The Unhinged

"D, I dont like this," Ashton mutters. I can feel Wynter agree but she stays quiet. I pull back the curtain of moss, stepping through the cave entrance. Blackness wraps around us, swallowing us like a monster. An eerie chuckle echoes off of the walls around us, creepy but familiar. And when he speaks, his voice sounds almost familiar. Ashton hisses beside me and I feel him tensing. "My, my, look what we have here. An Alpha. A little far from your pack aren't you, little alpha," a voice mocks. His voice and tone remind me of Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon a Time and suddenly I can understand why David didn't want Snow near him. The voice screams madness and malice. We've stepped into this creature's lair, and in doing so we've allowed ourselves to become his prey.

"We mean no harm," I say strongly. Hysterical and maniacal laugh ricochet around us. Ashton looks around, trying to find the threat and hissing again when he can't. "Oh I know what you're here for, little alpha. You seek that which can't be done." I growl softly, clenching my fist and tightening my hold on my sword at my waist. A rush of air whips past me and suddenly I can't feel Ashton near me anymore. I snarl, looking around in the black abyss that surrounds me for him. "Now, little alpha. I know you know me. Or at least know of me. You remember me. From that night all those years ago." My eyes widen as images flash through my mind. A scraggly and disheveled man ripping through Ferals as though they were nothing. A chilling laugh that had my spine shivering and the hair on the back of my neck on end. Eyes that looks almost as crazed as the Ferals they sought.

A shudder racks my body as the memories slam into me one by one. The creature never uttered a word that night but the guttural snarls and howls it released were the things of nightmares. "You were there that night. You helped our pack. Why? Why can't I see you? Who are you? What are you," I demand. The maniacal laughter rings in my ear and I can feel his breath on my neck now. "Because you have so much more to offer the world. What good were you to me dead?" I shudder again, tightening my hold on my sword even more.

Suddenly torches burst into flames, lining the cave walls on either side of me. The flames dance with the shadows they cast, blinding and disorienting me momentarily. When I get my bearings, I look around, my eyes landing on Ashton, kneeling with his hands behind his back and his own knife at his throat. I snarl and crouch down, drawing my sword now. "Let him go," I demand. The man behind him laughs but says nothing. His skin is pale and looks almost as delicate as a sheet of onion skin paper but appears it have an almost scaly texture. His crimson eyes are sunken into his sallow face, gleaming with madness. His hair was probably once a shimmering black but now its matted, dull and thinning. His clothes hang limply on his withered frame, but even from here I can feel the power radiating from him. The strength that only an alpha could possess. Wynter whines, fighting the urge to bow to him. He shoves Ashton away from him like he's been burned before stepping towards me. He walks towards me slowly, the heels of his worn leather boots clicking on the hard stone of the floor. Wynter growls softly, prowling and pacing in my mind. "Don't you recognize me, Little Red? You did ask to see me, after all." My eyes widen as Wynter freezes. A flood of comfort rushes over me as I step closer to him, my hand raised. He looks so familiar, but I can't place where from. "Mr. Wolf," i whisper. He smiles and this time it looks genuine with less madness in it. Some of the red leaves his eyes as they soften. He rushes forward, wrapping me in a tight hug. "It is so good to be able to hug you and see you up close, Little Red." I smile, wrapping my arms around his fragile figure in a hug. Ashton clears his throat behind us, reminding me why we're here. I straighten, looking up at Mr. Wolf. "You have questions. I can try to answer as many as I can for you, little Alpha." His words hold little comfort, his voice settling into something between the menacing madness he just displayed and the caring kindness he has always shown. "Were you the one that was at my border demanding to see me," I ask, following behind him when he turns and begins walking further into the caverns. He chuckles softly and nods. "I needed you to come back out here. We have a lot to discuss, little alpha." I furrow my eyebrows I  confusion, but I don't stop following him. "What's your name," Ashton demands. Mr. Wolf halts in place, turning to look at us astonished. "Of course! How rude of me. My name is Caspor King." I blink, trying to recall where I've heard the name.

"I'm glad I have a name to address you by now," I say eventually, a smile lighting my face. "I did quite enjoy Mr. Wolf. It was a charming nickname and quite amusing coming from a child as mature as you were." Ashton tenses beside me. "How long have you been seeing him," he demands. I roll my eyes, cringing internally at the phrasing. "You make it sound like I've been screwing him, Ash. I met him when I was little and ran out of bounds. Before the fire." He pauses, looking at me and processing my words before nodding. We continue following Caspor into the massive cavern. "Watch your steps, there is a descent and it drops off in a few places," he cautions. Ashton puts a hand on the small of my back, letting me know he's there if I slip. "How does nobody know about this place," I wonder aloud, looking around at what little I can see. "These caverns are old and massive. I've spent enough time to know them for the most part, but anybody else that stumbles into them would be easily lost. Much like the Minotaur's labyrinth of mythology," Caspor replies simply. Something isn't right in this place, Wynter pipes up. I can feel her unease as she stirs. "Caspor, why did you bring us here?" He sighs, continuing to walk as he answers. "Years ago, there was a pack that was not known to be traditional. Their alpha believed women could lead just as well as men. He had two sons, the Alpha Heir shared their father's  views while the youngest one felt the views made his brother and father weak. His father said he would understand when he got older and met his mate, but neither happened. When the time came for the Alpha Heir to take his position, the younger brother turned the pack against his brother. He told them his brother was weak as was his father and convinced them they would be the undoing of the pack. So when he took the position, the pack demanded the older brother allow his younger sibling to take his place. He fought it, but when his brother challenged him, he had to accept. But the younger brother had no honor. He fought dirty and used cheap tricks to win, exiling his older brother when he did." I hear the sadness in Caspor's voice and briefly wonder if he knew the brothers. "Nobody knows what became of the older brother, but rumors spread that the younger brother found a way to make his pack Ferals and still maintain control of them," he says. I pause, furrowing my eyebrows at him. "That's not possible. Ferals are packless, ruthless monsters that can't be controlled," I argue. He chuckles bitterly. "They can be, it just takes an incredibly powerful and violent alpha to control them," he replies. I feel Ashton tense and I know we're both thinking the same thing. "There is an alpha, Ismael, that has the arcane belief that women cannot rule a pack," I say. "Ismael is proud, D. He would never endanger his own pack for an experiment. Besides, how would he hide something like that," Ashton argues. I know he's right, but in the back of my mind, that wriggling feeling not to trust Ismael screams I'm right.

But Ashton is right. There's never been evidence that Ismael's pack is Feral. They're always well-behaved if not a little arrogant and standoffish at gatherings. If they were truly Feral, they wouldn't be. "Why don't you belong to a pack," Ashton asks. I admit, the question had crossed my mind, but if it was something Caspor wanted to share, he will. "That's a story for another time," he replies softly. "The wolves from the Bleeding Season..you never attacked them in the woods, did you?" My words come out softly, but I know he hears me when his shoulders stiffen. "No, little one, I didn't. If they were killed, it was because they stumbled upon this cave and got too far in. Cesar, my wolf, is far enough gone that he saw it as them invading. He kills them swiftly, but he also enjoys the bloodshed." A pang of pity stabs my heart. A wolf with no pack, called a monster by those he's never met.

"Come home with us," I say. He freezes, turning to look at me in shock. He turns slowly, looking at me with wide eyes as Ashton puts a hand on my shoulder. "What did you just say," Caspor asks incredulously. I roll my eyes, smiling. "You're not so old you're deaf, Caspor. You heard me. Come home with us. Join our pack. I don't know how long you've been on your own, but I know that your wolf is struggling to stay sane. Come home. Join our pack. Let us heal your wolf and put you back together," I urge. He inhales sharply, furrowing his eyebrows. "May I have time to consider it," he asks softly. I smile, hugging him tightly. "Of course, my friend. I do hope you'll agree though," I say. He smiles, leading us further into the massive cave system. "So where is all of this exactly," I ask eventually. Caspor chuckles softly. "These caves have been carved out over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And amusingly enough, they run under nearly every pack. Where they let out I'm not sure, but I know they run under most of the packs. In your case, I know it let's out just inside your territory." I freeze, all the possibilities running through my mind. Is this how the Ferals got in the first time? Did someone intentionally create this system? How many people know about it? How many have access to it? Caspor can only police so many areas at once. Certainly there have to be some that have slipped past him?

"I can feel what you're thinking, Little Red. The Ferals from the first wave could not have gotten through here without my knowing. This is not how your pack burned," Caspor says. I know his words are meant to be soothing, but they only serve to raise more questions. Questions I don't have the answer to and can't guarantee I ever will. That thought alone is enough to disturb Wynter and I. Beside me, I can feel Ashton getting antsy. "The Ferals that have been in these woods as of late are not like others. They are smarter. More self aware," Caspor says.

I suck in a sharp breath. "What do you mean," Ashton asks. "As in a group of three of them hunted me just last week without turning on one another. Almost like a new pack." I feel my muscles tense at the new information. Ferals aren't supposed to be that stable. That organized.

Caspor stops, his body arching painfully. I move towards him, but Ashton puts his arm out, stopping me. Caspor stumbles his way over to a nearby wall, bracing himself against it. "Caspor...?" A low snarl builds in his chest as his shoulders rise and fall rapidly. "Go. Follow the scents back out of here," he growls. His voice is different though. Distorted and wrong. I hesitate, part of me wanting to help him. "I said go," he snarls. He turns to face up and I back up, his eyes blazing the same crimson as a Feral. His teeth are elongated as I see his wolf push harder. Listen to him! Run, Wynter orders. I finally unfreeze, turning sharply and bolting, dragging Ashton with me. I'm going to shift. I want you to as well and wrap around my neck, I tell him. He nods as we run. I let Wynter have control, shifting faster than I ever remember shifting. Ashton gets ahead of me, shifting into a sleek cobra. I grab him in my mouth gently and swing him. He catches himself around my neck and hangs on as I keep running, the sound of Caspor chasing us ricocheting off the walls.

I can hear him getting closer and push myself harder. Faster. I can't let him catch me. My ears perk up when I see the light from the cave entrance, excitement filling me. And then he's in front of me, snarling and licking his teeth. I yelp, skidding to a halt. This. This is why you don't get excited until you're home safe, Wynter snaps. I growl, looking for an exit as Caspor gets closer. Now would be a beautiful time to harden the fur, Wyn, I snap. She growls. I'm so sorry our lack of control is inconvenient for you, she replies. He gets closer, but in doing so, opens himself up on the left. I take the opening, skidding under his left side. He roars, enraged as I run through the beautiful forest.

I slow down when I'm back in our territory, adrenaline slowly leaving me and slowing me down. I stumble to the gate, moving as fast as I can when they're opened. I collapse inside when they're closed, and I feel Ashton slide off my neck. I hear him shift and start barking orders, lifting me up. I feel my own body shift back as he does. "Rest, Dawn. We'll take care of you," he says. I hear Bear's voice, but I'm already too far gone from exhaustion to understand what he says. My vision blurs and finally fades to black.