’d been honing while working with Flitchling but for some reason he threw a glance at Zander and was surprised to find that he wasn’t the only one on the table doing so. In fact, several eyes were on the Alpha, as if waiting for something. The older man didn’t look up from his plate, methodically cutting his pancake into smaller pieces.

“Er…I—Damn!”

He shoved his chair backward as a flood of orange juice suddenly gushed down to his pants.

“Oh shit, sorry kid.”

Aubrey stared incredulously at Silas’s apologetic face. Was this for real? His jeans were soaked. He sighed and got to his feet, shaking his head slowly.

Remember Aubrey; no matter what, do not put yourself in a confrontation with a werewolf because you will only get hurt.

Flitchling’s words echoed in his head and he briefly closed his eyes, taking a step back from the table when he remembered just in time and turned to Zander. The Alpha’s head dipped ever so slightly, his face an unreadable mask, but that was good enough for Aubrey. He piled as much food onto his plate and walked away, forgetting about Anita in the whole fiasco.

No one bothered Aubrey for the next few hours. He changed clothes, finished his breakfast and settled down in front of the TV to flip the channels, all in a bid not to think about the direness of his situation. It failed. All he could concentrate on was the fact that his window of opportunity was steady closing. There was still no word from Flitchling and their clients didn’t deign to keep him informed on the events going on out there. This wasn’t good at all. Aubrey swallowed down the lump of unease in his midsection and began reviewing his options. Being locked up with a mansion full of aggressive werewolves on the cusp of the full moon was troubling but things could be worse. He could be locked in with a mansion full of aggressive werewolves and their most powerful relic on the cusp of the biggest full moon of the year.

So far, there didn’t seem to be any sign that the House of Tae had the Bone Totem. None of his pack mates showed increasing levels violence or sexual aggressiveness.These were signs that his boss had warned him to watch out for as the relic triggered their animal desires with each passing day closer to the full moon. Well except for Zander, if he could call the Alpha’s disagreeableness violence, and the females kept their attentions solely on their kindred. Still, there was no way to be sure until he actually checked the mansion for the bone. Doing so would involve him leaving the room, which meant he ran the risk of being caught and having to explain himself.

Aubrey sighed and slumped back against the sofa. Leave it to Flitchling to put him in such a bind.