Haken: A Capacity for Violence Part 12

Announcement! One week from today I'll be posting a link and password for the Werewolves 4 preview demo! This will be available to All Access / VIP Patrons and features a complete alpha build of the Werewolves 4 prologue.

Part 12:

Haken reclined on his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his cell. His mind was swimming with endorphins and that made it difficult to sort out his thoughts, but for now he didn't care. For once in his life things were finally going right!

There was, of course, the nagging voice in the back of his mind that simply wouldn't let him enjoy the moment free of doubt, but he did his best to drown it out with remembered visions of Alice and the half-hour that they'd been left alone in the grassy quad. Neither of them had mated in years, and he'd been embarrassed when it was over so quickly, but she'd been ravenous and had very little difficulty coaxing him into a second round within minutes. That time he'd managed to impress her which was quite a relief. And the things she's whispered in his ear! He'd never heard such things from a woman in his life–thoughts that would have made even the most jaded men he knew blush. It was like something out of a dream…

They had been lying down, clothes scattered to the four winds, when the guards finally came for them. Alice hadn't even seemed embarrassed, but he'd scrambled to get dressed so fast that he nearly fell over by stuffing both legs into the same hole of his pants. She'd laughed at that, but rather than mocking, it sounded affectionately amused. They were separated and marched back to their individual quarters by guards who had been studiously avoiding direct eye contact. It almost felt like they were more embarrassed than he was. Or maybe they were just jealous? Alice was beautiful and they hadn't exactly been able to keep their actions a secret. Sure, the guards had turned their backs, but he didn't doubt for a second that Dr. Lim didn't have surveillance cameras recording every angle of the exercise yard. Best not to think too much about that, though.

His stomach growled loudly, interrupting his reverie to forcibly remind him that he'd completely forgotten about missing his last meal. He sat up in bed, absently massaging his empty stomach.

"Hey!" he called out to the speaker above the cell door. "When's food?"

"You haven't had enough to eat, already?" a new voice replied snidely. 

Haken was stunned for a moment. "You idiots are choosing now to have a sense of humor? Where's the doctors?"

"Having a meeting," the man on the other side of the door said. "Probably about your little roll in the hay. Hope it was worth it, cause they're never gonna let you go, now."

Haken was starting to get pissed off at the guy's attitude. The scientists may have been annoying, but at least they weren't complete assholes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean they've been looking for a breeding pair for ages now, and you gave them just what they wanted. Congratulations."

"You sound awfully jealous," Haken snapped. "Must be tough stuck in here with nothing to use but your hand!"

There was no response for several seconds and for a moment he worried that he'd gone too far. Eventually the guard found his voice, though he sounded far less assured of himself. "Like I'd be interested in any of you freaks, anyway."

"You couldn't handle us."

There was quiet for a moment, and then the door slid open. "Yeah?" The guard stepped in, brandishing a metal rod that Haken knew from experience was charged with enough electricity to drop an elephant. The guy was young–couldn't be a day over twenty. "You wanna say that to my face?"

Haken hadn't seen this particular human before. Maybe the guard was new; if he ran this hot regularly, then he'd be out on his ass in no time. "You know that this place is recorded 24/7, right?" Haken said. "You really want to come at me?"

The youth sneered and extended his stun rod in Haken's direction. "I turned the cameras off, freak," he said. "Think you can wolf out before I knock you flat on your ass?" He dragged the weapon along the metal floor, sending a shower of sparks flying. "You think you're some kind of untouchable VIP in here, Mr. big shot fuckboy? I joined up to stop monsters like you. My dad fought in the Werewolf War–he just wanted to defend his family and you animals ripped his throat out!"

"You have no idea what you're doing," Haken growled. He took a moment to consider. "You turned the cameras off?"

"Sure as hell did." The guard was only a few feet away, now. "Take your beating like a man. You're not gonna say a thing about it, either. Nobody will believe you over me, not even that idiot doctor."

"So we're all alone in here?" Haken grinned. "And here I thought this day couldn't get any better."

The guard lunged at him with the stunner. To his credit, he was much faster than Haken anticipated and the weapon brushed over his left arm, singing his fragile human skin before he could twist out of the way and bring his knee up into the youth's gut. The guard doubled over, retching as he dropped the stun rod.

Haken shoved the human to the ground and a scream ripped from deep in his lungs as he fell on top of the activated stun rod. The smell of sizzling flesh wafted up and Haken waited a good five seconds before mercifully kicking the youth off of the weapon. "Weak," he muttered. "Not even a challenge." He knelt down beside the guard and checked his pulse. Still alive. That was probably for the best. He grabbed the weapon and straightened up a second before two more guards burst into the room in full riot gear, rifles aimed in his direction. They hesitated for a moment, wary of hitting the youth on the floor, and that moment of weakness was enough to spoil whatever advantage they might have had if they'd acted immediately.

The room was a blur as Haken charged. He could sense the humans' fear, see their fingers tighten on the triggers. He ducked into a slide, maintaining his momentum as he slid over the smooth metal floor feet-first, narrowly avoiding the first several gunshots. A quick pivot and he was back on his feet, face to face with the nearest human. He grabbed the rifle with his left hand and smashed upward with his right elbow, knocking into the man's helmet so hard that he went limp in Haken's arms, disoriented or knocked out, it made no real difference. 

Haken turned, positioning the vulnerable man between himself and the remaining guard, arm wrapped around his neck while he used him as a human shield. "You really want to kill your buddy to get to me?" he growled. "You don't got the balls." He couldn't see the man's expression through the riot helmet's visor, but he could smell the fear, the reek of his sweat.

"You're making a mistake," the guard said as he stepped away and lowered his weapon. "If you kill anybody, you'll lose everything. Your nice room, the girl…"

Haken snorted. "A gilded cage is still a cage." Still, though, the man's words had struck an unexpected nerve. Where was he going with this? His animal instinct had been to flee captivity, but what about Alice? How would he find her? He had no idea where her cell was. He didn't even know how to get outside.

"Damn it."