Eve

Taking his hand, I can feel a small amount of warmth in his palm. Tugging him into the spare space beside me instead of surrendering to the aches making my limbs protest, I smile. "Of course not, you have been nothing but amazing." Itching the side of my thigh rather than the fresh skin rising across my side, I adjust my position with a heavy sigh. "I've been feeling out of sorts for the last few days, and I'm trying to get myself together," I answer, leaving out the major details while hooking a lock of hair behind my ear.

Kai squeezes my hand, and it feels reassuring. Real. Out of everything that's been going on, it's the only thing that has been assuring. Gazing into his eyes, wonder clouds them, and I can sense how he's trying to figure out what to say as much as I am.

This doesn't feel right. Something deep inside me wants out, and it wants to get closer to this man. Why? I don't want to find out. Because of that and how I feel in my body, I can't get comfortable, and it's on the verge of passing frustration.

"Eve?"

My head jerks up. "Yes?"

Scuffing the floor, it's his turn to sigh. "You know no matter what is bothering you, you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to. I've told you so, so many times, it's not going to change. . . why is it different now?" he queries, the vulnerability in his voice stabs me in the chest, harsh, like I'm back in the alleyway with that creature.

Because I'm going to become a monster.

Settling my hands in my lap, I flex my fingers to erase the cramps building up. "I'm scared you won't believe me," I whisper, hating the tears pricking my eyes.

Kai cups my face, his touch delicate, careful to bring my attention back to him, and my breath hitches at the tenderness in his gaze. "There's nothing you can tell me and I wouldn't believe," he swears, and doubt nips at me. "Has someone hurt you?"

Fear strikes through me, the memory of that night resurfacing. How I had run for my life, screamed for help, and fell victim to its claws, to its teeth without mercy. Tears spring free, and I have to turn away as my body shakes. With a rough breath, I inch my sleeve up my arm past the elbow, and let it hang between us. Silence fills the room, and it's deafening.

Say something, please.

Kai has never been one to swear, but I don't miss the curse that falls from his lips. Now I know how he gets away with it: under his breath in an attempt at privacy. . . and I've stolen it from him.

His fingers hesitate before they settle beneath my elbow and circle my wrist like I'm fragile. "Why did you do this to yourself?" he asks in the softest voice, eyes hooded.

Why did you do this to yourself, floats around in my head, and it rattles me beyond words.

"I didn't do this!" I yell, jerking my arm back with narrowed eyes, yanking the sleeve into place.

"Then who did?" he snaps, pulling the sleeve down from the shoulders point for another inspection, and his brown eyes bulge, shining with unshed tears.

I know what he can see: hideous markings, reminders of the torment I endured.

"What happened to you?" he whispers.

Feeling insecure, I wrap up again, but red-hot anger surges through me, then sadness at what I had to go through without anyone to rescue me. Sniffing I stare at my fingers, praying this might go in the direction he's promising.

But I know I'm going to sound crazy, I know it, and I can feel it. He doesn't know it, but he will, he will say it.

"A-after the party, I was chased through town by this. . . a-animal," I hiccup, trying to wipe my eyes. "I don't know what it was, but it was scary, large, and abnormal. It attacked me. I-I thought I was going to die and never see you a-again," I cry, raising my top to mid-waist, and his breath catches when I twist in my seat to give him a view of my back. "I can still remember how its claws sliced through my flesh, its humid breath before its fangs dug in without remorse. . . and tonight, something is going to happen to me!"

There's horror in his eyes, and he swallows hard. Even though he tries to cover it up, his lip trembles in the attempt to force a smile into place as he touches my arm. When he rubs at the loose skin, I wince, trying to pull away, and it terrifies me that a smooth layer sits where the incisions were seconds ago.

"Y-you had me fooled there for a minute," Kai chuckles, but the quake in his words gives him away. "A-Art class is paying off, if this were Halloween, I would be screwed. At least you have the werewolf a-aesthetic down—"

Had me fooled. Had me fooled.

Rage boils within me, singeing off my nerves, my senses, then shame and embarrassment pursues it before coiling, then the restraint snaps when he doesn't meet my eye.

"I'm not fucking joking around!" I seethe, digging my fingers into the fabric layering the sofa's frame to ground myself. "I was attacked, and now I'm healing beyond comprehension, and I feel like I'm on the verge of exploding!"

Ragged pants fill the room, and it takes a few deep breaths through my nose to take the edge off, until I catch his lynx fragrance. The strange note to it makes me recoil. The sight of Kai backed up in the corner between the backrest and the arm unnerves me, and the way his fingers tremor shatters my heart. His lip quivers as he gawks at me, raising a finger in my direction as I try to contain the growl of frustration.

"Y-your eyes. . . they're. . ." the words die in his throat.

Releasing the fabric, I rub my eyes, hissing when a sting glides across my eyebrow. Wiping it, a streak of crimson traces the line of my new elongated nail and the pad of my fingertip. When I snap my head up at Kai, he's on his feet, backing away from me like a sheep from a wolf. That smell appears stronger this time, and the light sheen coating his skin tells me what I need to know.

Fear.

"K-Kai, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," I sob, using the back of my hand to wipe my new mark. "Please, listen to me."

His skin has paled since stepping foot inside, and the fresh beads of perspiration gathering at his temple is a dead giveaway he's terrified of me.

"I-I have to go, I-I'm going to be late for practice," he chokes, stumbling over himself as he swings the duffle over his shoulder. Chasing after him, he trips and yells, "Stay back! Please don't come any closer."

Whimpering, I reach out in desperation. "Please don't leave me alone. . . I can't help this; I don't know what to do!"

Sadness replaces the terror, then it returns with a long step back out of reach before he bolts down the street, leaving me a mess on my doorstep.

Calex

"Something doesn't feel right," Flynn urges.

I can't disagree. This is the second wolf this week, prowling around town, sniffing where it shouldn't be. If it weren't for one of my rogues snagging a piece of his shirt or Flynn suggesting we scope out the area early, we wouldn't be on his trail. Trespassing through territories is one thing, but risking exposure is a line neither of us dare to cross.

If it weren't for the fact I caught wind of him, and Flynn's desperation, I wouldn't have come.

"Because he's growing restless, and something—"

"Doesn't feel right," I finish, scowling down the illuminated street.

From the moment I stepped foot in town, alarm bells have been ringing inside my head. I can feel the draw of the moon as much as he is. He's being more thorough than usual, snapping at me if the thought of thinking to skip a portion of gut feeling even crossed my mind.

Grumbling under my breath, glaring at the buildings bordering the street around me, I roll my shoulders, focusing on the shadows rather than the piercing streetlamps. This place is a cluster of pollution; it reeks of humans, garbage, and fumes. Seedy alleyways, perfection, and lights. Disgusting. Nothing feels natural. My lip curls back at the thought of pummelling the male to a pulp for luring me away from the woods.

"Exactly. It's like I can't rest, my stomach is in knots, and dare I say it, the moon feels stronger," he pants, pacing back and forth. "I need to stretch my legs."

"After we sort this out, you can run all you want."

I can imagine the huff of appreciation before he even does it. Letting him out now would be a risk, to ourselves, and to anyone who comes out on a whim. With the way Flynn is acting, he knows it's true too. However, knowing him like I do, his distractions are as good as his set of mind, and they always lead to something.

The breeze whirls around me, filling in the void of sound. It's too quiet—

"Calex, you smell that?"

Inhaling through my nose, scanning the various scents, a new one hits me. At first, it's light, then the air turns thick, and blood tickles the back of my throat. Flynn's pacing grows intense, and the panic washing off him sets me off, and my gut twists. The trespasser has attacked someone, but a niggling feeling in the back of my mind urges me forward.

"Move, Calex!" he growls, and my pace quickens into a sprint.

The wolf's presence is stronger, and the stench of blood is suffocating. The metallic odour unsettles my stomach, and my legs falter as dread weighs in on me. It's been over a decade since such an emotion has taken me under. The memories that come with it start to swarm my vision, blurring my thoughts before I snarl and force them back where they belong.