What Has Become Of Me?

It is difficult to remain standing in the cage as the van bumps along the road and follows winding roads. The cage is barely large enough for my strong wolf form. I suppose I could morph back, but what would the man think if he opens the back of his van to find the ‘dog’ he caught is in fact a naked girl? I grit my teeth as I realise I’m actually going to be sitting in the pound until someone gets me out.

I slam up against the cage as the driver suddenly hits the breaks and the engine is cut. My eyes narrow to slits in anger as I glare at the back doors. The guys will never stop laughing about this. Finally the back doors are opened.
“Cheer up fella” the man tells me and I growl at him.
At least if I’m going to be in such a humiliating situation he could refer to me properly. He’s got something in his hand but I don’t care. I’ve got a plan. I’m strong enough to break free of this man, I must be. He opens the cage and I throw myself forward but as I do he slips something over my head. I lunge out of the back of the van but suddenly my airways are restricted. Spluttering I stumble to a halt. I glance around trying to figure out why, the control stick he used earlier didn’t restrict like that. Then I see it and realise. A chocker chain? You have got to be kidding. I growl menacingly at the man.
“You don’t want to play nice, do ya?” he questions before tugging me along with him towards the pound doors.
I dig my claws in but find just concrete. It’s impossible to get a grip and the chain tightens painfully. Grudgingly, I give in and resort to simply following him.
“Good boy” he praises in a condescending fashion.
I glare at him with all my might. If only this man knew how much I hated him right now. A dark thought occurs to me; I could attack him. I shake my head to rid myself of the thought. I’m not going to maul a person, that’s just insane. He opens the door and walks in tugging me behind him. What happened to chivalry and ladies before men?

“Morning Lucy” the man pipes up at the blonde in a blue polo shirt inside the building.
“Hi, who have you got with you?”
She looks down at me; eyes scanning over my coat and form.
“He’s big” she comments and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Noisy but doesn’t seem overly aggressive” he informs her.
Aggressive? Isn’t that word just a bit too big for such an ignorant man to pronounce? He hands over my lead to the woman and follows us through a set of double metal doings on swinging hinges into a room filled with cages. All the dogs I run my eyes over lower there eyes and heads showing submission. At least something here is smart enough to show me the right amount of respect. We walk through a single door at the end of the room lined with cages to find a small room reminding me of a vet’s examination room. I dig my claws in. No way in hell, are they looking over me as if I’m some dog.
“Come on boy” she calls in the same condescending fashion that the man used.
A growl tears through my throat to show how strongly opposed I am. The woman stumbles back a step shocked by the threatening noise.
“Perhaps we should wait until he’s calmed down for an examination” the woman says.
I remain silent trying to convey my agreement with that.

The woman suddenly pulls out a muzzle. No way in hell, am I wearing that. I try to pull away before she can approach me but the man suddenly has a tight grip on my body. A loud growl rips from my throat as I try to swivel my head to the side and snap at him but his arm wrapped firmly under my neck makes it impossible. Her movements are quick and the man has me pinned too well. The muzzle is in place but the man refuses to release me yet. I growl at him completely enraged. When I meet someone who isn’t polite I don’t muzzle them. I don’t run my hands over them either!
“He’s all muscle” the man comments as his hands examine me.
I find a weakness in his hold and leap away. The woman grabs my lead bringing me to an abrupt stop that has probably bruised my wind pipe. I cough, or do the dog equivalent.
“He’s too riled up, we’ll have to examine him later” she says before dragging me back into the room of cages.
This is utterly ridiculous. I’m shoved into a cage barely able to accommodate me standing and reeks of dog. My keen ears pick up the sound of a door opening just past the set of swinging doors. After a few seconds pass the sound of a bell ringing notifies the stupid humans standing over my cage that someone is waiting at the front desk. I glare at them wishing they would just disappear.
“See you later, Spike” the man grins at me.
“Spike?” the woman questions with a laugh.
I growl my protest in the most savage sound I can make but the humans ignore me.
“Well he’s rough and Spike is a rough name” the man defends his useless naming skills.
I growl before sinking into an awkward crouch as I’d have to bow my head to sit up straight. The sound of the bell ringing impatiently finally pulls the humans from their idiotic conversation. The woman sighs before they both exit the room leaving me trapped in a cage amongst other caged pets. A low whine leaves my throat as I dread the prospect of being left in here as the doors swing shut behind the woman. Conversation floats through the air to my ears that is passing between the woman and whoever the person in the front office is. My ears perk up as I listen closely.
“I’m here to adopt a dog” a deep, friendly yet some how familiar man’s voice informs the woman.
The owner of the voice is at the back of my mind but just out of reach. Who is he? I frown as I continue listening determined to think of who it is.
“Of course, right this way” the woman’s overly perky voice chirps.
The door swings open and my heart sinks. Grinning in the doorway is the same mysterious man who must be stalking me and seems to only exist to me. His scent rolls into the room and I know he is a werewolf; why don’t the rest of my pack? Am I the only one in the world aware of him? Suddenly the dogs sink away submissively just as they had done to me. I suppose the animals have figured it out. This man is truly a mystery. His eyes cut straight to mine and he winks as the oblivious woman prattles on about the care provided by the pound to each animal. From her tone of voice and expression on her face as she talks to him I half expect her to start twirling her hair to complete the infatuated high school girl look. The man brushes past her and crouches in front of my cage. I give a low whine before wanting to kick myself for sounding so pathetic.
“I’ll get you out soon, just be patient” he whispers to me before the woman bustles over to us.
“He’s not up for adoption, he’s yet to be cleared as safe” the woman informs him, “much too aggressive.”
I growl at her with a harsh glare. Enough with the he this and him that!
“She’ll be fine” he responds, stressing the word ‘she’.
The woman pauses shocked. He reaches over and unlocks my cage before she can react. Immediately I push out of the cramped space and she leaps back expecting me to suddenly maul her or something close. Instead, realising my lead is in the man’s clutches cutting off the chance of escape, I sit obediently at his feet. This shows how desperate I am for freedom. My annoying tail wags on its own accord. He chuckles giving me a rub behind the ears. It feels so good but I pull away. It’s the principle of the matter!
“Sir, that is a highly risky animal” the woman says seeming to switch from flirtatious woman to animal carer in seconds.
“She’s lovely,” he smiles, “wouldn’t harm a fly, now how much will it be to adopt her?”
I swallow back a growl threatening to bubble up from within my chest.
“It’s against the law to sell that pet to you” she replies before cautiously trying to shoo me back towards the cage.
I bare my teeth as my ears flatten back against my skull.
“Can’t you make this at least a little easier for me?” the man whispers for my ears only in an exasperated tone.
I look at him with a smile in my eyes. He chuckles rubbing behind my ears for the second time. My eyes almost close on their own accord from the glorious sensation.
“Could you do this one favour for me?” the man asks flashing a dazzling smile that nearly makes my own breath hitch in my throat and I wasn’t even under the high beam.
The woman finally melts under his gaze and nods.
“Right this way” she says leading us through the hall barely looking away from him.
Her eyes are fixed on him almost as if she’s in a trance. The man stands up still holding my lead. I give a low whine and scratch at my muzzle signalling I want the ridiculous thing gone.
“Well if you would hurry up, we could get this junk off you” the man talks lowly to me so the woman can’t overhear.

“These are the last of the papers” the woman smiles; finally.
I fidget, restless as it had been fifteen minutes since Mr. Mysterious started doing the paper work and trying to convince her I don’t need micro-chipping.
“Just sign here,” after the scratching of a pen, “thank you Mr. De Luca and congratulations on your adoption.”
Finally! I stand up ready to get out of here. Plus I finally have some of a name to call him by instead of Mr. Mysterious. It’s a last name but will have to do for now.
“Here’s my number” she smiles leaning across the counter, “for if she plays up on you of course.”
He smiles and accepts the card with a thank you. Finally I get to walk out the door. After just two paces I dig my claws in refusing to walk any further. I scratch out the muzzle again.
“Get into the car and I promise to remove that from you plus give you clothes” he promises.
I give him a wary look asking if I can really trust him. He sighs slipping the adoption papers into his back pocket.
“Do I have to carry you?” he asks.
I give a disgruntled humph before following him again.