Ansel Ansel’s eyes flew open and chaos ensued. Filled with adrenaline, he sprang up in the bed, grabbing a masked stranger by the neck. “Lorazepam!” Ansel could not place where he was or what was happening. The lights were blinding and painful. Blue gloves, blue masks, and eyes of strangers encroached him, swirled over him and around him. He felt overwhelmed and attacked. Hands pried Ansel’s hand from the neck. A dozen arms held Ansel back from flinging himself off the bed or doing further damage. Ansel felt something cold in his arm and it spread through his body. A voice chuckled. “I think the atro-corticoid worked a little too well.” Ansel’s fight instinct abated. His body relaxed. The glaring light dissipated and his eyes adjusted. He registered for the first time where he was. A hospital room, with whirs and beeps, white tile floor, the sound of footsteps outside in the hall, and the smell of sickness, chemical cleaners, and grief in the air. Ansel was surrounded by a conce
“Do not leave,” Ansel whispers. “Got it?” His voice is a command. I shake my head. Ansel opens his mouth to argue when we hear a cry. The hair stands up on the back of my neck and my stomach lurches. It’s Charles. Without another second, he is out of the room. Ada’s pacing, urging me to go. She pushes against me with such a force, I can’t ignore it. Quietly as I can, I slip out the door and begin to slink down the stairs. As I do, I pick up on the scents of multiple Weres. The alarm bells are ringing, but Ada keeps edging me closer. I hear Ansel’s voice as I continue creeping down the stairway. “Go on,” he shouts. “Give me the ‘bad guy’ exposition, Edwin.” As I tiptoe around the corner, I see Charles, lying still on the ground. Where I would have panicked, Ada is an intense calm. Ansel’s eyes dart over, likely picking up my scent. We make eye contact before he whips his eyes back, so as not to give me away. Then, he mindlinks with me. “Go upstairs.” I don’t argue back. Ho
#Ansel’s Epilogue: A New Tomorrow Ansel and Karin waited together on the wings of the stage, listening to the cheers and booming voice over the microphone. Edwin had been removed from the election ballot. The next in-line for the throne, a cousin, replaced him. Ansel won in a landslide. Ansel looked at Karin. She was leaning against her crutches. Her raven hair fell down over her shoulders. Her brown eyes were warm and flecked with gold. “Did I ever tell you,” he said, “How proud I am of you?” A blush came over her cheeks. She raised her eyebrow. “What for?” “You llean into your confidence more and more everyday,” he said. “I always knew you were feisty as shit, but until the day of the attack, when I really saw you in action, I didn’t fully recognize just how courageous and strong you are.” Karin looked down at her feet, hiding a smile. “I was always scared of Ada’s power,” she said. She looked back up at Ansel. “I held her back constantly, but I think I’ve finally learned to
“You brought this on yourself.”My dealer says as the front of his steel toe boot slams into my stomach again. I ball my body, but it doesn’t save me from the continuous force of his fist. His calloused hand grips my hair, and he makes me look him in the eyes.“Was feeding them worth it?”The stench of his breath forms a noxious cloud in the air, and I struggle not to vomit. He points at the terrified caged cubs.“They are our property. That means when we want them fed”—he releases my hair and I crumble back onto the floor—“we will feed them. And when we want them starved, they will starve. Never forget that you are our property, too. You are payment for your father’s debt. So unless you want him to rot in his cell, I suggest you learn to behave.”He grabs my arm and pulls me up to my feet. The buckle of my legs makes him dig his nails into my skin. “Let’s go!” he shouts in my ear.My legs are shaky, but I keep steady as he escorts me to the auction block. The darkened halls of the el
Boom! Boom! Boom!The sound of a heavy battering ram erupts from the other side of the door.Boom! Boom!“Police! We’re coming in!” the shout from the outside.Gamma fighters enter the building with their masks shielding their faces, while some block the exit to keep the traffickers in. Dressed in thick camo print with black vest containing Blue Moon crest embroidered on them, they take their stance and join the other police in the fight.The traffickers don’t back down; instead, the present of the gammas seems to ignite their blood lust more. They flock in droves, and some are struck down before they can attack. Others have their arms jerked behind their backs as cuffs are snapped around their wrists.Members of the bidding circle race around the room to avoid capture or death as bullets fly from both sides. Chairs lay haphazardly on the ground with abandoned tux jackets sprawled over them. Ladies pearl beads detach themselves from their strings and threaten to trip those fleeing. Ca
My captures slam the doors to the boot of the truck and briskly make their way to the front. Climbing in, they speed off, and I struggle to stay awake. I can hear snippets of their conversation.“Did you see that?! He almost shot my ass off!”“You?! My head was almost left in the street with a bullet lodged in it!”They’re panicked, and it makes their driving erratic. My cage shakes back and forth, hitting the walls of the truck, making me dizzier than the drugs. They laugh, almost giddy at the prospect of getting away until the truck jerks forward.“What the hell is that?!” one shouts.The windows of the truck are painted with chipping paint, but I can make out several black cars speeding through the dim streetlights.Gammas Modified black Bentleys are their signature. They are sturdy, and almost impenetrable, with bulletproof glass and a coat as sleek as black licorice. They surround the truck and bullets soar through the air from all around us. My captors roll down the windows and
Ansel addresses his men again. “You all may go. ” There is a slight pause as none of them head towards the door.“Why do you need he—” Ansel peers over his shoulder, and the man immediately silences. Contagious fear bounces from man to man at the sharp look that Ansel gives them. They avert their eyes to the ground, and I can sense their fear mix with my own. “Understood. My apologies, sir,” the man says after a little while. They hastily exit, and lock the door, leaving me behind to face Ansel again. I don’t want to look at him. If he can make men twice my size that afraid, there is no telling what will become of me.His eyes shift in color to an amber that resembles the crackling fire still going in the fireplace. He looks almost feral, like someone working overtime to contain a monster that threatens to escape. My eyes widen. The golden wolf from before…could that have been him? I’d never seen him in wolf form before, but if it was, then the terror I witnessed on the gamma’s faces
I wait for the pain to come from the sting of his hand across my face, but it doesn’t. “Please,” Ansel says above me. Hesitantly, I peek at him, and he lets out a scoff. “I’m not that much of a brute,” he says, rolling his eyes.“I-I don’t understand.” The cage vibrates. I’m not imagining it; he’s broken it with little force. Rods fall one by one from around me, making an enormous bang when they hit the floor. Ansel grabs one, stopping it just in time from colliding with my head. I can hear my heartbeat as I stare wildly at the metal pole in his hand.He extends it to me, and the ice of his eyes brews a storm in them again. “That cage was a bit of a buffer. Now we can actually have some fun.” My face pales at his words and his face breaks into a devilish grin. He chuckles. “I’ve told you already, I’m not a brute…well not THAT much of one, but that doesn’t mean I can have you continue to lie to me. Are you finally ready to admit that I’m right about who you are, or am I going to have t