Chapter 1
This society was a shadow of its former self. The wolf packs that had once ruled side by side had been persuaded to choose a pack leader, a president as the humans called him. It worked for a while, but taking sovereignty away from the packs left them weak, cowed and disinterested. Proud, strong wolf packs had turned into sheep who foolishly followed the laws passed by their leader. Everyone was thinking of their own personal comfort, but no one was interested in the common good any more, the community was falling apart, and the wolves were becoming bitter, withdrawn and individualistic. As for the "chief", he had free rein to indulge in all sorts of excesses, collecting younger and younger companions, basking in lust and abuse. Society was falling apart and nobody seemed to care. Only a few lone wolves had realized this and banded together in the hope of regaining their lost strength, power and sovereignty.
I was one of them. Even as a young wolf, I'd been opposed to the idea of foolishly following laws I didn't understand, and as I grew older, I realized just how corrupt the system was and how much they were trying to put us to sleep, to cut us off from our instincts, our choices and our freedom to think differently. So I decided to leave the pack and join some lone wolves in their quest for truth and meaning. I'd relearned the history we'd gradually transformed to fit our current society. I'd learned how to fight, something we no longer learned in the pack, since combat was now reserved for protection units. I'd got back in touch with nature, with its plants, those that heal and those that can make you sick or even kill, that too had been taken away from us; only healers had access to this knowledge. I had relearned to connect with my wolf, to become one with her, to follow my instinct and intuition, to hunt for food. I had relearned to live by myself and for myself, quite simply, but all this had been deliberately left aside for generations to make us malleable, servile, dependent. We had thus recreated a pack, with no real leader, in constant reorganization, but with the common goal of regaining our individual and collective power.
Over the past few months, this had become a real challenge: our group was growing by leaps and bounds, joined by individuals from further afield, and our group was beginning to make a name for itself, which was obviously not looked upon favorably by government units. We had gathered in an abandoned country house, a haven of peace in the middle of the forest, with the mountains in the background. Here we had everything at our disposal, and what we didn't have we built together. That day was the start of the trouble, I was on my way back from hunting with a few companions when we were attacked by one of the protection units, who had probably let us pass on the outward journey only to ambush us a few hundred meters further on. Far enough away from our pack to put us in difficulty, at least according to them, since they hadn't foreseen that we were all trained to fight. Their instructions were clear: eliminate us to teach the rest of the group a lesson, to scare us into returning to the ranks. It was a bloodbath, with everyone fighting for their lives. It was my first murder, out of self-defense of course, but it didn't make me any less sick, and it was far from being my last.
I woke up nauseous and with a persistent headache. The smell of blood wouldn't leave me despite several consecutive showers, and my clothes were locked in a bag, constant proof of what I must have done the day before. So I returned to the shower once more, in a desperate attempt to erase the marks, the bruises and the smell of blood. Once clean (well, only in appearance, as my state of mind hadn't changed) I met up with the other wolves in the main room, where one of the weekly meetings was being held. The day before, three of our wolves had been seriously injured and I'd spent most of the night tending to them with the other pack healers. I was one of those with a gift for healing, and had been able to harness and deepen this gift thanks to some of the older wolves in my pack who had been lucky enough to receive the ancient teachings.
Today was all about reinforcing our security, and setting up fixed patrols and lookouts to prevent a repeat of the previous day's attack. Twice a week, we gathered to discuss and set up our organization. There was already a treatment room that could accommodate 6 patients, a small school where children were taught the basics of everyday life (cooking, tinkering, hunting), common lessons (reading, writing, counting) as well as ancient teachings (combat, healing, survival in the wild). Each wolf had a well-defined role in the pack, and everyone took part in tasks that were useful to the group. There were bound to be moments of friction, but these were often quickly resolved by the group, by creating a space for discussion and trying to find a common agreement between the two parties. In the absence of an alpha to lead the group, this was quite a challenge. The wolves, despite having regained their individual sovereignty, needed a leader and we didn't have one. No one in the group had the stature, the aura or even the ambition to be an alpha. We did, however, have a beta leader, Jacob, who was there to divide up the tasks and speaking times for everyone, keeping a fragile but necessary balance in the group. In the afternoon, everyone went about their business, so I returned to the treatment room to check on the wounded.
Over the following month, patrols and lookouts were organized, securing our pack and hunting outings. On those mornings, I would get ready to join them, spending time in the wilderness, which I particularly enjoyed, often picking plants to make medicine and dressings. I had become an expert, but my passion often took me off the beaten track, away from the hunting party and the pack. This day was no exception, as I sang in the middle of the forest, enjoying the birdsong, the cool shade provided by the trees and the rustle of the wind in the leaves, when a particular scent put my senses on alert, an unfamiliar scent that belonged to none of the wolves in my pack.
Thinking I'm being attacked again by a government protection unit, I discreetly hide my crops before melting into the wild, ready to attack and defend myself, whether with my wolf or in my human form. A huge grey wolf appears in front of me. He knows perfectly well that I'm there, he too has sensed me, but by his behavior he's letting me know that he has the power and that I can't hide. My wolf growls inwardly, I've always hated having things imposed on me and this wolf inspires nothing but fear. Given his size and my distance from the group and the pack, I know I don't stand a chance against him, and he knows it too. - You know you can't escape, little wolf, and don't even think about fighting, you don't stand a chance.
His deep voice echoes in my head, giving me goose bumps, but I don't respond, far too busy analyzing my options, which I eliminate one after the other. None of them will get me out of this bind. My only option is diversion, but before I can reply anything, a huge grey mass slams me to the ground. Damn! As well as being powerful, it's particularly silent. Images whirl around in my head, I'm a lone she-wolf, I know full well the abuse I could suffer.
- Mmh little wolf, you smell particularly good, don't worry if you're good everything will be fine.
The electochoc puts me back in my place, "wise" is certainly not a word to describe me and it's not likely to become one, even if it ends badly I might as well fight to the end.
I'm analyzing the situation, my small size may work in my favor and he's still in his wolf form, so I may have an opportunity to get away from him. I breathe, I calm down, I need to concentrate, he takes this as submission and releases the pressure just long enough to transform. I take the opportunity to knee him in the crotch and slip under his arms. Once free, I transform into my wolf form and take off at full speed. I know where the hunting party, the patrol and my pack are, so I quickly analyze the shortest distance and make a run for it. I manage to cover a few hundred metres when the huge grey wolf catches up with me and tackles me to the ground again. The impact in mid-stride makes me grunt in pain, and I howl, hoping the patrol will hear me, it's my only chance to get out of this one, the surprise effect only worked once, so he won't give me the chance to do it again.
- Little she-wolf is more cunning than I expected, it's given me an even bigger appetite.
My she-wolf growls and shows her fangs, but I still don't answer him, I wouldn't give him the pleasure. I fight against a psychological force that pushes me to transform myself, inevitably I had to come across a dominant, I fight as hard as I can but my body gradually reverts to its human form.
- You're tough, little wolf, I like that.I know what I'm going to go through but he's taking his time to torture me psychologically, or maybe he's used to people submitting to him voluntarily and not resisting him. Wolves tend to like this kind of dominant male, it can even be seen as an honor to be chosen by one. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them and I'm thinking that I'm probably in for a rough time.
