Fang War

13 ☽

"Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment's safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need to be constantly alert, for these dogs and men were not town dogs and men. They were savages, all of them, who knew no law but the law of club and fang."

- Jack London, "The Call of the Wild"

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"I've never seen anything as extraordinary as him."

The vampire with vibrant red curls whispered to her mate under her breath so no other supernatural ears could hear. Her crimson eyes were wide with the possibilities, as she took in the sight of the wolf before her. He was the largest she had ever seen, remaining in his weight under captivity, which was a feat in itself.

There was a reputation about this wolf that spread among the creatures of the underworld. A reputation for his ruthlessness, his speed, his cunning wit in the ring. He was the smartest bet to make with the odds surely in this beast's favor.

Rumor of this evolution in the wolf world, a rarity among his kind, was finally captured by the Vasile's. A piece missing from her own collection that she desperately needed.

"We'll see if the Vasiles are willing to play along, Ingrid." James, her mate's eyes glowed with the same excitement, as he glanced to the Vasile clan across the far aisle.

It was the patriarch Vasile and his wife Marie, who waited on edge for what would happen. Although, they hadn't lost a fight yet with the reddish brown wolf. With the full moon coming, this practice run of the beast they called "Fang", might find his sixth consecutive victory. In the trail of his wins, the corpses of his opponents settled in the ash of the incinerators.

The arena empties now to all but a few chosen investors and the circle of empty space held the platform for the animals to do their fatal dance.

The circle is surrounded by electric reinforcements and chain links, meant to keep the animals from straying. Their floor was dirt, so their claws could grip the earth beneath them and absorb the blood that shed in copious amounts in the enclosure. Large cages opposed each other in the ring, where the two beasts stared and snarled at one another.

The latest pride of the Vasiles and their major source of current income might soon be up for bid with so many other prized fighters underneath their name. The opposer tonight was a tiny grey wolf with reputed speed and agility, who had lasted seven months in the ring, brought all the way from Paris to fight the legendary Fang.

Rich vampires placed their bets down, as they laughed and enjoyed the dangerous experience. All hushed when the cages opened and the canines lunged at one another.

Those that were sitting, now stood, including Ingrid and her partner. She adjusted her expensive mink shawl as it slid off her bare white shoulders, not paying attention to fixing it correctly as she watched the animals go for each other's throats.

One swipe from Fang's paw and the wolf named Gladiator hit the ground. Gladiator covered in a layer of dry dust but quickly rose before Fang could charge at his throat. Gladiator ran circles around the red wolf, as he attempted to bite at Fang's haunches.

Taking advantage of the swing and miss, Gladiator quickly turned and bit down on the sensitive area underneath Fang's front leg, grabbing the soft and sensitive skin. Fang yelped as the flesh became torn, losing his footing and hitting the dirt with the loudest of thuds. Around the ring, the vampires yelled at the dog they had bet on, to overcome the lesser wolf that should have been a test run.

Dr. Darius Vasile, who started standing several rows back, now moved his way to the front of the crowd. He had never seen his glorious animal fall and now he panicked in silence.

Gladiator went for the larger wolf's neck, attempting to get to the jugular. It was the goal of all the fighters who ever stepped into the blood-stained ring. Kill or be killed, but unfortunately for Gladiator, it wouldn't be so easy.

Fang kicked out, sending his opposer back a hundred feet, scoring him enough time to find a defensive stance. Gladiator did not charge as he expected, instead, the two fighters simply circled one another. They didn't attack for several moments, causing an eruption of screaming and madness to emerge from the usually composed vampires. Instead, the two stared one another down.

Fang created a halo of blood on the dirt beneath them from his oozing injury but was completely unaffected by any pain he should be feeling.

After months of this life, Fang refused to give up. He'd let his human side go months ago, giving up hope of ever getting back to the life he knew before now. It would be easy just to lay down and let Gladiator take him from this life, for he knew that it would be his inevitable fate. Still, there was a survival instinct in him that told him to keep killing to survive. A soft voice, that screamed in his numb heart to come home.

Both beasts froze and Gladiator braced himself for the charge that he was powerless against. Fang ran full force onto him and grabbed his neck with his strong jaw, his mouth larger than Gladiator's which made it easier for him to gain the advantage. His opponent could do nothing but take what was coming to him and with one quick clenching of his jaw, Fang destroyed his opponent.

Around the carnage, the audience cheered and started to get paid out. Fang looked up to one of his owners, the infamous Doctor Vasile and narrowed his attention. Darius nodded in response, a smile forming on his face with relief.

Ashamed on the next tally he added onto the countless souls he had killed, Fang lowered his head and went back into his cage. He was thankful he didn't dally any longer because the ones with the tasers were already on standby to take him out if he didn't cooperate. His stubbornness against the leeches notorious, Fang grew tired of standing against them.

He'd recently come to terms with his capture. He'd even stopped trying to escape. After several close calls, the effort was hopeless and the agony of his punishment was unmatched.

Every full moon, his fights generated his owner tens upon thousands of dollars on his life. A life that in truth, was actually no longer his.

The Vasiles kept him in a pretty nice cell, compared to what he was in the first few weeks they had him. It was part of the building where the fighting ring was held, where there were other wolves that only the richest of the vampire elite could afford to keep their prized fighters.

Fang's room was decorated with pillows and throws of gold and crimson red, his bed of the same color. It was accented in shades of mocha and truly looked less like the prison it was and that of a luxurious hotel room. However, it would have been awkward for a hotel room to have a toilet in the main room.

Food always waited for him after every fight, but Fang always wished he could take a shower after a kill. It wasn't part of his schedule though, showers were only in the morning and he had to have many taser-armed escorts.

He phased back into the human he didn't recognize anymore, holding onto his side where the gaping wound bled profusely. Fang sighed and sat, waiting to be sedated so Dr. Vasile could attend to his wounds as he always did.

Though, he often wondered if he'd done something wrong during a fight if the doctor would just leave him here to die.

Perhaps, in death, he'd be known to the heavens as the lost Adonis and no longer, as the brutal Fang.

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