Burned Free

The silver collar cinched tight around my neck, burning my throat whenever I strained against the thick chains holding me prisoner. The sharp cold bit at me and settled deep in my bones. My fur wasn't giving me any warmth; it had been falling out from fear, stress, and anxiety, and now it was so thin. Going without food and water only made everything worse. I haven't been in my human form since I got here. They kept all of us chained in our wolf forms. I was so weak I couldn't shift back. They treated me like some stray mutt, tied up outside as though I was under punishment. Well, technically I was being punished, for existing, for my wolf. Snow and ice crackled under my paws while I paced the narrow stretch I was allowed, trying to work warmth back into my stiff muscles. I had another fight today. They handled us like fighting dogs, like abused pitbulls gone savage. They made bets over which one of us would win, which one would spill blood first. I could still feel the sharp sting from the healing bite on my shoulder from the last fight. I had won, but there was never any real prize. Sometimes the winner got a little cup of filthy water and, if you were one of their favorites, a small chunk of spoiled meat. Somehow, that still made me one of their favorites. I slumped to the ground, head bowed, and waited for them to come drag me to the fight. I've been here a long time, close to two years. Only one other wolf has lasted nearly as long as I have. I've never actually seen her, only heard the quiet snickers from the men when they talked about her after a fight. The rest are usually new; most make it a few months, then die. New wolves keep getting brought in all the time. The only one I could see sat a few hundred yards from me. She was a small wolf with a copper-colored coat. She was weak, and both of us knew she wouldn't last much longer. I jerked my head up when I heard footsteps coming toward me. It was a tall, bulky man named Rafe, the one who always took me to the arena. "You know how this goes. Try to run, and I'll kill you." He unclipped the chain from my collar and seized the scruff of my neck. Pain shot through me. The skin there was raw and red from that tight silver collar. He dragged me through the woods until we came to an open field that served as the arena. The snow there was streaked red from earlier fights, and the air reeked of blood. Rafe hurled me into the ring of men. One by one, they took a turn at me, grabbing, punching, and pinching my ears while I made my way toward the center of the makeshift arena. Facing me was a big brown wolf, likely a gamma's daughter. Her coat was thin too, caked with dried blood and dirt. Then the men sealed off both sides, boxing us into an open circle. "Place your bets now! This match is between our two oldest!" I watched the men pull out thick stacks of cash and hand them to the ringleader. I sized up my opponent, searching for weak points; she was sizing me up just as hard. We both knew what defeat meant, and both of us were desperate to win. "You know how this works. Begin!" The brown wolf lunged at me right away. She caught me off guard and slammed me beneath her. Her jaws snapped at my neck, trying to drive those sharp teeth into my skin. I kicked up with my back legs and raked open the tender flesh of her stomach. She cried out as I ripped away a chunk of skin, and warm blood spilled from her abdomen and soaked into my fur. The men cheered when I drew blood. They were disgusting. I shoved her off and circled her with my hackles high. A snarl ripped out of me when she came at me again. She rose onto her back legs and slashed at my face with both front claws. I twisted clear and bit down on her front paw. She growled and raked her claws across my side near my ribs. We rolled together, growling, tearing, and biting at any flesh we could reach. She slipped up and left her neck open, and I took it. I buried my fangs deep in her throat. Her blood filled my mouth with a metallic taste. She fought against me, and I threw all my weight onto her, pinning her hard to the ground. The men's cheers grew louder as they yelled for me to finish her. I drove my canines even farther in as she thrashed wildly to shake me loose. I felt bone crack beneath my grip, and she whimpered and snarled loud. I gave one last wrench of my head and broke her neck; her bloody body went limp in my jaws. Once I knew she was really gone, I let her lifeless body fall to the ground. The men kept cheering, some of them shouting at each other over lost bets. I shut them out. Why would anyone cheer over taking someone's life? I never wanted to kill, to strip people of their chance to live, but that's how this place worked. Here, you either killed first or died.