“I’m going to ask you one more time.”

Fox startled out of his stupor. He had been half-dozing again, remembering a dark time, similar to this one, maybe worse, maybe the same, depending on how this all went down. He refrained from looking directly at the small group in the room with him. He glanced at their feet, the only sign of acknowledgment he’d give them.

All of them were Alphas. Two women and two men. He was having a hard enough time with all of them being in the same room and all of their attention on him, he could hardly look at them, let alone speak to them.

“Who are you?” one of the male Alphas asked. He had asked it five times already, over the course of the evening, or the day, or the night. There were no windows down here, in this dark cement hole. He had no idea what time it was, or how much time had passed. He just knew that he was hungry, and thirsty. The only light right now came from a single lantern they had set on the floor.

Fox remained silent, fear and exhaustion keeping his mouth shut. He could hardly muster a strained mumble, or even a hum.

The Alphas waited for a moment, and once it became apparent that Fox wasn’t going to answer, the male Alpha threw his hands up and turned to the staircase leading up out of the hole. “I’m over this. He can stay and rot down here for all I care.”

The remark didn’t sting Fox; he had heard worse and had been expecting that kind of reaction anyway. The other male Alpha sighed heavily and followed after the first Alpha. After a moment, one of the women left, too. Only one Alpha remained.

She stood there for a long while, quiet, probably thinking, staring at Fox where he sat on the floor of his cell, knees tucked up and arms wrapped loosely around his shins, his forehead resting against his knees.

Eventually, the Alpha crouched down, resting on the balls of her feet, elbows propped on her thighs. “If you answer my questions, I’ll let you pick between three choices of something fresh for your dinner tonight.” Ah, so it was evening, or at least late afternoon. Fox felt a small rush of relief at knowing what it might look like outside. “And if you still refuse to talk, then all you will get is leftover scraps from someone else. Do we have a deal?”

It wasn’t much of a deal, rather than coercion. Fox was undeniably hungry, though, and he didn’t want half-eaten scraps. Something warm and filling sounded a thousand times better.

It took some inner encouragement and some strength to muster up enough of his voice to speak. But he managed. “With… water… too?”

He couldn’t see it, but he could feel her smiling in triumph. “Yes,” she said. “With water, too.”

“Fox,” he told her.

“What?” she asked, predictably confused. Fox licked his lips and tried to clear his throat.

“My name… It’s Fox,” he whispered.

“Oh,” the woman replied. “That’s an interesting name. Don’t think I’ve heard of a werewolf named Fox.”

Fox wanted to say that he named himself, but he didn’t have the energy for unnecessary chit chat. 

“So, Fox. What made you want to trespass in our territory?” she asked. Fox thought it was a funny way of wording that question. What made him want to? It had been an accident. Their territory was so huge they needed four Alphas to run everything smoothly. He thought he’d been traversing through yet another town on his hitchhiking journey. He was a passenger in a car of a kind old man willing to help someone out, and the moment Fox felt the shift of a strong territory line passing underneath him, he immediately demanded to stop the car and for the old man to let him out. The man obliged, although confused, and Fox attempted to run right back the way they had come, but it was already too late. A pack wolf spotted him, pointed him out, made a big commotion about seeing Fox in the territory, and soon he was being tackled to the ground and pinned there. A group of Betas had tied his wrists and ankles and gagged his mouth, and then he was dragged to this small little hole in the ground, locked behind bars. Not long later, the Alphas showed up for interrogation.

It was all a big misunderstanding. Fox wished he could make them see that, but he knew they wouldn’t. Every pack he’d encountered had proved that much to him. Every werewolf in the world either hated or feared lone wolves. They were unnatural, unpredictable, and often carried dangerous baggage.

“Didn’t want to… I was hitchhiking. The man driving drove into your town, and I tried-” Fox’s voice caught and he had to cough. “Tried to run back out.”

“Sure,” the woman replied. “A likely story. You wandered in by accident. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard that? Every lone wolf has wanted something from us. How am I supposed to believe you’re any different?”

Fox should’ve known that she wouldn’t believe him. Nobody ever believed him when he tried to make his case. He sighed in such a way that both his gut and shoulders sagged immensely, a full body shift, a complete internal decision to give up.

The Alpha went quiet again. Thinking, again. “Was it the food?” she asked eventually. Fox wondered what their food situation was like. For such a big pack they surely had to have a solid system in place, an abundance of sorts, ensuring that no one was left wanting. Abundance meant plenty to go around, and plenty enough left over for someone to steal. It made sense. A logical reason to trespass. 

But Fox shook his head.

“Our Omegas, then? Looking to score a mate or a victim for trafficking?” she suggested next. Also a likely reason. Omegas were small and didn’t have a lot of upper body strength, so snatching them was easy, and a common problem among many packs in the werewolf community. A lot of werewolves, Fox had learned, had a really intense breeding kink.

Fox shook his head again. He wasn’t interested in Omegas.

“Attempting to settle a score with someone you met in the past?” she tried. Fox had met many people, most of whom had wronged him in some way. He had ached for revenge at some points, but realized it was futile and would only serve to hurt him more. He would rather forget he ever met any of them than try and go back to hurt them. 

He shook his head.

“Medical supplies? Survival supplies? You must be here for something,” she responded. Fox could hear in her voice that she was starting to get frustrated. He didn’t want to lose his chance to eat a good meal, so he steeled his nerves as best he could and turned his head to meet her eye.

She was buff like most female Alphas, all corded muscle and scarred skin from proving herself to adversaries. Her dark brown hair was cut in a short bob, jaw length and tucked behind her ears. Her eyes were also brown, and they were full of attentiveness and intelligence.

“I am trying to head West,” he croaked, “I was hitchhiking. I trespassed by accident.”

He tried his best to hold her gaze, which on its own was a heavy thing to compete with. She seemed like she was trying to dig the answer out of his brain by just looking at him. She still didn’t believe him, of course.

“You’ve heard of Lily of the Valley Pack, haven’t you?” she asked him. Fox had. They were known for being one of the highest functioning packs out there, one of the largest, and one of the packs with the best of the best. Good housing, good schooling, good food. Good fighters, good hunters, good Omegas. Strong-as-a-rock Alphas and loyal-to-the-end Betas. It was a common destination for many werewolf families who’d been dislodged from their own packs, even if the process to get accepted was lengthy and not guaranteed. Fox figured that if there was ever an apocalypse, this pack would keep living each day as if nothing had happened, because they were so self-sustainable.

He didn’t realize this was Lily of the Valley Pack. He didn’t know if he should consider himself lucky, or so unlucky he might as well send his last prayers to the stars and wait for them to bury him six feet under.

Lily of the Valley Pack never, ever released the wolves who trespassed in their land. The lone wolves were never integrated or accepted, they were thoroughly hated, humiliated, and imprisoned for the rest of their lives, serving the pack however the pack deemed fit.

Fox held in a low whine of defeat and turned his head away. He closed his eyes and rested his head against his knees again. “I’m not getting any warm food, am I?” he asked quietly.

“I didn’t say that. Technically you complied and answered my questions. I’m going to reconvene with the other Alphas to see if you’re really lying or not. But you’ll get your food and water,” she said. Surprise briefly elated Fox, a swell in his chest, a trickle of hope. 

“Spaghetti, steak, or chicken stew?” she asked. Fox’s mouth watered at just the thought of those foods. 

“S-st-steak, please. Thank you,” he stammered, his mind reeling for a moment. 

The Alpha stood, picking up the lantern, and without another word, she left. Fox heard the clang of a metal door slamming shut at the top of the stairs. Fox was left alone in darkness once more, but he didn’t feel its claustrophobic dread. He gratefully awaited his food.

The Alpha came back some indeterminable amount of time later. She carried the lantern and a tray with her, and Fox immediately sat up straight as the smell of cooked meat filled his nose. The Alpha paused in front of his cell door, and jerked her chin up in a “move” motion. “Scoot back. To the wall.”

Fox did as she said, backing up and crouching by the far wall, as far from her as he could get. The Alpha set the lantern on the floor, then pulled out a big iron key and unlocked the cell door. She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to try attacking her as she stepped in, but Fox only had eyes for the tray of food in her hands. He swallowed down the buildup of saliva in his mouth.

She set the tray down, then backed out and locked the door. Once he heard the click of the mechanism, he dove for the food. He grabbed the steak with his fingers and took one big bite. The meat was warm and savory, spices and seasoning erupting on his tongue. He chewed, and tasty juice spilled out from the meat. Fox groaned in delight, closing his eyes. 

The Alpha watched as he ate. Fox knew it was better to space out his eating so he could enjoy the warm meal for longer, and so he wouldn’t upset his stomach. He chewed each bite thoroughly, and chased each swallow with a swig of cool, crisp, clean water. His plate also had a serving of green beans and mashed potatoes, which he ate between every few bites of steak. He scraped his plate clean of any leftovers, and downed his glass of water to the very last drop he could get.

When he was done, he glanced up at the Alpha’s knees. “Thank you very much,” he told her, genuine but still quiet. 

“You’re welcome,” she replied, neither warmly nor coldly. “So. The other Alphas and I have decided that it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re in our territory by accident. You’re staying.” Fox’s shoulders grew tense and he curled his fingers over his thighs. “You’ve been fairly docile so far, so we’ve decided to make you our personal servant. You’re going to do exactly what we say, when we tell you to do it, and you’re not going to put up a fuss about it. If you do, we’ll be quick to show you what little tolerance we have for complaining or back-talking. Any acts of aggression will be met with punishment, and if you continue to be aggressive, we’re going to move you to a much less pleasant position of servitude. Am I clear?”

Fox had been through worse. He’d spent two weeks in cells like this in other packs before. He’d been chased down or chased away. He’d been hunted like he was a rabid animal before. He had been captured on multiple occasions. He had been beaten up, tortured, neglected, starved. He had even been experimented on by a group of scientists, arguably the darkest time in Fox’s life that he could remember, and he tried his best not to remember it at all. He had made friends and lost friends, he had been betrayed, screwed over, stepped on, and even arrested a few times. He had watched death, caused death, and narrowly escaped death. Being a servant to some Alphas was not the worst thing Fox could be forced into. And so, he didn’t protest. 

“Okay…” was all he said in reply. The Alpha frowned a little, probably not expecting such immediate submission from a lone wolf. Fox was sure that the other lone wolves they had imprisoned had put up at least some sort of fight. Fox had very little fight left in him, and he tried to reserve it for when it mattered most.

“Good. Come on, then,” she said, and unlocked the door again. Fox rose from his spot on the floor, his muscles aching. He took a moment to stretch a little.

“I’m Alpha Leyra,” she greeted, picking up the lantern. Fox picked up his food tray. She led him up a steep set of stairs and out of the hole. Fox had to squint his eyes at the sudden brightness of daylight. He blinked, blinked, blinked some more, and finally his eyes adjusted. 

It was overcast outside, dark gray and navy blue thunderclouds promising rain soon to come. He was in the middle of a small field, the entrance to the hole a mere square door in the ground. Tall and well-grown oak trees surrounded the field, and knee-high wild grass grew around their trunks and roots. Fox took a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be out of the dark cell.

“Come on. We’ll show you how your new life is going to go from now on,” Leyra said, and Fox followed her as she led him to a small break in the trees.