16. The price of freedom
1317 Words
"Come with me," he growled.
In the light of the moon, he took me to his trailer. It didn't look much different from Maria's. Maybe it was even slightly smaller.
I could tell he was living alone. It was missing a woman's touch, no window blinds, and no decorations. Plates were left unwashed in the sink and the table. I didn't care how it looked. I cared about him!
I was reaching to kiss him, but he stopped me. Was he still jealous of the doctor? Now I was glad I could not speak because I was guilty. Every time Doctor Arthur was around me, I felt something and didn't know what to think. But when I was with Jakob, he was the only one on my mind.
I reached out to hug him, and he stepped back. Was I needy?
"I can't do this tonight," Jakob said, "We need to try building our connection again, and it might get in the way," he continued.
I nodded, remembering the last time we tried on the beach, and I was certainly distracted by him. But I was not sure what exactly we were supposed to do.
"But first, I want to tell you about our Wolves. Do you know much about werewolves?"
I shook my head, so he continued.
"Long ago, our ancestors could transform into our wolves on a whim. There were no restrictions as they were free and roaming these lands. However, when the war was lost, the masters put a spell on us. The spell is inherited by every werewolf child born. Master's magic holds our wolves in shackles and the cage. Keeping the wolves away from us. So we can't shift any longer. Even connecting to our wolf is not easy. Wolf suffers every time we try to reach him.
When I was eight years old, there were no collars on us, but we were still under the rule of the vampire masters. We would be too weak to fight them with our wolves locked up.
My dad was the Alpha of the pack. My mother was the Luna. She was secretly trying to figure out how the spell that bound our wolves could be broken. Rarely there were cases when one of us could break the spell. If they ended up in danger, the wolf would surface. Yet that never lasted and was hard on the person and the wolf.
After lengthy efforts, she found a solution. It required the whole pack to come together and concentrate on the single werewolf to break his wolf free. The breaking took days. They did it at night in secret, and it took a long time to free even a few wolves.
However, eventually, they found another way. The free wolf of the mate could break the mate's spell. They were excited and were freeing as many wolves as they could. The pack was planning the rebellion, but someone must have betrayed us.
Somehow, Masters found almost all the pack members, who were able to transform and put them in cages. That was when they came up with the idea for collars and put them on each and every one of us.
They built an execution stage just for the purpose of the execution. Masters ordered all these werewolves onto the stage and forced them to transform. If werewolves refused, they threatened to kill the people close to them. My parents were threatened with my life. Maria's mate, Caleb, and his sister Bonny had their wolves free and were threatened with Maria's and her mate's mother's lives. The moment they transformed, the collar started to put them in immense pain. Vampire masters didn't let them change back, threatening them, and the pain eventually killed them. It took almost two days for them to die, and we all had to watch them suffer. Some of the pack members who tried to do anything about it were also put on the stage and in immense pain, slowly killing them. Many of us who watched could not go on and killed ourselves after that execution. Maria was pregnant at the time. She lost her baby and could never have kids again. Bonny's mom killed herself shortly after. None of us were the same after that day.
I didn't do anything to save my parents. I completely froze and just watched them die. I also didn't take my life. But instead, when I reached twenty-five, I became Alpha, like my dad before me. Vampire masters must not know that I was also freed because I did nothing to save my parents. Masters thought I submitted, which may be not far from the truth. I don't think I am worth it, but I protect my pack. I make sure everyone stays out of trouble so they can live this life, even though it's far from a good life."
I listened quietly and could not believe the horrors I heard, even though I was with Jakob in this world. I wanted to hug him and comfort him, but he refused.
He continued somberly:
"I carry on my parents' legacy, and we no longer free wolves since that day. I don't want to put anyone in danger by doing it. I believe you are my mate and are here for a reason. Maybe the Moon Goddess has a plan for us after all, although I am not sure I believe it anymore.
However, we could try and establish our mate bond through our wolves without freeing them. I want to be able to talk to you. I know it pains you to be mute. But I can't risk your life releasing your wolf. You must understand that", he finished his story.
Tears were in his eyes. I can't even imagine how an eight-year-old moves on after watching his parents being tortured and then leads his pack. No wonder he never really got close to anyone.
"Do you want to try building the connection? It is not without risks," he asked.
I nodded
"Reach for your wolf," he told me.
We sat on the cold floor of his trailer, holding each other's hands. It took me a few tries. I thought I could not reach him when, suddenly, I was in the cage. The wolf I had seen before looked at me excited.
"I sense another wolf! He is so close, and he is free. You need to walk toward me and touch my head." the wolf told me.
I trusted the wolf, even though it didn't make much sense. I started walking carefully, and intense pain went through me, but I kept walking forward. I walked for what felt like an hour, with pain running through me. I felt my chest getting tighter, it was hard to breathe, but I was not near him yet.
"Concentrate," said the wolf, "think of me as I am next to you that you have already reached me."
I tried, but nothing happened.
"Try again. I need you!"
I reached with my hand and felt his fur. The pain subsided, and I was right next to the wolf. The cage started to shake as someone was breaking it from the outside. Every second it was shaking and tearing more violently.
Then someone pulled me out of there. I was back on the cold floor, but Jakob was not holding my hand anymore.
"I can't do it," he said, "the risk is too great. I wanted to be able to talk to you, but wolves are trying to break the spell instead. I can't free your wolf and put you in danger. I am sorry," and he started to cry.
I crawled to him and hugged him. He didn't refuse this time. He kept on sobbing quietly. We lay on the floor entangled with each other. I held him in my arms, and we drifted off to sleep.
- Writer
