Jackson watched. His stomach flipped and his mouth filled with saliva as nausea hit him hard. But he didn’t look away. He wouldn’t let himself. If Wren was going through this, then Jackson would do what he could to support him.
Wren was larger than the other wolf. Even before his fur bristled up, making him look bigger than ever, the other wolf was dwarfed by him. His teeth were revealed in a silent snarl.
The fight had to last 10 minutes. That was the bet. 10 minutes and Wren would win them extra money. 10 minutes. 10 minutes of clashing teeth. Of yelps. Whimpers. Fear.
The other wolf was young. Too young to be up against Wren. His tail stayed tucked up under his belly, even as the fur on his shoulders rose up.
“I told you that you should’ve bet for a longer match,” Warrick said. “You missed the clips from before, but this is that wolf’s first big boy fight. I guaranteed you a win.” He gave Jackson an indul
Wren was waiting for him in wolf form. He was cramped back into the too-small cage. Blood was smeared on the bottom. It glimmered in the light and Jackson fought the urge to puke again. Jackson hated himself as he clipped the leash to Wren’s collar and led him away. Blood glistened and darkened Wren’s fur. Small droplets dripped from his stomach as they started to walk away. Revulsion swirled in Jackson’s stomach.Warrick came up with another man and a smile. The tawny wolf was at his side. Blood stained more of his fur. Blood, so much blood.“I’ve got it all arranged. You just need to sign and send me the money then the transfer will be complete.”Jackson stared. It had completely slipped his mind, the deal with Warrick. “Yeah, let me see your license,” he said to the new man. Jackson didn’t care about this other wolf right now. Not when Wren was hurt. The man slid across his license. Jackson checked the foi
Jackson woke up to Wren still sleeping. His head was pillowed on Jackson’s stomach. His arms were latched around Jackson. Jackson wouldn’t dream of ever waking him up, but he couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the black silky strands of hair. He ran a hand through Wren’s hair and smiled as Wren grumbled in his sleep, but pushed against the touch.The smile faded as Jackson took in the cuts and bruises littering Wren’s skin. The arm Jackson could see had a crescent of punctures where the other wolf had gotten a good bite. Jackson needed to check on Wren’s stomach as well. He needed to check on the other wolf. He didn’t even know the other wolf’s name.Jackson slammed his thoughts to a stop. For now, that wolf would be well taken care of. He trusted Kia to make sure of it. For now, Jackson would stay in bed and let Wren find comfort with him.He didn’t know how long he lay there, slowly running his fingers t
Jackson reached up and scratched at Wren’s scalp. Wren nuzzled against him with a pleased hum. “I’m asking Margaret and Sue-Sue and Charlene… All of them, if they want to leave with us tonight.”Wren jerked his head up, but kept his arms locked around Jackson. “Tonight?”Jackson nodded. “Tonight. Never again do I want to be the reason something like that happens to you. I want that collar off. I want you to be free and I don’t want to ‘own’ anyone ever again.” Some of the panic from the night before prickled under his skin again. He wouldn’t let something like this ever be his fault again and he couldn’t wait until the end of winter break anymore.Wren stared at him then a small grin grew on his face. “Ok.”“Ok?”“Yeah, who’s Charlene?”Jackon chuckled. Relief loosened his muscles and he sagged into Wren’s warm
Wren was exhausted. His shouldn’t be. He’d slept the entire night snuggled up with Jackson, but he was. Kia left to go get the others and Wren slipped away to take another bath. The water was hot. Almost too hot, but it had been so long since he’d been able to enjoy just soaking in the tub.The soothing scent of lavender drifted in the steam. Wren sank down so the only part of him exposed to the air was from his nose up. He was sore all over. His stomach hurt where the other wolf had managed to land a good hit. Images from the day before flashed through his mind. The metallic scent, and taste of blood. The other wolf, so young and new to fighting.He didn’t like that he hurt someone. He didn’t like what he’d done at all… But he was happy he’d done it. A part of him that he hadn’t realized was unsettled, calmed down. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. The last time he’d felt safe enough
Jackson didn’t want to do this, but he didn’t know that he’d be able to forgive himself if he didn’t. Kia was taking Wren to talk with the new wolf. Jackson was staring at the ornately carved doors that led to his dad’s study. Kia’d confirmed he was in there when Jackson explained what he wanted to do.Jackson lifted his hand and knocked. There was no response. He knocked again, harder, and heard a yell for him to come in. His dad was pushing something into a drawer as Jackson stepped into the room.“I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow?” His dad frowned at him.“Nope. I very clearly said I would be back today.”His dad hummed and Jackson took a second to take the man in. He had aged so much since Jackson’s mom died. The man made a lot of mistakes, in their personal relationship and in general, but… He was still Jackson’s dad and despite their problems, a part
They split off from Jackson at the staircase. Kia hummed to herself as they walked. Wren was busy listening to Jackson’s slow steps walking away from him. Kia’s humming stopped and Wren glanced down at her. She had her head tilted slightly, then she sighed. “You won’t ask and Jackson won’t talk about it without prompting,” she said. “So, if you want, I’ll fill you in.”“Talk about what?”Kia’s smile was sad. “His mom.”Oh. He hesitated. If it wasn’t something Jackson would talk about… “No. Jackson can talk about it with me when he wants to.” He tried to make his refusal gentle.Kia looked surprised, then a warm smile lit up her face. “All right,” she agreed. “But I am going to tell you about his dad because the most he ever says is that his dad was different before his mom died.”Wren paused. Kia was waiting for him t
Jackson’s quilt was folded up and sitting at the foot of his bed. He had both of his pillows sitting on top. His laptop was in the duffle bag in the trunk of his car. The moment they’d been waiting for was finally happening and Jackson’s heart was caught in his throat.So many things could happen. So many different outcomes were possible. His dad could realize they were gone too soon and call the cops before they were a safer distance away. They could be pulled over and a cop could notice the collars missing. The car could break down. He hated that they didn’t live closer to the border. “Wren? Are you ready?” Jackson was and wasn’t at the same time.Jackson held the tool to remove the collar in his hand. Wren nodded and tilted his chin up. Jackson attached the tool on either side of the hidden catch of the collar. Five seconds later, the red light turned green, and the collar opened without a problem.Wren’s skin w
Jackson drove first. Wren sat in the front seat next to him. The rest were crammed in the backseat. Sue-Sue slept on Charlene’s lap. Margaret was in the middle. The new wolf sat next to Margaret. When Jackson glanced in the rearview mirror, he could see Margaret attempting to give him as much space as she could in the tight quarters. Kia was scrunched into the floorboards at Charlene’s feet. At first, Jackson could hear her as she moved around, but eventually she seemed to have found a comfortable enough position to get some sleep.Which was good because Jackson drove through the night. At the first gas station, Jackson purchased some cheap flannel scarves that hung by the register. All of the wolves had obvious tan lines on their neck. Any of them going inside was dangerous so Jackson tried to target only rest areas along the interstate, places where they could use the bathrooms without worrying over an employee noticing something off and reporting them.S