Iron and Ivy

The noise was constant. It was quiet. It was constant and quiet, but it still managed to make my head pound with every splatter against the cold concrete. The concrete. Of course it was cold. It was always cold. That didn’t bother me anymore. Nothing of this place bothered me anymore.

How rude of me. I should introduce myself.

Lily Winters is the name. Werewolf is the game.

I’m a half-human half-wolf thing that kills and maims and destroys.

Lovely picture, I know.

I was a rogue wolf. It’s kind of looked down upon by the society meant to rein our beasts in which is exactly how I ended up in this hellhole of a prison known as Abaddon. There’s more to my capture, but I’ll explain that later. First, rogues.

The following definition is brought to you by the Council:

Rogue wolves are dangerous, wild animals with no control over their beasts. The human side is forgotten about and only bloodlust drives them. Nothing can bring a rogue back from insanity. Nothing can cure them.

So, why would the almighty Council who believes wholeheartedly that rogues are dangerous keep an underground prison full of rogues – along with other mythical, dangerous beasts – without executing them on sight?

The answer is simple. I figured it out ages ago. The Council – a group of old guys who think they know best for the supernatural world – need some entertainment. They keep this prison purely to feed into the enslavement system. This prison I’ve lived in and called my home is meant to break me.

Never. I laugh at the thought.

Of course, the facility was so large that many people – like my amazing self – were forgotten about.

Now, a bit about myself. As already stated, my name is Lily Winters. I’m a werewolf and a rogue. That obviously means I’m hated by basically everyone. I’ve been in the Council’s prison since I was twelve. The only reason I knew how old I was, was because every year, on my birthday, the guards found it fun to try and beat the life out of me before they sent me to the pit with the lovely parting words of “let’s see if you survive another year”. Nine. Nine times had this ritual happened.

I’d been sent to the pit more than that, but that’s solely because I had “attitude problems”.

“Oh-ho-ho!” I cheered as I saw two of the wraith – half-demon – guards drag in a new guy towards the empty cell across from me. I approached the silver lined bars. “Did you boys bring in a new playmate?” I shouted to them, ready to get no response, but one actually paused to hiss at me. Wraiths tended to be a little less human than other half-breeds. I believe they were the descendants of a snake demon.

None of that mattered as I was fully exposed to the nearly unconscious beast in their hands. He was a wolf like myself, and a damn powerful one at that. It made my body quiver with just the presence of that strength. I growled loudly when the second wraith yanked at the guy’s arm too harshly.

“You be careful with this one. He’s mine,” I growled at them, clenching my fists with the sudden anger that came over me. It was a breath of relief. I ate for this anger. I thrived off this.

“Quiet, bitch!” the first wraith snapped at me, causing a smirk to rise on my face.

“And what are you gonna do about it, Honey?” I taunted as the new guy was tossed to the ground of his cell. I momentarily caught his eye. They were surprisingly warm. He must have been really new. That warmth would be gone soon enough.

“Why don’t you come over here and show me?” I dared, letting my eyes settle on the cocky wraith. I had to ignore my new friend’s presence for now. It was almost difficult, but the urge to make fun of some idiot guards far outweighed my urge to examine the new guy.

“You think you’re so tough behind those bars, but you have no power.” The wraith walked towards me. “You’ve never had power.” He was almost within arm’s reach. They’d never expect it. “The bars are coated with silver. You can’t do anything back there,” he taunted as if he held the upper hand. I just smirked when I realized the wraith was close enough before launching my arms through the burning bars and pulling the beast to me. My mouth closed around his nose – the easiest target – ripping the cartilage with my canines as the bars left straight burns down my face and arms.

I started shrieking with laughter as the wraith screamed. What a goddamn idiot. I spat the skin out of my mouth, ignoring the warm, red liquid that had drenched my chin as I huffed at the other guard who’d been pulling my victim away.

I found the new prisoner standing at attention with his eyes on me. His eyes were gorgeous. They reminded me of warm chocolate (which I hadn’t even eaten in nine years). It made my mouth water. I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and make him mine completely. I wanted to drink him in and devour his soul. He made me thirsty and the only thing to quench that thirst was him.

Spreading my grin widely to show off my canines, I found the new prisoner retracting with a low growl. His arms tensed before his shoulders shuddered and he took a step away from his bars, seeming conflicted.

“Stupid bitch,” I gasped as the electric stick touched my abdomen and rendered me completely useless. It only took a few seconds before it was lights out in Lily Town.

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Thump. Thump. Thump.

The beating was a constant, roaring sound that matched my heartbeat. It was thunderous. It was deafening and awakening. It was the definition of dread echoing off cavernous walls.

It was the pit.

I dragged my body upright as I found myself in the center of the sandy pit where I’ve spilled an immeasurable amount of blood, both my own and my enemies. Eighteen foot, cement walls rose in a circle around me and above that was a cast iron fence to guard the first row of spectators. There were about a dozen rows of screaming fans circling around the massive arena.

On my feet finally, I looked around to find my opponent. There was no one. This isn’t the first time I’d been sent into the pit without finding out who I’d be facing. My hands twitched with anticipation. My chest was buzzing with excitement.

Who would it be this time? Would I fight a vampire? Maybe a ghoul. Those guys were really tough. Whatever it was, I was ready to put it into the ground.

My excitement turned to anger when a door creaked open and a presence overwhelmed my senses. The tanned man who had recently become my neighbor had been shoved into the arena, stumbling forwards with a slight limp. I glared at him, angry with what the wraiths were about to make me do.

It was too overwhelming. His scent. It was intoxicating. Unable to control myself, I rushed forward, wrapping my arms across his shoulders as I buried my face into his neck, breathing in the warmth. I could feel his pulse against my lips. I could feel his heart beating against my chest.

Mine. He was mine.

“Not yet, wolf-bitch!” Came the warden’s voice. I struggled to keep my grip on the man as a silver-laced rope was wrapped around my neck, yanking me backwards. The man’s eyes widened before me, but he too had a silver rope restraining him as we were pulled to opposite sides of the arena.

I couldn’t stop myself from growling when the wraiths kept me from what is mine. I was more animal than human now, which was absolutely no surprise considering I’d gained the nickname Blood Beast during my time here.

“You’re fight with the daemonwulf does not begin yet,” my growling dulled as I looked to the delicious smelling man. I took in the tattoos on his arms then. I probably would’ve seen them had I not been so distracted. The intricate lines woven over his skin told a story every rogue feared.

Daemons. The reason I was in this damn prison. They were a breed of wolf unlike any other. They were faster and stronger and fiercer without any emotion whatsoever. They bled their enemies dry with pleasure on their faces. It is said, long ago, that daemons chose to live life without mates and without families because they were heartless.

They were my enemy.

He was my enemy.

“Now, Blood Beast, it is time for you to prove yourself.” A silver pistol was dropped into the arena between myself and the daemon. My eyes widened in surprise. They had never provided weapons before. Not even when I was fighting a ten-foot-tall troll. “One of you will die. The other will live another day,” the silver ropes were removed from our necks and the wraiths disappeared. I spared a glance at the daemon who did the same for me before we both launched for the gun.

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He was fast. He was faster than me, that’s for sure.

He had reached the gun first easily, but that didn’t hinder me from sliding into his ankles and knocking him off his feet. His hand still held the weapon tightly, stretched high over his head as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I drove my palm into his nose to disorientate him, hearing a crack of bones that both bothered and satisfied me.

“Now, now, Sweet Cheeks, there’s no need to struggle,” I purred as I dragged a single claw down his cheek, laughing when he tried to pull his head away. I leaned forward to pull his arm up to me, ready to just pry his fingers off that weapon until they broke.

I didn’t have time to snatch the gun before the man below me was bucking me off his hips with blood pouring out of his nose. He didn’t bother raising the gun as we now stood a few feet apart. His fists were clenched and his eyes were hard. He had the posture of a killer. If he was a daemon, he was a killer.

So, why wasn’t he killing me?

I didn’t question it as the roaring around us grew louder.

“Hear that, Sweet Cheeks? They want a show,” I smirked as I glanced up at the bloodthirsty crowd. It was made up mostly of the wraiths who guarded over this prison. They were the perfect guards. They listened to orders fiercely and were able to quench their thirst for blood without even killing.

“What do you wanna see?” I yelled up to them, throwing my arms apart. “Do you wanna see me kill this daemonwulf?” I questioned, the sudden uproar making my grin grow as I turned back to the cautious wolf.

Time to stop wasting time, Lily.

I launched my body at the daemon’s, wrapping my arms around his torso and sending us both against the sand again. Before he got the chance to touch me. I spun off him, wrapping my legs around his arm and twisting his wrist until the gun plopped into my lap.

I didn’t waste time now. Jumping immediately to my feet, I steadied the gun in front of me.

Growling when I found the daemon’s hand up in the air, I took two steps closer to him.

“There’s only one thing dying tonight, Warden! And that’s your sorry ass!” I declared with the gun trained on the elaborate stand the Warden sat with his head guards.

I charged at the cement wall at top speed. Using my momentum, I jumped a good five feet off the ground and pressed my foot into the wall to launch higher and to the right. The pattern continued until I was able to hoist myself up to the cage that separated me from the smug Warden. My sheer determination was brought on by the furious rage I’d experienced when the daemon had believed I’d kill him.

If anyone was dying tonight, it was the bastard in front of me.

Thrusting the gun forward through the cage, I squeezed the trigger with the barrel aimed at his heart. The Warden fell backwards, blood splattering across my face as one of the shock sticks connected with my chest. I let out a scream as I fell backwards.

“No!” and that was the first time I heard the daemon’s voice and felt his arms around me just before passing out.