Page 116 of Family: Posy 4

The door flew open before I was ready, and I quickly stood and put my back to a corner.

"SHIFT, RUNT," Father commanded the second he walked in the room, and I had no choice but to comply, no matter how exhausted or hurt I was.

Once I was back in my own fur, I wrestled out of Posy's worn t-shirt, shorts, and underthings.

One good thing about being so small, I thought.I not trash her few clothes when I shift in them.

In my mere four years of life, I'd learned to count victories and see silver linings anywhere I could.

Keeping the stranger in my peripheral vision, I fastened my gaze on therealmonster in the room.

"She's just a pup," Burnt Oil Man mumbled.

Although I didn't take my eyes off Father, a flicker of hope sparked in my heart. Would this stranger help me?

And for a second, my silver eyes brightened at the thought.

"Pup or not, she's mine!" Father roared. "Mine to do with as I wish!"

"I wasn't making a judgment on your morals, only an observation on her size," Burnt Oil Man scoffed. "Because she's so small, you can use less and it will last longer."

As quick as it cane, the spark of hope died.

His words made Father happy, though. With a wide grin, he stalked over to my corner and stopped three feet away, then held up a glass vial full of clear liquid.

"Runt! Do you know what this is?"

I knew better than to move, let alone speak. Curling my tail under my legs and lowering my head, I faked submission to avoid another beating.

"This is wolfsbane distilled into liquid." He smirked and shook the glass bottle in my face. "One tiny shot of it and you'll become a docile little lamb."

With a hard swallow, I tried - and failed - to calm myself. Aconite was not an enemy I could fight. All I could do was watch and wait for the moment I could make a run for it. I wasn't fast, but I was desperate enough to try to escape again. I couldn't let Father put me to sleep and leave Posy utterly defenseless against him.

"I've had it with your insolence," Father continued his tirade. "I'll leave you awake enough to heal Posy, but no more. I'll force you to watch everything I do to her and you'll be helpless to—"

"You'll have to dose her carefully," Burnt Oil Man interrupted. "Not enough and she'll only be drowsy. Too much, and she'll go to sleep forever. Unless that's what you want?"

"No, I don't want to kill her. I need her alive for another two years. After that, it won't matter. Posy won't need her wolf for what she'll be doing after she turns eighteen."

"She'll develop a resistance to the bane the longer you use it, so you'll need to slowly increase the dosage. Hmm. For her size, no more than a milliliter to start with, then increase it by five drop intervals as her tolerance builds."

"How long does it take to work once administered?" Father asked.

"Couple of minutes. Five at the most."

"All right. Let's do this."

The two men moved at the same time. Burnt Oil Man shuffled off to the side and leaned his shoulder against the wall while Father came toward me.

"Make it easy on yourself, Lark," he smirked. "Don't fight. You know I always win."

I shook with stress, but knew I had to take the chance. The door stood open behind him, and Burnt Oil Man was on the far side of the room now. If I could only make it past Father...

As he reached for me, I dodged and bolted, easily slipping between his legs. My heart bursting with hope, excitement and fear, I pushed myself to run as fast as I could and almost made it. My left front paw was actually on the threshold.

Then Father roared, "FREEZE!" in his alpha voice, and I hit an invisible brick wall. My whole body locked in place, and my momentum knocked me tail over ears. My head smacked hard into the door frame, and the room spun like crazy.

"Stupid female. You never learn," Father grumbled.

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