100% Wolf Read online

  'Your nephew? Sir Hotspur?' The old lady turned in amazement.

  'Just a pet name, madam. No relation really. No!'

  The Mayor shuddered his shoulders at the thought.

  'As if such a great man could be related to such a ridiculous little dog,' the old lady laughed.

  Sir Hotspur puffed his cheeks at the flattery.

  'Quite so, madam! The boy is a foolster.' As soon as the Commander left the room, Freddy ran forward and began to jump up around his uncle's knees.

  'Dr Cripp is in Milford,' he yipped loudly.

  Sir Hotspur, of course, understood none of this, but he did spot the Moonstone around his nephew's neck. He grasped the chain and lifted him into the air.

  'What is the meaning of this, sir? How could you plan such infamy? To actually wish to remain a poodle! Who helped you? You could not fasten this chain yourself. How could any Lupin wish to be a dog? Impossible. Let me think ...'

  Sir Hotspur did think. He looked at his nephew's ridiculous pink fur cut into vest, shorts and socks. No boy would ever do this to himself, he was sure. Besides, Freddy was too stupid to find the Moonstone.

  'Harriet, of course.' He gave a chuckle of pride at his daughter's genius.

  Freddy's furious yaps confirmed his suspicion.

  'My clever girl,' Sir Hotspur smiled. 'More clever than she knows. Now, let me see that chain,' he said, ignoring the barks and changing his grip on Freddy, so the unfortunate dog was left dangling by his hind legs. Lupin gave the chain a pull, then he dropped the furious poodle back on the floor.

  'That'll hold, sir! It would take my fangs to break that chain. No hound here will do it.' Uncle Hotspur's voice dropped to a nasty growl, 'You'll stay here, sir, until the Great Pack has forgotten you ever existed. Until the stain upon Sir Rathbone's memory has faded, and until I am Grand Growler once more!' He gave a cold laugh.

  'You're not leaving me in this place?' Freddy howled with horror at the dreadful news.

  Sir Hotspur only laughed once more.

  'But Cripp's here! It's not funny. It's ... it's ... scarifyingly ... totally ... gggrrrrr!' He couldn't make his uncle understand. The whole of the Moonlight Gathering was in grave peril. All Sir Hotspur could hear, of course, was a series of noisy barks and yips. The Commander returned with tea and buns.

  'What a hideous noise,' she wailed. 'I'm afraid I don't like this dog much, Mayor.'

  'Never could stand a dog, madam,' he replied. 'Poodles are the worst of the lot. As for a pink one? Disgraceful, sir.'

  'But you have to listen to me!' Freddy woofed in vain.

  'So you aren't taking Dripsy-Wimpsy back to Farfang then?' the Commander asked joyfully.

  'No, madam. He'll be staying here for a long time,' Sir Hotspur replied with a nasty gleam in his eye.

  'I know exactly what you mean, Mayor.' The Commander gave a knowing look.

  'Quite so. And how is the other matter?' he asked with a glance at Freddy, who continued to bark madly at him.

  'Oh, everything is under control!' She gave a cruel smile. 'And this ugly little beast isn't going anywhere, either.'

  Poor old Freddy wailed in fury and frustration at his plight. Not only had Sir Hotspur betrayed him, but he was blind to the danger the werefolk were in. There was only one thing for it: somehow Freddy must stop Cripp himself. And whether he was a wolf, a poodle or a boy, that was exactly what he was determined to do. Freddy Lupin had 100 per cent hero's blood in his veins and he meant to use it!

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Escape Plans

  Batty was overjoyed to see Freddy return safely to the cell. He breathlessly told her about his meeting with Uncle Hotspur, while she tried her best to comfort and calm him. Sometime later the bored man came to fetch St John, who gave a superior smirk as he was led from the cell.

  'Where are they off to?' Freddy yipped noisily.

  'Outside walkies,' Hamish replied. 'Now, we must be quick. Here's the escape plan ...'

  'Escape? Fantabulous!' Freddy yapped at top volume.

  'Shush,' the other dogs cringed.

  'Do you always have to be so thoughtless, lad?' Hamish hissed.

  Freddy had a think. 'Not always,' he decided.

  'Good.' Hamish smiled. 'Or else we couldn't tell you our plan.'

  'Our escape plan!' Bruno woofed, even louder than Freddy had.

  'My hairy ears!' Hamish yapped in exasperation. 'You two have the brains of a human.' This is, of course, a terrible insult among dogs.

  'Well, yes, I am very clever,' Freddy was pleased to have had his genius recognised.

  'Stop showing off, Freddy,' Batty growled.

  'I'm not, I'm just saying ...'

  'Yes, you was showing off,' Bruno agreed.

  'The next dog to make a woof won't be going on any escape!' Hamish yipped in frustration, louder than anyone else had.

  The other dogs looked at their paws, feeling like naughty puppies.

  'Can we have some quiet?' the terrier whispered. 'Now listen ...'

  Freddy was tempted to point out that now, by his own rules, Hamish was not allowed to escape, for he had woofed first. For once, however, he kept quiet.

  The dogs gathered closer.

  'I wasn't sure whether to tell you at first. I saw the wee pink lad here and –'

  'And we knew he'd snitch,' Bruno interrupted.

  'Well, no offence, Freddy lad, but you didn't look tough enough,' Hamish continued. 'Then you proved yourself to be a fool. But you, lassie, are a sausage stealer – the smartest, cheekiest and quickest profession on the Wildside. So I just have to give you the chance.'

  Batty was not a show-off but she couldn't help but look proud and pretty at this news. Her tail wagged beautifully.

  'Not tough enough?' Freddy sulked at the appalling insults. 'A fool?'

  'Are you ready for the plan?' Hamish yipped.

  Batty nodded, but Freddy only stuck his muzzle in the air. His curiosity soon got the better of him, however, and he forgot to sulk. Bruno walked over to the straw where he and Hamish slept. He pushed it away with his paw.

  'There you go!' Hamish yipped proudly.

  There in the stone-flagged floor was a metal grate. Freddy and Batty looked at each other.

  'Go on, lad,' Hamish woofed.

  Bruno pushed his paw down with all his strength on one corner of the grate and the opposite end popped up. Hamish clamped it with his tiny teeth and he and Bruno tugged the grate away, leaving a hole about thirty centimetres square.

  'A tunnel!' Freddy and Batty woofed together.

  'Aye, well, it's a drain actually,' Hamish corrected them.

  Batty put her muzzle down the hole and sniffed, then jumped back in excitement.

  'Outside! I can smell the Wildside,' she barked.

  'Oh aye,' Hamish agreed. 'There's a way out, all right, we just have to find it. It's like a maze down there.'

  'Whenever St John is gone, one of us has a look around,' Bruno told them.

  'But what about the ghost hound?' Freddy suddenly remembered.

  'You just hope you don't meet him,' Bruno growled, sounding very brave.

  Batty looked at him with new admiration and the boxer went red.

  'And have you ever seen it?' Freddy gasped.

  'No, lad. I doubt he's even real,' laughed Hamish. 'Now you two can help, we'll find the exit in no time.'

  Freddy's face fell at the thought of going down into the dark, where the ghost hound haunted. He was more scared of ghosts than anything.

  'I'll go right now!' Batty volunteered without hesitation.

  But she never had a chance, for suddenly there was a loud commotion in the corridor. Quickly the dogs pushed back the grate and the straw. Yaps began to echo along from cell to cell.

  'A human is here!'

  'To adopt us!'

  'Someone to adopt us, to love us!'

  It was unbelievably good news. Never in the history of Coldfax had a human wanted to adopt one of the inmates.

  '
This is our chance, Batty!' Freddy said in excitement. 'If we can be adopted that means we'll be outside.'

  Batty raised her eyes at him affectionately, secretly sorry for the poor little smelly poodle. Surely no selfrespecting human would want him as a pet.

  'Stinky, if you are chosen you must take your chance and go. Don't worry about me,' she reassured him.

  Freddy was instantly dismayed. It hadn't occurred to him that he might have to leave Batty behind.

  'I'm so sorry, but I must save my pack. As soon as I'm a boy again, I'll come back and adopt you.'

  Batty whacked him reassuringly with her tail. He was going to need all the help she could give him.

  'Sit up on your back legs,' she instructed. 'Then offer to shake paws.' Freddy did as he was told.

  'Should I look fierce?' he wondered.

  'Don't be silly, Stinky,' Batty laughed. Freddy's ears drooped. 'You have to look clever,' she added.

  That idea cheered him up immediately. The dogs lined up.

  Bruno looked strong, Hamish clever, Batty charming and Freddy ... well, he looked pink and silly. What were the chances of him being chosen?

  The person was coming.

  'That one bites, this one smells, that one limps,' the Commander said from outside the next cell. The old lady was clearly not going to help one of the inmates go to a happy home. Several dogs couldn't bear the wait and erupted into hysterical woofs.

  'Oh, take me!'

  'Pick me! I'm sweet! I'm good!'

  'Steady, pups!' Hamish instructed. 'No human wants a sissy for a dog. No offence, Freddy lad.'

  'I'm not a sissy!' Freddy hissed in fury.

  Bruno sniggered.

  Freddy stood up on his hind legs and started a special twirl.

  There was the sound of applause. He had obviously impressed the person with his tricks. He jumped around in triumph, then fell back onto the straw with horror.

  There stood his greatest enemy.

  'Cripp!' he woofed.

  Batty too had recognised the wolf hunter. She jumped next to Freddy protectively.

  'I won't let him take you,' she growled fiercely.

  The Commander looked on in disgust.

  'These are the very worst dogs, the dregs. You can't really want one of these?' she asked in disbelief.

  The ghastly man raised his arm and pointed towards the two friends, his thick glasses steaming up with excitement.

  'Yes,' he cried, 'yes, I want one of those two ...'

  On his pointing finger, the Moonstone shone brightly in its ring. Fortunately, Freddy's own Moonstone was hidden by the little silver medal Pam had put on him.

  Much faster than I can tell you, Freddy realised the truth. He knew that a Moonstone in the hands of a human was a fearsome weapon. At that very moment Dr Cripp's blood would be burning hot. He could use this ring to find the Fangen – find them and destroy them. The hateful man had discovered Flasheart, and now him. Who would be next? Before he remembered that being brave might also be dangerous, Freddy flew through the air and caught Dr Cripp's finger in his sharp little teeth. The doctor let out a high-pitched shriek.

  'The pink one has bitten me,' he wailed. 'Again!'

  Cerberus flung himself against the iron bars in a spitting rage.

  'Let go or die, you putrid pink dreg,' he snarled savagely.

  'Freddy, be careful,' Batty woofed with concern. Her silly friend could be brave at the most dangerous moments.

  'Oh no, laddie. That's no way to be adopted,' Hamish groaned.

  Freddy dangled in the air, holding onto the ring with all his might.

  Crash!

  The hunter fell backwards onto the stone floor of the corridor and Freddy onto the straw in the cell. The ring had fallen off into Freddy's mouth and, with no other place to hide it, he swallowed it with a gulp.

  'Well done, Freddy. He'll be too scared to take you away now!' Batty cried.

  Freddy turned to see Cerberus's red-rimmed eyes glaring with hatred at him, a deep, terrifying growl coming from his throat. He almost preferred the idea of going with Dr Cripp to staying here with the wolfhound.

  'You ought to keep these vicious monsters caged,' the wolf hunter gasped. 'That ring was vital to my work. Vital.'

  'Oh, it'll come out the other end quite soon, don't you worry,' the Commander replied.

  'I can't wait,' Dr Cripp sniffed sarcastically.

  'So you won't be wanting the poodle after all?' the old lady smiled in relief.

  'The pink one?' the doctor snorted through his nose. 'Of course not! It's that hairy hound I want.' He raised his finger and pointed it again, at Batty. Freddy woofed with shock.

  'Perhaps she doesn't look like a wolf, but she can't hide from me.' The ghastly man giggled madly.

  'Batty, don't let him take you! He thinks you're a Fangen,' Freddy yapped, horrified.

  The Commander reluctantly opened the iron-barred door. Batty ran to and fro, trying to keep away from her.

  'Help her, quick. He's going to kill her, not adopt her. It's a trick!' Freddy called to the others.

  Bruno immediately jumped in front of Batty. Cerberus leapt at him with a snarl and knocked him against the wall. He fell down, stunned. Freddy and Hamish snapped at the fearsome guard dog's haunches. He turned on them with a snarl and swiped both dogs away easily with his heavy paws, then he backed Batty into a corner. In a second, she had been muzzled and was yanked on a lead out of the cell. Before any of her friends could reach her, the iron cage door was slammed shut once more.

  The Commander handed Batty over to the hunter. Cripp looked at Batty, who snarled at him defiantly, then with a laugh he pulled her away down the corridor. He smiled in satisfaction. Only a silver bullet could kill these evil beasts, but he was prepared; he had a silver pistol with him always.

  Freddy howled with anguish at the dog-napping of his brave friend. As his sorrow echoed around the corridor it was joined by the eerie howl of the ghost hound of Coldfax.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The Dungeon

  'He's been missing for two days!' Mrs Mutton was standing in the kitchen and raging at Sir Hotspur.

  'The boy is here somewhere, madam,' he lied. 'He is a skulking coward. Probably hiding under a bed. Am I to blame for that?'

  'You are to blame for frightening him so much he ran away. Do you want to feel the wooden spoon again, Hotspur?' She held up the dreaded weapon.

  'No ...' Sir Hotspur looked more like a naughty puppy than the fiercest wolf in Britain. Nobody knew how old Mrs Mutton was, but she had looked exactly the same when Hotspur was a boy. Both he and his brother had felt the wooden spoon on many occasions. She was the only creature on the planet he was still scared of.

  'Then find him now and bring him home safely,' she ordered.

  Sir Hotspur glared at her from under his eyebrows and muttered to himself.

  Mrs Mutton raised the wooden spoon again and Sir Hotspur gave a jump.

  'All right, madam! But the foolster is a disgrace, I tell you!' Nonetheless he went out to pretend to look for his irritating nephew.

  'Silly old windbag.' Mrs Mutton shook her head as he left the room.

  'And don't think I can't see you two,' she turned and cried at the smirking pink faces peeping in through the window.

  The twins only laughed and ran away. Their father had pretended to be furious with them when he had returned from Coldfax Fort. But they had seen that secretly he was pleased. They had all three made a pact never to tell. The existence of the Moonstone and Freddy's imprisonment in Coldfax was to be a secret between Sir Hotspur and his children. No-one would ever know.

  Freddy was inconsolable. Batty was in mortal danger and it was his fault. If she had never met him, she would still be safe now, happily stealing sausages and running away from the police. Freddy had tried his best to help her, but that had not been good enough. Sir Rathbone would never have left a friend in peril. And how could he help her now, stuck inside this cell? But of course!

&nb
sp; He jumped up, his ears high and alert.

  'The drain, quick!' he yipped excitedly.

  Hamish and Bruno looked up with questioning ears.

  'I'll go through the tunnel and rescue her!' Freddy was pleased with his plan.

  'But we haven't found the way out yet, lad,' Hamish said gently.

  'But I have to escape now!' Freddy yapped at full volume.

  'Hush, hush, lad!' Hamish urged. 'You don't want everyone to hear.'

  'To hear what, I wonder?'

  St John's sly voice behind them made the dogs jump. With him were the Commander, the bored guard and the snarling Cerberus.

  'Time to pay, pink pong,' the wolfhound slavered.

  'Only one place to punish biters,' the Commander laughed. 'You won't be causing any more trouble in Coldfax.'

  Freddy started to feel extremely worried.

  Just then the mournful howl of the ghost hound once again filled the cell with its eerie music.

  'The ghost hound is going to eat you alive,' Cerberus laughed horribly.

  Hamish's and Bruno's ears fell.

  'Take him to the dungeon,' the Commander ordered icily.

  Freddy gasped with horror. He was being sent to the ghost hound's lair?

  'No. Please, I'm sorry, I'll be a good dog, I promise,' he whimpered.

  The bored man opened the door and the wolfhound charged in. He bowled Freddy over and stood with his heavy front paws on the poodle's chest.

  To be fair, Freddy was just as frightened for Batty as for himself. How could he escape if he was in the dungeon? Then the horror of what awaited fell upon him again. Before he could worry any more, he found himself dangling in the air, held in the bored guard's fist. Freddy could hardly breathe, but managed one last croak.

  'Bruno, save her.'

  'Keep brave, laddie!' Hamish called.

  Freddy couldn't answer. The cell door slammed shut. As he was carried down the corridor, the dogs stood silently by the bars of their cells to watch. They had heard what the terrible punishment was to be.

  Freddy's terror increased as they drew nearer to the heavy oak door at the end of the corridor. The Commander stepped forward, put a large key into the lock and turned the heavy ring handle. With a hideous screech the door swung away from her. Slippery stone steps led down into the pitch black. Freddy smelt cold, dank, stale air ... and also something much more frightening.