An Alpha's Claim

Awake

One month ago...

It was a chance.

And a chance was all he needed.

As Subject 6 ripped his claws across the chest of the guard who'd foolishly got too near to his cage as he'd dragged Logan for another round of torture, Logan's wolf leapt over the flailing body of his captor and raced for the exit.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to get out, but the wolf had made a decision - he would either escape or die trying. There was no point in being careful, no use in waiting on a rescue that wasn't coming.

He'd been here for so long that he'd forgotten what sunlight felt like, forgotten what it was to run through the trees.

He would thank Subject 6 one day, whether in this life or the next, as he was almost positive that he'd attacked the guard intentionally. That he'd seen how close to breaking Logan was. That he'd known he'd almost lost his mind entirely.

Voices whispered at him as he ran, telling him to return to his captors, to go back into his cage and wait. It would hurt less if he behaved. Maybe they'd let him go if he did as they asked.

Logan's wolf shook his head to clear the traitorous whispers from his mind. No. He wanted to escape. Escape or die, he didn't much care anymore.

There was nothing left for him in this world, his human long gone, the only thing he had left to fight for was her.

Up ahead, more guards appeared, having noticed the commotion or heard the dying screams of their colleague. Driven by a ruthlessness that scared even his wolf, he dove into them, tearing teeth and claws through flesh until they were quiet.

Scrambling to his feet, his muscles protesting as they began to tire, he pushed on and spotted the exit door.

He'd dreamt of this moment. Dreamt of the sun bathing his body once more. His human had told him stories of open plains and bright blue skies, had tried to calm him with a reminder of his packlands. With him gone, it had been harder to hold it together, harder to convince his mind of what was true. The sun had become his anchor even as pain stripped away his resolve.

Escape or die.

Logan's wolf charged at the door, but he was weaker than he had been before, his body stripped on muscle and wasting away. He bounced off the solid wood and cursed, but threw himself against it once more - it wouldn't budge.

In the distance he could hear snarling as the other remaining captives grew restless, but beneath their anger he could hear footsteps. Maybe they were trying to warn him.

Drawing on all of the strength left in his bones, Logan took one final charge at the door, the wood groaning and splintering until it bounced open.

It wasn't the sunlight that met Logan's wolf, but the moon would do.

Streaming across the ground, limping from a wound on his front paw, Logan's wolf pushed his body to the extreme as he put as much distance between him and his hell.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been running for, or even if anyone chased him, but finally he had to stop as his body began to give way.

His head pounding, his lungs on fire, Logan's wolf collapsed against the rocky floor and whined as his muscles seized and pain clouded his mind. Not for the first time, the wolf begged for darkness, or death, to claim him. Anything to stop the pain.

As his body stilled and eyes fluttered shut, a growling beast emerged from the tree line. Subject 6, driven by a blood lust installed in him since his capture, sniffed at the unprotected beast.