The next day, we were back on the road after an early breakfast, and I resigned myself to another long drive filled with torture. I got it in spades, but I was determined not to let it break me. I knew the nuns were tormenting me more for their own sick pleasure, and not purely out of desire to see me ground into the dirt. It was clear they didn't care whether I confessed to nonexistent crimes or not - they wanted to grind me into the dirt because it pleased them, and it fueled their powers so they could inflict even worse mental torment on me. But I held firm. I was innocent of any wrongdoings, and one way or another, I'd get out from under their thumb.
Not that I was given even a moment to myself; Sister Georgia once more watched me as I relieved myself at the end of the second day of driving, and she laughed when I told her she was a sick, twisted individual. "You would think that," she told me, smirking as I flushed red at her tone. "But I am here to serve the greater good, child. Teaching naughty children the right way to behave is a favourite pasttime of mine; you wouldn't believe how many children saw the error of their ways. You'll come to understand it, child, one way or another. If I have to break you into a thousand pieces to get you to see the light, I will, and I will take great pleasure in rebuilding you the way you were always meant to be."
I snorted as I washed my hands. "I rest my case."
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The next morning, it was snowing, but the nuns insisted on hitting the road despite the treacherous conditions. We were well into the Alps by now, and the dark clouds overhead warned of more inclement weather to come. The nuns refused to give up, and once the car had been refitted with snow chains, we were on our way.
It wasn't long before we were completely swallowed by a heavy snowfall, and the driver was forced to proceed at a crawl, headlights only just piercing the murk that lay before us. Strong winds seemed determined to push us off the narrow road, and it grew darker the higher we climbed, until all we could see was a wall of white. High beams did nothing to alleviate the night which seemed to have returned, but the nuns insisted we keep going. I sensed urgency in them, and for once, they'd dropped their guard on my thoughts. This enabled me to reach out, and when I encountered several minds close by, my heart skipped a beat. I recognised George, and, much to my relief, Harry was there as well. The nuns were too busy putting up a shield around the car to notice, and I took the one slim chance I knew I had - I let out the most powerful mental scream I could unleash.
It did the trick; the car came to a screeching halt, and the nuns reeled back in their seats as I directed my assault at them. I could feel their minds trying to break through, but I fought back with all the anger, pain, and humiliation I could muster, and their minds snapped like twigs. The moment I felt them go limp, I stopped, a little out of breath, my ears ringing like struck bells. "Note to self," I said. "Shield your own bloody mind before you try something like that."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," the driver said, and I blinked, my eyes going wide when I recognised the voice.
"George?" I exclaimed.
"One and the same," he told me, giving me a lopsided grin. "Your guard dogs had a tight control on what you saw around you, but the moment the storm rolled in, that control slipped a little. They had no idea; they sensed Harry and the rest of the pack hiding out in the storm, hence why they bolstered their defences and left you unguarded. Can you shift and leap out?"
I suited words to actions, and one bound saw me out of the car and onto the icy road. It was still snowing ferociously outside, but despite never having shifted before, I instinctively threw up a shield to protect myself and George, who'd leapt out of the car to join me. 'Follow me,' he said, and I ran after him, using his scent as a guide to help navigate the treacherous conditions. 'It's not going to take long for people to put two and two together,' he told me as we ran up the road. 'We've got the narrowest of windows to get you out of range before your next "hosts" wind of what's happened.'
'How far away are they?' I asked, but I soon found out when George slammed to a stop. I skidded to a halt next to him, quailing as I felt several unfriendly minds approach us. It wasn't long before they had us circled, and I growled, hackles rising when I sensed my parents were there as well. 'Damn that for a bad run of luck,' I groused.
George threw back his head and howled, and I placed a shield over my mind before joining him, howling both physically and etherically. We aimed our blasts at the cars blocking our road, and screams of consternation filled the air, followed by the unmistakable sound of metal on rock as the cars were flung off the road and into the abyss below. I spared no thought for the loss of life; every person in that group had intended to bring me to further harm. It was justice, I told myself, as George and I ceased our howls. George agreed.
'They were going to separate your wolf self from your human self,' he told me, as we resumed our run. 'That would've made you a hell of a lot more susceptible to their wiles, because your wolf self has been protecting you all this time.'
'What happens now?' I asked, as we reached the top of a very steep hill. I soon found out; I felt the abbess's mind reach out to me, and I skidded to a halt, heart pounding. 'George!' I cried. 63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCgJ1ivSn8
George slammed to a stop and with a snarl, he moved behind me, hackles raised. 'How the hell did she know?' he demanded. 'Has she put a tag on you, or something?'
I tried to answer but couldn't; the abbess had a very powerful mind, and I could feel her seize hold of my wolf self. If she ripped it away, I'd be a sitting duck, and I fought to keep her from literally tearing my soul in two. 'Help!' I screamed.
A howl shivered the air, and a huge black wolf came barreling past to take up a stance at George's side. He howled again, as did George, and together, the sound was enough to help me get an anchor on my failing senses. I felt the abbess's mind cling tighter, but George and Harry howled again. At the same time, I felt Harry's mind tear apart the connection between the abbess and I, and her shock reverberated through my head as the tie was broken. But she wouldn't be daunted; with the speed of a striking snake, she sent another etheric attack at me. She was too late; I'd seized upon the link offered by Harry whilst the abbess was distracted, and her probe rebounded with enough force to break her mind clean in two. I didn't know if it did, but the moment her attack failed, I added a vicious counter-attack, letting her feel all the pain and humiliation she and her twisted convent had inflicted on me, and that was enough to do the trick. 'Someone's going to wake up a drooling vegetable,' I announced. 'And good bloody riddance.'
'You said it,' Harry agreed, stepping forward to offer me a wolf-style embrace. I accepted it gratefully. 'That bitch had planted a tie to you that she exploited the moment her guard-dogs fell,' he added. 'I only just managed to fend it off, by the way. But she's out of the picture, and her convent is going to fall apart at the seams very quickly.'
'The authorities are moving in as we speak,' George added, as Harry and I moved apart. 'There's going to be quite a few angry families, but we've ensured those children won't be put back under their parents' care.'
'Is that what all this was about?' I asked, as we resumed our trek, now going at a more leisurely pace.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfMMXR1uz3
'It was,' Harry said. 'I'm sorry for all the bullshit you went through as a result; I kind've botched shit up when staging the bank robbery. Had I known how determined your parents were to keep you a pliant doll, I'd have resorted to more forceful methods to get you the hell out of there.'
'You did what you could,' I assured him. 'I'm just glad to be out of there now.'
'You and me both,' Harry said. He flashed me a lupine grin. 'It took a bit longer, but you're free, and you can do whatever the hell you want from here. I only offered you that link to give you the strength you needed to finally put the abbess to rest, but that's no obligation on you.'
'I'm a werewolf,' I said. 'I belong with my own kind.'
Harry blinked, and if a wolf could look poleaxed, he certainly did at that moment. 'As long as you're sure,' he said.
'As sure as I'm ever going to be,' I assured him.
'In that case, welcome aboard,' Harry said. 'We can do the proper introductions when we get back to base. I just want to get out of this chill before my fur freezes off.'
'Then let's get a move on,' I said.
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