Claimed by the Beast Bundle (24 page)

Chapter 2

“How is she?”

Crystal jerked awake and turned to see a naked Ember walking in. Her skin was wet and glistening while her dark red hair was plastered to her head and neck. She admired Ember’s lean body. She wasn’t petite by any means, but she was more than half a foot shorter than Crystal was. She didn’t even want to think about how much less the girl weighed.

Crystal stopped herself. Ember wasn’t a girl. She was older. Quite a bit older, in fact. Ember was a woman, even if she did look like she could be a student in one of Crystal’s high school senior classes.

Guntar and Gwen followed, each holding chunks of dripping meat. The smell of butchered flesh and blood reached Crystal’s nose and her belly rumbled beneath the grass blanket. She knew from the smell it was the remains of a deer.

Crystal gasped and remembered her dream. She’d forgotten about it, but now it felt as real as any memory she’d ever had. Guntar and Gwen were naked and dripping, the same as Ember. The difference was the blood dripping from their hands.

“You’re awake,” Guntar said while Gwen smiled at her.

“You gave us quite a show last night,” Gwen added. “I knew you’d make it.”

“She’s stronger than all of us,” Hank said as he climbed to his feet from where he’d been sitting on the floor at the foot of her bed. He sniffed and licked his lips. “That smells good.”

Clover stepped out from behind some hanging vines with some metal rods in her hand. “Cook the meat first, at least. She’s not well enough to handle it raw.”

Raw meat? The thought repulsed Crystal at first. Her dream flashed through her head, reminding her of the thrill of the hunt and the smell and taste of a fresh kill. She mewed softly and turned her head away, but only for a second. She looked back, her eyes going to the torn strips of muscle. Her belly grumbled again.

Her belly! Crystal had ripped a hole in her belly and stuck her hand inside last night. Or this morning. Whenever it was. She’d yanked out a chunk of hardened blood and tissue that was the size of a tennis ball. It was the Beast, or what remained of him. The part that had infected her and was going to take control of her. It had already changed her some. Little things inside that she’d felt when she’d managed to fight it off with the help of the wolf.

She closed her mouth and swallowed. The wolf. It was part of her now. She’d accepted it last night and it had accepted her. They needed each other if they were going to win. Now they were one. Except she had no idea what that meant. She didn’t look furry and her teeth weren’t sharp. She didn’t have a tail or feel a need to pee on a fire hydrant.

Guntar took the roasting sticks and speared all four pieces of meat in a row. He took a second stick from the witch and ran it through the meat, a few inches apart. It was a simple but obvious trick that would let him rotate the meat over the fire without it slipping on the sticks.

“Hello?” Ember said, snapping her fingers to get Crystal’s attention.

Crystal looked up from the meat to the redhead and saw her smile. “Hey, sorry,” Crystal said, her voice cracking. She coughed and cleared her throat before trying again. “Sore throat. I’m, um, alive?”

“More than you should be,” Ember said. She sat down on the bed next to Crystal and rested her hand on Crystal’s arm. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Crystal raised an eyebrow. “What happened? I mean, what did it look like?”

“You don’t want to know,” Gwen answered.

Ember nodded. “None of us have ever heard screaming like that before. And the way your body went through so many partial shifts, it was amazing. You really should be dead.”

“It hurt,” Crystal remembered. “Hurt so bad I finally stopped feeling it.”

Hank growled from where he stood near the foot of her bed.

Crystal looked at him and enjoyed the lines and ridges his muscles made beneath his skin. Everything from a mild six-pack to a bulging chest, shoulders, and arms. He was a living and breathing statue of a Greek god.

“You’re not poisoned anymore,” Ember said, startling her out of her staring.

“What?”

“The Beast’s poison,” the redhead said. “It’s gone. You’re not in heat anymore.”

“I’m not—oh!” Crystal turned her attention back to Hank. Did that mean he wouldn’t be interested in her anymore?

Hank met her eyes and smiled. “I still want you,” he said.

Crystal let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She grinned and nodded. “Me too!”

Ember chuckled and stood up. She picked up the organic blanket and pulled it down Crystal’s body before she sat back down beside her. The cooler air made her skin pucker, and her nipples stiffened and reached for the sky. “You’re still skin and bones. Never seen anything like that either.”

Crystal glanced down at herself and had to pick her head up to see past her breasts. Her stomach did look sunken and she could see her ribs standing out and holding up her skin. She let her head back down and asked, “Like what?”

“It took hours,” Gwen said, “but it looked like you were shrinking. Melting away, maybe, except nothing but sweat and blood dripped from you.”

“Blood?”

Ember and Gwen nodded while Hank tightened his fists. “You hurt yourself, remember?” Gwen asked.

“Oh!” Crystal forced herself up and looked at her stomach again. Ember pulled the blanket all the way to Crystal’s hips so she could see herself. The light played across some smooth pink lines on her belly. It reminded her of the bite on her foot the Beast had given her. Healed mostly, but still fresh.

Crystal shook her head. “I don’t understand,” she asked and then collapsed back onto the bed. She stared at Ember and Hank. “The Beast is gone, right? I mean, you said he was. But he was what kept healing me.”

“The Beast changed you,” Clover said and stepped around Hank to stand between him and Ember. She reached down and ran her fingers across Crystal’s scar. Crystal shivered, tickled by the sensation of the witch’s fingernails. “With the blood of the wolf, you will still recover from most nearly any wounds. Silver will bother you and you will find yourself drawn to nature. You will be more primal. More organic. More alive.”

Crystal nodded as she spoke. “I knew about the silver. And living longer.”

Clover nodded. “For any of your friends—”

“Pack,” Ember corrected the witch.

Clover turned an amused look on the woman and then returned her attention to Crystal. “Yes, for any of them, living like this is natural. They will tell you what you must know. But there will be things they can’t tell you.”

Crystal smiled at Ember and twisted her arm to slip her hand into Ember’s and gave it a squeeze. “You mean I have to experience them myself?”

“Yes, and no. You are different. The Beast changed you before you chased him off.”

“Changed me how?”

Clover shrugged. “That’s for you to find out. We saw you fighting for your soul, but we don’t know what that means other than you are you.”

“What? Of course I’m me! Who else—oh! You mean I won and didn’t turn into him, or let him take over. Or whatever.”

The witch nodded.

“It was weird,” Crystal said. “I heard him, telling me to give up. He was so strong and scary. Then I felt the wolf in me. It felt like they were fighting here, in my belly. It hurt. Jesus, it hurt!”

Ember squeezed her hand again and brought a smile to Crystal’s lips.

“You’re not what I expected,” Crystal said to her.

“Neither are you,” Ember said. “I saw this whiny little kid who couldn’t control anything about herself. You were a victim. Prey. Soft and weak.”

Crystal grimaced. “And you were a bitch.”

Ember grinned. “Good.”

“So what changed?”

“The kid I saw wouldn’t have been able to fight like you did. Twice now I’ve seen you do something that you couldn’t have known how to do. You had no instincts. No training. Barely even any sense of how ignorant you really were.”

“Um—”

Ember chuckled. “You did good, Crystal. Better than good. I’m honored to call you my sister.”

Crystal’s eyes blurred as tears welled up in them. She squeezed Ember’s hand and felt pressure in response. She was smiling and trying not to cry at the same time. Gwen and Guntar moved in closer, each of them smiling down at her.

Guntar caught her eyes and nodded. “As soon as you’re well enough, we’ll show you everything.”

Crystal swallowed and asked, “Everything?”

“How to hunt and how to hide.”

“Hide?”

He chuckled. “Norms don’t like it much when they see someone skulking through their backyard without any clothes on because you just shifted back.”

“Oh!” Crystal blushed and nodded. She was excited and couldn’t wait. She glanced past them, moving a little and feeling how weak her body still was. She didn’t want to wait but she didn’t have a choice. Even standing up would probably be impossible for her right now. “Is the venison ready yet?”

“That’s the spirit!” Guntar said. He turned and walked towards the fire to tend to their dinner.

Crystal turned her attention back to Clover and found the witch staring intently at her. “Soon you’ll be ready. Tonight, I think, but you’ll still feel weak.”

“Ready for what?”

“To leave,” Clover said. “And then you can repay your debt.”

Crystal’s breath caught in her throat. She’d been so caught up in everything she’d forgotten about the price of Clover’s help. The witch had offered to take her life and use her body, but now that moment was passed. More than passed: she was on the mend and looking forward to a long and amazing life. “What, um, price?”

“I saved your life,” Clover reminded her. “You will give me another life in exchange.”

Crystal gasped. “You want me to kill someone? I can’t—”

Clover shook her head. “A life for a life. I have no use for a dead person.”

“Then who?”

Clover tilted her head a few degrees and said, “Bring me your friend, Stephanie.”

Chapter 3

“Where the hell have you been?”

Crystal winced and shut the front door behind her. She was tired and dealing with her mom was the last thing she needed right now. “I was—”

“Don’t say you were at Beth’s. She’s worried sick about you and hasn’t seen you since Friday. There’s been a lot of weird stuff going on lately with you, young lady. I need to know what’s going on.”

Crystal shook her head and let out a breath. “Nothing, Mom. I’m just—just tired.”

Brandy stood up and walked over to her. She looked up at Crystal and gasped. “Oh Crissy, what have you done to yourself?”

Crystal stiffened. “What?”

“It’s drugs! What are you on? Crystal meth? God knows I’ve seen enough kids on that. Why you? What did I do—”

“Mom, stop!” Crystal groaned. She reached up to tuck her hair back over her shoulders and lifted her head and shoulders up. “I’m tired, that’s all. I wasn’t feeling well last week and didn’t eat much. New diet, exercise, and everything just wiped me out. So I got sick.”

“You’re not vomiting, are you? Anorexia? You’ve lost so much weight so fast!”

Crystal shook her head and then paused as she remembered getting sick in the swamp. “I’m not anorexic, I promise. I did throw up this weekend, but that was just whatever was wrong with me. It’s gone now. I’m better.”

“Cris—”

“Mom, please. Just trust me. When have I ever screwed up? I mean really screwed up.”

Brandy stared at her for a long moment. “Where were you all weekend?”

“With a friend.”

Her mom’s sour look said more than her words could. “And those clothes? Those are new and not your style.”

Crystal kept her grimace to herself. Ember had ridden into town to get her a change of clothes since hers were ruined. She’d done a lot of guessing since Crystal wasn’t even sure what size she wore now. Between the guessing and Ember’s sense of humor, Crystal was wearing a tight denim skirt and a t-shirt that was stretched tight across her chest and too short to hide her stomach if she lifted her arms above her head. “I’m trying something new,” she mumbled.

“Uh huh,” her mom said. “It’s all this new stuff that has me worried. I thought you’d realized that being popular wasn’t important?”

“This isn’t about that.”

“This friend you stayed with, is it that Stephanie girl?”

Crystal clamped her lips together. Stephanie was on her mind, but not because she’d spent time with her. She was trying to figure out how she could take Stephanie to see Clover. She was a pain, sure, but she didn’t want her to get hurt.

“Is this another trick of hers to make you look bad?”

“Mom—no! I’m just, just trying to figure things out. School’s almost over and I’ve got the rest of my life to figure out. Things aren’t easy for me like you think they are.”

Her mom smirked. “Believe it or not, honey, I used to be young too. I’ve been through what you’re going through. I know all about it.”

It was Crystal’s turn to smirk. “Not like this, you haven’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Oh God, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

“What? No!” Crystal blurted out. She stopped herself and blushed when she remembered how close she’d come—both the Beast’s attempt to breed her and her own hormones raging out of control with Hank. She shook her head and asked, “Why would you ask that?”

“There’s been a boy looking for you. He seemed upset.”

Crystal’s eyes widened. “A boy?”

She nodded. “Said his name was Chad?”

Crystal groaned. “He’s crazy.”

Brandy laughed. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but he did act weird. Wait—you don’t mean really crazy, do you? Should I call his parents?”

“No, um, not really crazy. He and I had an argument last week. There’s nothing between us, don’t worry.”

“So what did he want? He stopped by twice this weekend.”

“Twice?” Crystal frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Are you sure everything’s all right? I’m worried about you.”

“I’m a big girl,” Crystal said and immediately regretted it. Her mom flinched.

“I’m your mother—it’s my job to worry.”

Crystal sighed and reached out to pull her mom in for a hug. She felt her mom relax after a moment. After they separated, Crystal forced a smile on her face. “I’m okay. I’m not doing any drugs, not smoking, not drinking, not doing anything I shouldn’t. I’m just trying to find myself and see what I want to do. Graduation’s only a couple months away.”

Her mom nodded and smiled. She glanced down and back before saying, “Look, I know you’re young and perky and eighteen. I’m not going to try to make you do anything, but if boys like Chad see you without a bra they’re going to be very interested. More than interested. Be careful, okay?”

Crystal gasped and glanced down to see her nipples prominently denting her shirt. She groaned.

“And take it from me, you’re young and firm now, but without support, gravity is going to make you regret being so well-endowed.”

“Mom!”

Brandy shrugged. “You’re old enough to talk about this kind of stuff.”

“But you’re my mom!”

She shrugged again. “And a nurse. I’ve seen some scary things.”

Crystal held up her hand. “Enough! Please, enough. I’m going to go up to my room, okay? I already ate and I just want to wind down and relax a little.”

“Don’t forget Beth.”

“Huh?”

“Call her? She’s worried sick about you.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll do that too. Thanks, Mom.”

Her mom smiled. “Sure thing, sweetie. I love you and I’m always here if you want to talk, okay?”

Crystal smiled back. “Okay. Um, thanks, Mom. I mean it. You’re the best.”

Brandy waited a moment as Crystal started to walk away before she added, “You know, it’s been a long and rough road, but I think we did okay. You’ve turned into an amazing young woman and I’m proud to say I had a part in that.”

Crystal stopped and looked back at her. Her mom looked tired but more relaxed than she had when she’d first gotten home. She was pretty, but she’d let too many worries and too many years affect her. Not that Crystal could imagine dealing with it any other way. She smiled and replied, “I don’t think I’d want it any other way.”