Free Wolf's Bane by D. H. Cameron Page A

 I do not profess to be better than them but I do say that we are at least honest about our true selves.  While they deny they are animals, we embrace the animals within.  I saw that hare you caught last evening, or what was left of it.  You kill because it is in your nature and you do not shrink from that, do you, Cassie?” Violet asked.
    “No, I do not,” I said.  I was new to this life, to becoming a wolf, but I was fiercely proud of what I was.
    “No, you embrace it, relish it, you look forward to being the wolf, to killing and the taste of death.  We are like humans in that we are all animals but we are better because we do not seek to pretend otherwise.  I believe our kind was created for a purpose.  There is a destiny we are meant to fulfill, child,” the severe woman explained, her voice taking on a more dramatic tone.
    “And what is that, Violet?” I asked, my curiosity piqued as well as my apprehensions.
    “We are stronger than them.  Not in numbers, obviously.  However, our kind is stronger.  I and those that live here at Wolfsbane hold a common belief.  We believe that we are the dominant species and that we will one day take our place as such.  We believe that one, the Wolf Mother, will come to us and give us that chance.  You are that chance for us, Cassie.  You hold the key to our destiny within you.  You are precious to us and I will not allow you to leave us,” Lady Violet told me.  I’d heard it before but not like this.  Not in this context.  I suppose I suspected it all along, that Violet wouldn’t take no for an answer.  Still, I had questions.
    “What can I do?  I’m just one woman. How can I save an entire race of beings?” I asked.
    “You are the seed.  Your children will be able to produce both male and female shifters with human mates.  So will their children and so on.  You and I will likely not live to see that, however,” Violet said.  To that point, what she told me seemed reasonable enough.  Overwhelming and somewhat unbelievable but considering I could turn into a wolf at will, I couldn’t dispute her tale.  I’d become used to the unbelievable.
    “Then you needn’t be concerned, Violet.  Yeager and I will bear children.  We are mates,” I told her.  Violet suddenly wore that disarming smile again.
    “Child, I know you will but I can’t leave that up to chance,” Violet replied.
    “So, you want us to come to live here, under your protection?” I asked.  The manipulation seemed over the top if that was her only goal.  Why not just tell us the truth?  Like I smelled that snowshoe hare the night before, here I smelled a rat.
    “That’s not what I meant.  I am not a patient woman, as you might have guessed, child.  I will see our kind take our rightful place in the hierarchy of this world.  I will see our kind rule the humans in my lifetime,” she explained.  I recoiled a bit at that.  Rule them?  What did that mean?  But even so, the numbers and logistics were not in her favor.  We were few, outnumbered a million to one.
    “How is that even possible?  I’m not even pregnant and even if I were, it would take many generations to accomplish what you seek,” I told her, naively.  I knew there was more but I couldn’t see it.
    “I am not a patient woman, Cassie.  Some must be sacrificed to serve the greater good.  Philip is a shifter but he is also scientist of sorts.  You’re correct.  Breeding you in the conventional way would take far longer than I could tolerate,” she told me, her words taking a moment to sink in.  When they did, I took a step backwards but Violet seemed unconcerned.  She simply smiled at me as I realized what she intended.  I had to get away.  I had to get to Yeager.  I began to shift but nothing happened.  Then half a dozen wolves appeared and surrounded me, teeth bared and fur bristling.
    “I’ve taken care of that possibility, child.  You won’t be changing when