Claimed by the Beast Bundle (14 page)

Chapter 10

“Of all the nights,” Crystal muttered when she saw the lights on in the house as she approached. She’d lost track of her mom’s schedule but apparently tonight was a night she had off.

She walked up to the front door but stayed to the side while she fished her keys out of her bag. Instead of going in, she waited and listened. She could hear the television on and a woman was shouting. Her mom probably catching up on some reality TV. Usually they watched the shows together when they had the time.

For once, Crystal’s life had taken a turn that made it seem more exciting than the drama-filled television shows. Somebody should be following her around with a camera if they wanted entertainment!

Crystal sighed. She could go in through the back door, but if her mom was in the kitchen she’d see her and wonder why she was sneaking in the back. If she went in through the front, she’d see her if she was in the living room or the kitchen. The stairs to her room were off the kitchen, so she was screwed regardless. Unless…

Crystal turned and looked at the street behind her. A few people were out cleaning up their lawns and planting flowers, but nobody was paying attention to her. She unfastened her skirt and slid it down her legs. She flipped it inside out and pulled it back on and then looked around again. Her heart was hammering in her chest but nobody was looking at her. She grinned and then looked down at her skirt. The inside of the black material had a different sheen but as long as she didn’t draw attention to the waist, she thought she could pull it off.

Her shirt was another matter. She grabbed the bottom and started to lift it before she put her key in the door and opened it. She hurried in and pulled her shirt up and over her head. She was just starting to bring it down when her mom gasped and cried out, “Crystal!”

Crystal let out a yelp and held the shirt, now inside out, against her chest. “Mom! Crap! You scared me!”

“I scared you? What about me?” she said. “What are you doing? Is this what happens when I’m not home—you come home late and run around naked? Where’s Beth? Oh God! You two aren’t—”

“Whoa!” Crystal said. “Um, no, we’re not anything. I’m home late because she was busy and couldn’t give me a ride home.”

“What’s wrong with your shirt?”

“What? Oh, I tripped and got it dirty.”

Brandy frowned. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, no damage done. Well, other than my pride.”

Her mom smiled. “Hungry?”

“Famished!”

“Good, go get cleaned up. There’s some spaghetti on the stove waiting for you.”

Crystal nodded and hurried past her towards the kitchen. She kept her bag on her hip, blocking her mom’s view of the top of her skirt. She called over her shoulder, “You’re not working tonight?”

“They finally gave me a day off!” She groaned.

Crystal turned at the archway to the kitchen and laughed. “I thought you volunteered to pick up the extra shifts?”

“Well, maybe, but I’m getting burned out. I need some downtime. I kind of hoped you and I could spend some time together. It feels like it’s been forever!”

“Uh, yeah. Let me go change,” Crystal said.

Her mom motioned for her to go away with her hand. “Hurry up,” she said.

Crystal flashed her a smile and rushed upstairs. Her heart was pounding again from the fear of discovery. Not that it would have been too bad, she supposed. She cringed at the crazy thought. Explaining how she ended up with a bloody nose to a nurse was only one step above the nightmare she used to have about needing to finish eating a cake that kept getting bigger and bigger in front of her entire class.

She fumbled with her skirt, forgetting it was inside out. With a mew of frustration, she ripped on it and tore the fastener out of the waistline. It fell to the floor at her feet and left her standing in only her underwear and her red face. She was breathing hard, panting almost, and grateful for being almost naked. The heat in her room was driving her crazy!

Crystal slapped the switch on the wall, turning her ceiling fan on and then standing under it. She tilted her head back and let her mouth hang open and her arms rise from her sides until they were lifted towards the ceiling. The air felt good. It felt even better when she ran her fingers through her hair to lift it up and let the man-made breeze caress her scalp.

She lost track of time standing there and feeling the air brush over her skin. It tickled her and cooled her down. Her bra itched against her skin, reminding her of the sweat that had run down between her breasts. She unsnapped it for the second time that day and let it fall to the floor. The cool air teased her chest and cooled the sweat still clinging to the undersides of her breasts. Her nipples hardened and made her gasp at the sensation.

Someone, her mom she guessed, knocked at her door before opening it. Crystal yelped and spun around. “Mom!” she shouted, one arm hiding her breasts while the other dropped to her panties.

Her mom stared from the door with her mouth hanging open. She clamped it shut and backed out, pulling the door shut behind her. “I’m sorry!” she said, her voice muffled by the door.

“I said I’d be right down!” Crystal scolded her.

“You said that half an hour ago,” Brandy replied. “I was getting worried.”

Half an hour? Crystal spun and looked at her clock. She didn’t know when she’d gotten home so she wasn’t sure if had been that long. She turned to her window and stared at the sky. It was darker out. Half an hour darker? Maybe. “Sorry,” she said. “Just thinking.”

“Without any clothes on?”

“I was hot,” she said. “It was a long walk home and we live in Arkansas!”

Her mom was silent for a moment before she said, “Crys, is everything okay? With you, I mean. I’m worried.”

Crystal bit back the laugh and was glad her mom couldn’t see her face. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s just school stuff.”

“What about your friend, the biker. Ember?”

Crap! Ember was supposed to be staying with her until—Crystal smiled. “Her dad got back home early.”

“Oh, okay.”

Crystal bit her lip and went to her door. She cracked it open and stuck her head in the gap. “Mom?”

“What is it, honey?”

“I’ll be done in a couple minutes. I promise this time.”

Her mom chuckled and then stared at her for a long moment. “You’re growing up so fast,” she said. “I don’t remember your eyes being so bright. You’re beautiful, you know that, right?”

Crystal felt her chin tremble for a moment and smiled to fight past it. Leave it to her mom to get her twisted up.

“One more question and I’ll leave you alone.”

Crystal let out a fake groan and nodded.

“Stop it,” her mother chided her. “Are you on anything?”

Crystal’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask. You’ve always been such a healthy girl, but the girl I saw a second ago looks a lot different. You’ve lost a lot of weight. I know I haven’t been around much for, well, months now, but it seems sudden. I see a lot of bad things happening to girls who have bad body images. I’m worried about you, Crissy. So I have to ask, are you on anything?”

Crystal shook her head. “No, Mom, I’m not. I’ve been exercising. Walking and running. Trying to eat better, too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said as an image of a bloody chunk of quivering meat flashed in her head. “Low carb.”

“Are you sure?”

Crystal nodded. “I promise, all natural.”

Brandy stared at her and nodded. She glanced down at her own middle-aged stomach and smiled. “Maybe you could teach me. I could stand to lose a few. How much have you lost?”

Crystal frowned and glanced around as she tried to figure out the changes she’d gone through in the past few days. “I’m not quite sure. I’ve still got a ways to go.” She stalled. “Maybe twenty pounds?”

“Well, you look great, and if you say you’re not, then I’ll believe you.”

“I’m not,” Crystal confirmed. “Can I get dressed now or do you want me to run around topless all night?”

Her mom laughed. “No! Last thing I need is someone reminding me that I used to be young and tight too.”

“Mom!”

Brandy grinned and turned away. “I’ll be downstairs.”

Crystal pushed the door shut and found herself smiling. She loved her mom, even if they were on different schedules. She sighed and turned back to her dresser. She needed to get dressed so she could try to pretend that her life was normal again, even if only for a couple of hours.

Chapter 11

Crystal woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside her window. She stretched and rolled, a groan turning into a yawn. She pushed the tangled sheets off her and rolled up to sit on the edge of her bed. She looked down and frowned. Her night shirt was damp with sweat.

“What is wrong with me?” she mumbled as she stripped the shirt over her head. Her fan blew away the heat trapped beneath the flimsy sleepwear and made her skin pucker as the sweat was blown dry.

She stood up and turned to the window. The morning sun cast long shadows and the ground was wet with dew. She leaned into the open window and closed her eyes as she inhaled the fresh air. It was wet and warm, but it filled her with a freshness that offered a new day full of possibilities.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a shape slinking through the shadows of some trees near the back of her mom’s lot. She gasped and then grinned. It was a wolf; she knew it. It was too dark to be sure, but it was too short to be Hank and too dark to be Gwen or Guntar. Adrian, maybe? Or Ember. She squinted and wondered if she could make out a touch of red in the wolf’s fur. She raised her hand to wave and realized she was topless.

Crystal let out a squeak and clutched her hands to her chest as she spun away from the window. Her face and chest was hot now. She groaned and turned her head back to look out the window. The wolf was gone, whoever it was.

She shook her head and walked over to her closet. She needed to pick out clothes to wear after her shower, but after her mom kept talking about losing weight and how good she looked, she started wondering if maybe she should wear something more flattering. A few glances at her closet and she sighed. She didn’t own anything flattering. Dark and baggy clothes had been her style. Anything to hide herself. Even her swimsuit was a one-piece with ruching and a skirt to hide as much as she could.

She turned to her dresser and found a pair of dark purple leggings. She wore those under skirts and dresses, but normal girls wore them as pants. Her breath caught in her throat as she held them up in front of her hips and stared in the mirror. Did she dare? She glanced at her closet again and let her eyes be pulled towards a shirt that she’d picked up a couple of years ago because it was cute. She’d never dared to wear it in public and then she’d gotten too big for it. Now, maybe, it would fit?

She pulled it out and held it up to her chest. It was a lavender tank top with a half shirt sewed over the top of it that exposed a lot of her shoulders. Bold purple and pink print across the front declared that she was a heartbreaker. She bit her lip and nodded. It was time to stand out, while she still had time left to do it.

She turned to the door and stopped. Her mom should be sleeping by now; she’d stayed up late to keep herself adjusted to working nights. Still, the last thing she needed was to have her mom thinking she was a nudist again! If only she knew that she’d gone jogging naked with a friend. Well, a friend who turned into a wolf—probably best if Crystal kept that to herself.

She cracked the door open and looked out. Her mom’s door was across the hall. It was shut, so she slipped out and hurried to grab a towel out of the pantry and then head to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and stopped when she saw herself in the mirror. She was smiling. Her heart was beating strong enough for her to feel it and she felt tingles all over.

“It’s going to be a good day,” she promised the girl in the mirror. “No crying. No fighting. Just take each moment and make the most out of it.”

The girl smiled back at her, convincing her that things were going to be okay. Crystal turned away and started the shower to warm it up before turning back to take care of her normal morning routine.

When she finished, she returned to her room and, feeling daring, tugged her towel off before shutting her bedroom door. She caught a fresh breath of outside air from her window and walked over to it. She remembered the earlier voyeur and bit her lip as she forced herself to keep her hands at her side. She stood in front of the window and stared into the backyard again with nothing but the screen to protect her.

Birds chirped and squirrels raced along tree branches. The shadows were shorter. Short enough she imagined the sun had fully risen above the horizon. Forty minutes, she guessed before turning to her clock. Forty-three—close enough.

“Crap!” Crystal muttered. She’d forgotten that she was on her own for a way to get to school. Beth had abandoned her and after last night’s ride, she figured walking was safer. She glanced down at herself and grinned. Maybe a naked run to school?

Crystal chuckled and turned away to get dressed. She knew she’d run with Gwen again—she was even looking forward to it—but trying it on her own in an area full of houses and people was not an option. Her ear twitched and she turned before realizing she was hearing a familiar sound of thunder in the distance. A motorcycle. Like one of the ones her friends rode. She smiled and realized it was almost definitely Ember who had been keeping an eye on her.

Once she was dressed and finished with her hair and makeup, she knew she wouldn’t make it. Not without a ride. Crystal rushed out of the house, trying to be quiet so she didn’t wake her mom up, and forgot all about breakfast until her stomach rumbled on the sidewalk in front of her house. Crystal stopped and glanced back at the house. She scowled and shook her head. “No time,” she muttered.

She took a few deep breaths before pushing herself forward into a jog. She imagined herself running on all fours again but didn’t dare try it. Sure, she’d healed fast enough but it still hurt! Just like last night, when she smashed her nose and broke her fingers. She wondered if turning into a wolf and back hurt.

Crystal shook her head and kept jogging. She spotted the first of many street signs and realized she had a ways to go. Her lungs were already straining and her skin was starting to itch as fresh sweat broke out. She slowed and reached up to scratch her forehead. Sweating would make her makeup run.

“That was stupid,” she muttered as she walked and caught her breath. In a few seconds, she felt her breathing ease and her heart stopped hammering. She could run thirty seconds and walk sixty. Great. At that rate, she should show up in time for her second class.

A car horn made her jump and spin around in mid-air. She stumbled when she came down and let out a yelp as she fell onto someone’s lawn. She rolled and ended up on her back, staring up at the clear blue sky. Crystal scrambled to her feet and stared at Beth sitting in her car. Beth’s head was against her steering wheel and her shoulders were shaking.

Crystal frowned and took a few steps closer. Was Beth crying? Or was she— “Bitch,” Crystal muttered when Beth lifted her face and revealed she was laughing.

Beth lowered the passenger window and said between laughs, “Get in, dyke.”

“I’m not a dyke!”

“Whatever,” Beth said. Under her breath she muttered, “Lesbo.”

Crystal frowned and stopped beside the door. “I mean it. I’m not a lesbian.”

Beth’s humor faded. She turned to stare straight ahead. “You really want to do this now? Just shut up and get in. We’re going to be late for school.”

“I’m walking,” Crystal said.

“Damn it, Crys! I’m sorry, okay? But you kissed her! No, you didn’t kiss her—you shoved your tongue down her fucking throat!”

Crystal’s face burned and then the heat was forgotten as the burn in her belly spread through her body and made her feel like she was in the car with Chad again. “You didn’t let me explain,” Crystal fired back at her. “I was trying to embarrass her. I was trying to make her think I really was that way. It was your idea, remember?”

“That wasn’t my idea!” Beth protested. “Not like that. Jesus, Crys, you were sucking on her tongue! Do you have any idea how—how—”

“How what?”

“How sexy that was?”

Crystal stared at her, at a loss for words for a long moment. “Sexy?”

“Yes!” Beth blurted. “I mean, gross, but still sexy. In a gross way.”

Crystal shook her head, unable to connect sexy and gross together. “You’re right—your idea was for me to kiss you and pretend we were a couple. Would you be pretending, though?”

“What! Yes, of course!” Beth exclaimed. “What are you trying to say?”

Crystal stepped closer to the car and leaned down to stare through the open window. “Level with me. Do you love me?”

Beth hesitated and then said, “Duh, like I haven’t told you that a million times?”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

“This is crazy,” Beth protested. “You’re my best friend. Even when you’re sucking the prom queen’s face and making me feel like shit. Yes, I love you. I don’t always like you, but I love you.”

Crystal straightened and glanced up and down the road. Sleepy weekday mornings after everyone was already headed off to work left the roads empty. She sighed and reached down to open the door. She slid in and sat down. “Let’s go.”

“That’s it?”

“You said we were going to be late.”

“Oh, hell no,” Beth said. “You started this—you can’t just drop it.”

“I’m not gay,” Crystal said. “You mean the world to me but I can’t be that way.”

Beth gasped and stared at her. She turned away and shook her head. This time when her shoulders shook it wasn’t laughter. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s natural. I mean, I think it’s natural.”

“No! That’s not it!” Beth said. “I’m not like that. It’s just you.”

Crystal turned away and stared out the front window. She didn’t know what to say. “Is it what’s happening to me?” she wondered aloud. “Me being, um, in heat?”

“No,” Beth said. “I’ve felt like this a long time.”

“So you’re in love with me?”

Beth shrugged and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I don’t know. I mean, I just want to be with you. I don’t feel like I’m whole when I’m not with you. I don’t want to touch your boobs or anything. I just want you to need me like I do you.”

Crystal sighed. “You should have told me this a couple weeks ago.”

“Why?”

“Things were different then. I was different.”

“What’s that mean? Now that you’re turning into a werewolf, you don’t need me anymore? I’m not cool enough?”

“That’s not it!” Crystal snapped. “Damn it, Beth, this isn’t easy for me. None of it, not talking to you and not going through what I’m going through. Do you have any idea what this is like? No, of course you don’t. How could you?”

“Tell me,” Beth offered. “Talk to me.”

Crystal stared at her and then groaned. “I don’t understand it well enough to explain. I’m hot all the time. Burning up sometimes. Gwen talked me into going for a run with her in the woods yesterday. Naked, I mean. It was weird but it felt so good! I felt the woods around me and it made me feel like I was a part of nature.”

“You were running naked through the woods? With Gwen? She’s the old one, right?”

“She’s not old,” Crystal defended her friend. “Well, okay, she probably is. They don’t get old as fast as we do.”

“The naked in the woods part?” Beth reminded her.

Crystal sighed. “It wasn’t about sex. I only lose control of myself like that around a few people.”

“Stephanie?”

Crystal started to shake her head but shrugged instead. “I don’t know. That was special. I mean, I opened myself up to that. I didn’t feel it before. No, the only person I really feel that way around is Hank.”

Beth grunted. “He’s a good-looking guy,” she admitted.

“He’s perfect,” Crystal gushed. She bit her lip and then broke into giggles when Beth rolled her eyes. “Sorry,” she said.

“No, it’s cool. This is what I’ve been missing. You’ve been so quiet and private since this started. I was worried that you didn’t need me anymore.”

Crystal smiled. She didn’t need her, but she did like having her around. The problem was she couldn’t spend her time stressing about keeping Beth happy with all the stuff she was dealing with. Especially if she was going to die.

Beth read her mind and reached over to squeeze her hand. “Crys, from what I heard the other night, you’ve got a two in three chance of not being around for a long time. I’m scared for you, and I’m scared for me. What do I do if I don’t have my best friend around anymore?”

Crystal shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m doing everything I can to make it, though.”

“Then let me be there with you. I promised I’d be there no matter what. I meant it. Even if you have to kiss Stephanie in front of me again.”

“Ugh.”

Beth laughed. “Come on, we’re late for class.”