(Jax)

The train traveled throughout the night with the constant sound of the wheels grinding against the tracks. It had been a rough trip so far. We had gone underground, which was making me nervous. We had to be close to arriving at Central. I slept a little during the trip, mostly due to exhaustion, but I was feeling the effects of the past 24 hours. I had come to terms with my fate over the last few hours. This was most likely the end of me, but I wasn’t going to last much longer anyway. I knew I had gotten worse over the last few months. 

The train slowly came to a standstill, and I felt my chest tighten. I glanced out the window to see a mixture of brick and stainless steel.

The doors parted, and a female werewolf entered. “Alright, everyone needs to get up and line up on the platform. We’re going to have you sorted and back to your families as quickly as possible.”

Everyone started to get up. I just lay there and stared at the ceiling. Would I ever see my parents again? They might already be dead. One by one, they filed out of the train cart. The werewolves took their names and family number before ushered to the left. One was removed from the group and taken to the right. I had a feeling about what happened; they had been flagged.

My stomach started to growl. I should have eaten more yesterday. The last human stepped off the train, and soon after, the humans I had traveled here with disappeared. Maybe they would just forget about me, and I’d be allowed to go home by mistake. Heavy footsteps sounded on the metal floor, crushing that small amount of hope. A black werewolf scanned the interior. His eyes landed on me. 

“There’s one left.” He marched over. “Get up—” The werewolf glanced at my legs and growled. 

I kept my gaze pointed at my feet and flinched when his hand landed on top of my head.

“Red.” He lifted a piece of my hair. “Is it real or dyed?”

“Real,” I said softly. “My father and brothers have it, too.”

“Mother’s hair?”

“Blonde.”

“Never know with humans,” he said under his breath. “Name.”

“Jax Row, family 29506.”

The werewolf typed in the information on his tablet. “Your family has been flagged. Damn, according to this, they seem to be the cause of all this.” He eyed me. 

Swallowing hard, I nodded.

“It doesn’t appear you had anything to do with it.” He motioned to my legs.

“No, sir,” I whispered.

“Didn’t think so.” The werewolf looked outside and motioned to their packmate. “Make sure no one else is hiding. I’m going to take this one.” He tossed his tablet on the seat and carefully picked me up. “What's wrong with you?”

I shrugged. “It’s genetic. My muscles are deteriorating.”

“Hmm…” He took me to the right and away from the rest of the group.

My heart rate started to pick up when we stepped into an elevator. I felt sick. The automatic door opened, revealing a white hallway. A few humans were lined up, waiting to have their blood drawn. Others were being moved into holding cells. The werewolf carried me to the front of the line and placed me on the examination table. 

“Do him so that I can put him away,” he said to the gray werewolf in a white coat.

I frowned at the comment. I didn’t need to be put away. If they gave me a chair, I could take care of myself.

The grey werewolf took my arm and cleaned an area. “Do you have his information?”

“Yes.” The black werewolf typed it into the screen on the wall. 

She scoffed. “Isn’t that the family who caused this? The alpha is going to dispose of them.”

My breath caught in my throat. Disposed—it was really happening. My family name and number were bolded and highlighted in red on the screen. It had already been decided. 

“Procedure states that we test everyone. I wouldn’t bother either, but no one is disposed of without a comprehensive review of their file. Including the kid.” He nodded to me.

She looked me over with a sigh. “Yes, sir. Don’t expect much.”

The woman took out a needle and aimed it at my arm. I turned my head and gritted my teeth. I should be used to needles, but I couldn’t watch them go in without feeling queasy. The grey werewolf slipped it into my vein, and the attached container began to fill. 

Removing the needle, she licked her finger and pressed it to the small wound to seal it. “Done.” 

A sticker was printed, and she wrapped it around the container. She put it in a tray with other blood samples. I rubbed the inside of my arm. It didn’t hurt, but it was still unsettling.

“Put it towards the front to be tested.” The black werewolf picked me up.

He held me around the middle and hauled me off. The pressure was hurting my ribs. He took me to the last cell. Setting me on the bench, he stepped back and just stared. 

“Are you going to kill me?” I glanced at my legs. “After what my brother did, you’re not going to let me go home.”

He scratched his muzzle. “As long as your parents cooperate and help us find your brother, they’ll be assigned to factory work. Depending on your results…” He sighed. “We’ll have to see what the upper leadership decides.”

“The other werewolf said they were going to dispose of my family.” I glanced up at him with my hands shaking. 

“My word is better than hers.” He looked me over. “If your results are good, you’ll be kept in Central and be entered into the mating registry. You’ll remain in one of our facilities until you are chosen. But it doesn’t look promising.”

I breathed, gripping my knees. “Chosen? Like mating with a werewolf?”

“As I said, don’t get your hopes up. You’d have to have something extremely special hidden under whatever issues you got for a werewolf to want you.” He waved his hand at me. “But if you do get chosen, it would be an honor.”

I clenched my jaw and bowed my head.

“But again, don’t get your hopes up, pup. You can usually tell by looking at a human, but who knows,” he chuckled. “Surprises do happen. Keep quiet for now. Don’t bring any unneeded attention to yourself. The test doesn’t take long.”

The door closed, and I slumped over. I was honestly going to vomit. I was going to die. No one would choose; I didn’t want to be chosen. It would be betraying my whole family. Just let me see my family one last time, my parents at least, that was all I wanted. My siblings were gone. I would never get to say goodbye to them.

“Shit.” I hid my face and felt my eyes begin to burn.

I knew I wouldn’t live long, but I had never expected it to end like this.

***

My stomach was angry with me. Maybe they had decided to let me starve to death. After a good cry that had left my eyes feeling swollen and raw, I had accepted it, but how long were they going to keep me waiting? The werewolf said that the test was quick. Unless my sense of time was completely messed up, I’d been sitting in here for hours. I heard footsteps and waited to see if they were coming to get me this time. It sounded like they were opening all the doors to the holding cells.

“Everybody out!”

Mine swung open, and a werewolf entered. He lifted me off the bed and carried me out before placing me at the end of the line of humans. A tall brown werewolf was walking down the row with a tablet in his hand. He stopped in front of a young woman and pointed at her. A guard stepped forward and removed her from the line. 

I shifted my weight as my arms started to shake from having to hold myself up. I was too tired and stressed for this. I sank to the ground and lay there. The brown werewolf in charge stopped again, and a boy older than me was taken out of the line. Two more were removed, leaving him standing in front of the person beside me. He glanced at the girl, making her flinch, before looking down his muzzle at the floor where I sat.

Tapping his finger on his tablet, he scoffed. “You've got to be fucking kidding me. Is this list right? Do you put him in the wrong spot?”

“Row, Family 29506,” said the doctor. “That’s him.”

He shook his head. “You’re twenty-three years old and still not in the system for genetics. That’s against the law, you know. I can see why you may have been overlooked.” He stooped down and looked me over. “Take the others to the loading station.” He just watched me as the humans were led out of the room. 

The tension was growing. I slowly muscled myself into a seated position.

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked once we were alone.

The man laughed, thoroughly amused. “Oh, no”—he turned the tablet around—“not with this pedigree.”