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Chapter 52 - Epilogue

Two Months Later

Ember closes and opens his fists nervously as Cal wraps the tie around his neck and does the knot. An awkward smile creeps onto his face when they lock eyes, but he can’t hold it and looks up at the ceiling to take a deep breath.

“You don’t need to be so anxious,” Cal says, pushing up the knot to the collar of his shirt. “Remember how well you did the other week when we had him over?”

“Yeah I know, I know. I just can’t help it, this is official. What if after all this I get denied?”

Ember’s tail swishes meekly behind his legs, the thin trouser-material crinkling at the disturbance.

“Well you should be used to that by now,” Cal jokes with a disarming smile, and receives a frown for his effort. “Anyway, the Master said this will all go smoothly and I believe him. You just sit down, get asked a bunch of questions, and then he gives you a grade. It’s not just about today either, he uses his experiences with you as part of the grade.”

“It feels like school,” he huffs.

“Be glad you never went. School was worse I can tell you.” Cal smiles with a melancholy sigh. “At least for me anyway.”

“What kind of questions does he ask?”

Cal looks back at the bedroom door, making sure it’s shut and turns back to Ember.

“I’m not supposed to say, but it’s all sorts of stuff. How do you cross a road safely? Do you feel threatened by large groups of people? If a person had twisted their ankle, what would you do? Things like that.”

“Oh, really?”

“Remember, all you’re doing is proving your humanity. People forget that werewolves disguise themselves as humans half of the time anyway.” The wolf looks away nervously. “You’ll be asked about your admission too. Y’no, why you were brought in.”

“Yeah, I thought that might come up.”

“Be truthful. He knows everything about that night, but he’ll want to go deeper into the psychology of it.”

“Alright … I’ll do my best. It doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Well …” Cal starts and trails off. He eventually gives in to Ember’s insistent stares. “There is a more serious test.”

“Oh no. What is it?”

“You’ll be given human blood.”

“That’s like giving a sobering alcoholic a shot of vodka. Are you kidding?” Ember fumes, lowering his brows.

“I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

“Well at least I’ll have the collar.” The white wolf grimaces and looks to the side. “Won’t I?”

“You’re not allowed to have any outside influence.”

“What if I start shifting?”

“Then let it happen. I don’t imagine you will though, with all the anxiety. Stress isn’t exactly a good conduit for transformation.”

“I suppose …”

“Look, you’ll be fine, I know you will.” Cal strokes Ember’s arm. “We all believe in you.”

“That’s good, ‘cause I don’t.”

“Come on, he’ll be here soon, and you should be downstairs and ready.” Before he goes through the door, Cal turns and kisses the black wolf. “Remember, we’re all here for you, regardless of the outcome. Also, please don’t say a word about me telling you all this or I’ll get in a lot of trouble.”

“I promise I won’t,” Ember confirms earnestly, and begrudgingly follows.

—

Alek, Voigt and Hess are waiting in the dining room for them as they walk in. They all have cheerful smiles, sharing their confidence with Ember as best as they can. Hess steps up to him as he gets closer, the tag on his collar claiming him as Ember’s property jangling on the D-ring. He immediately prostrates his neck, wagging his tail happily.

“Good boy,” Ember growls, and takes out the chastity tile so he can flip it over and engage the contact metal on the reverse. It clicks into place and a little padlock symbol glows a dull blue on its surface.

“Thank you, sir,” the brown wolf giggles, squirming a little as the chub that’d started forming at the very thought of being made chaste recedes back into his sheath. “You look very handsome. He’d be an idiot to fail you.”

“Thanks pup, I appreciate it.”

“We all have our faith in you, Ember,” Alek adds, getting Hess to step aside. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, Master.” Ember nods halfheartedly.

“Right you lot, out. Walter is due to be here and he shouldn’t see you like this.”

The three wolves all bow their heads with a quick “Yes, Master” and walk out, each patting Ember on the shoulder as they leave.

Ember gulps when he hears the doors shut behind him, leaving him alone with Alek in the large dining hall.

“I’m nervous,” he mutters, fiddling with the pockets of his trousers.

“I know, I’d expect you to be. But I also expect that this will be a positive outcome. Now, do you remember me telling you how it works?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good, then come and wait with me by the door.”

The wolf follows his Master into the main hallway and stands in the way that he was instructed to by Cal the night before. In preparation, Alek ran through a mock procedure with him, omitting the questionnaire. As he finishes the process in his head, the knocker sounds, and his heart jumps to his throat. He is instructed to open the door and does so to politely greet their guest: Mr Walter Grave. Ember takes his coat and follows behind as they chat of work things and walk to the drawing room, where a desk and two chairs have been arranged interview-style. A third chair has been positioned in open space for Alek to oversee. He had made it very clear to Ember beforehand that he is not permitted to interfere and is only there to act as witness and collar-handler.

Walter sits down first and then Ember so his collar can be removed; Alek takes his place and sits silently with it draped over his knee. The wolf stays firmly sat, looking at the judicator across the table as he starts pulling files and containers out of his satchel. The feeling of having an unshackled neck being not altogether unfamiliar, but less and less so in the two months since his indictment. He and his Master have worked together in this time to invent the tiled collars to perfection and manufacture a full set for the servants. The protection spells are baked into the collar itself, with four slots available for tiling, like for chastity which he enabled on Hess. But since it’s not outwardly clear what spell code is imprinted onto the collar itself, it must be removed for the test.

Walter clears his throat and starts writing some preliminary things onto an official document. Once finished, he pulls out a digital audio player and sets it down on the table. He checks over the documents and switches the device on to start recording, not lifting his eyes up off the papers.

“This is Walter Grave, acting on behalf of the Venatoriat and Crown court to assess the humanity of one Mr Ember Cord. The date is August 16th 2010. With me is the head of the Warden estate and president of the Werewolf Inclusivity Program, Mr Alek Warden to act as witness. Alek Warden has been informed that he may not speak or in any way signal to the subject during the exam, and may only interfere if the subject displays errant or violent behaviour. Should the subject be identified as a threat at any point, the exam will be terminated and must be deferred to Venatorial judgement for the capital charges held in situ of the murder of Hunter Lucas Caldwell.

“Should Mr Ember Cord fail the exam without incident, he must pay the total 46,300 pounds in Court and Ventorial fines, part condolence fund for the bereaved and legal fees as covered in the contract with the Werewolf Inclusivity Program, and a new exam must be performed in no less than one month from today, pending approval from the Court and Venatoriat, with repeat expenses and additional penalties.

“Upon acquittal, Mr Ember Cord must pay the total 113,650 pounds in costs aforementioned to be pardoned of his crime and be granted Venatorial indemnity, until any further infractions occur that violate the agreement given to him by the Court and Venatoriat at the point of civil admission.

“I claim to have had no influential part in the subject’s habilitation, nor have I any bias nor prediction towards the success of this exam.”

Walter stops and looks directly at Ember, pushing up his glasses after them having slid down his nose. The wolf is visibly nervous and has nearly torn holes in the fabric of his trousers from raking his claws over them. He had be warned ready about the implications of the murder that would be brought up, including some extreme costs, but he hadn’t been told how much.

“Do you, Mr Ember Cord understand and accept these terms?”

“I … I do,” he says shakily, not wanting to admit that he’d never owned a hundredth of that money at any given time of his life.

“Over the course of the next hour, I will be testing your humanity for your official civility licence. This session will be audio recorded. You must answer as truthfully as you can. Do you understand and accept?”

“Yes sir,” Ember says as confidently as he can.

“What was the reason for you being admitted to this institution?” Walter asks plainly.

Ember looks at his Master, who stares emotionlesslyqn back and returns his eyes to the guest. “I … killed a Hunter.”

“Was the attack premeditated?”

“No.”

“Did you feed from the kill?”

“No.”

“Did you take pleasure from the kill?”

Again Ember glances at the Master, but he remains still and composed.

“Yes.”

“What did you do after?”

“I went home.”

“Why didn’t you feed from the kill?”

“Because I was scared.”

“Explain.”

“I was angry at the Hunter for what he’d done to my family. The adrenaline rush and bloodlust made me so anxious that I needed to return to a safe space in case I was seen.”

“What happened then?”

“I got more and more concerned that he wouldn’t have been alone, so went back out to look for more Hunters.”

“With intent to kill?”

“Yes.” Ember lowers his eyes. “I didn’t want anyone to find out.”

“Between the need to cover up your crime by ensuring there are no witnesses, and the desire to kill more Hunters in retribution for the massacre upon your tribe, how would you weight your feeling at the time one way or another?”

“Um …” Ember hesitates and tries to remember the night from two months ago. “I suppose, I wanted to hide more than I wanted revenge.”

“But both emotions were there,” Walter confirms.

“During the bloodlust, yes.”

“Did you not dream revenge before then?”

“I did, but not as much over the year. I just … wanted to survive.”

“When you went out again, did you find anyone else?”

“Yes, my Master.”

“Use names please.” Walter sighs.

“Sorry … I found Mr Alek Warden.”

“What did you do when you found him?”

“I … provoked him with intent to kill”

“Did you assume this man was a Hunter?”

Ember drops his eyes down with a head shake.

“No. But his confidence around me made me think he was.”

“I see. Do you understand why you were brought here?”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand the consequences of your actions to the Hunter in the woods and the attempted murder of Mr Alek Warden?”

“Yes.”

“Good, we will move on then.”

Walter shifts to questions about Ember’s position here at the manor and what things he’d been assigned to do under the guidance of his charge and the other wolves. He also delves into the relationships he’s had with the other occupants of the manor and any guests that have been to the property; including the guests at the party, delivery persons and Hess’s D&D friends. He answers them all truthfully, omitting any finer details to do with his sexual relations and the Machine, as pre-warned by the Master. Ember is also made to talk about any instances where he would have been around large groups of humans and how he felt around them over the past two months. Walter uses written testimonies from the other wolves as circumstantial evidence to back up any claims and to ask for further clarification on scenarios, such as the rock throwing incident in the town, and a knife threat three weeks ago.

Walter then moves onto the final stage of questions which relate to how he would feel or react in situational events, like if he saw a child crying, or if someone asked him for directions, or if a grieving friend needed comforting. All of these, and the rest, are all formulated to determine if Ember has the capacity to experience and understand natural human emotions like guilt, and sympathy and nostalgia. He makes a comment about feeling patronised by these questions, which Walter smirks at but says nothing for the recording. He hopes this gives him a bonus point.

“Right, final test,” Walter says pulling out a glass vial from a small wooden box with a dark red liquid inside. “I’m going to give you a small amount of human blood. Your actions will determine your grade.”

He unceremoniously unscrews the plastic lid and holds it out to the wolf who gingerly takes it. Ember holds it up to his nose and sniffs the metallic odour, feeling a tingle run down his spine that he’d not felt since the party nearly eight weeks ago. His mouth wets at the anticipation of tasting it. He feels a warmth flush his cheeks at the burning desire to consume human flesh and how wrong it feels to succumb. A taboo lust to feed on man. He brings it close to his lips, pressing the rim of glass against the skin and tilts it. Suddenly his eyes flash open as a theory crosses his mind. Ember quickly pulls the vial away and looks down at the blood swirling around against the glass. He was never told to drink it.

“Don’t you want it?” Walter asks with a subtly proud expression.

“No sir. I don’t want it.”

Ember holds his hand back out towards the guest who takes the vial back, screws on the lid and returns it to the box. The wolf tenses, hoping he did the right thing, until a small smile creeps on Walter’s face. He relaxes his muscles and releases a long and drawn exhale, waiting for the verdict.

“After my assessment of Mr Ember Cord’s lifestyle, his development under the guard of Mr Alek Warden and the written testimonies from the other civil werewolves residing in the manor and four humans with whom he has been in semi-regular contact, I can hereby grant Mr Ember Cord his civility and clear all charges against him; pending payment.”

Walter quickly holds up a finger to the wolf who looks ready burst at the seams as he closes his hand around the recorder and switches it off. Immediately Ember starts laughing with tears in his eyes.

“Congratulations, you’re now a civilian,” Walter says and stand up, holding his hand out to be shook. Ember jumps to his feet, grabs it and pulls them into an awkward hug over the desk.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you …” the wolf says repeatedly, lowering his voice to a whisper, and eventually releases the human when he feels resistance. He quickly apologising for his outburst.

“That’s alright,” Walter replies with an awkward cough and brushes some loose hairs off his suit. “I apologise for the theatrics of the blood test, there is more than one way to pass it.”

“It’s alright, it’s OK,” the wolf pants, his tail wagging furiously, so relieved for it all to be over. “Thank you.”

“In the end, wolf, everything that happened today was a result of your own doing. Remember that.”

“Yes sir, I will.”

“Ember,” Alek says, drawing the wolf’s attention as he stands, “Please see our guest out. Walter, always a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you at the Horditch Hall Birthday Ball in a few weeks.”

“Yes, perhaps you should bring him along. I’m sure he’d be a fine centrepiece for your efforts in the inclusivity programme,” Walter suggests as he packs away all of his papers and the wooden box.

“Thank you, I will consider it.”

Alek bows cordially and gestures for him to follow the wolf out of the room. He looks down at the collar in his hand and exhales a bittersweet hum as he follows behind.

Ember sees the guest out as instructed and excitedly calls up the staircase.

“I PASSED!”

The three wolves hurry down the stairs, Hess first who immediately ploughs into him, causing him to stumble backward. Cal joins in close second with a hug from behind while Voigt stands nearby with a proud smile. They all give their version of praise and predictions that it would have happened this way and don’t release him until they get an attention-seeking cough from the master. They quickly fall into line and look at him with the collar in his hand.

“Ember, I want to firstly congratulate you on your success to civility. I hadn’t a doubt in the world that you would pass. Now, I think you know what I’m going to ask you, and I think I know what the answer is too, but I would be remiss to not do it anyway.” The addressed wolf wags his tail, eager to hear it, “Ember, do you wish to be released as a free citizen?”

The wolf looks at the others who all stare back at him, grinning excitedly. He chuckles and shakes his head, turning back to the human.

“I’ve lived here for two months, and in this time, I’ve discovered a lot about myself that I never thought I would. I want to thank you, Master, for everything you’ve given me.” He looks back at the other wolves. “Thank you all for your love and kindness.” Again his eyes switch back to Alek. “I’d like to stay … but, on one condition.”

“Which is?” The human asks, looking curiously at the black wolf, noticing concern in the eyes of the others in his peripheral.

“I’d like to have our collars be made tiled-only. No other spells,” Ember says plainly. “I’ll continue my work here under you, I’ll be made chaste for events and even use your milking machine … but I no longer feel like I should be magically bound to you or this house,” he looks back at the others, “And neither should they.”

Alek cocks a half-smile and nods with a gentle sigh.

“I knew I’d like you, Ember. You’re exactly the person I need around me to keep me in check.” He goes up to all of the wolves and, to their surprise, takes off the collars one by one. “Once you reach civility, I am no longer under obligation to keep you servile, and it’s hypocritical and unfair of me to do so otherwise. It’s my job to train you up to this point, not to keep you as my slaves.” He steps back and looks down at the newly built collars with the silver tag bolted into the bit of blank leather where the tiles didn’t reach. “The only thing I’d ask, is that you all still use the Machine a few times a week. I won’t enforce it anymore, but it does at least provide a stable income for the house when I can’t find any contract work.”

“You couldn’t keep me away from that thing anyway, Master,” Hess chimes in, already starting to grow erect now the collar is off.

“I will be glad to not have to use it as often,” Voigt chuckles, “It’s a little more taxing at my age.”

“You and I can make sure Hess has a good load built up for it at least,” Ember adds, which the grey wolf nods at.

Hess blushes and wags his tail. “Yes sir.”

“The collars will still have all the functionality of the tiles, and I’ll create some edge tiles for some of you.” he looks at Hess and Cal. “Just for fun”

“Thank you, Master,” Cal replies, smiling, and pats a hand on Ember’s shoulder.

“My only concern is what it will be like for new wolves.” Alek dips his head in thought.

“Keep those as they are, master. If they know that those abstinence and obedience spells come off after you gain civility, they may be more willing to cooperate,” Ember reasons.

“Very likely.” Alek smiles and nods. “Well then, I have some new collars to make, thankfully there’s lots of blank stock left. Congratulations once again, Ember, you are now a free wolf.”

“Thank you, Master.” Ember bows his head. “But still your loyal servant.”

“That’s my good boy.”