Claimed by the Beast Bundle (11 page)

Chapter 5

Crystal walked for the better part of an hour. She kept running her actions through her mind. The words and then the kiss. Christ, what a kiss. It was insane! What the hell was wrong with her? Why Stephanie? Of every living person on the planet, why her? Even Beth would have been better than that.

Crystal growled and shook her head. She kicked a rock and glanced up as it went skipping down the road and then bounced off a metal post. The post held up the end of the guardrail for the bridge. The same bridge that had started everything.

Crystal stopped and stared, her jaw hanging open and her breath coming in shallow gasps until her fingers started to tingle. She shook her head and squeezed her hands into fists. She relaxed them and jumped when she heard the engine of a car. She turned and watched as a car pulled out from the nearest crossroad and turned the opposite way. She watched the car head away and turn out of her field of view.

Crystal turned back to the bridge. Should she go to it? Should she try to cross it? After everything? She chewed on her lip and nodded to herself. If the odds were against her and she had a very serious chance of dying in a few weeks, why not? “This is my life, damn it,” she mumbled.

Several seconds passed until she let her lip slip out from beneath her teeth and she took her first step. Once she started moving, it was easier. Right up until she reached down and put her hand on the guardrail. She stared down at it and started to nibble on her lip again before she stopped herself.

She dragged her fingernails along the metal rail and stepped around the edge of it. She stared down the steep edge and leaned back while sliding down to the section of fence that was pulled out. It had looked small when she was there before, but it had been dark out. It still didn’t look big enough for the Beast to come through it after her. Had he been able to change into a wolf too?

Crystal reached out and touched the fence. The loose section rattled against the fixed parts and made her gasp. With her heart in her throat, she tugged on the fence to prove she was in control of herself. It pulled out, proving that there was plenty of room for the massive creature that had claimed her.

“Crap,” she muttered. There was nothing stopping her from proving she was tough enough to go in there. She took in a deep breath and let it out, smelling the damp earth along the edge of the stream and the pollen from the budding spring flowers. Crystal pulled the fence away and ducked under the bridge before she could talk herself out of it.

Stepping under the bridge felt like walking into a darkroom. It was shaded and cooler under the bridge. A gentle breeze she hadn’t noticed before blew around her and refreshed her. She started to straighten but stopped herself before she hit her head on the rafters under the bridge. The cooler air under the bridge felt good even though it raised goose pimples on her arms. A chill ran down her spine and made her shudder.

She looked around under the bridge as her eyes adjusted. She saw footprints in the soft ground. Footprints of animals, but mostly the prints of what looked like large dogs. She knew better. Her friends had come here looking for the creature that had attacked her. They’d come as wolves, not men.

Crystal moved over to where the concrete that cemented a support for the bridge was exposed and sat on the edge of it. She stared at the dark water rushing past and thought of how cool and welcoming it looked. It was the same water that a young boy had fallen in and been swept away downstream. His death, or presumed death since no one had ever found him, was the reason the fence had been put up.

Had he drowned? she wondered. Or had the Beast gotten his hands on him? Her friends said that it was rare that humans were attacked, but not impossible. Maybe a human child was like veal—tender and tasty. She shuddered and shook her head at the thought. “Please God, don’t let me ever find out.”

The ripple of the creek was her only answer. There was no more beast under the bridge. Or anywhere, she supposed. Other than inside her. Was his blood inside her, changing hers? Infecting and turning her into something less than human? Or was it the blood of her friends that made her so hot?

She’d always worn loose-fitting clothes and lots of them. She’d been warm plenty of times, but it was better to hide herself. Better to be uncomfortably warm than to risk being made fun of. Better to let people think she was fat than to prove it.

Now she couldn’t do it. Every day she felt hotter. She woke up covered in sweat in the morning, with the sheets twisted around her. The cool shade under the bridge took the edge off the heat burning inside her. It was that heat that made her do crazy things. It made her irritable and made her come up with insane ideas. Like kissing Stephanie.

Crystal groaned and buried her face in her hands. What had she been thinking? Well, she’d been thinking maybe she could freak Stephanie out and send her packing. It would lead to her being ridiculed, sure, but she was used to that. Beth had told her to play up to it and own it. Well, sort of. Beth had suggested the two of them pretend so that way they’d be left alone. So why hadn’t she kissed Beth instead? Beth would have understood, at least.

Or would she? Was it any different, kissing Stephanie? Unless Beth thought that she was doing it because she loved her. Crystal shook her head and moaned, “I’m such an idiot!”

She pulled her purse around and reached into it to dig out her phone. She fired off a quick text to Beth with the simple words, “I’m sorry, please call me,” and waited. One minute stretched into five and then ten. Frustrated and feeling her chest tightening up, Crystal called Beth and held her breath while she waited. The phone rang once before a calm and ambiguous woman answered the phone and suggested she leave a message.

Crystal lowered her phone and stared at it as the call ended. “She blocked me,” she whispered.

Tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks. She’d managed to drive away the one person who’d sworn to stay by her side through everything. Everything, apparently, didn’t include temporary moments of insanity.

She shook her head. So she’d kissed Stephanie, big deal! Nothing compared to her growing fangs and a fur coat. It didn’t make sense. Why would she do this to her?

A distant rumble that grew louder broke through Crystal’s misery and made her look up. It was a motorcycle, one of the American muscle machines her friends rode. Her only friends now, she figured.

The bike passed over the bridge without so much as a single mote of dust being dislodged from the fortified structure. She started to stand up and then stopped. Did she really want to talk to someone right now? What if it was Adrian? He didn’t seem to like her very much. Guntar and Gwen were nice. Hank was…Hank was incredible! She shook her head. With her luck, it was probably Ember. She didn’t know what to make of Ember. The redheaded woman had treated her like an inconvenience, at best.

The rumble changed, dropping rapidly and then becoming louder and more rapid. The bike had shifted and, she realized, it was coming closer again. A few moments passed and she heard it slow. Whoever it was, they knew she was there. The engine died in a final cough. They were coming for her.

Her lips parted in a silent gasp. Why were they looking for her? Was there a problem? Had something else happened? Or was it worse: had they decided they didn’t dare wait? The Beast had been strong enough it fought all of them, even killed one of their pack that she’d never met. Maybe they realized it was easier to kill her now, before she turned into something like that and threatened them all.

“Crystal! Are you okay?”

Crystal’s breath caught in her throat. “Hank!” she squeaked. She coughed and jumped off the concrete block. She twisted in mid-air and hit with her left foot on the higher ground first. Her boot skidded against the muddy dirt and sent her crashing to her knee and hip. She let out the beginning of a yelp when her right foot plunged into the stream deep enough the cool water chilled her leg and plunged into her boot.

Crystal’s elbow hit the ground and her head glanced against the base of the concrete. She smacked the muddy bank and rolled down into the water. The chill fought against the exploding lights and colors in her eyes but it wasn’t until the swift flowing water tickled her stomach and chest that she gasped. The gasp ended when her face hit the water and she sucked water into her lungs.

Crystal thrashed and drove herself deeper in the narrow but deep channel that ran under the bridge. The cold water in her lungs turned into a burning need for air. She struggled against the need to cough and breathe, and struck out with her arms and legs. She kept smacking them against the sides of the stream and couldn’t figure out which way was up in the darkness.

Crystal’s foot was grabbed and her entire body jerked. She twisted with the current and reversed direction, her foot now held upstream and the water trying to push her down. She looked up, blinking in the water and leaking what air she had in her lungs as she panicked. She could see light but she couldn’t reach it.

Something new bit her arm, tearing the skin and bloodying the water. She let out a fresh scream that contained the last of her air. The bubbles were swept downstream. She was in agony worse than anything she’d ever felt before. Her chest wasn’t just on fire; it felt like it was being torn apart and crushed at the same time. She needed to breathe. More than anything, even getting free, she needed to breathe.

The light above her faded. She felt weightless again. Was she free? Had she gotten loose from whatever held her? She didn’t feel cold; she felt warm. Maybe she’d floated up? Just a quick breath couldn’t hurt, could it? She opened her mouth and tried to inhale even as the water rushed in and shocked her confusion away.

The panic of drowning gave her a burst of strength. She kicked and thrashed, but couldn’t escape. Something else grabbed her, probably the same thing that bit her arm. That little boy who had drowned hadn’t drowned after all. Whatever horrible creatures lived under the bridge had killed him. Just like they were killing her. Had the Beast been one of them, or was he hunting them?

She wanted to laugh at the possibility that she’d interrupted him killing the very things that would kill her later. Except she couldn’t laugh. She couldn’t breathe. She was dead.

Chapter 6

“Crystal!”

She heard the voice and thought it sounded familiar. She pushed at the darkness but she was so tired and so heavy. There was a weight on her chest. Too much weight—it was impossible to move it.

“Don’t die on me, damn it!”

Crystal felt weightless again, but only for a moment. Something hit her in the back, hard. She jerked and wanted to cry out, but she couldn’t. Whatever it was slammed into her again hard enough she felt something give in her side. She choked and shook her head. She couldn’t breathe, damn it! What was going on! If she did, she’d drown!

Another strike and she opened her mouth to squeak. Instead of sound, water came out. It rushed through her throat as she convulsed. In seconds, she was gagging and coughing and wishing she could either get just a little breath in or die. Either one would be a relief from her retching, gagging, and coughing.

“You can still die.” Hank’s voice drifted through her misery when she began to get her near seizure under control. “It doesn’t take a silver bullet or wooden stake through the heart.”

Crystal gasped in spite of the burning pain in her chest and lungs. She rolled over some more and pressed her cheek against the cool mud. Spasms in her chest forced her to cough and gag. After a few minutes, her stomach clenched and forced her onto her knees and one hand while she purged what remained of her Cinnamon Rice Chex onto the bank and into the stream.

She continued kneeling, her arms and body trembling. Tears blurred her vision and she felt the fresh ache in her lungs as she started crying. Hank’s hand, a welcome furnace of heat, rested against her lower back. She was burning up inside but shaking with the chills on the outside.

“Hank,” she whimpered. “I think I’m dying!”

She gasped as he tipped her over and scooped her up in his strong arms. A few seconds later, he kicked the fence down and walked her out into the sunshine. The warmth against her skin as soon as she felt the rays that broke through the trees was wonderful.

“You’re too pretty to die,” Hank whispered as he found a spot among some growing weeds to sit down. He kept Crystal against him and hugged her to him.

Crystal pressed her face into his chest and inhaled. The scent of Hank filled her and soothed her. She reveled in it and tried to burrow deeper into him. She wanted to surround herself with him.

Hank groaned softly and shifted his hand. “You’re soaked,” he muttered.

Crystal pulled her lips away from where she’d been kissing his jacket and tilted her head to look up at him. “You’re right. I should probably get out of them. Don’t want to catch a cold.”

Hank chuckled. “Oh boy. Um, maybe, but not here. And not with me.”

Crystal pouted. “Don’t you want to help me?”

“Crystal, stop,” Hank begged. “I like you and it’s taking everything I’ve got to keep my wolf inside.”

Crystal grinned. “Your wolf, eh? Well, maybe you should let him out to play. I could pet him and rub his belly.”

“That’s not—Christ! Look, you’re not acting like you, remember? It’s the poison and your blood is up.”

Crystal pouted again and sat up. She took in a breath and let it out and then stiffened. “Oh my God! My chest feels okay!”

Hank followed her eyes and glanced down at her chest. Her shirt clung to her curves and left nothing to the imagination. Even her bra wasn’t hiding the bumps caused by the cold water and her sudden desire. He jerked his head back up and met her eyes. “Uh, good?”

Crystal smiled. A part of her was mortified—both at her behavior and the fact that he was seeing her like this. But the bigger part felt the hardness in his pants against her side and she wanted to do more than just feel it. She wanted to—

“Crystal?”

Crystal jerked her hand back from his stomach and looked at him. “Damn it,” she muttered. She forced herself to her feet and took a few steps away. “This is impossible!”

Hank rose behind her and nodded. “I’m sorry. I know it must be hard.”

She spun and stared at him. His pants were soaked and his jacket glistened where water still clung to it. “Now you’re wet too.”

Hank’s nostrils flared as he stared at her. She saw him clench and unclench his fists. Was he angry? “What’s wrong? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I can’t make anyone happy today.”

“That’s not it,” Hank growled. “It’s you. All you. I shouldn’t be here. Not now and not alone with you.”

Crystal’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “What? You’d rather whatever was down there got me? What lives down there, anyhow?”

Hank blinked. “What? No, I mean you. I want to do things to you.”

Distracted from the stream by his admission, she asked, “Things? What things?”

“You know what things,” he rumbled.

“Why don’t you show me?”

“Crystal,” Hank growled.

Crystal stared at him and shook her head. God, she wanted him so bad! “I want you, Hank. Stop screwing around. You want me; I want you. It’s that simple.”

“No it’s not,” he said.

“Why not?”

“You’re in heat!” he spat out. “You’re not thinking clearly. So we screw and bam, you’re pregnant. Then, if you survive the next month, you’re stuck with a kid, and you resent me for taking advantage of that. You’re too young to be tied down like that. And I’m not strong enough to stop you if you really want that.”

Crystal glanced at the ground as she tried to really think about his words. She’d wanted him before she’d been—no! She hadn’t met Hank until after she’d been bitten by the Beast. Right after, but still. Maybe the poison had worked that fast? She jerked her head up. “Wait, why did you admit that you’re not strong enough to stop me?”

He groaned and worked his mouth a few times before he made words come out of it. “Because I can smell you. Because I want you!”

Crystal nodded. “Okay, um…” She trailed off and turned back to the stream. “So what’s down there?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“Nothing? Something grabbed me and bit me!”

“Your foot was caught in some exposed rebar and you gashed your arm on the bottom of the fence.”

She stared at the water and shook her head. A glance at her arm showed some dried blood still clung to the tiny hairs on her arm but there was no sign of the gouge. “This is freaking me out.”

Hank’s chest rumbled as he chuckled. It reminded her a little of the exhaust on his bike. “Your bike!” she gasped. “I thought it was ruined?”

He shrugged. “Naw. Guntar’s one hell of a mechanic. We picked up some parts at a junkyard and then a new fender at a dealer. Good as new.”

“I’m really sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. None of us expected him to attack during the day. Especially in public—that was a first! I can understand why, though.”

“You can?”

Hank nodded. “You’re irresistible.”

Crystal bit her lip and blushed. She was going to have him, one way or another. Her only problem was that things weren’t the way he thought they were. She had to make sure he didn’t resent her for it, not the other way around!

“Can you take me home, Hank?”

He grunted. “Will you promise to behave?”

“What do you mean?”

“Keep your hands in a safe place and don’t get too close. None of that biting stuff either.”

“No biting? Why?”

He shuddered. “Just don’t, okay?”

Crystal grinned. “Okay. I promise.”

He nodded and turned to head back up the roadside towards his bike. She followed and then stopped when he turned on her. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”

Crystal sighed. “Yeah, well, I kind of had an accident this morning.”

“An accident?”

She nodded. “I kissed a girl. It was an accident, I swear!”

Hank stared at her and blinked several times. He shook his head and turned away while muttering, “Wow.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t—I mean, I already lost my best friend. Please don’t hate me!”

Hank chuckled. “Hate you? Not an option.”

Crystal tilted her head and then smiled. “Okay, I’m not sure what that means but I think it’s good?”

“Yeah, it’s good. Ask me again when you’re not trying to screw everything in sight.”

“Well, you’re the only thing in my sight right now.”

“Crystal,” he warned.

“Sorry,” she said. “But I’m never going to be able to ask you because I’m always going to be after you! I mean, maybe I won’t have the courage to say what I’m saying now, but I’ll still feel that way. Trust me, this is not the way I usually act!”

He chuckled. “I bet. Come on, saddle up. Hands on my hips or sides, nowhere else. Got it?”

“Got it!”

“Your place or mine?”

“Ooh!”

“Not my trailer. I meant back where my friends are.”

“Oh, um, yeah, that’s probably a good idea. I think my mom is home today.”

Hank started his bike and leaned forward for her to climb on. She couldn’t resist pressing herself close to him and sliding her thighs against his hips. She smiled and inhaled his scent before he leaned forward and kicked it into gear. With a roar of exhaust, the bike jerked forward and they were off.