Repeal

Chapter 19

This is a heavy chapter, from info the emotional. And Wow, big twister at the end of this, and a even bigger one (hopefully) in the next chapter. Please read it all, the story is important to realize how werewolves came around and yadda yadda. Enjoy, and yell me what you think.

“You’re pack isn’t the only pack around. There are many, dozens of packs, some in same position as you are, Kiera. Before I go any further, I want to go back to the start when humans, werewolves and witches all split.
 
It doesn’t matter how the universe or animals came into existence, the story goes the same. As the world was created, it took hundreds of years for water to appear, trees to grow, mountains to form and volcanoes to rise. Through this came creatures, animals, they thrived over the world, but were not suited. They were all wiped out and are known as dinosaurs now. 
 
The only things that survived were the enchanters, your witches.  They had an unnatural connect to the world, studied it and helped raises the world to its glory. New creatures formed, new animals that roamed the world and spread life and death, one of which was the wolves.
 
As the world progressed, the enchanters lost touch with the world as they found simple, easy, fast ways to do things. No longer did they have to find food from where it nautically grows, they got the seeds and tore the dirt for their own purposes, and instead of carrying buckets of water, built pipes and pumps to move the water, and used trees for paper. They lost their magic, because they-or their ancestors- wanted the easiest way to do things, greed made them grow ten times the food they needed, and now it makes them hungry for money and wealth, when money is nothing but coins and plastic. They are what is now none as: Humans.
 
Then there were the others, who were furious with the humans. They despised the lack of magic the humans possessed, the way they looked for the easy route and were slowly destroying the world, others still sensed the world and the animals. One woman named Naminkitan, no longer believed in the humans; she was ashamed to even look like them. One day she found some humans hunting wolves. She was so enraged she killed the humans, and when she went to one of the recently shot wolves found it close to death. 
 
She didn’t feel it fair that animals, things of nature, should be ruined because of the deviants. She tried to save the wolf and seceded, but tied the wolf‘s and her life force unwittingly. The wolf lived, and since then was her companion, always by her side. One night, when the moon was new, and vanished from the sky, humans sort out witch, they claimed her A Master of Black Magic and burned her house to the ground, thinking that while the moon was removed from the sky that her magic would be lesser. 
 
She escaped, but was so badly burnt that she would surely die. Her companion wolf stayed by her side the whole time, and despite herself being servery burnt refused to leave the Naminkitan. Both were connected to the earth, and weather it was the wolf, the woman, or Earth herself, gave birth to the first werewolf. They’re souls combined. 
 
Naminkitan survived, but her wolf had vanished, although she felt it’s presence her side. The next new moon, the woman turned into the wolf. 
 
After that she spent her life dedicating herself to the wolf aspect of herself. She found she could switch back at willing, much like you. She ran with the wolves, yet still remained bound with her magic. She passed on her wolf gift to her children, who passed it on to their children, and so on for thousands of years.. 
 
Your curse came from another sorcerer several generations later. Story goes that a young man fell in love with one of Naminkitan’s descendants. By this time the werewolves were losing they’re connections to their magic, but never to the wolf souls in them. The girl refused the man for her home was in the forest and not the cities where he lived. He forced her to stay; locking up her wolf and refusing to let the animal in her have freedom. 
 
The wolf was not too be chained though. When the new moon came around, the wolf felt cheated, as if the warlock was keeping the moon from her, and still trying to keep her chained. Furious, the werewolf broke free of the restraining magic keeping the wolf in. She killed everyone in the warlock’s manor as she came across them in her search for the warlock.
 
Seeing that his beautiful woman was once again this beast, he tried to permanently restrain the wolf, or kill it if possible. When she woke the next morning she had no recollection of what happened after finding the man, but knew she had killed him, everyone else left in the house, and half the town’s population. She could never shift again at will, but when the moon was invisible again, she once again blacked out and found she had again killed. 
 
After that, every werewolf born became a beast on the new moon, swore revenge on all who despised wolves, or the beast. Many wolves killed each other and they’re friends, until they finally realized that actually knocking themselves out of getting thick chains worked-most of the time anyway. But despite the female originally cursed, everyone could still shift as they pleased.
 
A few years after some warlocks the same as Naminkitan, with magic still in their veins decide they disliked humans too. They hadn’t lost their magic like the humans, or swapped with for a connection of life like Naminkitan and her werewolf descendants. They thought themselves superior to others. When the humans came for the coven of witches, they decided to show who was boss and killed the humans. More came, but the coven didn’t care, and killed them all, until several of the witches were killed in one of the many attacks.
 
One of the Warlocks sort out a pack of werewolves the next day, promising relief from the curse and shelter from the humans who hunted the wolves for fun, which the werewolves agreed to reluctantly. Most humans forgot about the witches, but the ones who remembered and persisted, were always running head first into the werewolf packs. 
 
By right, the witches should have died after a hundred years or so. But they didn’t. They used magic to keep themselves young, but the repetition of great use made their bodies unnaturally frail. A simple fall could break bones, which was another reason they got there werewolves to fight for them. 
 
They eventually found that after years, and years of this they became so frail that even the attempts to keep themselves young was too hard because soon things like hair falling out occurred, loss of hair and greying complexion meant they could no longer go out in public. One warlock found out that humans are easier to apply magic on, always had been. They’re minds were easy to bend, bodies durable, and with a simple ritual they could pull out the humans soul and swap bodies.
 
The humans body was easily killed, so the witches kept a hold on their original body for safe keeping. They locked their bodies someone where safe.
 
When the human body is killed, the witch pulls back into her own body, tossing the humans soul into the world, and with nothing soiled for them to retain in they died, becoming forever wondering souls with no real existent. And the witches can once again find another human to swap bodies with. 
 
While these witches have full control over the human’s bodies, the humans are trapped within the frail shells of the witches, unable to move, speak or even rest. They’re locked within the shell they can’t properly fill, or even connect with like the witches can. 
 
Now over half the enchanters in the world live like this; can survive for thousands of years: for what is beyond me. They don’t look for the purpose of life, or try to rule the world, or even try to make the world a better place. They just stay hiding behind werewolves. The ones that still have their magic but don’t do this we leave in peace. If they’re not harming people, we see no reason to harm them. Some are even known to work at hospitals, or help the police catch criminals.” Crevan had finish, and for a long minute had just watched Kiera struggle to put everything in order. 
 
Her mind couldn’t put the pieces together, slot them in the rightful places as her emotions flickered and jumped into each other until it all blurred into an odd numbness. 
 
Crevan said Kiera’s name, but Chase shushed her. “Let her think” he’s said softly as Kiera had paced and mauled over the worlds. 
 
Sometime later she had finally nodded. “Okay.” 
 
Chase had nodded than, but the smile couldn’t be kept off. “Thanks for the long suspense.” 
 
Kiera had glared then. “You already seemed to know what my answer would be.”
 
Before Chase couldn’t reply before the blond girl had squealed. “So you’re going to help us?”
 
A tense moment passed, where Kiera fought to fight down the last bit of her reluctance. Finally she looked over the group and said, “As long as someone feeds me, than sure.” 
 
 
Now Kiera watches the world wiz by through the window, gazing as the tree’s disappear in the warm off-white glow from the setting sun. She’d never seen outside the Alcrest’s land, but Kiera doesn’t get why. The world was gorgeous. It stretches for miles, snow covered evergreens climbing the mountains and glowing in the slowly dying light as the black path rolls past under the car.
 
Kiera can’t help but think that her four legs would have covered the ground quicker as they slowly roll down the snow covered roads, winding back and forth despite the hill being hardly a raise.
 
Beside her Chase is silent. She can’t tell if this it’s his first time in a car, or not. She had been horrified to even think of climbing into the thing, and more so when it started growling at her. Chase was hardly fazed by the car, but was in a grouchy mood thanks to Crevan over riding his opinion.
 
Kiera still doesn’t know that to think of her, or the other girl whose name she had learnt was Corinth.
 
She already decided Corinth’s brother Raymond is annoying, unsurprisingly.
 
They’re going to ‘The House’ as Crevan put it. Kiera had gotten no answer as to what it is, but Chase didn’t feel she was ready to look yet. “I want her to understand” Crevan had said flatly, leaving no reason to argue. Chase had defended immensely though, his points always coming back to ‘she doesn’t think when she reacts!’ 
 
Crevan was having none of it, thankfully.
 
Once some time had passed in the car Kiera’s mind had wondered off ‘The House’ stuff. The story was so interesting Kiera kept thinking about it over and over. In some way or another Naminkitan was her ancestor. She couldn’t help but think of someone strong and beautiful, someone who even before becoming a werewolf, was almost an animal herself. For some reason she kept imagining Naminkitan having the same exotic skin as Crevan, although she had no idea why, and long dark hair with braids and striking silver eyes.
 
Again and again she could see this woman kneeling over a wolf and looking behind her as if fearing something.
 
After a while Kiera forcefully removed the image and focused on the next disturbing thing. The Alcrest’s she knew weren’t the real Alrests. Creven had never said that the Alcrest’s switched bodies, but the implication is there enough that she feels sick.
 
She doesn’t know, or want to know, what it’s like to be trapped with nothing to do.
 
Trapped, but without bars. 
 
Conscious, but not alive.
 
Dead, but not lifeless.
 
Empty, but physical filling something that you can’t physically fill.
 
What would that do to a person? Kiera didn’t know, but worse still, she wanted to know what wondering soul meant, she guessed like a ghost she’d heard of once.
 
Kiera blinks. Somewhere between her thoughts, the world had changed. The sky is considerably darker and the trees have thinned til nearly non-existent. She twists around in the seat, watching the thin line of trees growing distant, the mountains disappearing into the darkness. Confused she turns back around, suddenly wondering if they were actually going to kill her out here.
 
Corinth is sleeping against the seat belt, as Crevan continues driving silently and Chase stares out the window silently.
 
Through the front window, lights shine, speckling through the incoming darkness. As they draw closer Kiera can see buildings, tall steel beams with lights on the end and more cars, and the black paths splitting and becoming more frequent. The roads have less ice on them as they draw closer.
 
“Lenndale. Small town in the middle of nowhere, with a nice long 4 hour drive to civilisation.”
 
Kiera meets Crevan’s eyes in the mirror and leans back into her seat. She hadn’t expected the other woman to talk. She says nothing in reply.
 
“In summer, this whole land is covered in cattle. In winter though, there’s not a lot of feed. Most are killed and put in freezers, and the rest are either moved into barns and fed grain, or are out in the bigger pastures. Most farms don’t like that because the herd always comes back the same size in spring, even with the new calves born. Sometimes smaller.”
 
Creven says nothing else until they turn off at the very edge of the tiny town limits. The road winds back to a huge red shed, where the car is stopped in front of and the growling killed along with the lights. In the dark, the building looks tall and ominous as it rises from the dark wall like a giant.
 
Corinth’s nudged awake by the older woman.
 
Chase thankful says nothing as he gets out of the car, but his sigh says it all. This was a bad idea.
 
Kiera feels offended that Chase doesn’t trust her. What was the worst that would happen? She’d flip out and kill a few people? She’d get shot?
 
Corinth visible shrinks at the attack of cold air as they get out. Kiera takes in the building as it rises over their heads. Was this were they kept their cattle? Its only when they near the door does Kiera smell the blood hanging around the place. At the scent the wolf stirs, thinking off food and hot blood and fresh meat, but settles when the door is opened, and it’s very clear the blood is old, and the place smells familiar, but odd somehow.
 
Creven walks in without pause, with Corinth hot on her heels. Chase waits until Kiera had entered before following solemnly. Inside is rather empty, with a cold, concert floor.
 
A handful of chairs sit like ghosts in the middle of the room. In front of them is only a plain wall, but a bunch of hoops hang from the wall, with chains swinging from the loops. Straight across from the door is a bunch of tall cages, each one chain linked with thick chain doors. There’s nothing inside except smudges that are surely blood.
 
Kiera glances at Chase in confusion, already feeling the stir of the wolf in her blood, the whisper of violence in her muscles. Chase doesn’t look at her, instead stairs at the ground without a word.
 
She turns for Creven for answers.
 
“This is where the Alcrests send your unwanted wolves, where other warlocks brings werewolves they don’t want. They’re sold here, to get money, bought to bring in new blood.”
 
Kiera turns to Chase, heart in her throat. Already, her mind had snapped to Chase. “Carter?” She asks softly.
 
Chase nods painfully slow.
 
Her heart constricts at the thought. The little boy who has been considered Chase’s brother forever wasn’t even real family, hell, not even born in the same pack. No one had questioned when the Alcrests asked Sadie to raise the orphan boy. His parents were killed, was the official story, and he has no older siblings.
 
But he’d been here. Had he been sitting in a cage, only a year old baby unable to understand? Or chained to the wall as the Alcrests stared?
 
Her throat closes suddenly and Kiera feels her world crack. Her voice is a croak when she finally finds the one name that haunts her as much as baby Cater being chained. “Romy?”
 
Chase says nothing.
 
“Chase. Answer me” She demands.
 
“She was here, Ki, she was here.” He sounds as choked as she feels.
 
The silence is thick, and hangs in the air enough til Kiera feels suffocated. She crosses to the only other door in the room, not even acknowledging Chase calling after her.
 
“Kiera, please, don’t go in there-Kiera! Don’t! You don’t want to-“
 
She shoves through the door hard. The room isn’t the way she imagines. It’s not covered in blood, or full of half-starved wolves, although it smells strongly of death. It’s empty, clean, but wrong. There should have been blood. Lots.
 
There’s none.
 
A stainless steel table sits at the back, and beside it another, small one filled with an assortment of knifes. Behind them is a long table, and halfway in the middle a round disc, with curved triangles around the edges. She pulls her eyes away from the saw, to a pole suspended from the roof, hooks dangling every few feet over the long beam. A bunch of buckets are pushed against the world, and beside them a white clothed basket. On the other side is a drying rack thing, full of thin wired shelves, but there’s nothing on them.
 
“Kiera, please” Chase pleas as she slowly wonders off. He makes no move to stop her, but his voice is tortured.
 
Kiera pauses at the closest bucket, feeling sick. They’re all empty, but the insides are a faint pink, stained with the substance that had been stored in them. She backs away, teeth in her lip and hands fisted.
 
Another white cloth hides the content in the basket. She stares at the cover for a long while, wishing Chase will drag her away before she can touch it, and fearing he will. I need to know, she thinks bluntly, I can’t walk away. What if-what if in there’s…
 
To her surprise Chase says nothing to stop her.
 
She wishes he had, really, really, really, wishes he had torn her away and removed her from the building completely.
 
Inside sits a number of pelts, wolf pelts. All carefully taken from wolves and dried, and now sitting on top of each other. Kiera eyes blur as she reaches for the pelts. The fur is soft, but cold. On top sits a pale brown coat, not Romy’s but it does nothing to quall the pain. The top pelt is small, too small for an adult wolf.
 
Kiera’s knees give out at the same time a sob breaks free. Wolves had been here, killed and skinned. Kids had been here. She didn’t want to think about how many had been forced onto the table, how many had been killed as they fought helplessly to run. They would have known what was coming, known they were all going to be hung to drain the blood from their bodies.
 
Suddenly what happened to Carter seems insigdnificant.
 
Desperately Kiera pounces to her feet. She pulls out the young kids pelt, feeling a strike of pain at the thought. She flicks through the pelts, tossing them out unceremoniously. Adults, children, teenagers, it doesn’t matter. Every pelt is new, different in size and all smelling of their previous owner, salt and chemicals, death.
 
Arms lock around her before she can sort through many, and she struggles against her captive with a scream. “Let me go!” she shouts. There are too many, too many coats. “I need-i-Romy-“
 
Chase pulls her into his chest, ignoring the furious cries. “Stop it, please, Ki. It won’t do you any good.”
 
“She’d my friend!” Keira blabbers weakly. She falls against Chase’s chest, turning into it. Tears stream down her face as she cringes against the thought of Romy’s pelt being there; with the other 50 odd coats. “I need to know, I need to know,” she chokes, but she can no longer even think of touching the pelts. She may have known them. She must have none some of them. And now they are dead. One could be her Romy, her best friend, the same one who had been happy that she was going to be on the front lines, the same one who kicked guys butts and was like her sister. Then she’d came here, and she could be here, dead. Dead. “Is she there?”
 
Chase says nothing, but his hands tightens in her hair painfully.
 
His lack of words confirms it. Her legs buckle for good, and she can’t hold back the onslaught of tears. “Fuck…”