Second Skin (Skinned) (27 page)

We did what we do best. We ran. Surging forward, we swiped through the brush, fighting each other for control of our limbs, shifting and jerking, threatening to tear ourselves apart. Two beings sought to breathe through the same lungs, our ribcage expanding and contracting with audible pops of cartilage. Shrubs and deadwood fell as we crashed through the woods, the thick shroud of white mist obscured our keen vision, making us clumsy, but we didn’t slow. Bark and the jagged teeth of barren branches sliced into our hide.

A heartbeat beckoned in the distance. Rapid. Erratic.

The tantalizing scent of fear and the call of prey united us in an instant. As one, we gave chase, our movements now smooth and coordinated. Effortless. The earth gave up her secrets, thanks to the rustling leaves, the story told by upturned stones and the sweet smell of terror. We knew each step of our prey, each pause for rest. We were seconds behind.

This
was what we were meant for. No more fighting.

Just feasting.

We surged onto a sunbaked rock, claimed the moment, and our impending kill by lifting our head and howling to the heavens. The snap of a twig had us launching forward once more. We bounded over fallen trees. Small creatures scurried out of our path, blasting the air with spikes of terror. Our jaws snapped in warning. Their fear increased our hunger.

Close.

There. A man. No, a boy in a man’s body. Ripe and tender.

Stop! A
voice screamed in our mind. It was her. The girl we’d been, desperate to regain control. Growling didn’t make her shrill cry lessen. We snapped at the warning, peeling back our jaw. Muscles strained with the urge to lunge, to bite, to kill, but that voice commanded otherwise.

We no longer followed orders. We pawed the earth, bared our teeth, and crouched low for the attack.

“Eryn?” the boy asked, and we understood his words. Knew him. Knew the human name he called us, but wanted no part of what we used to be. We were together now. United. The boy was a threat. He smelled of it.

Our fierce snarl stopped his approach. His face paled. Yes, this was us now. And we were to be feared.

“Oh, my God, it’s you, isn’t it?”

Not anymore.

The fool held out his hand as if coaxing a stray dog to shelter. We were much more than that.

“I won’t hurt you,” he said. “Let me help. We can find a way to change you back.”

Back? Never.

We gnashed our teeth. A monstrous rumble grew from our chest and gave fair warning. The boy recoiled a step. Not that distance would do him any good.

We stalked forward. Salivating.

“This isn’t you, Eryn,” the boy said, backing into the trunk of a towering oak. Cornered. “Fight it. You can take control.”

Yes, control. We had it now and wouldn’t give it up for a weak human. For prey.

We lunged. Claws dug into the boy’s chest, pulling him close. Our jaws sawed through his neck. Chunks of flesh and his ragged screams swallowed whole. Blood flooded our mouth. The warmth of it. The thickness.

We rolled in it. Fed to bursting.

Muffled voices punctured the afterglow of the perfect kill, pulling us apart.

Sated, I swiped a hand across my lips and raised my head from the exposed ribcage on which I’d been…gnawing. Bits of shredded flesh clung stubbornly to the bone. I shuddered, wiping bloody hands along the sides of my jeans.

I’d returned to human form as if I’d never turned. But the carnage around me said otherwise. What had I done? Terror lodged in my throat. I couldn’t breathe. I gasped, clawing at my neck. Shaking my head.

No, no…it wasn’t me.

But it was.

“Kill her,” Paige said. “Now. You saw what she did. We
all
saw it.”

I squinted at the figures standing over me, their forms indistinct, my wolven vision receding, making my head throb. Wade held Paige in a firm grip, preventing her from flying at me with her talon-like gel nails, and yet it was the expression on Wade’s face that struck me like a physical blow.

It was the same look he’d worn when he’d witnessed his turning and watched himself kill his mother. A desperate, haunted look that begged for redemption.

Begged for me to deny what I’d done. To whisper words of denial straight to his heart. But I couldn’t. I’d killed a human.

And yet it was so much worse than that. I scrambled to my knees.

Alec’s ravaged corpse lay shredded on the forest floor.

A Beast at Last

“Eryn, wait!”

Wade’s shout had me charging faster through the woods.

I’d returned to human form, but my wolf was close, giving me superhuman speed. Even Wade couldn’t catch me.

Why had he done it? Forced me to accept my wolf, knowing I’d go feral and likely kill the first thing I encountered? My reality had skewed. I’d been without conscience. Only about the hunt. The prey. Why did it have to be Alec? Those useless visions. If only Marie or Alec had warned me
how
I killed him, I might have prevented it.

A scream wedged in my throat, along with a gut full of sour vomit. I bent over, spewing even as I continued to run. Dizzy from nausea and weak with shock, I navigated the woods like a bearing in a pinball machine, striking a tree, spinning in a different direction, tripping, stumbling over my feet, whirling around. Mindless with grief.

And so damn lost.

The forest guided me, offering sanctuary, calling to me with the scents of the woods and all its creatures. I scrabbled through dense woods, whimpering Alec’s name, switchbacking randomly down trails to throw off those who might be following.

A figure took shape on the path a few feet ahead. Marie strode forward, decked out in a plaid hunting jacket and faded jeans. A bitter smile played on her lips as she loaded rounds into the rifle. Silent, determined, she continued to approach, pointing the barrel at my chest. The faint trace of doom drifted on the wind.

Silver bullets.

I bolted sideways, tumbled over a fallen tree, and crashed to the ground. Unwilling to hurt Alec’s mother, I scrambled for a way to defend myself. A familiar weight rested in my hand, and a glimmer of silver caught my eye. My athame. Where the hell had it come from? Didn’t matter. I swallowed hard. I couldn’t use it against her. If Marie wanted vengeance for Alec’s death, so be it. I frowned at the dagger, shifting it in the dim forest light. The magic sigils carved into the blade glowed, charging it with a power I’d never encountered before. What the—?

A sharp crack blasted any thoughts about the blade from my mind. Marie fired, once. Twice. I was a freaking sitting duck. I cowered on the ground, waiting for a bullet to strike, but the hit never came. How had she missed? There’d been death in her eyes. I risked a quick look over my dagger, Alec’s mother’s form wavered. Became transparent. Vanished.

The glowing outline around the sigils faded as well. Disoriented, I tucked the dagger back in its holster and surged to my feet. And ran.

Is that all you can do?
Marie’s voice mocked, rebounding off the looming trees.
Run from what you did? Run from what you are?

What choice did I have?

Alec was dead because I couldn’t control my wolf. I’d given in. Let it drown out confusing, conflicting human emotion in the rush of pure instinct.

How could I face the others knowing I’d killed the best of us? The one who refused to give up on me, no matter how hard I pushed him away. Gone was the peace he gave me with a single touch. His strength. His determination to always do what was right and just. The heat that had once flared in his eyes. Extinguished forever.

A crow cawed in the distance, seeming to echo my thoughts.

He’s gone. Gone.

I stumbled through the brush, blind to the world except for my sense of smell. It led me to a wolf den dug deep under the massive, gnarled roots of a fallen elm. The faded scent of a female and her brood invited me in. I crawled inside the dank earth, wishing the ground would collapse and bury me alive. But the oblivion of death was too good for the likes of me. Huddled in the darkness, I sucked in shuddering breaths. There was no way to make this right. I’d turned on Alec. Savaged one of my own. My stomach lurched. I’d fed off him. I was evil. Vile.

A beast at last.

Consider Yourself Lucky

“I told you it would be too much,” a low voice said. It broke through the blackness that slowly retreated, leaving me dazed. People surrounded me, their scents overwhelming, and yet I squeezed my eyes shut, not daring to open them for fear of what I might see. Hatred. Fear. “Look at her. She’s in shock, devastated. She was hiding in a hole for Christ’s sake.”

“Only because she thought she’d killed a human,” another voice replied in a dry tone.
Wade.
“Not because she can’t live without your sorry hide. We had to let it happen. She needed to face her wolf.”

“We didn’t need to make her do it alone.”

“A girl like Eryn will always fight on her own terms.”

Alec snorted. “Oh, and you know her so much better than I do.”

Wade was talking with Alec.

Why did that simple fact cause my heart to knock against my ribs? Because they were playing semi-nice together? No, not quite. I found comfort in their familiar bickering and beyond that a desperate clinging to hope. I let out a slow breath.

“Can you two stop pounding your chests for one freaking second?” Paige hissed. “I think she’s snapping out of it.”

“Eryn, can you hear me?” Alec’s voice. “We’re safe. Okay? Everyone is safe. Wade’s brought us all together, but we need you with us. Just open your eyes, please.” His spicy scent rushed into my greedy nostrils.

I inhaled, filling my lungs and feeding the burgeoning hope that what he said was true. I hadn’t killed him. I couldn’t have. I would never. Then a thought struck me like a kick to the kidney. This couldn’t be my punishment. I know I deserved it, but being haunted by Alec’s ghost would be more than I could bear. I shook my head, and a whimper left my lips.

“Get off her, you blockhead. You’re smothering her with those protein-bar muscles,” Wade said.

“I am not.” Alec snorted. “And I’ve never eaten that garbage in my life.”

I let out a weak laugh, coughing at the effort. I couldn’t help it. Alec, eating protein bars. Wade and Alec riling each other up. This was real.

I opened my eyes. Alec was alive and glaring Wade down. As usual.

I scanned our surroundings. We were in a small, empty room with no ceiling, the vast night above us, and I lay on a wooden table in the center of the room.

Alec said on a shaky breath. “It was just a dream, Eryn. See? Not a scratch on me.”

Yes, I saw.

Alec crouched over me. His dark hair slipped over his shoulder, forming a tunnel to his face. I breathed him in, his spicy scent filling my nostrils like a home-cooked meal after a month of prepackaged junk food. Savored the slow smile made him all cheekbones and shining eyes. His warm breath feathered along my skin, sending a shiver of want through me. He leaned in closer, and I held still, terrified that if I moved, I’d shatter this moment. His lips descended, soft at first, and then fierce on mine.