The Prince and the Frog - my inspirations

As a kid I loved fairy-tales. Who doesn’t? You get to go to another world where magic is real, where people have amazing adventures and come out of them unscathed. (Or mostly unscathed which is good enough.) The evil is punished, the good deeds rewarded and everything ends with a happily ever after. I never outgrew my love of these stories. As the time passed it changed slightly and I became obsessed with fantasy books instead, but fairy-tales have always stayed with me.
When I first found some fairy-tales redone into M/M books I was hooked. But with time I discovered that most of these books focus on mostly the same fairy-tale themes. There’s the immortal Cinderella story, the Beauty and the Beast, and a few others. There are so many fairy-tales out there with so much potential. So I decided to write the books myself.
With that thought in mind I wanted to focus on some of my favourite fairy-tales, the ones I grew up on. These would be the traditional Middle- and Eastern-European fairy-tales. While The Prince and the Frog is not my all-times favourite story it is in the lead.
Writing the book, I consulted my childhood storybooks. The Prince and the Frog is a popular fairy-tale and I knew both the Polish and Russian version of it. I included elements of both but I also added some things of my own. The result is hopefully enjoyable one.
The fairy-tale world I created is a mix of historical and fantasy ones. While magic is an obvious indication of fantasy there are many elements that hail from the real world and are based in historical times.
The Magical Academy is very loosely based on European Universities and Academies of late middle ages. I did not include many details and because it is a magical institution most of the ones that I did include is made up but I hoped to convey the general feel of those Schools of old.
One of the things that are based mostly in real world are the subjects of three tests.
Even though my book is based on a fairy tale I also wanted it to feel as authentic a story as it could. Because of that I thought there needed to be a valid reason for the three tests the Frog in the fairy tale faces. I didn’t think “Because the King fancies so” was a valid reason. (King Aleksiey didn’t seem like the kind of father who’d force something like that on his sons, even though he does like to send them on dangerous quests.) I decided to reach to a custom that I’ve known of for a long time.
The witnessing of the marriage consummation was a tradition applying to royal and sometimes noble marriages. It was exactly what it sounds. Some people stayed in the bedroom of the newly-wed couple to bear witness to the consummation of marriage. As the consummation was often a legal requirement for the marriage to be considered valid, the custom could prevent future trouble.
Just look at Henry the VIII. His first wife, Catharine of Aragon had first been intended as his older brother’s wife and betrothed to him. After the older prince had died Henry and his father went to a lot of trouble to ensure that marriage be considered invalid. (It would be impossible for Henry to marry his brother’s wife, it was forbidden) So Henry the VII, wanting to ensure an alliance with Spain, made sure that the previous relationship of Catherine was annulled and she was available to marry his younger son, future Henry the VIII. However, after many years of prosperous marriage, when Catherine failed to give Henry a male heir, the king did what? Yes, you guessed it, he tried to have his marriage annulled as well. It didn’t work to his favour as the pope at the time was Catharine’s relative, thus Henry’s later split from the Catholic Church.
The point I’m trying to make is that the witnessing of the marriage consummation could save a lot of trouble in situations like this. But like I said, it was a custom reserved for royalty and sometimes, nobility. For that reason I thought it believable that when king Aleksiey decided to marry a merchant’s daughter, a woman of a very strong character, she wouldn’t be amused by having to have witnesses to her wedding night. King Aleksiey and Queen Ekaterina seemed like a couple who’d move heaven and earth to get what they wanted and so I thought they’d have made sure the custom was abolished. But tradition is something that cannot be discounted lightly and neither can politics. I’m certain making such a big change couldn’t have been easy and there would have to be some concessions. Hence the three trials...
In my book the three tests get symbolical meanings, as I’m sure would happen in such circumstances. The princes’ spouses must prove their worth. In the situations I depicted baking a cake is supposed to show their devotion and ability to take care of their husbands basic needs (something like providing food for your family – the very basic way to prove you can take care of that family). Second test in the fairy tale was to weave a carpet. I thought it was an extension of the first test, to show you can take care of more sublime needs of your spouse (Provide food, then shelter). Then there was the third test of attending a ball. This one seemed obvious enough. A member of royal family had to be able to find themselves in any social situation. A ball where members of each social class were invited would be a great test of those skills.
Concentrating on the tests I decided to add some authenticity to them. Princess Nasha cannot bake, she had been catered to her entire life, she had no time to learn how to cook. Prince Colia’s husband and wife come from a Northern Tribe, and they led a very different lives, prior to meeting Nicolai.
And here we come to the fascinating element of real world in my book. Vil and Kunney belong to a Northern Tribe. I based that tribe on one of the peoples inhabiting Siberia. Since the kingdom where Ivan and his brothers are from is mostly based on old time Russia, it seemed obvious that going North would more or less lead Colia to Siberian Tribes. The tribe I chose as a focus for where Vil and Kunney came from are Sakha people or Yakuts. Kunney is an actual female name from their language and means sun-moon it is also a mythological hero’s name. Vil, I believe, is also a word from sakha language. I encountered it while doing research on some of yakut traditions, but for the life of me I cannot find the webpage now. If I remeber correctly the word is supposed to be a name of a fish, either salmon or trout.
When it comes to the tests, what Vil and Kunney present are actual elements of Sakha culture.
Salamat is a creamy sour porridge made of cream, wheat, butter and salt. Usually eaten on feast days. It seemed like the best equivalent of a cake.
Colia also mentions a dish of a frozen fish that he had been offered in his spouses’ tribe. The real dish is stroganina - raw, thin, long-sliced shavings of frozen fish.
In the second test, when the contestants are asked to weave carpets, Kunney and Vil present some uniquely made fur rugs. Once again it is a real tradition. There are historical depictions of those checked fur rugs, like this woodcut:

The culture of Yakuts (Sakha) is an altogether fascinating subject. Here are some links if you wanted to know a bit more about it:
http://www.cosmicelk.net/Yakutia16c.htm
http://primitiverug.com/journal/yakut-pieced-skin-primitive-rug
http://travelingyourdream.com/?page_id=1596
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3735993/The-wolf-hunters-Siberia-Incredible-pictures-battle-reindeer-herders-super-packs-predators.html
http://www.biligbitig.com/2014/07/saka-turkleri-sakha.html
The elements of Sakha culture are not the only real-world/historical thing that inspired me. In the book Vasya uses his personal experiences in the king’s challenges. These are also based on real things. This time I drew from Slavic traditions.
Kolach the special cake Vasya bakes for the first test is actually exactly what it is described as in the book. A traditional kind of sweet bread mostly served during big celebrations. In pagan times it was reserved for ritualistic purposes but with time it got adapted and was mostly used during wedding or birth celebrations. Even now it is a tradition in Poland (where i’m from) and I believe other Slavic countries as well, that a newly wed couple is greeted by their parents with bread and salt (and more often than not, vodka). Also during various religious celebrations there are beautifully decorated breads being blessed with holy water. These breads are often made by braiding the dough and are in a shape of a circle. The name kolach is derived from the word koło – circle. There is even a saying in Polish – “Bez pracy nie ma kołaczy” – literally meaning – “Without work there will be no kolaches.” So it is easy to see how important a part of slavic culture kolach actually is.
A picture of kolach from wikipedia
Here’s a picture I took last year at my cousin's wedding. It is a decorated sourdough bread.

  And some picture’s of breads made for religious celebrations (from the web.)


 
In the second test Vasya weaves an arras depicting his first meeting with Ivan. As an inspiration I used real arrases from the Royal castle of Wawel. Especially this one:

You can read more about Wawel arrases here: http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=22
and some other links: http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Jagiellonian%20tapestries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagiellonian_tapestries
www.fibtex.lodz.pl/2005/6/85.pdf

Despite now living in UK I am and have always been very proud of my country. Poland has a very colorful history and a lot of interesting traditions. Writing “The Prince and the Frog” I dug into some of those traditions. after kolach and Jagiellonian arrases, another unmistakably Polish element in the book is Vasya’s mage robe. While I admit many authors write about wizards wearing robes Vasya’s is a bit different. The main difference is the long row of small buttons Ivan has trouble undoing. (Poor Ivan ) That robe is based on żupan and kontusz. Żupan is a kind of long garment, always lined, worn by almost all males of the noble social class in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, typical male attire from the beginning of the 16th to half of the 18th century. Kontusz is an outer garment worn over the inner garment żupan. Kontusz was a long robe, usually reaching to below the knees, with a set of decorative buttons down the front. The sleeves were long and loose, on hot days worn untied, thrown on the back. In winter a fur lining could be attached to the kontusz, or a delia worn over it. The kontusz was usually of a vivid colour, and the lining was of a contrasting hue. The kontusz was tied with a long, wide sash called a pas kontuszowy. The kontusz was more of a decorative garment than a useful one.
Polish nobles of the time had a very distinctive culture a main part of which was Sarmatism. Wikipedia has a pretty good article about it. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatism) Here are some pictures of Żupans and kontushe so you can have a better idea of what I imagined Vasya wearing. (and links to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kontusz; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBupan)

Last but not least, there’s another element of Slavic beliefs that I inserted in the book. It fit so perfectly with the fairy-tale that I couldn’t not add it. I mean the fate-magic. It is not called that in original Slavic culture. It doesn’t really have a name, at least not that I know of. It is simply a belief that your words and wishes might come true if you speak them in a bad hour. There’s a lot I could write about it but I’ll keep it for the second book in the series which is based entirely on this belief. I only introduced it in The Prince and the Frog to give you a taste of it.
I believe that’s most of what I wanted to share with you about the book. The last  little bit is in a form of a video. Just so you can see for yourself how vicious the herbivorous hare can be.
Have fun watching it!

Change in plans etcetera

 

Oh, how we all love when our best-laid plans get messed up and need to be changed.

Well, it just so happens that my characters won’t cooperate with me and insist on changing my plans. And thus, a good servant that I am, I follow their orders.

The original plan was for me to finish Jack’s story, then start working on part two in The Bigwells Chronicles. This plan went up in smoke. At the moment I’m working on re-writing my last year Halloween story into a full book. I’m probably somewhere halfway there. I suspect it won’t be ready for the Halloween, though.

And meanwhile, some other characters have been clamoring for my attention. It’s a pretty short story settled chronologically before the Reality Series. It’s a story from the time of Fey Wars that sprung in my mind when I was writing Timiny’s book. I hope (fingers crossed) that I’ll be able to finish it for Christmas.

 

Up to fun thing, though.

My first fairy-tale book is coming out soon!

Here’s the link: http://www.bookstrand.com/book/the-prince-and-the-frog

I’m planning a post about some of my inspiration for the things you’ll find there. There also might or might not be a giveaway happening…

That’ll be all for now. I need to get to that Halloween re-write.

New book - new cover

I got the cover for my first fairy-tale book. The Prince and the Frog is set to release in September.

Besides that I am working on Jack's story and struggling with research to Fey Wars, a spin-off series to Reality.
Also I'm trying to juggle my work, preparing for my holiday in Poland, dealing with train problems, etcetera. All in all it's a busy, busy time!

What's new

First of all, "The Warrior's Light" is out now! In the five days since it's been released Ulr and Brad's story crawled to the top ten on Bookstrand bestseller list! Wow! I'm so happy. And I haven's had time to promote it properly with the mess that was going on in my house. Changing a boiler along with putting in new plumbing for it means three days of constant mess and not much time to spend online. I still need to send my ARC's to some reviewers, but that'll have to wait till the end of my workweek. 

Now, I'm nearly done with edits for my fairytale book. I hope to finish them Wednesday the latest. After that I can finally concentrate on Jack's book from Reality. 

This Wednesday my three weeks of holiday start. Actually I booked only a week but with my work schedule it gives me three weeks off. How cool is that!? I already know I'm spending the last week camping in Scotland. What will I do with the other two weeks? Relax and write! :D

I really look forward to that! 

Captive or Captor #13

A slightly longer post today. Lowell and Purr’s story is gaining momentum!

 

With each passing day Lowell was getting more and more frustrated. He’d been with the pack for more than two weeks now and Purr wasn’t getting any better. True, the tiger let Lowell close to him and he stopped needing sedatives. But there was still no humanity in the animal’s eyes. Lowell spent every moment of every day with Purr. He fed the tiger and spoke to him. He reminded his lover of all they’ve been through, telling him stories of their time together. It wasn’t working.

The tiger was content for Lowell to sit with him, to pet him, but he didn’t show any signs of understanding Lowell, either. Slowly doubts started creeping in. What if Purr never got better? What if he stayed an animal forever? Without even realising he was doing it Lowell started planning for a life if this happened. Of course he wouldn’t leave Purr, that was out of question. So they’d have to find a place where Purr could roam. Somewhere away from civilization because the tiger didn’t react well to anyone except Lowell. Every time someone got close to them Purr became aggressive, situating himself between Lowell and a perceived threat. The pack members quickly learned to stay away from the enclosure.

Lowell slept in the room that Purr had been in before he turned into a tiger. He had to admit that the room seemed pretty comfy, even if it had been wrecked by an out of control tiger. The pack members who lived in the Pack Leader’s house were also pretty friendly. The didn’t go out of their way to get to know Lowell, but they were nice to him whenever they met.

Lowell himself wasn’t trying to make new friends. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to do it, anymore. Ever since his exile to the mansion Lowell had lost touch with his former friends. And after meeting Purr he felt he didn’t need anyone else. Now his social skills seemed to be seriously lacking and he was too focused on helping his tiger to do anything about it.

Lowell stopped sharing his thoughts with the tiger at his feet and looked up. Someone was running towards the enclosure. As the man came closer Lowell recognized him as one of the younger guards, Fabian. Lowell frowned as the young man came closer and closer to them. By now all the guards knew it wasn’t the best idea to get close to Purr’s enclosure, so why wasn’t Fabian stopping?

Purr tensed, the tiger’s powerful muscles coiling as if readying for attack, and he snarled. The young guard’s steps faltered but he didn’t fully stop. Just as Fabian reached the chain-link fence Purr jumped to his four paws and situated himself between Lowell and the newcomer. Lowell sighed and shook his head.

“Fabian, you know better than come here when I’m with Purr,” he stated, standing up. He kept behind Purr, not wanting to agitate his furry lover even further.

“I know and I’m sorry Lowell, but I’ve got an important message for you. There’s police here to see you,” the guard blurted out.

“Police?” Lowell felt all blood drain from his face. “How did they find me?” he said in a near whisper, more to himself than Fabian.

“I don’t know, but they’re here to arrest you. Alpha Marek tried to convince them it’s a mistake, but they wouldn’t listen. So he stalled them giving me time to notify you.”

“Shit!” Lowell exclaimed and noticed that Purr started backing him into a corner behind him. The tiger was obviously sensing his distress. “This is a disaster.” Lowell shook his head. He knew there was no use running away. Once the police figured out he was alive, they wouldn’t stop looking for him. And Lowell couldn’t leave Purr. Dragging a full-grown tiger with him everywhere was out of question as well. “There’s no other way,” he spoke softly to himself, petting his tiger’s fur absentmindedly. He had to give himself up and count the police would listen to him and believe the truth. “Fabian,” Lowell spoke in an even voice, “if you could please back away. I need Purr calm so that I can leave the enclosure. He won’t let me out otherwise.” Fabian nodded his understanding and did as asked. Lowell watched his tiger relax as the man left their proximity. Crouching before Purr Lowell hugged his furry lover.

“I’m sorry Purr,” he whispered softly into one fuzzy ear. “I have to leave you. Hopefully the police will listen to what I’ve got to say and they’ll let me come back to you. I wish we had more time. I wish I could have made you turn back to normal. But I believe in you. I know you’re in there somewhere. One of this days you’ll come back to me, and we’ll have this life together we’ve always dreamed of. So, hang in there Purr, my love. Don’t give up.” Lowell felt tears prickling his eyes as he stood up and walked to the gate slowly. Purr was still sitting in the corner, watching him. There was still no humanity in the tiger’s eyes and Lowell felt his heart squeeze painfully. Who knew how their separation was going to affect the shifter? Lowell prayed it wouldn’t undo whatever progress they might have made.

Lowell stepped through the gate and closed it behind him. Purr stood up and padded to the gate, their ritual familiar now. Purr knew Lowell was always coming back to him and the tiger never protested Lowell leaving the enclosure. Lowell stood before the gate clutching the chain-links in his fingers. He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave his lover, vulnerable like Purr was. Soon, he heard voices and footsteps from where the mansion was. Lowell shot a look over his shoulder and recognized the alpha with two other men coming toward him. Lowell turned back and locked his gaze with Purr. His whole being hurt at the thought of being separated from Purr, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The steps came closer and a voice spoke from behind him.

“Lowell Hayes?”

“Yes, It’s me,” Lowell answered quietly.

“Lowell Hayes you’re under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of Patrick Peters,” the man was saying as he came to Lowell. Without a word Lowell put his hands behind his back and let the man handcuff him. Lowell never looked away from Purr. The tiger narrowed his eyes and a low growl escaped him. It was obvious the shifter knew something was wrong.

“I’m telling you, you’re making a huge mistake, officer.” Lowell became distinctly aware of the Alpha saying. “Like I said, Patrick is in a feral state right now and Lowell Hayes is essential to bringing him back to normal. He might be Patrick’s only chance at recovering.”

“I’m not arguing it Alpha,” the officer was saying, “but it is not our call to make. We were sent to arrest him and we’ll do just that. Everything else will be resolved during the investigation and trial. I’m sure the judge will take the circumstances under consideration.”

“But I just told you separating them now might have horrible effect on Patrick, causing him to retract even further into his animal!” The alpha’s voice had a growl to it that betrayed his annoyance. Lowell couldn’t concentrate on it though. As the officer pulled him back from the fence Purr seemed to sense something was wrong. The big tiger snarled and threw his whole body against the gate, trying to get out.

“Shit, I told you!” the Alpha shouted. “He’s going back to harming himself! Fabian, run to the house, we might need to shoot him with a sedative again!”

Lowell heard the young guard’s confirmation, as he run off. As the police officer led him away from the enclosure, Lowell kept looking back, his heart bleeding for his lover who kept throwing himself against the fence. Lowell could feel tears trail down his face as he whispered.

“I’m sorry Purr. I love you.”

* * * *

I’m sorry Purr. I love you.

His Master’s words reached him, piercing through the veil surrounding Purr’s mind. He shook his head trying to get rid of the horrible fog. His Master was here! Purr threw his body against the steel fence trying to get to his Master. The fence didn’t budge. Purr snarled. The bloody gate was in his way! It prevented him from reaching Master! He had to get to him! He had to protect Master! Purr shook his head again and looked around. Wait, what? What’s going on? The world seemed different, wrong somehow, but Purr couldn’t figure out the reason. He was behind a chain-link fence in what seemed like a cage or enclosure of sorts. He remembered those from his time in the circus. That’s where they kept the animals. But that couldn’t be right. He wasn’t in a circus anymore, was he? He had been with his Master for years now.

Master! Purr looked up and saw his Master being led away by some strange men. There was also another man, one that looked familiar. Alpha, his mind supplied. That was the alpha who told him his Master was dead. The same alpha who kept Purr from going after Master and saving him from Master’s evil father! Purr felt rage overwhelm him. They were taking Master away from him again! Purr backed up as far as he could go. Then he started running. The fence was tall, but Purr was determined. He wasn’t going to let them take his Master from him again. Purr’s paws swallowed the ground as he gained in speed. And then, with a loud roar he leaped.

Purr soared over the fence and landed on the other side of it gracefully. Not missing a step, he run after the men kidnapping his Master. The three men turned and two of them shrieked. The Alpha only swore but looked slightly panicked as well. Purr felt satisfaction and a need to grin. Good! You shouldn’t have taken my Master from me. Stupid Alpha! The two shrieking men were frozen in fear as Purr advanced on them. The Alpha though seemed to gather his composure once again. Ripping off his shirt and undoing the button of his jeans the man initiated his shift. Just as quickly there was a big grey wolf standing in Purr’s way. Oh, hell no! You’re not blocking me from reaching my Master! Purr slowed down as he reached the wolf and the three men behind him. Purr quickly made sure that his Master was unharmed. Lowell looked fine if a little sad. Well, Purr could deal with cheering his Master up later. Right now, he had an annoying wolf to take care of! Purr showed off his teeth in a show of aggression and started circling the wolf. The alpha jumped at him, trying to nip him, but Purr’s quick reflexes made the wolf’s teeth close on air. The alpha renewed his attack again and again. The wolf didn’t seem to want to seriously hurt him. He was trying to coral Purr back to that cage he came out of. Purr gave a little snort. Not going to happen! He avoided the wolf’s nips and batted his paw at the wolf. He wasn’t trying to seriously hurt the wolf, he kept his claws hidden, but he wasn’t going away either. Some sixth sense alerted Purr to the danger behind him and he leapt up, twisting his body out of the way. Purr watched a small, feathered dart sail past him and hit the wolf. He smiled inwardly as the wolf alpha staggered then fell down. There, that’s better, one annoyance out of the way. Purr turned around and looked at the wolf who shot the dart. The man was young, and, by the looks of him, he was terrified. Purr barred his teeth at him and snarled. The wolf shook so hard he nearly dropped his rifle. Purr smirked showing of his teeth and stalked the wolf. The pup shook as he backed away.

“Purr, leave Fabian alone. He won’t shoot you, will you Fabian?” His Master’s voice reached Purr as he stalked his prey. Purr’s ear swivelled back and he paused, his eyes never leaving the wolf.

“I won’t,” the wolf said and Purr realised he was answering his Master’s question. The wolf seemed sincere, but he still held onto the rifle and Purr was no dummy. He wasn’t turning around until that rifle was far out of the wolf’s reach.

“Fabian, drop the gun. I think Purr feels threatened by it,” Lowell said and Purr felt proud of his Master’s intelligence. The wolf dropped the rifle and stepped away from it. Purr waited a bit longer before the wolf was way out of reach and he quickly jumped and took the gun in his mouth. He wasn’t leaving the weapon where anyone could get to it. Luckily for him the rifle had a strap attached to it and Purr put his head through the loop, the gun now hanging on his neck. Turning back to the humans and his Master, Purr stalked closer. The two strange humans were sitting on the ground, obviously in shock. Purr’s Master stood straight though. He wasn’t easily scared, Purr knew. His Master was a brave man. Purr padded to where his Master stood and rubbed his head against the man’s thigh. Mmm, his Master smelled so good!

“Purr, can you understand me, my love?” Master asked and Purr sat down on his haunches and looked at Master quizzically. What did the Master mean, could he understand? He tilted his head as if to ask: What do you mean?

“Purr, do you realize what happened? Do you know who you are? Who I am?” This time Purr snorted. Silly Master! Of course Purr knew who they were. They’ve spent years together, how could he not know who they were.

“Purr,” Master said kneeling before him, “look at yourself. You’re a tiger now, my love. Do you realise that?”

What did master mean? Of course he was a tiger! Purr had always been a tiger. He was a shifter after all, that’s how they’d met. Because Purr was a tiger and had been left for dead by people from the circus. He was a tiger... Holy shit! Purr looked down at his furry body and took stock of it for the first time. Holy shit, I’m a tiger! Purr looked up at his Master, his eyes growing huge and his jaw going slack. His Master chuckled, even though Purr could see there were tears in his eyes.

“There you are love!” Master said. “You understand now? Can you change back?” Purr took a minute to think about it, then shook his head. He had no idea how to change back. How could he if he had no clue how he had changed into a tiger in the first place? Lowell frowned but then smiled. “Doesn’t matter, love. We can figure this out. The important thing is that you’re sentient now,” Master said and Purr wondered briefly what that meant. He didn’t have time to worry though, because the humans seemed to recover from their shock.

The two men got back on their feet and reached for their weapons. Immediately Purr stepped in front of his Master. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Lowell! Suddenly they were all surrounded by a bunch of snarling wolves. Purr had his attention split. He had to protect his Master from the humans and the wolves now.

One of the wolves turned into his human form and Purr recognized the rude man who had insulted his Master before. Purr barred his teeth in a warning and let out a snarl. That wolf had been mean before and he hated Purr’s Master! Purr angled his body so that it was between humans and the mean wolf and Lowell.

“What have you done to the Alpha?” the mean wolf asked with a growl. One of the humans answered.

“We didn’t do anything. The tiger jumped out of the enclosure and chased us. Your alpha turned into a wolf and fought him...” the man paused.

“Then how comes he has no injuries yet is unconscious?” The mean wolf snarled at the humans and Purr felt satisfaction. Go ahead, fight each other, stupid wolves and stupid humans!

“The officer is actually right, Beta. Although I don’t think they were actually fighting, I think it was more of a small scuffle. But anyway, Alpha Marek is unconscious because Fabian accidentally shot him with a dart,” Lowell said.

“Is that true?” the mean wolf asked turning around to the young wolf in human form who just now run to them.

“Yes, Beta Robert. I was trying to shoot Patrick, to stop him from killing everyone, but he jumped out of the way and the dart hit Alpha Marek,” the young wolf explained.

“Shit, what a mess.” The Beta pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up straight at Purr and his eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “Is that the rifle on Patrick’s neck?”

“Yes, Beta,” Purr’s Master answered. Suddenly a huge smile bloomed on Lowell’s face and tears of joy run down his face. “Purr is cognizant again. I think me being taken away shocked him out of his feral state.”

“Well, why isn’t he changing back then?” the beta asked.

“I don’t think he knows how to. Remember, he has never been able to shift before.”

“Oh.” The beta wolf scowled but said nothing more. Instead he turned to the two humans. “Could you please put away your weapons, officers? They’re unnecessary right now and they agitate Patrick, who is new to shifting and not in full control of himself right now.”

“What if he attacks us, though?” one of the officers braved a question.

“You’re not going to attack the officers, are you Purr?” His Master crooned and before he realized what he was doing Purr shook his head, no. Sneaky Master. “See, he said he won’t attack you. Now can we please all calm down and at least try and reach a compromise?” After another moment of hesitation, the policemen put away their weapons and everybody visibly relaxed.

“Lovely,” the beta said. “Now why don’t we go back into the mansion and discuss things like civilized beings. Fabian, Trent, you can carry the alpha. He’ll be one cranky wolf when he wakes up.”

Captive or Captor #12

* * * *

Lowell distantly heard the Pack Leader call him by his real name, but he couldn’t care less. The sight before him had him entranced and yet he felt his heart squeeze painfully. There, in the big enclosure the Alpha had led him to, was a tiger. And it wasn’t just any old tiger. The animal was magnificent. All orange-golden fur with black stripes and powerful muscles hidden underneath. Lowell had no experience with wild animals, but something told him that the tiger was unusually large. When on all fours the tiger would easily reach up to Lowell’s neck. While he wasn’t a very tall man, he always thought tigers were more like, up to his belly or chest if they were really big. The animal was also very long. Lowell suspected, if it stood on his hind legs, it would tower over him with ease.

Without conscious thought Lowell took a step closer. The tiger’s head whipped around and huge golden eyes concentrated on Lowell. The animal’s lip rose in a silent warning. Still, Lowell couldn’t help himself as he stepped to the chain-fence, and clutched the cold steel in his hands. His heart squeezed harder and a small whimper escaped him. Because down deep he knew… He knew this wasn’t a wild animal. It was his lover in his true form.

“Purr…” Lowell whispered. “What happened to you?” He didn’t expect an answer and he didn’t get any. The tiger’s ear flicked forward but otherwise the animal ignored him. Lowell had a sudden feeling the animal’s calmness wasn’t natural. “What have you done to him?” Lowell demanded turning to the Alpha. The rise of the man’s brows was the only indication that he didn’t appreciate Lowell’s disrespectful tone.

“Lowell, is it?” the Alpha asked and Lowell snorted. He wasn’t going to give the man respect until the Alpha earned it.

“You know very well it is. That’s why you brought me here, isn’t it? You wanted me to see what happened to Purr.”

“Purr?” the man’s tone was questioning.

“Yes, Purr. It’s my pet name for Patrick. Now tell me what’s wrong with him? Why is he so… apathetic?”

The alpha sighed and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the tiger. Lowell could suddenly see the tiredness in the man. There were dark circles under the Alpha’s eyes and his skin looked sallow as if he wasn’t getting enough sleep. Lowell didn’t care though. This man was responsible for what happened to Purr… Well that might be not exactly true, but Lowell was too worried about his lover to be reasonable. He needed someone to blame and the Alpha was right there.

“You were supposed to protect him!” Lowell accused. “This is not protection!” he pointed at the tiger who barely even looked at them. The alpha sighed again, then spoke.

“He needs to be medicated. We put sedative in his food, that’s why he looks so sleepy.” Lowell opened his mouth to say something but the Alpha interrupted him by rising hi hand. “You need to understand we did it for his own good. Are you familiar with the process of going feral in shifters?” the Alpha asked. Lowell thought about it for a minute.

“It is when a shifter reduces to an animal state, isn’t it? Usually as a reaction to losing his or her mate…” Lowell paused, suddenly terrified. The alpha didn’t seem to notice it.

“Yes and no,” the man said. “Yes, it is a reaction to losing one’s mate and it is similar to reverting to animal state. But it is more than that. When feral, shifter loses most of his or her human awareness. They are still capable of some basic thoughts but not much. And they become dangerous. Consumed with rage and grief they would sometimes attack indiscriminately, killing innocents. If the worst happens and a shifter turns feral, he needs to be contained for their own as well as everyone else’s safety. If it’s impossible though, they’d often be killed.”

“Killed!?” Lowell exclaimed. “But that’s… that’s barbaric!”

“Yes, Mr. Hayes, it is. But you need to understand that there is no known cure for shifter ferality and not every pack has means to capture such shifter and keep them contained. Hell,” the man shook his head, “we had problem doing it, building the enclosure and capturing Patrick. And he needs to be kept sedated most of the time. Otherwise he’ll just throw himself against the fence until he hurts himself. He barely eats, barely sleeps… you get the idea.”

Lowell did. It sounded terrifying. His heart went to poor Purr, and he wanted to go to his tiger. He couldn’t though, not yet. He needed more information first.

“How did it happen? Why did Patrick turn feral? And how did he do it anyway? He has never been able to take on any of his forms fully. He’s been stuck in the in-between form ever since birth.” Lowell looked up at the alpha, whose face darkened.

“It was our fault, I admit. When Patrick had been brought to us, we were under the misconception that he had been kept captive and abused by your father or you. We didn’t understand your relationship, and with him calling you Master…”

“You assumed the worst, I get it.” Lowell was growing impatient. “Just FYI he calls me Master because he chose me. Before I saved him he had known only cruel, abusive masters. After I took him in and we grew close he decided to call me Master. It is his way of saying I am the Master of his heart. The one master he willingly submits to. But anyway, what happened?”

“It was actually my beta who pushed Patrick over the edge. As I said we assumed you were abusing him and that he had some kind of Stockholm syndrome or something because he kept asking about you and claiming you’d come for him. My beta was disgusted with what he thought was your treatment of Patrick and he blurted out that you were presumed dead. I think atop your separation and Patrick’s general lack of experience with the society that news pushed him over the edge. He simply snapped. That was when we understood our mistake. Shifter doesn’t go feral for just any reason. They only do it when they lost their mate.”

“So, we are mates.” Lowell said more to himself than the Pack Leader. “That explains a lot.” He went quiet for a while before lifting his eyes and looking the Alpha square in the eyes. “What’s your plan then? You wouldn’t have brought me here if you didn’t have one.”

“You’re partially right,” the man said. “The problem is, there have never been an instance of a shifter gone feral returning to their senses. But we have an advantage. You, Patrick’s mate, are not actually dead. He only thought so. I believe because of that we might have a chance of helping him revert back. I actually have someone, a scientist friend of mine, helping with it. She’s trying to come up with a cure, or a way to revert this process. Now, that we found you, we might finally have a chance!”

As Lowell looked at his lover’s enormous form curled on the grass of the enclosure, he really hoped the Alpha was right. Because if Purr was gone, so was Lowell’s reason to live.

A fuller update

 

Okay, so I promised to tell you what exactly am I up to. Well, I’m happy to tell you I finished the first book in my new, fairy-tale series. I’ll tell you more about this series in another post. For now, I’ve finished the story about The Prince and the Frog. I still need to do edits on it before it is ready to be sent to publisher. Meanwhile I’m already deep in Reality Series world as the characters are pressing me to tell their story.

So that’s what’s on agenda next for me. Reality series #4 Jack’s story. It’ll take some time to have it done I think, because there are many plot lines that need to be included. Jack’s romantic problems will be the least of the trouble the pack will be facing. There is the escaped fey who had been leading the human and paranormal trafficking ring – we haven’t heard the last of her, I assure you. And then there are all the other problems that surfaced in the short Halloween story (yeah the short story that proved not so short ) So there is that missing cuberow girl, another cuberow who’d joined the pack, a bunch of teenage cuberows who’d attacked Jason and his friends on Halloween… Yeah, a lot of cuberow shifters! Oh, and of course there is the owl-cat. I believe he’ll become a very important member of the pack. So anyway, a lot to figure out and so I foresee finishing this book will take some time.

But that’s not all that I have in mind. After I’m done with Jack’s story I’m finally going back to Bigwell! Ollie and his friends have been bugging me for some time to tell their story. Unfortunately their is a complicated one. I wish it was as easy as a simple matter of one wolf trying to take over the packs. Well, on the surface it is but then that’s just the surface. Well, at least I know there are two stories forming in my head. First – Tony, Oliver’s Selkie friend is going to get his happily ever after – after a ton of trouble of course. The next story isn’t so obvious. The characters haven’s been introduced yet and the only thing I’ll tell you is that one of them is a wolf who’ll be joining Henway pack with Tilda. He’s her best friend from Ashworth pack and decides to come with her once she’s forced to move.

So yeah, that’s these two series for now. After that I’ve got about three other fairy-tale stories and a bunch of other stuff circling in my head. It’s too early to decide what’s going to be first.

So yeah, that about sums up my plans for the earliest future. I’m still waiting for the first round of edits for “The Warrior’s Light” which is supposed to come out late June. Meanwhile there’s the boring “real life”. My night job (sounds funny. I’ve got a night-job in real-world and writing is my day-job ) some DIY projects for my cat. Figuring out my finances… and a ton of other stuff that isn’t half as exciting as writing.

But it is time for me to get ready for my working week. See you when I have enough time to write that post about my fairy-tale series!

Captive or Captor #11

As he got on his bike and started towards the house Marek felt a sliver of excitement building within him. Oh, he wasn’t stupid, he knew when someone was bullshitting him and the man he’s just spoken to was doing exactly that. But the man was also telling the truth as odd as it seemed. And he knew things about shifters that not many humans knew. Like the thing about smelling out lies, and how close a shifter had to be to do that. The longer they’ve spoken the more convinced Marek was that the man who claimed to be an online activist was indeed the missing Lowell Hayes. Marek could only hope he was right.

What had surprised him was the fact that the man didn’t lie about being an online advocate for shifter’s rights. Marek suspected that with the man’s father having the exact opposite viewpoint it might have been the reason why Lowell was living in the estate, away from his family. The politician wouldn’t want an unruly son undermining his authority.

Having reached the driveway to the Pack Leader’s house Marek parked his bike and turned around to wait for the man following him. The suspected Lowell wasn’t far behind. Soon, he too was parking his bike and getting off it. Marek wondered in passing how the man escaped the fire and where he’s been all this time. But it was not the time to ask. They’d have enough time for it later, if the man proved to really be who Marek thought he was.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name…” Marek addressed the man once he removed his helmet.

“It’s Logan. Logan Caldwell.”

“I see.” What was it about people who changed names trying to keep them as close to the original one as possible? Marek wasn’t sure where he remembered that little fact from but it further convinced him he was right when it came to the stranger’s identity. “So, Logan, please follow me and we’ll discuss this job I told you about.” The man nodded and Marek turned to lead him into the house. They passed several members of his pack on the way to Marek’s office and they all eyed the newcomer with distrust. Marek couldn’t really blame them. Some pack members had had some horrific experiences with humans who hated shifters.

They reached the office and Marek sat behind the desk gesturing for his guest to sit on the opposite side of it. Marek had to give the man credit, he looked pretty well composed for someone who’d just walked into a wolf’s den – metaphorically and literally. Not many humans would feel at ease when in a middle of shifters’ pack but Logan-Lowell did pull it off.

“As I said,” Marek started getting straight to the point, “the job I’ve got for you will be a difficult one.” He paused and leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk, the tips of his fingers touching. “Our pack sometimes accepts shifters who had been rescued from really bad situations. We’ve recently accepted a tiger-shifter who had been held captive in a basement for a long time.” Marek paused and tried to gauge the man’s reaction. There it was, the tiniest hitch in the man’s breath. If Marek wasn’t looking so closely he’d have missed it. Marek smiled inwardly and continued. “The problem is, even after being rescued the young man wasn’t acclimating to freedom very well. And then, through a mistake of our own, I admit, we made the situation worse.” Yep, the man’s hands clenched when he heard Marek’s admission. The Pack Leader was getting more and more convinced that he had the right person.

“Worse how?” the man asked when Marek didn’t say anything else for a while.

“I won’t lie to you.” Marek’s expression turned dark as he thought about poor Patrick’s state. “It is really bad. But I think it is best if you see it for yourself.” Marek stood up and indicated for Logan to follow him.

“But I don’t understand. What would my job be?” the man asked even as they passed the long corridor and reached the back door. Marek hesitated. They left the house and crossed through the garden to the enclosure that had been built for Patrick. Logan-Lowell followed after Marek obediently even though a frown marred his face. They stopped before the enclosure and as soon as the man saw the huge tiger inhabiting it a soft gasp escaped him.

“Your job, Logan Caldwell, will be to help Patrick revert from the feral state he’d in. Do you think you can do it, Logan? Or should I call you Lowell? Because you are Lowell Hayes, aren’t you?”

A quick update

Hi everyone.
I've neglected the blog except for the blog story, lately. It's time to make up for that. I plan a longer post during my week off - which starts tomorrow, but for now just quick update.
I got my newest cover yesterday. It's beautiful. Like always Harris Channing did a great job! You can almost see Ulr's mischievousness! I'm working on a (surprise surprise!) new series. I know I ought to stop with new ones all the time and concentrate on the ones I've already started, but what can I do... Muse a capricious mistress. :D Anyway, I'm working hard to finish my current WIP. Fortunatelly I've been feeling better lately and have more energy for writing as well as everything else.
I also have big plans for the upcoming week - transform my garden: My brother is supposed to make a DIY raised planter-bed which would allow me to repot all my veggies from small pots they're in. I ordered a grow-bag from amazon for my tomatoes and have a special grow-bag growhouse to assemble to protect the plants from neighbourhood cats. (one have already dug a hole in one of my flower-pots) Also there's a garden-set of a table with chairs and umbrella coming soon, I'll need to put it together as well.
Then, I got the leather scraps I ordered and my special little project of creating a steampunk belt-bag is calling to me. Also, I need to take my cat tot the vet, have him registered and get him a flea treatment. I need to go shopping. I need to call my friend. I need to clean the house. I need to...
Yeah, so a never-ending list of things to do is getting longer but hopefully I'll squeeze some time for writing in there somewhere :D
And for updating my blog.
Hopefully....
So wish me luck!

Captive or Captor #10

“So,” the stranger said sitting across from Lowell without waiting for invitation, “I hear you’re a journalist looking for information on my pack, is that right?”

Lowell wasn’t stupid. He knew when he was facing an alpha, and this man was definitely one. But the knowledge didn’t help. If he admitted to being a journalist, the alpha would run him out of town. If he denied it however, he’d need to explain what he was doing here. And if there was one thing Lowell was certain about, it was that he couldn’t tell the truth. Oh, he was from naive, he knew his father would be on the lookout for him. Also, the man would do anything to incriminate Lowell and get out of any charges. There was no way Lowell could give his real name to the man before him. Not knowing what else to do, Lowell decided to go with his gut feeling and lie his ass off.

“Actually, I’m not,” he said calmly. “Although if that’s what your people thought, then it explains why they weren’t very forthcoming.

“Not a journalist? Well, then I’m even more concerned. Why are you inquiring about my pack? We don’t take kindly to people prying into our business!” the man said with a low growl. Lowell had a quick random thought, wondering about the man’s accent, but he quickly dismissed it.

“The truth is,” he said, “I came here looking for a job. I thought maybe I could find something with the local pack.”

“It’s a bit unusual, isn’t it? A human looking for a job in a shifter pack?” the man asked suspiciously.

“While that might be normally true, my situation is rather complicated.” Lowell paused and thought for a minute about how to continue. The best lie was one that had a grain of truth in it. Shifter’s ability to literally sniff out lies aside, it was easier to remember your fibs, when they were as close to the truth as possible. Lowell knew, that a shifter could only smell lies, when they were really close to you, sniffing with their nose to your skin. The minute changes in a person’s scent could only be detected from such a close distance. Staying as close to the truth as possible though, was still in his best interest. So he dug back into his past reviving the online identity he’d created in his activist years. To his knowledge his father never knew about it. “I used to be a rather well known online activist for shifter’s rights,” Lowell said. “In recent years I haven’t been doing much of that due to my personal situation. I still managed to anger some pretty powerful people who are out to get me. I am in a bit of a pickle really. I can’t go to any o the places where they’d look for me. So I decided to hide somewhere the people looking for me would never think to check.” Lowell paused, letting the man consider what he said.

“Why hide in a shifter pack then. Wouldn’t they think that’s exactly where you’d hide?” The dark haired man asked.

“No, that’s just it. I am known as the very human shifters’ rights activist. That’s what gave me the edge over shifters fighting for the same cause.” That and him having been the son of a well known politician, Lowell thought. It was long time ago, though. In his online activities he had never revealed his true name. He was known as MerelyHumanVoice19. He knew there were still people in the community who remembered him and his efforts.

“And so you want to bring risk to my pack by hiding here?” The man still sounded suspicious. Lowell decided to ease up a bit. He sighed then said.

“While I don’t think you’d be in any danger, I can understand your concern. You were simply the first pack I encountered in my travel. I thought it couldn’t hurt to try.” Lowell finished and took a sip of his beer. The man watched him closely for a long time. Finally, he asked slowly.

“Would you be willing to let me smell you?”

“You mean you want to sniff out the truth?” Lowell laughed. “Sure, why not.” He shrugged even as his heart picked up. He never had anyone but Purr sniff him and he wasn’t sure he was going to like it. It seemed to intimate, to close to cheating on Purr, in Lowell’s opinion. But it might have also been his only chance of getting closer to the pack and discovering what happened to Purr.

The man got up and gestured for Lowell to do the same. Lowell did as asked and the man stepped closer to him. He was big, towering over Lowell’s slim frame. He grabbed Lowell’s chin and tilted his head to the side, before lowering his nose to the crook of Lowell’s neck.

“You seem nervous,” he murmured into Lowell’s skin.

“Yeah,” Lowell’s chuckle had a nervous edge to it. “I’m not used to having a shifter with big, sharp teeth so near my artery.”

“Fair enough,” the man stated, then asked “What is your online identity?”

“I’m known as MerelyHumanVoice19.” Lowell’s answer was firm.

“Why are you in hiding?”

“I’m running from some really powerful people, I don’t want them finding me.”

“And why did you came to my pack?” on this question Lowell hesitated.

“I...” he swallowed loudly then answered “I want to hide among shifters and your pack is first I came across.”

The man released him and stepped away, his expression betraying nothing. Lowell sighed with relief. Having the shifter at his neck was more uncomfortable than he thought. He could feel his skin beginning to itch and he brought his hand to the place the man sniffed in a protective gesture. It’s been necessary, but he never wanted any other shifter than Purr around his neck!

“Fine,” the man said. “I do have a job to offer, but I’ll warn you, it’s not easy.”

“That’s fine,” Lowell answered trying to contain his excitement, “I don’t mind. I can work hard!”

“Well, that’s good then, because this job will be difficult in more ways than one.” He then turned around and said over his shoulder. “Follow me, we’ll discuss this further in the Pack Leader’s house.”

Captive or Captor #9

Lowell had to admit his defeat. Going off like he did without a plan or even a clue on how to gather intel had been a bad idea. He’s been sitting in the bloody pub for hours, nursing his pint, not wanting to drink more as he rode his bike. He had tried asking some discreet questions, had tried to befriend locals. It didn’t work. Everyone in the pub was tight-lipped when it came to the local pack. Lowell reckoned it was to be expected. The pack must have not want to advertise their sanctuary status. Add to that the prejudice that could still be found against shifters and the lack of forthcoming was understandable. It didn’t mean Lowell was going to back off. No, he decided drinking the last of his beer. He was going to withdraw and regroup, come up with a better plan. With the decision made he went to stand up and leave. 

The front door to the pub opened and a man strode in. From the first moment he saw him, Lowell knew he was looking at a shifter. The man simply had that aura of danger around him, the barely restrained wildness. Lowell had learnt from his experience with Purr that it was something inherently natural for shifters. The man nodded to a few patrons and Lowell noticed some glances exchanged that held more meaning than a simple greeting. So there were more shifters in the pub, go figure. The newcomer had to be someone of position in the pack since the other very obviously deferred to him. Lowell was fascinated. Purr had been alone for a long time when Lowell had found him. He had no clue about working of a pack, and so Lowell was mostly ignorant too. He did remember some things from his time in the Shifter Equality movements, but they were basics. Shifter packs were structured mostly like some traditional human tribes from times of old. There was a clear chain of command with Alpha – the pack’s Chief, and his second Beta, or Betas. There was sometimes also a Council of Elders, but that was the extent of Lowell’s knowledge. 

The man’s gaze zeroed in on Lowell and he started towards him with a purposeful gate. Lowell felt a sliver of unease creep up his spine. The man was huge, well over six feet tall and with wide shoulders. He was very well muscled and seemed as if he could break Lowell in two without even breaking a sweat. Lowell thought that Purr might look similar given a year or two. Lowell’s darling tiger was already tall and muscular but he clearly haven’t reached his full potential. Being locked in a basement without nearly enough sunshine, exercise and proper nourishment was partially to blame for that, the other part was Purr’s young age. 

The man came closer and Lowell could see his dark-brown, nearly black hair and hazel-coloured eyes. Lowell had also a great view of the man’s scowl. He swallowed loudly and waited for the man to approach him. It was obvious that the conversation they were about to have wasn’t going to be pleasant

Captive or Captor #8

* * * * *

It took Lowell nearly three weeks to get out of the hospital and get to the village in which shifter sanctuary was situated. Throughout it all Harry, the man who helped him conceal his true identity was very helpful. Lowell thought he could never repay the man for his kindness.

After being released from hospital, with much help from Harry, they went to the old gardener’s house. Lowell was lost. He had no money, no way to access his accounts, nowhere to stay. Hell, he didn’t even have any clothes! Harry was a life saviour. He clothed Lowell and took him in to his small apartment. Apparently the old man lived alone, having been divorced for decades and his children all grown up and having families of their own. With the gruff old man’s help Lowell managed to access his PayPal account and withdraw some of his savings by sending them to Harry’s bank account. The old gardener then took it out of his account and gave to Lowell, who now had a nice sum in cash.

Harry was also helpful in locating the village where Purr had been placed. With his help Lowell managed to buy an used motorbike and embark on a journey to find his lover. Lowell was forever grateful to whatever force was looking after him, that the investigation which resulted in Purr’s rescue had been kept quiet by the police. It made it that much easier to assume his new identity.

Lowell finally reached the small village where the sanctuary for abused shifters was supposed to be located. He hoped that the information they managed to gather was right. It wasn’t like the shifter pack advertised themselves. Protecting victims of abuse meant keeping their location quiet and Lowell and Harry had to go to a lot of effort to find out where Purr was being kept.

Lowell got of his bike, removed his helmet and looked around. He was in a parking lot of a pub in a middle of small village. Running a hand through his hair to give them some semblance of control Lowell took a deep breath. He didn’t really think it through, how he was going to find his lover and what would happen next. The only thing he knew was that he needed Purr, he needed to be close to his tiger. That need drove him here, but it also made him rush without a real plan.

Lowell sighed, shook his head and decided to go in for a pint. He hoped he’d be able to find out more about the local pack and its leader. Hopefully the man would be reasonable and Lowell would be able to convince him that he meant Purr no harm. With that in mind Lowell pushed the heavy wooden door and went into the pub.

* * * * *

“Alpha, can I have a moment?” Robert’s voice interrupted Marek’s concentration on the pack financials.

“Yes, what is it?” Marek looked up pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache forming. Dealing with financial matters was the least favourite of his Alpha obligations. Robert walked in closing the door behind him. Marek thought his friend and beta looked as haggard and tired as he felt. After their mistake with Patrick they both blamed themselves. It didn’t help that the tiger shifter was still in his animal form and as feral as ever. He had to be sedated and then moved to a hastily built enclosure on pack grounds. Then they had to give him small doses of sedatives with his meals so that he didn’t hurt himself trying to escape.

“I wondered if you had any news from Anna?” Robert asked, and Marek wasn’t surprised that they had the same thing on their minds. Robert was doing all he could to find Lowell Hayes, their only chance at restoring Patrick’s sanity. Unfortunately, he had no luck in his search. It seemed that the politician’s son disappeared into thin air. Now their only hope was Anna. Marek knew if anyone could find a cure for Patrick it was his genius friend. Still, she was yet to find something useful. Marek knew, logically that medical research took time but he felt they didn’t have much time to spare. With every day the trapped tiger grew more and more restless, and the last few days he even refused to eat some of his meals. Marek was growing more concerned with every passing day.

“Unfortunately, no. And the last time I called her, she told me in no uncertain terms that I was to stop badgering her. She had to work if she was to help Patrick and if I kept calling her, she couldn’t do that.”

“I see.” Was Robert’s only answer.

“And how is your search going? Any leads?” Marek asked even though he knew, if his friend found something he’d have told him already. He wasn’t surprised when the Beta shook his head.

“Nothing. It seems that the fire damage was more extensive than we thought. It spread throughout all of the living wing of that mansion and it took fire brigade hours to put it down. Apparently they are still sorting through the mess looking for Hayes’s body.” That was more or less what Marek expected, still he grimaced, displeased.

“Did you try questioning the staff? Is it possible that the kid wasn’t there when the fire broke out? That he run away having seen the assault team, fearing consequences?” Marek knew he was grasping at straws but one had to have hope right? After all, hope dies last. But Marek knew, in his country there was another proverb about hope and he felt it might be more accurate in this situation: Hope is the mother of fools.

“Do you really think that, if what we guessed is true and Lowell was Patrick’s fated mate, that the kid would run away instead of coming after the tiger? I mean, I don’t know much about the bond and how it affects a human in a mating, but surely he would feel things similar to a shifter, right? He wouldn’t be able to just leave?” Marek sighed at Robert’s questions. The mother of fools indeed.

“I know, but I just had to ask. We need to check every possible lead, you know? There isn’t much else we can do for Patrick,” Marek explained. Robert’s sigh mirrored Marek’s own and the man looked away.

“I know, Marek. I thought the same thing. I questioned everyone who was at the scene when the fire broke out. They all said the same thing. They hadn’t seen Lowell since he closed himself in his room to write. He would spend hours upon hours in his room and everyone knew not to disturb him. Someone from the staff tried pounding on his door when the assault team arrived, but the man wouldn’t answer, and then that person got ushered away. Unfortunately, nobody on the team listened to them when they claimed Lowell was still inside.”

“Well, it’s not like they knew there was about to be fire. The only danger they could suspect was of the man escaping and he wouldn’t be able to do that closed in his room like that.” Marek had to give the men on the assault team justice. It hadn’t been the first operation they led, and Patrick the first abused shifter they rescued.

“You’re right of course,” his beta said. “But the point is, there isn’t much of a chance that Hayes survived. We need to acknowledge that and prepare for the worst.” Marek knew his friend wasn’t any happier about it than he was. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock on his office door interrupted him.

“Come in,” he said and frowned as Fabian walked into the room uncertainly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Alpha, but there is a stranger in town asking all sorts of questions about the pack. Muriel called, she thought you should be aware of it.”

“She was right. The last thing we need is some stupid reporter trying to pry into our business. We don’t need publicity, we need to be left alone to do our job!” Marek said seething. It wasn’t the first time someone from the press tried sniffing around. The pack members and human friends in the village knew not to tell them anything.

“What do you want us to do about him, Alpha?” Fabian asked, nodding in agreement.

“Nothing, I’ll deal with him myself.” It would do him good, too. Maybe getting into a fight with some sensation hungry reporter would help relieve some of the tension and get rid of upcoming headache. “Where is he?” Marek asked striding out of the room and passing Fabian.

“Still in the pub, from what Muriel said. He’s been nursing his pint of lager for the last hour asking all kinds of questions.”

“Not very good at his job then,” Marek stated and Fabian snorted in response.

“Clearly!”

“Very well,” Marek said as he left the house, clapping Fabian’s shoulder. “Thanks for telling me. You don’t need to follow me. I’ll take my bike.” Not waiting for response Marek went in direction of the garage. He felt anticipation of a fight. It was quite some time since he got into a nice old-fashioned alteration. Ever since he became Alpha nobody was willing to go against him in any way. It was pretty sad that even a prospect of having words with a reporter was getting his blood pumping. Pretty sad indeed.

Captive or Captor #7

Marek became suddenly aware of silence behind him and he turned to look at Patrick. Cold shivers of dread run along his spine as he saw Patrick’s feral gaze fixed on Robert.
“My Master is not dead.” The words were quiet, barely more than a whisper yet they were still more a growl than real words. Marek suddenly remembered where he’d seen such a stare. It was in a documentary about tigers. That was how a tiger looked just before pouncing on his prey. And Marek had a really bad feeling Robert was about to become prey. Marek’s friend had to have no self preservation whatsoever because he continued spouting off the same stupid shit.
“Sure he is. There was a fire and police thinks he burned in it. Got what he deserved in my opinion.” Marek watched it as if in slow motion. He turned to Patrick, opened his mouth to try to calm the situation, reason with the shifter, but it was to late. There was no reasoning with the beast that suddenly took over.
“Master!” The howl turned into a growl, then a roar as Patrick’s body contorted and twisted taking on a full tiger form for the first time. The roar was full of roar and anguish and Marek had a sudden thought that they made a huge mistake. Patrick became a tiger in a matter of seconds, the fastest shift Marek had ever seen, and he stood up, his tail swishing behind him. Marek caught a glimpse of feral animal eyes and was suddenly certain that they indeed horribly misjudged the situation. Marek used his superior speed to run out the room, knocking his friend aside and locking the door behind him. He was just milliseconds faster than a huge body of tiger who hit the door and started clawing at the piece of wood separating them.
“What the fuck?!” Robert shouted scrambling up from the floor. “What crawled up the crazy fucker’s ass?” Robert asked dusting off his jeans and scowling at the door. Marek tried very hard to keep onto his patience.
“Stop talking and grab that dresser from over there.” He tipped his head to the side indicating the piece of furniture decorating the hallway. Robert kept scowling but obeyed and in a matter of seconds had the dresser pushed against the door letting Marek step back. The tiger kept at the door for a few more minutes, then sounds of a room being demolished could be heard. Marek relaxed marginally and stepped back from where he kept the dresser pushed against the wooden door. Without a word he turned and pulled his mobile from his pocket. He went into his contact list and scrolled through it as he marched down the hall, Robert hot on his heals.
“Seriously, Marek, what’s with the kid and huge temper tantrum?” the oblivious man asked. Marek gritted his teeth but held back his anger. It wasn’t Robert’s fault. Well, at least not all of it. They misread the situation and Patrick was now paying for it. If only they tried to talk to him a bit harder. Pressed the kid for information earlier. But it was of no use now. They had to deal with the situation they had on hand now, and they had to do it ASAP.
“It’s not a temper tantrum, Robert. The kid just turned for the first time and it hadn’t gone well. First shift is never easy on anyone, but this is not all. I suspect Patrick has just gone feral.” Marek said still scrolling through his contacts. Where was the stupid number when he needed it?
“Gone feral?” Robert’s voice was dubious. “But it only happens to a shifter who had lost his bonded fated mate, the kid didn’t... oh!” Yeah, it seemed that lightbulb finally went off in the man’s head.
“Yeah, oh! He was constantly asking about this master. Defending him. Just now, he was angry that we took him and he wasn’t there to protect the guy from his father.” Marek gritted through his teeth as he finally found the right number and dialled it.
“You think...” Robert didn’t finish but he didn’t have to. In the light of circumstances the situation seemed pretty obvious now.
“That this Lowell Hayes is Patrick’s fate mate, that they bonded and the whole keeping-Patrick-prisoner was more to keep the kid safe from Hayes’s father than anything else? Yeah, that’s what I think!” Marek’s voice was full of anger at their incompetence. Robert went to speak again, probably to ask what they were going to do, but Marek waved him off as someone finally picked up the damn phone.
“Anna?” he asked and hearing confirmation he switched to his native tongue. “I need your help. We’ve got a serious situation with a young shifter who’s gone feral. Yeah, just now,” he answered her question then continued “But here’s the thing. He’s the one who was stuck mid-shift, the one we talked about? Yeah,” he answered another question, then, “No, we don’t know for sure his mate is dead. He’s presumed to be dead but no body has been found. No, I don’t fucking know how to do that!” Marek noticed they reached the front living room and some of the people gathered there were looking pretty uneasy. “Hold on!” He said to Anna then addressed the gathered shifters. “We’ve got a feral shifter on first floor. Two of you go guard the door, two more go outside and stand under the window. You know which one.” He snapped and people went to obey his command. They were enforcers of his pride-pack and knew their duties even if they didn’t need to do them often.
“Sir?” a hesitant voice spoke from the back of the room. Marek looked and saw Fabian, young enforcer who joined the pride after his parents disowned him for being gay. Fabian looked wary and Marek made a real effort to seem calmer. He didn’t blame Fabian for his reluctance. It was a well known fact that Marek reverted to cursing in his native tongue when the situation was really dire or if he was truly enraged. Or if he watched matches of Polish football team on the telly. That was his secret weakness.
“What is it Fabian?” He asked in the calmest, most encouraging voice he could manage.
“Is it... Is it Patrick, Sir? Is he feral?” the young man asked and swallowed. Marek noticed a real concern in the young man’s voice.
“Yes, unfortunately. It seems that we haven’t been given all the information and the man Patrick called his Master was indeed his fated mate.”
Fabian frowned before asking another question.
“But then why wouldn’t he call him that? Why would he call the man his Master?”
“Who knows?” Marek sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It is possible, if Patrick hadn’t been brought up among shifters, that he didn’t know this Lowell was his mate, didn’t know what a mate is. But if he felt the connection he needed to give it a label and chose one that was familiar to him.” Marek shrugged. “We might never know. Right now it is important that we try and help him. Try and bring him back from the feral state he’s in.”
“Is that even possible?” another one f the enforcers, guards, whatever you wanted to call them, asked.
“I’m not sure. But I’m on the phone with a specialist now, and she might know more. She’s been studying the phenomenon of shifters ferality for years now. If anyone can help Patrick it’s Anna. Now, I want two of you to go grab dart guns and go join the two groups guarding Patrick’s room.” He finished and went back to his call. “Yes Anna. Yes, I’m sorry, had to speak to my guards. No...” as he went to his office and continued the conversation he hoped that Anna could help Patrick. It would be too cruel that the poor shifter who suffered so much went feral without experiencing some real life. Marek finished his phone call with Anna, reassured that she’ll come as soon as possible and he went to call his contacts on the police. As he dialled the familiar number, he hoped against hope that Lowell Hayes was alive and could be found quickly. That was the only person who could get to Patrick in his feral state.

Captive or Captor #6

 

* * * *

“How is Patrick?” Marek Glinski asked his beta and best friend Robert. The man shook his head in exasperation.

“No change there,” Robert answered running a hand through his hair. Marek certainly understood where the man was coming from. The whole situation was beyond frustrating.

After Marek defeated the previous alpha and became the leader of his pride-slash-pack, he decided to set it up as a sanctuary for shifters in need. Even though it was the twenty first century there was still so much prejudice and abuse among shifters and humans alike. There were kids being kicked out of their packs, prides, or whatever a certain group of shifters chose to call themselves. Some were being persecuted for their sexual orientation, some for the colour of their skin, others still for simply being different and not fitting in. Marek knew it all too well. He left his country in the hopes that England was going to be more accepting of whom he chose to love. To a point it was true. People were definitely much more open-minded here than they have been in Poland. Still you could find bigots and assholes everywhere and he had the bad luck to come to live in one’s territory. The previous alpha gave him permission to join the pack easily enough. Marek had not broadcasted his sexual preferences. He thought it was only his business whom he fucked. The previous alpha disagreed. Once he learned Marek was gay the Alpha decided to throw him out of the pack, not even giving him time to gather his belongings or finding a new place to live. Easy to say Marek disagreed with that decision. It ended in a challenge for leadership which Marek won.

That happened four years ago, and ever since he created a sanctuary for shifters escaping bad situations. He cooperated with police and some charities and over the years he’s dealt with numerous abused shifters. Patrick Peters’ situation was possibly the worst of them all.

Patrick had been rescued from being kept slave in a mansion of a very prominent politician lobbying for reducing shifter rights. From what Marek’s been told the police strike force found Patrick in a locked basement. The poor shifter had been so badly abused that he fought his rescuers when they came to take him away. They had to sedate him in order to get him out of that basement. Marek grimaced thinking about the poor kid and the life he led. It couldn’t have been easy even before he had been taken by that twisted fuck of a politician. The kid had been born with a very rare genetic condition that prevented him from shifting fully into either of his forms. To put it in easy terms Patrick was struck mid-shift. It was so rare in generally healthy shifters, that Marek haven’t even heard about it before.

Marek sighed as he walked to Patrick’s room. He needed to try and talk some sense into the kid. It seemed that Patrick had been brainwashed by the man he called Master. Marek had no idea what exactly had happened to the kid because Patrick wasn’t really talking to them. He refused after their initial conversation. Marek had no idea what had gone wrong but after that first day the kid avoided any kind of interaction with anyone in the alpha house where he was housed. Marek shook of his thoughts as he reached the kid’s bedroom door and knocked. Not waiting for invitation – he knew it wasn’t coming – he entered.

Patrick sat in a chair near the window and looked out of it – a pose he could be found in whenever someone visited. He didn’t turn when he heard Marek come in. Marek held back a sigh and spoke.

“Hello, Patrick, how are you today?” He asked in his heavily accented voice. He knew his accent must have sounded rough to Patrick because the kid couldn’t stop a little frown. Marek smiled at this little victory.

“Robert told me you never left your room, Patrick. Why is that? You know you need to learn and adjust to the outside world. You can’t spend your entire life in this room. Don’t you want to live a full life? Be a true member of this pride?” Surprisingly that got a reaction from the young shifter. Marek truly did not expect that. Patrick turned on his chair and glared at Marek.

“I will not be a member of your pride! My Master will come for me, you’ll see! And then we’ll leave and make a life for ourselves somewhere. We will have a pride of our own, just the two of us!” Patrick’s voice was full of conviction and Marek felt his heart squeeze a little. What had they done to the boy that he wanted to be with this Master so badly? It was the worst case of Stockholm syndrome one could imagine.

“Now, Patrick, you know that is not true. What this Master did to you, keeping you prisoner like that, it was wrong. He had no right keeping you in that basement. We explained it to you.” Marek tried for a calm tone. Obviously it had no effect as the young man’s feline features contorted in anger.

“Don’t you dare insult my Master!” Patrick shouted and jumped to his feet reminding Marek just how tall and muscular he was. It was easy to forget and treat him more like an abused kid when he was seating looking out the window all day. Right now there was no denying that this shifter was a grown man. A big, strong, grown man with deadly claws extending from his fingers. “You know nothing about my Master! He did all he could to protect me, but you people had to come and take me from him, you had no right! Now he has no one to protect him from his bastard father! I should be there with him!” Now we’re getting somewhere!

“What do you mean protect him from his father? Just who is the man you call your master?” Marek asked hoping Patrick would answer. And he wasn’t disappointed.

“My Master is Lowell Hayes, son of the politician Sir Iain Hayes.” Patrick said with proud in his voice and Marek couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Shit!” This was so not good. Marek knew the politician tried to wiggle out of the charges he was facing by claiming that whatever happened in that mansion had been the fault of his son, Lowell. Sir Iain claimed that he sent his son to live there in solitude because the man was unbalanced. Now it seemed like he might have been telling truth. Only a sick fucker would keep a shifter slave in his basement. The problem was, Lowell was nowhere to be found and with the fire damage to the house there was a suspicion he might be dead, killed in the fire. Marek’s thoughts were racing but it seemed Patrick picked up on his unease.

“What is it?” The younger shifter growled and his eyes shone dangerously. It was obvious his more feral nature was coming to the fore. “You know something about my Master! Tell me!” The rumble of a growl grew deeper, more dangerous. Even being a strong alpha type Marek couldn’t hold back his apprehension.

“I told you Patrick, this man is not your Master, he had no right...” Marek started straining for this calming tone but failed as a loud roar of a sound escaped Patrick.

“Tell me!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Marek heard from the door and turned to see Robert. His best friend was a good beta and a good man but patience wasn’t his forte. Marek tried to prevent the train wreck he could see happening, tried to stop the man from talking but he was to late.

“The fucker who held you is dead.” Robert snapped from the doorway his face set in a scowl. “Good riddance if you ask me! That was one sick fucker to keep you in his basement like that! World will be a better place without him!” Robert finished his diatribe and Marek fought a groan. Yep, the man did it. To be honest he only repeated aloud what Marek was thinking, but still, Marek knew not to just blurt out anything that was on his mind. Especially when dealing with an abused shifter in a delicate situation like now. That’s why he was the alpha not Robert.

Captive or Captor #5

Consciousness was slow in coming. Lowell swam in a thick dark fog, swirls of colour surrounding him from time to time. He floated closer, then further from the surface. There were moments, when he realised there was something important he was forgetting. He wasn’t supposed to be floating in this dark place, he needed to be somewhere else. But these moments came and went, thoughts fading then becoming clearer. Slowly, steadily, the fog started to clear. First it became thinner, the blackness not so complete. Lowell became aware that he wasn’t an incorporeal ghost but a man and he was lying on his back. With that came another realisation. He hurt. His chest, shoulder, head, all of it hurt. Well, of course he hurt, he remembered, he has been shot! But then there came another thought. Purr!

Lowell struggled to sit up as he opened his eyes. It looked that he was in a hospital room. Lowell quickly scanned his surroundings trying to find any clue as to what happened to him. As might be expected there was nothing. It was a hospital room. Not a private hospital – he noticed – like the one he went to as a child to have his tonsils removed. This was most definitely a public hospital. And it made Lowell think. No matter his relationship with his father, Lowell knew sir Iain would never let one of his children stay in a public hospital. It could mean the press could get to them, or that someone could accuse him of not caring or them enough. Appearances were everything for Lowell’s father. Before he could marvel about this strange situation the door to his room opened and a nurse came in. She was an older lady, with dark skin and laughing chocolate brown eyes. She smiled at him when she saw he was awake.

“Well look who finally decided to wake up.” She said and came closer. “How are you feeling, love? You’ve been unconscious for quite some time now.”

“Um, I’m fine thank you.” Lowell answered politely. He wasn’t fine obviously. His head felt as if someone was trying to drive nails from the back of his scull straight through to his eye sockets, his shoulder burned with a dull ache and when he breathed he felt as if he was inhaling shards of glass.

“I seriously doubt that, but still, you were rather lucky. I have no idea what you thought you were doing rushing into a dangerous zone like that.” The nurse shook her head as she came closer to him to take his vitals.

“A dangerous zone?” Lowell asked feigning ignorance. He knew what she meant of course but he wanted to learn more about what happened.

“Yes, there was a raid on this politician’s mansion where you worked. They somehow discovered he was keeping a shifter enslaved there. The strike force wen in to secure and retrieve the poor boy. Everyone was evacuated from the house so they could search it, but somehow a fire broke out somewhere in the main living wing. When you ran in you ran straight for that area of the house they said. They tried to stop you and when you didn’t react they shot you with a rubber bullet. Still you wouldn’t answer and went straight for the fire. You’re lucky one of the strike team got to you in time before you died of smoke inhalation!” She scolded him. Lowell’s head swirled with all the new information. The main thing that run through his brain over and over again was: It wasn’t my father. They went to save Purr, not hurt him! Suddenly he realised something. The fire! Purr could have been hurt in it!

“Did...” he started then had to clear his throat. It hurt to speak! “Did they save him? The shifter?” The woman’s expression softened and she smiled.

“Yes, they did. It wasn’t easy from what I heard. The kid’s been abused badly and fought the people who came for him. They had to sedate him to take him away. But I heard they took him to a pack that specialises in helping rescued shifters. It seems that some bastards still think it’s okay to abuse shifters just because they have a different biology than humans!” She was clearly disgusted with the idea. So was Lowell but he said nothing. He thought about Purr. His tiger must have been terrified when these people came for him. He had no contact with any other people ever since Lowell rescued him. And when they came in all guns blazing the tiger must have thought they were Lowell’s father’s people. That’s what Lowell thought and that’s what they’ve feared for a long time. But the most important part was, that Purr was safe.

Lowell became aware that the nurse was talking to him. He was getting tired again and he felt his eyes close of their own volition.

“Hey, no sleeping yet.” The nurse scolded him gently and Lowell forced his eyes open. “Can you tell me your name, love? The best we could get about your identity was the head gardener’s statement that you were a new employee whom they just hired, but he couldn’t recall your name or address, nothing really. We couldn’t even notify your family, they must be worried, you were out for a couple of days now.”

“No family.” Lowell mumbled fighting sleep. “I’m Lo-Logan.” He corrected himself at the last moment. He did remember the kid they hired a few days before. He didn’t show up for work so they fired him again. Lowell was sure Harry; the main gardener knew it. But Harry was a shrewd old man who noticed more than he let on. He knew how much Lowell hated living in the mansion and how he wished to start a new life. Lowell needed to thank the man for his lie. “Logan Caldwell.” He finished, giving a false name and he couldn’t fight the sleep any longer. He let himself be pulled into a dark, dreamless void again, satisfied that Purr was safe and waiting for him somewhere. Just wait for me Purr! I’ll find you, no matter what!