Ansgar

Wolves heal quickly.

Very fast. Of course, there were exceptions. There was a rare, hereditary disease. A dreaded disease.

There was no one in my pack who was affected. Not anymore after the last person affected died childless. But a family of a neighboring pack had one between them.

If this disease appeared in a family, it always affected the generation after next. Like twins, only scarier. Those affected still heal faster than humans, but more slowly than other wolves. They suffered from delays when it came to taking on their wolf form, and vice versa, it took all the longer. Why remained unclear.

The transformation was painful for every wolf. But we transformed so quickly that we almost didn't notice the pain. But wolves that suffered from this disease?

The transformation into a wolf took longer than the usual seconds, but the transformation into a human meant endless hours of pain. In addition, they suffered from bones that broke quickly. I didn't want to imagine how bad such a life must be for a wolf. The transformation was part of us, as important to us as the air we breathe. It was part of our soul.

It was said that a wolf with this terrible disease had been given to the youngest princess in the country.

As a servant.

Slave.

Was he still alive?

How helpless he must have felt when he was abducted.

Well, by now I had a good idea, I thought, still half dazed, of whatever these vampires gave me. Unfortunately, none of them were princesses... Or rather, a prince!

This princess visited our country, asked for support in the fight against her own mother. My village, my pack, she hadn’t visited herself. Instead, a wolf from another pack came to us. Princess Julia von Sonnenhof also worked with vampires.

My kidnappers, abductors, would hardly go into battle against an evil queen.

They kept me numb. Again and again, they forced bitter herbs down my throat. Herbs that quickly lost their effect on werewolves. A sedative that clouded my senses. I had recognized the smell of most of the herbs immediately: These herbs were given to wolves when their own healing ability was not enough to heal a very bad, life-threatening wound quickly. If they had to be operated on, or were ill with the 'disease'. Glass wolves, my pack called these people.

They calmed those affected, relieved pain, and, in high doses, they led to unconsciousness.

The vampires drank my blood until my sight turned black, unless I was unconscious from the beginning. They kept me tied up, unable to turn into a wolf or resist them.

Those damn herbs! Harming a wolf with this was considered a crime.

I had lost my sense of time, hardly knew when it was day or night, where I was, or what the vampires were doing. Unless they drank my blood. I felt the pain only dimly. Because they made sure I was stunned all the time.

I was leaning against a tree at the time. My senses slowly returned. Snippets of conversation reached me. The air was cool. Crickets chirped. I blinked, but still pretended to be unconscious. At every clear moment, I hoped to escape.

They were not allowed to notice that the effect of the herbs was already wearing off. I was still dazed and foggy, but my mind became clearer.

The woman among them seemed to have an internal clock when it came to when I needed to be anesthetized again. I didn't see her. Was this my chance?

They just weren't allowed to notice it...

Just a little more, and the herbs lose their effect, I told myself again and again.

Inwardly, I begged that the men not pay attention to me. I could hardly move yet. And I didn't either, otherwise they would notice. My hands felt numb, my legs heavy as iron. I closed my eyes.

"Still no village or town in sight!" Zarko, the strong blonde, snorted. He and the other two men were sitting close to a campfire. I heard the burning wood crackling. "Why does Agnes take so long? Didn't she say those damn herbs grow everywhere here?"

"That's what she said." Meusewin, clearly the boss of the gang, a band of robbers, laughed. "But I haven't seen any for a long time. You?"

When they went on at night, they often put me in a cart, next to which I now sat. Bags full of stolen goods left hardly any room for me in the meantime. Weapons, food, poisons... I never saw what they stole, but I had heard them talk about it. The cart itself was also stolen.

When we reached a village or town, at least one of them always crept there. And at least one stayed with me. Who, I didn't know. All I knew was that there was always at least one vampire near me, forcing the bitter herbs on me, keeping me helpless. This had happened about twice and did not end well each time... As far as I had noticed. The last village had been abandoned, and the city destroyed and almost uninhabited. In both cases, there was not much to be gained there.

They were on the run. From what?

I didn't know that either.

Were they murderers?

Would they kill me as soon as they no longer needed me?

Of course they would.

I only lived because the last two places had not provided them with enough blood.

I dared to take a quick look at them:

"Everwinus should have picked more! What if the wolf causes trouble? OUCH!" Zarko fell over after Everwinus jumped up and kicked him. "Hey! Calm down!"

"Oh?" Everwinus still had one foot on Zarko. "So it's MY fucking fault that this wolf unexpectedly eats a lot of the stuff?"

"Everwinus!" Meusewin stood up and grabbed the second blonde vampire by the wrist and pulled him rudely away from Zarko. "Leave him. Are you thirsty? Have you already drunk today?"

"After he fell over again before I could drink, thanks to you?" hissed the blond man. The handsome one, I had to admit. He looked good.

"Then drink now," Zarko growled. "He should have enough blood again, right?"

I quickly closed my eyes and tried not to flinch. I feared the teeth of the vampires. Sharp teeth that, even when the herbs fogged me, penetrated my skin rudely and painfully. These vampires were not trying to be gentle. They smashed their teeth into me as if I were a piece of meat. And now that I clearly notice it, I didn’t want to be bitten. But my body still didn't obey me.

Maybe this was a good thing, because sitting still was not one of my skills.

"If you weren't so greedy, I wouldn't have to wait so long," Everwinus grumbled.

One thing I knew for sure by now: This group had a hierarchy. And HE stood at the bottom of it, was always the last one who was allowed to drink. And NOW he approached me. His smell, unwashed and earthy, came closer.

I did my best not to move and not to obviously squint my eyes. Something cracked. A small branch? The vampire knelt in the moss next to me and looked at me.

I felt the warmth of his body. Cold hands touched me. Did he hesitate?

"What's the matter?" Meusewin asked him. "Don't you like it? We don't have any other blood, and HE was your idea."

"Shut up!" Everwinus growled, his grip on my arm tightened, too tight, and I... twitched while frowning.

CRAP!

"Huh?" He let go for a moment, then touched my arm again. Unexpectedly gentle. "It’ll be okay, Wolf. Excuse me. Pretend you're unconscious... It does... I am...", the vampire whispered to me. He shook his head, put one hand on my neck, supported himself with the other, then he bit me.

Carefully.

Huh?

This caution surprised me. If I had noticed anything, it was that the personality of this vampire was not gentle. Instead, he was brutal. Quickly annoyed, struck quickly. I often heard him kick something. 

It hurt, but less than expected. I felt him drinking my blood, heard him swallow it. I felt sick. The air smelled of iron, of my life. It was disgusting, but somehow I felt sorry for this vampire. And, what bothered me all the more, I also understood him a little. He needed my blood.

To survive.

After a few sips, he let go of me. "Excuse me," he repeated. "Thank you. I..."

"Are you really thanking the wolf?" Agnes returned. She stepped out of the bushes right next to the vampire and me. Bushes. I heard the rustling of the leaves. "I had to walk a long way to find these herbs. Everwinus? Look! We have to anesthetize him again. It can't wait. He's awake, as I'm sure YOU have noticed."

... Damn.

"Of course he's awake. We ran out of herbs. What did you expect?" the vampire hissed.

"He's right!" Zarko agreed.

"So he's awake..." Meusewin sighed. "We should change that quickly, don't you think, Everwinus, too? We don't want to let any misfortune happen, do we?"

Everwinus snorted angrily.

Agnes's return prevented my escape.

When Everwinus forced me to swallow these disgusting herbs again, his hands remained gentle. Confused, I looked into his pupilless, red eyes. He returned the look. His eyes looked anxiously into mine.

Soon after, these herbs clouded all my senses again.