Chapter Five
Typhon
“You know, she’s going to be wasted on Vance,” Kull said. We were striding through the forest. Ambrosia was a few paces ahead of us. Occasionally we shouted directions to her, but for the most part we walked in a straight line. I had warned her that there was no sense in running because we could chase her down. She insisted that she had no idea on doing such a thing because she had no idea where we were. The forest was dark, and it looked the same in all directions, although the fragrances were vastly different. Ambrosia was largely quiet. She possessed a fine demeanor and did not melt with fear. Was she a sign that the humans were going to be more defiant than Vance believed?
“She won’t be a waste. Vance will be pleased with this offering. He will reward us with respect.”
I could sense the weight of Kull’s gaze upon me. “Are you certain of that, brother? It’s not as though we have ever been worthy of his respect before.”
“We have never brought a human to him before. This intruder will be the key to raising our standing in the pack. Vance will see what we are capable of, and he will bring us into his inner circle. We shall be trusted with more important missions.”
“I fear you are letting your ambitions cloud your judgment. You know they won’t do this because of what we are.”
“We are wolves,” I hissed, glaring at Kull. I hated the way he spoke sometimes, as though there was never a chance for us to be anything other than what we were at birth. If I believed that, then there wouldn’t be any point in my continuing to live. Kull remained silent. I knew what thoughts were traveling through his mind. We had had this discussion countless times before, as we likely would countless times more until either one of us was proven right.
“Times are changing, Kull. I can sense it. It will soon be time for us to take our place among the renowned. And then we can begin our rise,” as I lifted my chin I couldn’t help but notice the concerned look upon his face.
“You shouldn’t speak of such things,” he whispered, as though someone was going to hear my conspiratorial words. His furtive gaze darted among the shadows as he worried that a wolf was nearby. “What if someone thinks you are plotting against Vance?”
I grunted and shook my head. “Nobody would think me that foolish,” I said. Privately, I had entertained the notion of challenging Vance, as I assumed most other wolves had. He had faced so many challengers to his position that to be the one to finally topple him would make me a legend. Of course, I wasn’t so na?ve to think that I could defeat him. It was a mere fantasy, but to rise to the position of Alpha would certainly be a shock given where I began. “But when this war ends there will be a lot of territory to divide up between us. Vance cannot control it all by himself. He will need people he trusts to be in charge of the areas, and if we prove ourselves to him then we shall be given that trust. Think of it, we will have our own small part of the world to govern. Nobody will be able to tell us what to do.”
“Nobody except Vance,” Kull said. I ignored his words. He was always trying to downplay my ambitions.
“It will be glorious, Kull. We can have servants at our beck and call. We will stride about the world with our heads held high and our chests puffed out. Everyone will look at us with respect and they will want us to tell them the stories of our great victories in battle over and over again. The younger wolves will grow up wanting to be like us, and nobody will ever think of us as different.” Then I leaned into him and lowered my voice. “And think about how women will react. They will be lining up to be your mate. They will all want a taste of Kull the Magnificent, Kull the Strong.”
I noticed how his eyes flashed. I knew that this would appeal to him. However, the notion did not linger in his mind as much as it lingered in mine.
“I hope you are right, I sincerely do, but I can’t imagine that the future will be too much different from the past. I can’t imagine Vance bestowing any honor upon us.”
“He might look at you differently when we bring Ambrosia back,” I said. Kull visibly winced. I hadn’t even mentioned Hana’s name. He should never have allowed the purity of his heart to be dulled by desire, but Kull had always been vulnerable to the yearnings of the spirit. I was more devout to the cause than that. I knew that all of these things would follow once we had gained the respect of the pack. Things had to be established in a certain order. That was just the way of things.
“I don’t want to talk about her,” he mumbled.
I shook my head. Kull could be troubled sometimes. Mostly I was confident that I knew the thoughts running through his head, but then there were times like these when I couldn’t understand him at all, when my brother was almost a stranger to me. I focused my gaze on the path ahead and thought about what would happen when we returned to the pack. We would present Ambrosia to Vance, and he would be pleased. I secretly hoped that he would allow us to keep her. But if not, then he would be grateful, and the wolves would begin to look at us in different ways. It had to happen eventually. We had proven ourselves over and over again. Surely it was reaching the point where they had to acknowledge that we were equal to them?
Ambrosia faltered and gasped. “I need to rest.”
“Do not stop. We keep moving,” I said.
“I can’t. I physically can’t. I’m not built for this lifestyle. I can’t remember the last time I went for a proper hike. My feet are killing me. Look,” she slipped off her shoes, which were flat and stained with dirt. They were wholly unsuited for the rigors of a trek through the forest. Her delicate feet were blemished with blisters. The dainty toes trembled with pain, and the fine arch of her foot belied the anguish that she felt. She gasped when she looked at them and sank to the ground. I pursed my lips. “I just need to rest for a little while,” she said.
I directed Kull to go and fetch some herbs to make a simple salve. I grabbed Ambrosia’s bag and tossed her a bottle of water and an apple. She guzzled the water down and then crunched on the apple. The juice ran sweet and clear, trickling along her chin. It brought to mind that intense moment when I had been seized by something utterly glorious, and it had exploded in her mouth. It was almost enough to make me forget my ambitions. Ambrosia leveled her gaze at me, and I averted mine. There was something uncanny about her, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“I thought you would be putting up more of a fight,” I said. She rolled her shoulders.
“What’s the point? I can’t overpower you. I can’t outrun you, especially not with my feet in this state,” she gestured towards her feet which she held in the air, flexing her toes. “The best I can hope for is that eventually you’ll show me mercy and return me to my old life.”
“Even if we did, that life would not remain the same for long.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
My lips curled into a smile. “The world is going to change. There is a war coming, and your kind are going to be thrust off your throne. You will be the first of many prisoners, and you will be tasked with serving us in all kinds of different ways.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to go down well. Why do you want to go to war with humans?”
“Because that is what Vance wants.”
“And do you always do what Vance wants?”
“He is the Alpha.”
“But what about what you want? Don’t you think for yourself?”
“Of course,” I spat. “But we are wolves. Our ambitions are aligned with the rest of the pack, and the Alpha directs these ambitions.”
“I see. It’s fascinating. Can you tell me more?”
“About what?”
“About everything, the way your society works, how you think, how decisions are made. Is there anything more to the hierarchy than the Alpha?”
“He has people he trusts.”
“And are you these people?”
I turned away and pouted. “Not at the moment. But we are working on it. Soon we shall gain his respect, and it’s because of you. He will be pleased that we managed to capture one of you. You should never have trespassed in our territory.”
“In my defense I didn’t know that it was yours. It’s not like there were signs or anything,” she said.
Kull returned at this point. I mixed what he had gathered into a paste and then applied it to her feet. I gently rubbed it into the blisters, tracing the flow of her arch with my fingers. She winced with pain as I applied the salve. I wrapped my fingers around her ankle, trying to keep her foot from moving too much. Her skin was warm to the touch, and I could feel arousal flaring within me again. I cleared my throat and made a concerted effort to control these feelings. The last thing I needed was for them to get the better of me. I had had fun with her, and there was nothing more to it.
Vance was going to have plans for her, most likely taking her for himself. Envy flashed within me. It was a hard thing inside me, like a great stone that weighed down my soul. As Alpha, Vance could do anything he wanted, and he could have anything he wanted. He did not have to answer to anyone.
I longed to enjoy that glory. Life would have been so much easier had it been like that for me. Then I could take Ambrosia for myself. My gaze rose from her feet. It traveled up her elegant legs, feasting on her thick thighs, her voluptuous figure, and the strands of fiery hair that brushed against her milky skin. Heat rose beneath my flesh. Would it be wrong of me to try and enjoy her again before we brought her to Vance?
“So how does it work? Did Vance get elected or something?” she asked.
“He killed the previous Alpha. The strongest gets to rule,” I said. Kull was pacing nearby, watching the area in case there were other predators in the forest foolish enough to encroach upon us.
“Ah, so might makes right. So, if someone was strong enough to kill Vance then they would become Alpha?” Ambrosia asked.
“Nobody is strong enough to kill Vance,” Kull said. I glared at him, but did not argue the point in front of Ambrosia.
“Yes, although the pack may split if people remain loyal to him. Not everyone follows tradition.”
“And how does this work exactly, I mean, how did it come about? Was a curse placed upon you? Do you have these abilities because of some spell? What exactly makes you a werewolf?”
I stared at her blankly and rolled my shoulders. “What makes a tree a tree? What makes water, water? This is simply the way we are, the way we have always been.”
“And you want to conquer the world.”
“It is our right as wolves,” I echo the words Vance had spoken so many times, rallying us to his cause. “We are more powerful than humans and it isn’t fair that they get to swarm across the world with their cities. They need to be taught a lesson, that they are not the apex predator of the world. We are top of the food chain, and soon enough we shall make your people subservient to us and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Ambrosia’s head fell forward. “If you mean what you say, then plenty of people are going to die and I don’t mean humans either. I mean your kind as well. It’s not as though my people are going to go quietly. If you know anything about us, then you should know that. In fact, they might well scorch the earth before they surrender it. Do you have any idea about the technology we possess?”
My lips curled into a smile. “Do you have any idea of the technology we possess?” I repeated the question and noticed the shocked expression that flashed in her eyes. She hadn’t been prepared for that response at all, and she was lost deep in thought.
“You know, there have always been rumors of a hidden civilization, of a world hidden in plain sight. I never believed that it would actually be proven to be true. How long have you been existing here?”
“For as long as humans. This is not only your world. We are not guests. This is as much our history as yours, we just happen to keep it to ourselves.”
“Some wolves have, although that was many years ago. Humans have always had the numerical advantage. You breed like rabbits. There are always so many of you, and it has been difficult for us to have the means to balance the scales but that is changing soon.”
“What are you going to do? Is there a bomb?” her voice was laced with fear, and she became withdrawn.
“That’s not for you to know,” I said. I didn’t tell her that it wasn’t for us to know either. We weren’t privy to that kind of information. The only thing I knew was that Vance had a plan that would tip the scales in our favor. It must have been some impressive secret because only his closest confidantes knew. Everyone else was in the dark, but he promised that all would be revealed soon enough. It must have been a remarkable piece of technology because he seemed convinced that it would change the course of history.
I finished applying the salve and then rose. I told her to do the same. She took as long as she could, but gingerly slipped her feet back into her shoes and limped forward. I continued to give her directions. Thankfully we were almost there, and then the next phase of our lives could begin, and all of the secrets of the pack would be ours.