Chapter 2

The cells were buzzing with noise. The banging of the iron gates echoed in the halls, mixing with the sounds of animalistic growls. The only other time I had seen the cells so chaotic was when they had thrown the remnants of my pack down here after the raid.

"What's going on?!" I asked, the alarm clear in my voice as I pushed myself to my feet.

Gwen didn't answer right away, her eyes darting back and forth. She pushed herself past me to the edge of our cell, peering down the hallway to get a better look at the commotion.

"It's cleaning day."

I jumped slightly at Mary's voice, still not used to hearing her speak. Mary was a small girl who usually kept to herself. Gwen had mentioned that she was from her pack, but besides that I didn't know much about her. She was in the same cell as Gwen and I, as well as an older women who didn't speak the best English.

"What do you mean?"

Mary frowned, wrapping her arms around her frail figure as she still remained on the floor unmoving. "They do it whenever they raid a new pack. They need to make room for new people in the cells. So they, well, clean up."

"Clean up? What the hell does that mean?" I asked, the panic rising in my chest. I turned my attention back to Gwen who had redirected her attention back to the pair of us. "Gwen, is that true?"

She hesitated a second before nodding her head. "I didn't think they would do it so soon. But your pack had a lot of a survivors." She whispered, nibbling on the finger pad of her thumb. "Just c'mon," She grabbed my upper arm, steering us to the back corner of our cell where we usually slept. "It's best to just stay in the back of the cells and not provoke them."

I followed Gwen's directions, standing next to her in the shadow of the wall. I shifted my weight, ignoring the ache of my muscles, sore from disuse. "How do they pick who to...clean up?" I swallowed the lump in my throat as I spoke.

I had a sick feeling that 'cleaning up' had a different meaning than offering them a nice shower and fresh pair of trousers.

"Depends," She whispered, shrugging her shoulders. "They usually round up the injured ones first. Throw in the troublemakers they don't like. If they still need more people, well...just don't provoke them, alright? They may come into the cells and poke around. Keep your head down and we should be fine."

I don't trust my voice to speak. I settled on nodding my head slowly, clenching and unclenching my fists to release some anxious energy. I couldn't help but notice the look of worry that crossed Gwen's face. I knew why too – I wasn't an asset to them.

They cataloged what we had to 'offer' – as they worded it – when we came in the cells. Your rankings, your skills, your previous job...they knew it all. They were more likely to keep a skilled fighter or a previous pack doctor than some scrawny twenty-year old who can barely shift.

I was just collateral damage.

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"They should be done soon." Mary whispered from somewhere to my left, risking a glance down the hallway to see how many wolves had been dragged out of their cells.

From the sound of the screams and growls, I wouldn't be surprised if she told me they had cleared out half the cells. Some people put up a fight, trying to resist the guards. Some pleaded and cried to be spared. The few rare ones just let it happen. Maybe if you're here long enough, getting chosen for cleaning day is almost like a saving grace.

An end to a chapter you never wanted to start in the first place.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my erratic breaths. "I'm scared...I'm really scared."

"It's okay, we all are." Gwen whispered from next to me.

I rapidly shook my head in response, "I have a bad feeling."

Gwen didn't say anything from next to me. Mary didn't either. They didn't have to, though. There wasn't much that could be said. Only so many words can be used to comfort you in such a unique situation. I won't be calm until the doors of the cell building swing shut and lock. But the likeliness of that happening was slim.

I had a sinking feeling in my tummy. It was the same gutwrenching feeling I had when the pack alarms went off the day of the attack. I just know this isn't going to end well.

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"How many more do we need?"

"A few, not too many." Their voices were close to our cell, the sound of their boots hitting the floor echoing off the walls. "Chet already rounded up the injured or sick ones. The shit-stirrers are gone as well – thank god we got rid of some of them."

"We lost a lot of fighters, though."

The second voice snorted, "Those ones were never going to fight our battles. They would have always given us trouble. It's good that we got to clean them up earlier than later." He spoke carelessly about getting rid of the wolves, obviously used to the routine of cleaning day. "We should probably get rid of some of the useless ones. No more males, we lost too many."

My heart was pounding in my chest.

My back was pressed against the wall with my arms glued to my sides. I kept my eyes casted downward, staring at the cracks on the floor. Gwen and Mary flanked my sides in similar positions. The fourth she-wolf in our cell was sitting on the floor. She was too weak to stand for so long.

I tried to think of the stories Gwen and I had shared just the night prior to calm my nerves. I recalled her telling me about her falling out of a tree and crying, despite her father telling her not to climb while he wasn't there. She wanted to impress him and prove that she didn't need his help.

The sinking feeling in my gut was still there.

The door to our cell swung open with a loud creak. I wanted to jump in fright, but I resisted the urge. I balled my fist in anticipation, the jagged edges of my nails biting into the flesh of my palm. I could feel their heated gaze as they looked us over. Their presence was overwhelming, and our fate was in their hands.

"Get up."

There was no response.

"I said get up. Do you not fucking hear?"

I dared a glance to my left to see the fourth woman of our cell struggling to stand. I don't know how long she had been here, but she was surely in the worst condition of all us. She was an older woman with battle wounds – both physically and emotionally.

The original one who spoke gave her a once over before nodding his head approvingly. He moved so fast I didn't have time to process what he was doing. One moment he was standing a few feet in front of her, the next he was nearly inches away from her with one elongated claw coming from his hand. He quickly flicked his wrist and broke the skin across her cheek.

She flinched at the impact, going to grab her cheek automatically. She didn't cry though – almost as if she expected it.

Was this something they did when they chose you for cleaning?! Cut you? Mark you?

"Take her away for cleaning." He murmured to the wolf next to him, automatically turning her gaze on the rest of us.

I tried my best to wipe the expression of complete horror from my face as quick as possible, but I wasn't successful. Gwen and Mary were careful to never raise their heads in the first place, but I wasn't as smart. Almost automatically, his eyes narrowed in on me.

His lips curled up into a sneer – a taunting smile if anything. "Oh, don't look so scared, pup. I thought women liked when men helped around the house and cleaned." He threw his head back and laughed at his own joke, taking humor in the whole situation.

He took a few calculated steps closer to me, his head tilting to the side as he examined me like a slab of meat. "You're a fresh face." He commented, taking another step closer. Without thinking about it, I stumbled away from him into the wall.

He arched an eyebrow as I scrambled away from him, his face erupting into a full-blown smile. "Tsk, tsk...that's not very nice of you. You're too pretty to be rotting down here in the cells." He eerily commented, bringing a hand up to drag his clawed finger down the side of my face. "Best get you upstairs and cleaned off."

I didn't register the pain at first when he flicked his wrist and broke the skin of my lower cheek. The sheer shock and panic were taking over my whole body. I heard Gwen's gasp of shock first and before I realized, there was a stream of tears mixing with blood down my face.

"No, no, no, no, no, please, no!" The words escaped my lips in a fleeting attempt to barter with the guard, but my fate had already been decided. The mark was already on my skin.

I screamed as another guard game in and pulled me from the wall. I tried to grab onto Gwen, but they were too quick.

I thrashed in their grip, begging for them to let me go.

Crying. Pleading. Begging.

The doors to the cellhouse swung behind me as they dragged me up the stairs. Cleaning day was done.