York still remembered a line from the bedtime stories he used to tell Linda when they were both kids: “Once a wolf sets its sights on prey, none ever escape its claws.” Back then, he’d rolled his eyes at it, convinced it was nothing more than campfire nonsense meant to spook little children.
Now, looking back, he thought, ‘Holy shit.
That’s actually dead accurate.’ At this very moment, he was wedged into the back seat of a sleek black sedan, pressed as close to the door as humanly possible, like he was trying to phase right through it.
On the opposite side of the back seat sat Catherine, her eyes shut, head tilted back against the headrest.
She looked exhausted, even her fur seemed rumpled and out of sorts.
But it was the deep furrow between her brows that caught his attention.
Something was clearly eating at her.
York kept sneaking glances at her from the corner of his eye.
He had no idea how old she actually was, but she looked young, probably not much older than himself.
And yet, he simply couldn’t wrap his head around what kind of childhood could forge someone so cold, so…
merciless.
The entire Lindville family, dozens of lives, were wiped out in one fell swoop, without a flicker of hesitation.
But right now, he didn’t have the mental bandwidth to dwell on that.
His immediate concern was far more personal: ‘How do I convince this woman to let me walk out of here alive?’ When he really thought about it, he hadn’t actually done anything to wrong her.
Sure, his former boss had been her enemy, but there was a perfectly good saying for situations like this, wasn’t there?
‘Ignorance of the law is no excuse, wait, no.
That’s not the one.
What you don’t know can’t hurt you!
Yes, that’s the one!’ Buoyed by this newfound logic, a flicker of hope reignited in York’s chest.
He cleared his throat and tentatively called out.
“Um…
Miss?
Miss Catherine?” Catherine cracked one eye open, fixed him with a withering sideways glare, and delivered two frostbitten words.
“Shut it.” York’s face contorted into a sheepish grin as he clammed up without another peep.
And just like that, every carefully rehearsed argument he’d been mentally preparing went up in smoke.
‘Right,’ he realized with a sinking feeling.
‘I’m a living witness to the Lindville massacre.
Why in the world would she ever let me go?’ The silence inside the car grew thick enough to choke on.
York’s brain kicked into overdrive once again.
But then he reconsidered.
His relationship with Catherine wasn’t all bad, was it?
They’d fought side by side, shared a meal together.
That had to count for something.
If she truly saw him as nothing more than a loose end, he’d be stuffed in the trunk next to Mr.
Lindville’s corpse, not sitting comfortably in the back seat beside her.
So what was the smartest move right now?
The answer hit him like a freight train.
Simple.
He needed to suck up to her, ahem, I mean, win her favour.
And when it came to breaking down walls between people, nothing worked faster than a solid punchline!
York cleared his throat once more.
“Hey, Miss Catherine, how are your grades?” Catherine didn’t even bother opening her eyes.
She just leaned her head against the window, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“Get to the point.” “Okay, okay, What’s the best thing to put into a pie?…
It’s a riddle.” “…” “Your teeth!
Get it?
Because…
you eat the pie?” “…” Catherine fell silent.
Slowly, she turned her head to look at him, her expression unreadable as she tried to figure out what kind of angle he was working.
But all she found was York’s eager, expectant face, his eyes practically sparkling with anticipation, ‘Go on!
Ask for another one!
Ask!’ “Tch…” She clicked her tongue in irritation.
“Alright, alright.
What do you call a fish with no eyes?” “…” This time, Catherine didn’t bother answering.
York practically vibrated with excitement as he delivered the punchline.
“A fsh!
Because it doesn’t have any i’s!
No eyes, no letter ‘I’, get it?” Through the reflection in the car window, York caught a glimpse of Catherine’s lips twitching involuntarily.
She was fighting a smile… and losing.
His heart did a little victory dance.
‘It’s working!’ But in his moment of triumph, he’d forgotten one critical detail.
If he could see her reflection, she could see his too, and the insufferably smug grin plastered across his face was plain as day in the glass.
So…
BANG!
The heavy iron door slammed shut behind him.
York was back in that all-too-familiar basement prison.
“NO!!
You can’t do this to me!” York howled, throwing himself against the door and pounding with both fists.
“At least…
at least give me something to eat!” The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing fainter and fainter, with no indication that they’d ever turn back.
And then, from the shadows behind him, a weak, raspy voice croaked out.
“Don’t bother.
It’s useless.” York nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around, heart hammering, and realized he wasn’t alone.
There, slumped against the far wall, was a wolf.
His arm, hand, and head were all wrapped in blood-soaked bandages that looked like they hadn’t been changed in days.
York sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
Yikes.
This cellmate had clearly been put through the wringer.
The wolf continued in that same feeble, threadbare voice.
“Every creature that ends up in this place meets the same fate.
No one gets out alive.” York crept closer, squinting to get a better look.
Four fingers missing.
One ear completely gone.
‘Could this be Catherine’s brother, the one she’d mentioned?’ Before York could open his mouth, the wolf spoke again.
“How’d you end up here?” “Uh… I told the young lady a bad joke?” York answered, genuinely unsure.
She’d seemed to enjoy it in the car, so why’d he end up here?
“…” “My name’s Jason.
Figure you already know who I am.
I’m that witch Catherine’s brother.
Since you’re locked up in here with me, that makes us allies!” Jason seemed to completely bypass York’s answer, launching straight into a fervent, impassioned speech.
“Let’s rise up together!
Rebel against the witch’s tyranny!
Overthrow her dictatorship!
Down with cough, cough, COUGH!” “Whoa, hey, take it easy!
You’re gonna tear your stitches!” York said, a little exasperated, but he kindly shuffled over and patted Jason firmly on the back to help him catch his breath.
As he did, he couldn’t help but think: “Witch” actually fits Catherine pretty well.
It took a solid minute for Jason to recover, and when he spoke again, his voice was even weaker than before.
“Cough, cough.
Thanks…
appreciate it.” York settled cross-legged on the cold floor beside Jason and asked, genuinely curious, “So why do you want to rebel against your sister so badly?” Something dark flickered across Jason’s face.
His expression twisted with old pain, and his battered body trembled with barely contained fury.
“Do you have any idea how many wolves she killed to claw her way to the top?!…
I’ll never forget that day for as long as I live!
She didn’t even spare our own parents!
She’s a monster!
I swear on my life, I’ll make her pay!” “Ah.
I see.” York felt no particular shock at this revelation.
If anything, he listened with the detached curiosity of someone watching a soap opera.
He shrugged and offered, “I support you!” He wasn’t a naive child, he could connect the dots just fine.
If Catherine were truly the kind of cold-blooded killer who could slaughter her own parents without a second thought, then Jason would be dead.
Plain and simple.
Battered, broken, and missing a few body parts?
Sure.
But he was still breathing.
York’s gaze drifted to the half-eaten, bloodstained bowl of food sitting in the corner.
At the very least, Catherine wasn’t trying to starve him.
‘Wait…’ A cold knot tightened in York’s stomach.
‘Am I going to end up looking like this too?’ The thought sent an uncomfortable shiver down his spine.
Jason’s eyes lit up when he heard York’s words of support.
“I knew it!
We are kindred spirits!
I bet you’ve been fed up with Catherine’s tyranny for a long time too, haven’t you?” Jason laboriously dragged himself closer to York, lowering his voice to the barest whisper, as if terrified of being overheard.
“Between you and me, help is coming for me.
Soon.
When they break me out, I’ll take you with me when the time comes.
You have my word.” ————•★•————★ Author Note: Thanks for reading!
(And a review too.
Thanks 🪻🪻) P@treaon: Blueduck14