Chapter One

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A lean woman rocked herself back and forth as she bobbed her head to the rhythm in her head. It was something obscure, sure. One of the doctors had started playing music to pass the time while doing his work. He noted that music had made the subject grow calm. Thus they began to use it as a tactic.

Sage's fingers pressed against the tall issued socks she'd been given that morning. It made it easy to clothe her but still retain access to her thighs if a sedative was deemed necessary.

Yet nothing had been severe enough to make that call, not for a while. And that was all due to how null her wolf had become to this lifestyle.

If someone said shift.

She'd shift.

If someone said eat, she ate.

It has been like this since before she could even remember.

Sage was trained to limit and was measured as tamed. And the only reason she was never punished was when they angered her wolf, not her.

Those who studied her mother were assigned and transferred to raise her child, which was not done so easily in this environment. The young woman could understand a good portion of what was being spoken to her, but when it came to terms involving human things, she was confused and nearly oblivious to the definition.

Read. Nobody bothered. Why would a dog need to read?

Speaking. Speak when you're told to. Even then, it would only pertain to yes or no questions.

Numbers, she knew numbers. She had a code memorized in her head, one of which held seven digits.

9873426

Upon thinking of said code, the latch door had suddenly swung right open, following the entering beep. And in came one of her many nurses. Henry.

Sage liked him the best. He'd treated her with kindness and paired it all with a smile.

Not that she ever returned it, as her eyes were always distant and blinking off into different directions based on her thoughts.

It was a similar function she had, ever since she was a child.

"Lunchtime sweetheart, extra potatoes too. Doc's serious about this weight thing." The knock settled her to look up from her position as he frowned at her calculating look directed to the corner of her cell.

Sage heard his heartbeat slow down, followed by his hitched breath. Her head titled in confusion as to what prompted that reaction.

Her understanding of emotions was limited to instinct.

Happy. Sad. Love

All of these rightly didn't compute with her as she stared at him in question. "Come on, I'll hold off the blood until after dinner." He offered, and it was the smallest of any incentive to get her towards the small table they gifted her 'room.'

Her limited knowledge did pertain to the use of forks and spoons, but there was no trusting her with a knife beside her dinner plate. Luna would have been successful in doing the same in the operating room had they not restrained her in the nick of time.

As soon as she started to much down on the offered chicken and mashed potatoes, Henry nodded at the mental checklist for his next round back to this holding block. "I'll bring blankets from storage, you need anything else?" Her eyes popped up to his question as she tapped her inner wrist.

"Hair ties? we can get your hair cut again if you want." She simply touched her wrist again in denial for a haircut.

Her wolf didn't like scissors.

Lacking Humanity|Crescent MoonWhere stories live. Discover now