Chapter 19

  Lone Wolf Part 2

  Lux saws through the ropes binding the fox woman’s wrists and ankles, the coarse fibers leaving angry red welts in her skin. She rubs her wrists, then grips his forearm briefly—silent thanks—before slipping off the bed.

  "Stay close to her," Lux murmurs, nodding toward the rabbit girl at the door.The two women huddle together while Lux moves down the hall, room by room.

  The third door yields nothing but an empty bed and piles of filthy sheets—evidence of earlier horrors. The fourth holds another victim, a young elf woman barely conscious, her abuser snoring drunkenly beside her. Lux dispatches him with a swift, silent cut, then frees the elf, whispering for her to follow.By the time he reaches the last room, it’s empty—just a single chair with worn rope lying coiled on the floor, as if someone had been removed not long ago.

  He heads back to the room where the fox and rabbit girls wait. The elf woman slips inside with him, eyes darting nervously.Three rescued now, but the noise from downstairs is growing faintly louder—someone moving around below.

  Lux freezes mid-step, the coppery scent of blood still thick in his nose.In his mind, the flickering glow of a TV screen plays in perfect clarity—a historian seated across from a frail old man with sunken eyes and numbers tattooed on his arm.

  "All us prisoners hid in a building," the survivor says, his voice trembling but fierce. "Anytime an enemy soldier came in—we killed him. Then soon… we had weapons to fight back."

  Lux feels the weight of those words in his chest, the same righteous fire burning through him now.

  He snaps back to the present, the rabbit girl staring at him with a questioning look. “You okay?” she whispers.

  "Yeah," Lux mutters, shaking it off. "Bodies—under the bed. I’ll handle the others. Clean the blood, fast.”

  They work quickly—dragging limp forms across the warped floorboards, shoving them beneath beds. Sheets are pulled down to cover the worst stains, a quick sweep of a rag over pooling blood. The rabbit girl’s hands shake as she works, but she doesn’t falter.

  From below, a floorboard creaks—heavier footsteps now.

  Lux scans the three women—fox, rabbit, and elf—all pale but determined. The rabbit girl still has the dagger, but the other two are empty-handed.

  He curses under his breath, then moves fast. From under the bed, he yanks the dead guard’s belt free, pulling loose the short sword at his hip and tossing it to the fox woman. “You ever use one?”She hesitates, then nods faintly. “My husband taught me a little…”

  "Good enough."

  From another body, he pulls a wooden club—crude but heavy—and presses it into the elf’s hands. “Aim for the head. Don’t hesitate.”

  They all look at him, fear mixing with a grim resolve.

  The footsteps are closer now—pausing outside the door. A key scrapes in the lock.Lux raises his knife, glancing at the others.

  “When he steps in, we strike. Fast. No noise.”

  The door swings open—

  The door creaks open just enough for a thin figure to slip in first—a young human woman, her eyes glassy and lips trembling. She keeps her gaze down, clutching a folded piece of cloth like it’s a shield.

  A shadow fills the doorway behind her—the guard. His armor clinks softly as he steps inside, distracted, one hand already reaching to shove the woman toward the bed.

  He doesn’t see the three rescued women tense, doesn’t notice Lux already moving.In two steps Lux is behind him, knife sliding in deep just beneath the jaw, severing the windpipe before the man can gasp. His knees buckle instantly, the short sword in the fox woman’s hands never needing to swing.

  Lux lowers the body to the floor without a sound, nodding to the terrified human girl. “Stay quiet. We’re getting you out.”Now with four women to protect, the risk of moving all of them grows

  Lux eases the guard’s limp body down onto the floorboards, closing the door softly behind them. When he turns back, his eyes land on the “human” woman—And he realizes his mistake.

  The faint sheen of sweat on her brow hasn’t hidden the subtle movement at her waist—a tail, thin and furred, slowly unfurling from where it had been wrapped tight around her like a belt. Her large, amber-brown eyes flick nervously from him to the others, her ears set a little higher on her head than a human’s would be.

  She grips the folded cloth tighter, almost as if she’s expecting him to lash out now that her disguise is exposed.

  Lux doesn’t move toward her, keeping his tone calm. “You’re safe. I don’t care what you are.”

  The fox woman tilts her head. “She’s… a monkey kin. Haven’t seen one in years.”

  The monkey woman swallows hard, voice small. “…You’re not here to hurt me?”Lux shakes his head. “Not unless you give me a reason.”

  Outside the door, another pair of footsteps passes—but doesn’t stop.

  Lux’s jaw tightens at the sound—the sharp thud of a body hitting a wall, followed by the desperate, strangled sobbing of another woman just a few doors down.

  He glances at the group—fox woman clutching the short sword, rabbit girl gripping the dagger, elf holding the club, and now the monkey woman still hugging her folded cloth to her chest. Four sets of eyes, all looking to him.

  "Damn it," he mutters under his breath. “I promised I’d save all the women. I can’t leave yet.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  The fox woman steps forward, ears flicking toward the muffled struggle down the hall. “Then we go get her. Quietly.”Lux nods once, scanning each of them. “Stay close. Follow my lead. No one moves until I do.”

  He eases the door open, slipping into the hallway, the women filing behind him like shadows. The sounds from the nearby room grow clearer—whimpers, a man’s low growl, the creak of bed frame under shifting weight.

  Lux places his hand on the door handle, glances back at the others, and mouths the count.

  One… two…

  Lux shoves the door open in one sharp motion, the hinges squealing.Inside, a stocky guard is pinning a scaled figure to the bed—her emerald-green skin mottled with bruises, tail thrashing weakly beneath him. A lizard woman. Her reptilian eyes snap toward the doorway, wide with desperation, before Lux’s shadow falls over them both.

  The guard starts to turn—

  Too slow.

  Lux’s knife flashes once, buried deep at the base of his skull. The man stiffens, then goes limp, collapsing forward before Lux hauls him off the bed and lets him drop to the floor.

  The lizard woman pushes herself upright, breathing hard. She stares at him for a moment, then croaks out in a hoarse voice,

  “You’re… not one of them.”

  "Not even close," Lux mutters, cutting the ropes binding her wrists. “You can stand?”

  She nods once, the movement jerky, then glances past him to the growing group of rescued women in the hall.Now there are six women following Lux, and every step makes stealth harder.

  Lux pauses at the top of the stairwell, scanning the shadows below. The hum of the sewing machines still fills the building—metal clinking, threads snapping, the dull rhythm hiding their movements if they time it right.

  He turns to the six women. All of them are tense, eyes flicking from him to the stairs, clutching their weapons or scraps of cloth like lifelines.

  "We walk out of here," Lux says, his voice low and steady. “One at a time, like you’re heading back to your posts. Act like you belong. Don’t look at me, don’t look at each other.”

  The fox woman nods first. Without another word, she steps onto the stairs, descending at the slow, resigned pace of someone returning to forced labor.The others follow—rabbit girl, elf, monkey woman, lizard woman—each spacing themselves enough to avoid suspicion.

  They blend with the steady trickle of workers below, slipping into the rows of sewing tables.

  Lux is last, trailing casually, knife hidden under his sleeve. His eyes sweep the room. The guards on the main floor barely glance their way; the man nearest the door is leaning back in his chair, bored, idly picking his teeth.

  Once they’re all seated, mimicking the motions of sewing, Lux can start planning the next step.

  Lux keeps his posture loose, pretending to inspect one of the half-finished garments on a nearby table. His gaze drifts—casual on the outside, calculating underneath—until it locks on the fox woman across the room.

  She’s at a sewing station near a guard who’s got his back to the wall, arms crossed, eyes roaming lazily over the workers.

  Lux tilts his head just enough to catch her attention.

  When her amber eyes meet his, he forms the word silently with his lips: “Now.”Her ears twitch once in understanding. She shifts her weight, fingers tightening around the short sword hidden beneath the table.

  Lux moves at the same time—sliding up behind the bored guard near the exit. In one smooth motion, his knife slips between ribs, hand clamping over the man’s mouth to smother any sound. The guard goes rigid, then limp, as Lux eases him down behind the half-open door.

  Across the room, the fox woman acts. She rises as if stretching her legs, steps behind her target, and drives the blade up beneath his armor. He jerks once, then slumps forward over a table, looking for all the world like he nodded off mid-shift.No one notices yet.

  Lux gives a short, sharp nod toward the side door.

  Lux scans the room, making sure no guards are close enough to overhear. His voice is low but carries an edge that makes the women at the sewing tables glance up from their work.

  "Look—yeah, I’m human, and I know you’ve got no reason to trust me… but I’m here to get you out of this. If you follow my lead, we’ll live to see another day. I promise you that."A few of them exchange uncertain looks, but none look away. The rabbit girl tightens her grip on her dagger. The monkey woman straightens in her seat. Even the lizard woman’s tail flicks once in a sign of readiness.

  Lux nods, just once. “Good. On my signal, we move together. Quiet. Fast. And we don’t stop until we’re free.”

  Lux’s eyes dart to the floor, following the rattle of faint metal. Sure enough—iron shackles bolted into the legs of each table, the chains running up to manacles clasped around every woman’s ankles.

  He swallows a curse and looks back at the green-haired sheep woman. Her big, tear-wet eyes meet his, the tremble in her voice heavy enough to weigh on the whole room.

  "Alright…" he murmurs, crouching to study the locking mechanism. "Then the machines come with us—or the chains don’t."

  He looks up at the fox woman and rabbit girl. "You two—check the guards’ belts. Keys. Now."

  They split off, moving low and silent toward the fallen men. Lux pulls the short sword from his side and tests the edge against a link of chain—solid iron, but thin enough he could hack through in a few good swings if he had to.The women in the room are all staring at him now, the air thick with nervous hope.

  The steady rhythm of freed shackles hitting the floor comes to an abrupt stop with the sharp snap of metal.

  The fox woman freezes, pulling her hand back to reveal the broken half of the key still lodged in the bird woman’s lock. The bird woman’s feathers puff slightly in panic, her thin frame trembling as her wide, glassy eyes dart between Lux and the door.

  "N-no… no, no, no…" she whispers, her voice catching. "Don’t leave me—please don’t leave me—"

  Lux is already moving, crouching beside her ankle. He keeps his tone calm, steady, like he’s got all the time in the world. "We’re not leaving you. Not happening."

  He draws the pocket knife from his belt and angles the blade, working it into the keyhole. The old muscle memory from years ago—fixing fine gears and clockwork with his grandfather—guides his fingers. He twists, wiggles, pries… the broken bit shifts but won’t come free.

  Her breathing’s getting faster."Fox," Lux mutters without looking up, "get everyone else moving toward the side door. Quiet. Rabbit, watch the hall."He leans closer to the lock, voice low so only the bird woman can hear. "You’re walking out of here. I promise you that. But you’ve gotta hold still for me, alright?"

  Lux glances up, meeting the dog woman’s steady, time-worn eyes. Her tone isn’t scolding—it’s grounding, like someone who’s been through worse storms and come out breathing.

  "Easy, boy… stressing won’t help her or the last nine," she says again, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting go.He exhales slowly, the sharp edge of urgency in his chest softening just enough for his hands to steady. "Yeah… you’re right," he mutters, shifting his grip on the knife.

  Lux looks back to the bird woman, who’s still trembling. "We’ve got time. We’re getting you out—every single one of you."Instead of forcing the jammed lock, he shifts focus, examining the chain where it meets the table’s leg. One clean cut here could free her and let her move, lock and all, without slowing the group.

  "Alright," he says, adjusting his stance. "You’ll still be chained, but we’ll deal with that once we’re safe. Right now, we just need to move."

  The dog woman gives a small nod of approval, stepping back to watch the door while Lux raises the short sword.

  The short sword bites through each wooden leg with a dull crack, the sound loud in the cramped sewing room but not enough to bring running footsteps from the hall.

  One by one, the last nine women feel the tension vanish from the chains tethering them to their tables. The bird woman blinks in disbelief, her talons curling against the floor as she realizes she’s free—at least free enough to move.

  Lux steps back, breathing heavier now, his arms warm from the repeated swings. He scans the group—thirty pairs of eyes staring at him, some wide with fear, others burning with something new: hope."Alright," he says, keeping his voice low but firm, "side door. No talking, no running. Stay close to each other, and stay behind me."

  The older dog woman takes point beside him, ears twitching as she listens for guards. The rabbit girl and fox woman flank the rear, short blades ready.Every shuffle of feet toward the exit feels like a drumbeat in Lux’s chest.

  Lux takes a breath, scanning the faces in front of him. The air in the cramped room feels heavier now—not from fear, but from the weight of choice.

  "There’s an alley about twenty yards outside this door," he says, keeping his tone sharp but steady. "Be fast, and you’ll make it. No stops, no noise."He turns to the older dog woman, meeting her eyes. "Lead them. Keep them safe. Get them out of the city if you can."

  Her jaw tightens, and she nods once—like she’s already accepted the responsibility.Lux straightens, then adds, "I have to find Renn’s father."

  The words barely leave his mouth before the fox woman’s ears twitch and she steps forward. "You’re going after my husband? If so… I’m coming with you."

  Before Lux can answer, the rabbit girl tightens her grip on the dagger she’d taken earlier. "Count me in, boss."The elf, lizard, and monkey woman exchange glances and shake their heads almost in unison. The elf speaks for them:

  "We’ll stay and protect the others. Someone has to."

  Lux gives a curt nod, not wasting time trying to convince them otherwise. "Then get moving. You know the plan."The dog woman herds the bulk of the freed women toward the side door while Lux turns toward the fox and rabbit, already mapping the route in his head.