Claimed by the Beast Bundle (6 page)

Chapter 10

“You look nice today. Want any breakfast?” Crystal asked the next morning when Ember came down the stairs, wearing her trademark black skirt with a tight-fitting white top. It took Crystal a moment to recognize it as one of her tops from two years ago.

Ember
’s eyes narrowed and she stopped to sniff and glanced around. “Your mom gone already?”

“
Yeah, she had to be in by six. She’s working a double so she won’t be home until tomorrow morning.”

“
Good.”

Crystal frowned.
“Look, I’m sorry about last night, I’m just—what’s wrong with my mom? Are you still pissed about the helmet thing?”

“
Irritated,” Ember admitted, “but that’s not it. You’re ready for him and he’ll know it. He’ll come tonight.”

“
What are you talking about?”

She sniffed again.
“His poison sped up your cycle. You’re ready for him.”

“
My cycle? What, you mean my period?”

Ember nodded.

Crystal’s eyes rounded. “Oh my God,” she muttered before rushing upstairs to the bathroom. She dropped her clothing and sat down on the stool. A quick wipe later and she stared at the stained paper. “What the hell?” she mumbled before fumbling through the cupboard under the sink beside her.

Crystal walked downstairs a few moments later with her face flushed.
“I just finished a week ago!”

Ember looked up from the jar of peanut butter and jerked the spoon out of her mouth. She tried to talk but the sticky paste made her mumble her words.

“Wait a minute,” Crystal said when she saw the jar that Ember sat on the counter and pushed behind her. She laughed, her embarrassment forgotten. “Peanut butter?”

“
So I like peanut butter—what’s your problem?” Ember said while licking her lips.

Crystal couldn
’t contain herself. “Oh, nothing.” She giggled. “I think there are some videos on the Internet, that’s all.”

Ember snarled.
“That’s enough,” she growled. “Did you use a pad or a tampon?”

Crystal
’s humor faded at the question. “Um, kinda personal!”

“
Kind of important,” Ember said. “A pad won’t hide the smell as much.”

“
Gross! I don’t smell! And what gives? I just finished my period last week.”

“
It’s not a period,” the redhead said. “It’s you coming into season.”

“
Coming into—”

“
You’re in heat.”

Crystal
’s jaw fell open.

Ember smiled and turned to lick the last of the peanut butter off the spoon before tossing it in the sink.
“I’m good, but I didn’t notice you until you came downstairs. He’ll be able to smell you from a mile away, more if he’s downwind.”

“
I’m—in heat?” she repeated. “Like a dog?”

Ember chuckled.
“He’s not like any dog you’ve ever met.”

“
A wolf?”

Ember shook her head.

“What then?”

“
A beast.”

Crystal heard herself whimper.
“This is so messed up. I don’t—I mean—how long will this last? What does it mean?”

“
It’ll last until he breeds you or you die.”

Crystal gasped.

Ember pressed on. “Then again, I suppose anybody could breed you. Know any cute guys?”

“
Oh my God!”

A car horn honked, drawing Ember
’s attention. Crystal turned and stared at the door a moment until she realized her friend must be waiting. “Oh! Beth’s here.”

Ember sighed.
“Great. You ride with her. I’ll drive.”

“
No.” Crystal shook her head. “We told my mom we’d go together. She’ll be pissed if you don’t.”

“
Got news for you, Princess,” Ember said. “I don’t care.”

Crystal balked and then lifted her head up.
“Please, Ember. I need you.”

Ember
’s eyes narrowed. She sniffed again and sighed. “Fine. But just so you know, you’re acting nice now because you’re in heat.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“
You’re going to be extra friendly and nicer than usual. Horny too. If you don’t want to spread your legs around the first guy you see that you like, you’d better keep your friends close.”

“
What? No way! You make it sound like I’m turning into a slut!”

Ember shrugged.
“The Beast’s bite will do that. Why else do you think you’d be willing to screw a giant hairy beast?”

“
No way. Now effing way!”

“
Effing?”

Crystal blushed and turned as Beth honked again.
“Come on, she’s going to be pissed.”

Ember shook her head.
“You always worry about everybody being pissed off at you?”

“
What? No—”

“
So it’s just your hormones then?” Ember asked as she pushed past Crystal and walked out the front door of the house.

Crystal stared after her surly protector, jaw hanging open at the woman
’s words. Was she always worrying about upsetting other people? She tried to be nice and thoughtful, but look where that got her—made fun of and ridiculed. Crystal closed her mouth and snorted before grabbing her purse and book bag and following Ember out the door.

Beth met her in front of her car, a five
-year-old Ford Fusion her mom had passed down to her. She surprised Crystal by stepping in front of her and wrapping her arms around her before Crystal could react.

Crystal grunted and then inhaled. The scent of Beth
’s fruity shampoo and the lavender scent of her soap filled her nose and made her relax into her friend’s embrace. Beth stiffened for a moment and then held her tighter. Ember cleared her throat, breaking Crystal out of the fog of comfort she’d let herself fall into.

“
Isn’t that sweet?” Ember asked.

“
What? No, she’s my friend,” Beth stammered. She spun to face her and looked her up and down, pressing her lips together to show she disapproved of Ember’s clothes. “Isn’t that your shirt?”

“
Beth, this is Ember,” Crystal said. She emphasized the beginning of Ember’s name to stop her friend from making the same mistake her mom had. “And yes, it’s my shirt. Ember didn’t have any spare clothes.”

“
Okay, hi Ember. Now what the hell is she doing with you?”

Crystal
’s eyes widened and Ember laughed. “Whoa,” Crystal managed. “She’s, um, a friend of Hank’s.”

“
Hank? Is that the giant on the bike?”

Crystal cringed and nodded.
“Yes. Sorry about that. I had to get out of there. He gave me a ride the other night.”

Ember snorted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Beth demanded.

Crystal glared at Ember.
“On his motorcycle! After that party.”

“
That’s how you got home?”

“
Yes.”

Beth pressed her lips together and nodded. She turned to Ember.
“So what’s with you?”

Ember chuckled.
“I like you.”

“
What?” Crystal blurted.

“
She’s feisty and has good instincts. Very protective,” Ember said.

Beth
’s eyes widened and she glanced at Crystal a moment before looking away. “Crystal’s my best friend.”

“
Uh huh,” Ember said. She turned and walked the final steps to the rear door of the car.

Beth turned to Crystal, her confusion obvious on her face.

“I told you when I called last night I’d explain everything this morning.”

“
So start talking.”

Crystal sighed.
“I don’t know if I can. Not this morning. There’s too much. Tonight? After school.”

Beth folded her arms and glared at Crystal.
“I am not happy about this.”

Crystal dropped her eyes and had to fight against the thickness in her throat.
“I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything I can, I promise. I just don’t know where to start.”

After a long moment of silence between them
, Beth broke down and pleaded, “What the hell is going on?”

Crystal shook her head.
“You’re not going to believe me.”

“
Are you in trouble?”

Crystal nodded.

Beth let out a squeal and stepped up to her. “What’s going on?” she hissed with a glance to the car where Ember was sitting with the door open. “Is it her?”

“
She’s, um, kind of my bodyguard.”

“
Bodyguard?”

Crystal nodded.

“Crys, she’s half your size!”

“
Great, remind me that I’m a cow.”

“
That’s not what I meant! Jesus!” Beth protested. She stepped back and narrowed her eyes. “In fact, you’re looking better than ever.”

Crystal
blushed and glanced down at herself. Her clothes were fitting looser. She glanced back up and smiled. “Thanks, and I know what you meant. Trust me about Ember. There’s a lot more to her than you think.”

Beth stared at Ember and earned a wave from the redheaded woman in her car. She spun back around, her cheeks rivalling Ember
’s hair for color. “This better be one hell of a story.”

“
Oh, it is,” Crystal promised. “But later. We’re going to be late.”

Beth
clamped her jaw shut and turned away. She walked to the driver’s side of her car and waited for Crystal to get in before starting her car. She turned and looked at Crystal, and then jerked her head back. “This better be good,” she muttered before putting the Ford in reverse and backing out of the driveway.

Chapter 11

“So what gives?” Beth demanded after they walked into the school. “And why is she just waiting outside?”

“
She’s not a student,” Crystal explained.

“
No shit! I’ve never seen her before. Who is she? And who’s the beefcake from last night?”

Crystal laughed in spite of herself.
“She can’t come in the school, so she’s going to keep an eye on things outside.”

“
What the hell?”

Crystal sighed. She glanced around
and then walked up to the lockers lining the hallway and leaned against it. She slipped her sneaker off and pulled her sock down to show her friend.

“
When did that happen? I’ve never seen that before,” Beth said.

“
Friday night, after the party.”

Beth looked at the barely pink scar and then back up
at Crystal. “Bullshit. That’s old!”

Crystal shook her head.
“Beth, remember my black eye? My cheek was cut open and so was my knee.”

Beth stared at her and shook her head slowly without saying anything.

“Something grabbed me and bit my foot. Ember and Hank and their friends stopped and saved me. If they hadn’t been there, it would have gotten me.”

“
It? Something? What are you talking about? Do you know how crazy this sounds?”

“
Do you know how crazy I feel?”

“
This isn’t possible!”

Crystal nodded. She couldn
’t speak; her throat was locked up and her vision was blurring. She blinked and tilted her head back, staring up to try to keep from spilling tears.

“
Oh Crys, I’m sorry.” Beth groaned. “Please, I didn’t mean to upset you. I believe you. It just—it’s hard to imagine.”

Crystal forced a deep breath in and out and risked lowering her head.
“You believe me?”

Beth bit her lip and nodded.
“How can I help?”

Crystal let loose a nervous laugh.
She pulled her sock back up and wiggled her foot back into her shoe. “I have no idea! Guntar said—”

“
Guntar?”

“
Sorry. Guntar’s their leader. The bikers, I mean,” Crystal explained. “Anyhow, he said that the Beast tasted my blood and he poisoned me. He won’t stop until he has me.”

“
Has you? Christ! Then what’s he going to do?”

“
You don’t want to know!”

Beth frowned.
“Um, okay.”

“
Hey!”

“
Shit,” both girls groaned in unison. They turned and saw Stephanie walking towards them and a group of her cliquey friends watching from farther down the hall.

“
Hey guys, what’s going on?”

“
Since when do you care?” Beth snipped at her.

Stephanie
’s smile faltered but she put it back on. “Since awhile now. Look, I said I was sorry. Crys, where’d you meet that guy at? He was hot! And that motorcycle—oh my God!”

Beth harrumphed and started to step forward between Crystal and the self-proclaimed queen of high school. Crystal put her hand on her arm and stopped her.
“He’s my boyfriend,” Crystal said.

Stephanie laughed and then stopped after she saw no one was laughing with her.
“You’re serious?”

“
His name’s Hank,” Crystal said. “And yes, I’m serious.”

Stephanie stared at her for a long moment before she recovered and said,
“Um, that’s cool. You’ll have to introduce me sometime.”

“
Yeah, sure, sometime,” Crystal said.

“
Cool,” the blond said. “I better get to class. I’ll catch you later?”

“
Whatever,” Crystal said.

Stephanie smiled and turned. She walked, her hips swaying with sex appeal.

“Why aren’t you telling her to go fuck herself?” Beth asked.

Crystal shrugged.
“I’ve got some freaky creature from a nightmare hunting me down—I don’t need to worry about school drama too.”

Beth snorted
. “The boyfriend bit was nice—wait a minute! Holy shit, were you serious?”

Crystal blushed and shook her head.
“No.”

Beth
’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled.

“
Unless he wants to be,” Crystal added.

Beth’s smile vanished.
“What? You just met him!”

Crystal shrugged.
“He’s dreamy.”

“
You said that about Thor.”

“
Everybody said that. Besides, Hank makes Thor look like a Girl Scout. All he needs to do is braid his hair into pigtails.”

Beth laughed.
“You did not just say that!”

Crystal shrugged.
“You saw him—he’s huge!”

“
But is he big strong, or just big?”

Crystal thought back to when Hank had carried her like a porcelain doll and smiled.
“He’s strong.”

Beth
’s eyes rounded. “This is too much.”

Crystal laughed.
“It is, but thanks for making me feel normal again. At least for a little while.”

The bell rung, startling both girls. Crystal glanced down the hallway and saw it was empty save for them.
“Shit, we’re late!”

Beth glanced up and down the hallway and then threw her arms around Crystal. She hugged her again and whispered,
“I’m with you, crazy or not.”

Crystal blinked the blurriness out of her eyes and hugged her friend back. She inhaled Beth
’s smell again and leaned forward into her when Beth let go and stepped back.

“
Whoa, are you okay?” Beth asked when Crystal stumbled forward and almost fell into her.

Crystal blushed.
“No. Yes. I mean—I don’t know. Ember told me this would happen.”

“
What, you’d get clumsy?”

“
No,” Crystal said. She blushed again. Best friend or not, there was no way she could tell Beth that she was in heat. Beth was a girl! She was a girl! And she liked Hank. She hoped Hank liked her. Being a mom at eighteen was crazy—she’d seen the horrible shows on MTV—but if it saved her life, it would be worth it. “Just, um, affectionate.”

Beth jerked her head back and blinked. A smile spread across her face and she nodded. She glanced back and forth and took a step closer to Crystal and leaned in close as though she was going to whisper something to her. She turned her head and pressed her lips to Crystal
’s cheek. “It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Beth whispered.

Crystal
’s eyes rounded as her blushing friend smiled at her and hurried down the hall to her class. Beth made it halfway down the hall before the fog cleared in Crystal’s mind and she realized she had to get to class. She groaned and started running down the hall.