Fifteen
Arwen awoke cold and stiff, and when she shook her head to clear it, metal clinked as the weight around her neck registered.
Chained up on the floor? Again? How?
It seemed like only a moment ago, she'd been running around in the sun with Wolf Man, in his wolf form, laughing and playing, before they'd gone inside so he could make her dinner.
Not that she'd needed it, because there'd been a warren of the most delicious rabbits down by the tarn and Wolf Man had graciously allowed her to eat all of them.
Well, the ones she could catch, anyway. She'd scented there were more deeper in the warren, too deep to reach.
They would live to become or to birth dinner for another day.
After dinner, she'd curled up on the bed beside Wolf Man, and dreamed she was human again. Sharing a bed with a man made of hot, hard muscle who was everything she'd ever wanted.
The stuff fantasies were made of.
Yet she'd awoken here, as a prisoner. Chained. She tugged at the chain, but it only tightened around her throat, threatening to cut off her air.
Arwen slumped to the tiles again, defeated. At least she could breathe now.
She needed Wolf Man, almost as much as she needed air.
She whined. Then she howled.
No answer.
She sniffed deeply, wondering why Wolf Man didn't respond.
When she realised the truth, she howled anew. Long and loud, but there was no one to hear.
Wolf Man was gone.
And she was chained up and alone.