The Beast (17 page)

Chapter 17

After waking up late and filling out paperwork at the theater, I didn’t have time to eat before our pack run. Even if I’d had time, I was too excited. In a few short hours I would be filling my belly in wolf form.

Simon seemed perfectly calm, but when I caught him and touched my head to his I felt the excitement buzzing inside of him. It would be his first pack hunt in almost ten years and he was going to lead it. The fact that there were only two of us didn’t seem to quell his excitement.

Jack seemed agitated, but he wasn’t saying anything about why. Cole didn't ask but Jessica bounced around and pestered him. I did my own pestering, without as much bounce, and even Simon begged him to just tell us what was going on so that Jessica and I would stop being so annoying. 

Jessica bounced behind him, then hopped in front of him every third step asking him over and over again what was going on. Jack finally broke.

"What," step, step, hop. "Is," step, step, hop. "Going," step, step-.

"Okay!" Jack said, catching Jessica's narrow shoulders. "You can't say anything, any of you!"

He was sweating. He didn't normally sweat. Even on a long run in the heat of summer, he wasn’t much of a sweater. In the mild air at a leisurely walk, he shouldn’t have been sweating.

"I won't," I said.

Simon and Jessica echoed me. I looked at Cole but the huge grin on his face told me he already knew.

Jack pulled something out of his pocket and I watched Jessica's green eyes grow huge. Mine did the same when I looked at his hand.

A tiny black box sat cupped in his palm. Cole still grinned proudly while Jessica, Simon and I stared open-mouthed.

"Oh my god," I breathed.

"No way!" Jessica shrieked, jumping into the air.

He opened the box.

A platinum ring shaped like a delicate ocean wave with a beach ball of a diamond on its crest winked back at us.

"Oh my god," I repeated. "When? How?"

"Tonight," he said. "Since everyone is going to be away, I'm taking her out to Hollywood for a real date. I painted a big sign and I'm getting Marilyn Monroe and Elvis to hold it up when we come out of the theater."

We were all smiling. "Oh my god," seemed to be the only English I could muster.

When we got back to the house, we turned the TV on and waited for Sandra to come home. When her car pulled up, Cole pointed a warning finger at each of us. "Not a word."

Sandra barely acknowledged him. "Jade."

"What's up?" She was in a bad mood, with a tightly squeezed fistful of bills.

"We need to talk about you paying your way. I can't keep spending all of my money to keep the lights on, a roof over our heads and to feed you. I can't keep carrying you like this."

I scowled. "I just got a job. As soon as I get paid it's going to you. I know you've been-."

"And what are you going to do about your car? Just not pay for it? Are you going to let the service get shut off on the phone I bought for you?"

"You said that it was-."

"No," she snapped. "I need you to pay up or get out."

Her hair was a mess, her khakis were torn. Her face was dirty. Something had obviously happened to her.

“Are you okay?" I ventured.

"I'm fine!" she yelled. "I've just finally come to my senses about you. You're a vampire, Jade."

She let out a bark of cruel laughter when she realized what she had called me. I hoped that she wouldn't amend it by shouting the truth for all of our neighbors to hear.

"You're a leech," she corrected. "I work my ass off and you just go for walks with my friends."

"They're my friends too, Sandra."

"Ha! You didn't even like Jessica when you first met her. You thought she was completely retarded. And you've never paid Jack or Cole any attention until recently but everything is all about Jade. Good job, Jade, you got an entry level job. You're so lucky Jade, you can eat everything and still lose weight. Jade is everyone’s best friend. Jade, our hero!"

Something was very wrong with her. I reached out to take her shoulder, to pull her close and hold her or… something, but she dodged me and stormed to her room slamming the door behind her.

"What did you do?" Jack hissed, following her.

Jessica had a queer angry look on her face as she stared after both of them.

"I can't believe her," she said.

I started to cry.

"She knows that you are going to pay her," Simon said, patting my shoulder.

"It's probably just that time of the month or something," Cole added gently. I would have laughed if I wasn't so hurt.

They reached out for me, but I dodged them and went into my own room and slammed my own door. I didn't want them to watch me cry my frustration out. Why did Sandra have to do that? I knew that I had to pay for things. She knew that I had applied at every single place that looked even mildly promising. I had filled out applications and made follow up calls until my fingers hurt. Simon paid for most of the food that came into the house because I wouldn't let him give me money. The only reason I refused him was because I knew that Sandra wouldn't take it if I accepted any money. She would have called me a hooker or something and refused to take my dirty hooker money. What did she want from me? What could she possibly expect from me?

A soft knock sounded on my door.

"Go away," I said sulkily.

"Jade, we have to go," Simon said. “We really can’t be late.”

The window revealed the setting sun and I knew that he was right. I didn't have time to sulk and feel sorry for myself. I hoped that Jack would be able to convince her to go out after all. I felt sorry for myself all over again when I thought that I might have ruined his proposal.

They were still both locked in her room when I left to join Simon.

When we got to the place where we would change, he let his excitement show. He shook and hopped and stripped out of his clothes. I smiled. He was clearly very excited. Before I got my shirt off, my phone vibrated.

"I meant to leave it in the car," I said apologetically.

"Go put it back, there's plenty of time," he said.

I looked down at the message. "Sorry babe, rough day. Not your fault. I love you! I'm sorry!"

I replied on the way back to the car. "No worries, I'll give you money ASAP.”

"Don't worry about it. I know you're working on it. We'll talk later. Have fun."

"You too."

With lightness in my heart I left the phone in the car and ran back to Simon. He was still there, still naked, and still excited, swinging his hands back and forth like a boxer who just stepped into the ring.

I smiled. "All is right with the world again. She apologized."

He smiled back and put the car key on a chain around his neck. I started to strip, keeping the coffin nail necklace on.

"First rule," he said. "Know where your stuff is."

He pointed into the tree so that I would notice the blue flag twisted in its branches. I nodded. He put our folded clothes into a sack that blended almost perfectly with the bark of the tree and slung it into some low branches.

"When you feel it coming, don't fight it. It hurts but there's no real way around that. If you try to stop it, it makes it much worse. I can change on command so I'll wait until you start."

"I can't wait until I can do that too," I said. I felt it coming on.

"I don’t know if you'll ever be able to," he said. "I don’t know anything about-."

He touched his head to mine.
I don’t know anything about turned werewolves.

My bones cracked as my legs started to change shape. My jaw jutted and narrowed before the rest of my face caught up. I looked up at Simon, aware that my agony was completely visible in my eyes.

I saw him swing his head one way and when he swung it back he was changed. He bent his dark head to mine.

Vampires.

I held back a shriek when my ribcage exploded outward. Every time was as painful as the last. I heard the vampires in the trees. I smelled them stalking us. My hands twisted into shape.

A blur headed toward me and Simon swatted it down like a housefly.

I felt coarse fur shoot through my skin like needles.

Another blur, another swipe.

My vertebrae expanded. My ears lengthened and shifted while climbing up the side of my head.

Another blur.

We were surrounded and I was still vulnerable until-

SNAP
. All at once my nose caught up to my jaw, my hands and feet sprouted claws and my teeth snapped into position.

The vampires weren't moving too fast to see anymore.

I shook myself like a dog shaking off water and growled.

Charles rushed toward me, but I still had the protective necklace and he flew back like I had a force field. Mohawk and Graffiti-Shirt were there too. Mohawk held his thick, muscular arms out to his sides like he was worshipping the moon. Around me, the dead leaves, acorns, twigs, and other debris started to rise into the air. I felt the wind tickle my fur and I heard a loud crack.

Simon held a freshly broken tree branch like it was a sword. Graffiti-Shirt rushed him, but Simon sidestepped and the vampire went right past him.

I couldn't see Charles anymore, which worried me. Floating leaves slowly starting to spin around me. I moved forward and back unsteadily, trying to escape it, but I couldn't see. I slammed into a tree and staggered back. The debris started to swirl faster and faster, rocks and sticks hitting me, cutting at me, hurting me. The vampires had found a magical loophole. The coffin nail necklace started to rise and I waved my furry arms frantically in an effort to keep it on. My hands were made for hunting, not for holding jewelry and I didn't have the motor control required to hold it down. I felt big and clumsy and I recklessly threw myself every direction until the tornado stopped and I realized that the necklace was gone. I swept a huge rock up and hurled it at Mohawk, hitting him hard enough to open a gash across his arm, but the two halves of his broken skin reached out for each other and the wound mended itself.

I felt Simon's commands.

He wanted me to keep throwing rocks at Mohawk, just keep attacking. I did. I pelted him with everything I could get my hands on. Rocks, pebbles, acorns. I flung them at him like I was splashing him with water, and I didn’t stop.

Mohawk spread his hands and the dirt, rocks, and twigs started to float in front of him. I got the feeling that he was just collecting until he had enough to send them back at me. But Simon didn't want me to stop.

Suddenly the wall of rocks rained to the ground and revealed Mohawk, with a tree branch protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the ground, dead.

There was no time to celebrate the victory. An enormous owl, with a wingspan the size of a grown man was descending on Simon, talons outstretched, ready to pluck his eyes out.

I sent out my own command and Simon ducked. I ran as fast as I could and flung myself up into the air from his back, jumping impossibly high, higher than the trees, making a wild grab for the bird. I caught it and came crashing back down to the ground.

Simon darted around in circles with Graffiti-Shirt.

The bird in my hand turned into a snake but I didn't let go. I whipped its head against a tree again and again, whipping the tree, shredding the bark, until it turned back into Charles. I pulled a branch down and prepared to stab him.

"Wait," he said, sounding only the tiniest bit afraid that I wouldn't wait.

I did. The cock of a gun turned me around. Simon, who had been flying toward Graffiti-Shirt, froze.

"Let me go," Charles said, back to his completely bored controlled tone. I did not.

The gun went off. Before the echo of the shot faded, I had Charles speared onto my tree branch. It took almost no effort to punch it through his rib cage.

Graffiti-Shirt stared over his shoulder at something behind him, obviously and slowly weighing the pros and cons of sticking around. He never got the chance to decide. While he hesitated, Simon wrenched the branch from Mohawk's torso and stuck it into Graffiti-Shirt. Another shot rang out along with voices.

Humans,
Simon thought. We weren't touching but I could hear him clearly.
Run.

I ran. I ran as deep into the wild of the hills as was possible and pulled myself up into a cave before realizing that Simon wasn’t with me. I waited. It wasn't too long before I felt Simon getting close.

Shall we hunt?
he asked.
There's a deer trail right under you.

The humans?
  I asked.

Won't be a problem.

Let’s do this,
I responded.

Hunting took control of all my senses and all of my abilities. My large ears heard the sounds that the birds and the bugs and all of the night animals were making. They picked up on the sounds the animals weren't making, too, a clear warning of something larger around. My long nose sampled the air and sent my brain detailed reports on what was in it. I didn't see much but I could feel how close or far the things in the darkness were. My eyesight wasn't any better than if I’d just been me out there at night, but all of my senses worked together so that even the way my fur rustled in the wind told me about my surroundings.