Star League 2 (5 page)

Henry is being held prisoner by a guy with a bushy red beard and an evil grin. The smell of chemicals here is so bad it's making my eyes water.

I crouch down further so he can't see me. It's not that I'm scared, I just want to figure out the best way to attack him before I go storming in.

‘Yes, you're the perfect specimen for my experiments,' he says to Henry. Henry whimpers and I almost rush out and attack this guy then and there. The only thing that stops me is knowing that if I get caught, Henry's done for.

‘In the past I've had to make do with a few measly samples of werewolf fur. However, they were only good enough for one experiment
each and the transformation potions wore off too quickly.' I think of Daniel's missing fur and everything fits into place.

‘You, young pup,' he continues, ‘are going to be the key to my success! With you around I'm going to have unlimited fur to experiment with. But between you and me, pup, I think this latest potion I've whipped up is going to be the one that works, or my name isn't Baron von Wulfheim!'

The Baron moves over to a table full of chemicals and starts mixing things in vials. Now is probably my best chance to attack him, but I've got to get Henry out of there first or he might get hurt.

I creep over as quietly as I can. Henry squirms as he sees me but thankfully he doesn't call out. I glance down at the ropes tied around his legs. No problem, I've chewed through harder stuff at dinner!

I set to work nibbling at the ropes and in a minute he's free. ‘Go!' I whisper. Henry doesn't
need to be told twice. He sneaks over to the stairs, glancing behind him with every step. The Baron keeps working at his desk, engrossed in his work.

It looks like Henry's going to make it, but as he reaches the top step he slips. We both freeze as the Baron looks up from his potions.

‘What? How did you get free?'

‘Run, Henry!' I shout. He disappears down the stairs to safety, then I turn on the Baron, growling. I'm not too worried – this guy is no match for me and my super werewolf strength. But the Baron is grinning through his red beard, which makes me wonder if maybe he's got another trick up his sleeve. I keep my senses alert.

‘So, you sprung your little friend only to land yourself in the same trap?' he asks.

‘No, I think you're the one who's trapped,' I snarl. ‘I'll teach you for picking on werewolves!'

‘Oh, I'm sure you can teach me something, but only once I capture you and turn you into the
subject of my latest experiment,' he says with an evil laugh.

‘Enough talk!' I spring forward and clear the distance between us in seconds. But just as I'm about to attack, he throws some sort of potion at the ground in front of me. A glass vial smashes and before I can stop myself I breathe in some of the fumes.

I shake my head, trying to get the burning smell out of my nose. My vision blurs and when it clears again I get the surprise of my life. Standing between me and the Baron is a large, brown werewolf.

It's my dad.

I cry out in surprise. ‘Dad, what are you doing here?'

At first I'm overjoyed. Now that my dad is here, he can help me defeat Baron von Wulfheim. Not that I couldn't do it on my own, but it's not a bad idea to have back-up. Then something happens that makes my stomach clench tight.

Dad bares his teeth, growling at me like I'm the enemy.

‘Dad? What's wrong?' He doesn't answer. Instead he crouches down like he's going to pounce at me. What's going on? Has the Baron used some kind of mind control potion on my dad?

I see him tense his muscles and I know he's getting ready to attack. I leap out of the way and
he goes sailing past. He turns and glares at me. ‘Pathetic!' he growls. ‘What a coward.'

‘What?' I whisper. I don't understand why he's talking to me like this.

‘You heard me! You bring shame to the name of werewolf.'

My chest feels tight as pain and anger well up inside me. ‘I'm not a coward! I was about to fight the Baron before you showed up.'

‘And you probably would've lost, too,' says another voice. I spin around and find a werewolf with black fur – Mum! Good, now that she's here she can talk some sense into Dad. But then I realise what she just said and I stare at her in shock. She sneers at me with a mean look on her face. ‘The Baron is strong, not a weakling like you!'

‘Mum? Are you mad at me? What did I do?'

‘More like what didn't you do,' she says. ‘And what you didn't do was grow up to be a werewolf we'd be proud of.'

It feels like I've been punched in the stomach, and I'm finding it hard to breathe. The smell of the chemicals is still burning away in my nostrils. It's making my eyes go funny, and when I can see straight again my mum has disappeared.

I hear wolf claws clicking across the floor to my left and I turn to find my little sister, Lisa. Usually I'm not that thrilled to see her since she's normally bugging me about something, but right now I'm overjoyed. Maybe she can tell me what's got into Mum and Dad.

‘Lisa! What's going on? Why are Mum and Dad being so awful?'

‘Because you're awful!' she spits. I've never heard her this angry in her life, even after the time I buried her favourite Wolfman doll in the backyard. ‘You're the worst brother in the world! You know, Mum and Dad told me a secret …' she says, lowering her voice.

‘What?'

‘The reason they left you behind with the Star League was because they were sick of you. We didn't want you around any more. We're so much happier without you!'

My face goes hot and I feel tears start to prick my eyes. I take a deep breath to try and get a grip, but Lisa's words echo through my head. I tell myself it's not true, but why else would they have left? I bet they were the ones who told Ben about my powers in the first place as a way to get rid of me. I feel so bad I just want to put my tail between my legs and let the Baron win.

Mum, Dad and Lisa suddenly vanish into thin air. How did they do that? I'm feeling really groggy, as though I've just woken up from the deepest sleep of my life. My head spins. Something is definitely not right here.

Something sails through the air and lands with a thud on my back. At first I think it's one of the Baron's minions sent to fight me. I struggle against
it, snapping at it with my jaws, but soon I realise it's not another enemy – I'm caught in a net!

The Baron looms over me with a grin on his face. ‘Looks like I've got the secret ingredient for my next experiment!'

The Baron drags me across the floor in the net and ties it to a hook hanging from the ceiling. Then he hoists it up so I'm dangling above the ground.

I look around but Mum, Dad and Lisa are nowhere to be seen. ‘Where did my family go?' I ask, feeling sleepy.

‘Ha! You mean you still haven't figured it out?' asks the Baron. ‘That potion I threw at you was a blend of chemicals designed to make you hallucinate your worst fears.'

‘What?'

‘Whatever you saw wasn't real, werewolf, but it worked well enough as a distraction while I captured you!'

It wasn't real! My family was never really here, so the stuff they said to me wasn't true. I let out a sigh of relief. I guess deep down I knew my family would never think those things, but it sure felt real at the time.

I shake my head, trying to clear some of the grogginess in my brain, then I look at the net. I should be able to get out of here no problems. I bite down on one of the ropes but when I do my mouth explodes with pain. I yelp and pull back.

‘The ropes are coated in wolfsbane,' explains the Baron. I glare at him. Mum and Dad have always warned me away from wolfsbane. It's a herb that werewolves are allergic to, so I have less chance of biting through this rope than I do of sprouting wings and flying out of here.

‘You seem to know a lot about werewolves for a human,' I say.

The Baron nods. ‘I should hope so! I've spent my whole life researching werewolves, and soon
my plan to become one will be complete!'

‘What? How do you plan on becoming a werewolf?'

‘As you know, there are two ways to become a werewolf, one of which is to be born a werewolf. Since my parents were utterly human, that leaves the only other option: to get bitten by a werewolf.'

‘But werewolves won't bite a human unless they're desperate,' I say.

‘You are quite correct. I've been searching for years to find a werewolf to bite me, but none of them will. I've tried taunting them, even attacking them, but nothing worked.

‘Since neither of those options succeeded, I decided to invent a third option. Fortunately I am extremely gifted in the ways of science and I am close to creating a formula that will transform me into a werewolf. All I need is a sample of your fur.'

That doesn't sound good. I don't want to be responsible for this nutcase becoming a werewolf.
I try to keep him talking. ‘Why do you want to be a werewolf, anyway? It's not always what it's cracked up to be. You have to eat raw meat, you're tired from being up all night howling at the moon, sometimes you get fleas …'

He looks at me, unconvinced. ‘Why would I not want the super-strength of a werewolf? The super sense of smell? The super-speed? I could finally get revenge on all those people who doubted me!' The Baron's face twists in rage, and little bits of spit fly out of his mouth as he speaks. ‘And besides, my research into the field of werewolves has landed me an employer. He was very interested in the possibility of creating a werewolf army to destroy his enemies.'

I gape at him. ‘What kind of lunatic would want an army of werewolves?'

The Baron grins nastily. ‘I think you may have run into him before.' Before I can ask any more questions he jabs a button and a screen by his desk
switches on. A person appears on-screen, but I can't see his face because it's covered by a hood.

‘What? Why are you interrupting me, Baron, I'm very busy!' The voice sounds really familiar, but I can't quite place it.

‘I just thought you should know our plan to harness the power of the werewolf is almost complete,' says the Baron with a sneer in my direction.

‘Well, don't bother calling me back until the experiment is a success!'

‘Of course, of course!' grovels the Baron. ‘Your wish is my command, Professor Pestilence.'