Hidden in Sheridan (Tainted Series: Book 1)

Moon: FIRST QUARTER

Levi - My hands are the first thing I see when I look down. The thick veins bulging beneath my dark skin, all the way down to sharpened yellowed claws. I can taste the mutated teeth inside my mouth, and they itched with the desire to bite down on something.

With so much blood pulsing into my head I have a hard time focusing. I turn to the Brown-Female. She’d recovered from her shock.

So I charge.

I duck below the wolf’s teeth and wrap one hand around her neck, my claws digging into her back before I turn, throwing her like the heavy ball of metal in a hammer throw tournament. She sails across the space slamming against a nearby tree splitting the bark at the point of contact. The force was unreal, but then I remember, she’s no ordinary animal.

The Brown-Wolf shakes her head and staggers to her feet, blood seeping from the new wound. I can tell from her eyes, she won’t make the same mistake again.

She charges, snapping just short of my reach. I swing across my body, giving her the opening she needs to lunge for my open back. I pull my elbow back aiming for the side of her body, but she manages to dig her teeth into my lower shoulder blade.

Pain shoots through my sides and my right arm goes limp so I turn on my toes. With my left shoulder I dive for her, and I wrap around her middle. With my momentum I pull her through a roll trying to pin her to the ground. She twists through my grip and I can’t hold on. I release and swipe blindly with my claws. She yelps, fresh blood spilling from her hind leg.

Hank appears in front of her, one eye on her and the other on me. He wasn’t sure what to think of me, luckily Rory didn’t care. He cut in between me and the Brown-Wolf. Now surrounded, and wounded, I look over my shoulder to the Gray-Wolf. My appearance caused him to hesitate and at Sterling’s growl Gray-Wolf backed cautiously into the trees.

We’d won. The strongest of the two was trapped, and I could smell the retreat of her comrade.

Trinity? Remembering her I turned to see her still standing, branch in hands unable to pull her eyes away from the scene - away from me. For an instant I’m excited that sees me, then another instant comes bringing with it the urge to run and hide from her gaze as she studies me, her expression dark and confused.

With the intention of steadying my nerves, I take a deep drag of forest air catching the scent of another. Under the thicket, already in motion.

From behind Ity, a wolf with Carmel fur slips from the ground cover. His smell is subtle leaving no indication of how long he’d been hiding but he was close enough my speed could not compete. It leapt catching Trinity by the side his teeth sinking deep into her left shoulder.

The branch in her hands drops to the ground and my eyes connect with the Carmel-Wolf’s for a moment, but long enough. It was him. I know it. The same wolf that had bitten me. There’s no mistaking it.

A sharp scream escapes Ity’s throat and she falls toward me. The canine’s teeth pull free leaving blood pouring from Ity’s wound. I dive for the girl, collecting her in my arms while turning to brace for the next attack.

It doesn’t come.

A loud howl echoes from the Carmel-Wolf and he bolts from view. The sound of cracking branches follow him and the Brown-Wolf uses this distraction to retreat, swiftly bolting past Hank and safely into the trees. Not willing to give up, Rory and Hank bark at each other and then chase her.

Ity’s breathing changes beneath my arms and I pull her in tighter. Applying pressure to suppress her injured shoulder.

“Hold on Ity. You’ll be okay.”

With a sharp jerk, she falls out of my arms onto the ground. Her teeth clenched, I watch as she tries to push herself to her feet, but her arms give out beneath her own weight. She drops face down into the snow. A deep moan rolls through her chest, her hand pulls at her injured shoulder.

Again, I reach to assist her but Ity’s body convulsed. Her free hand claws at the ground leaving deep markings combined of snow, moss and mud. Then a chilling growl rolls through her body that makes me pull back.

My first thought is, she must be hurting just like I did. The pain of the growing moon … but she had just been bitten. Surely that isn’t supposed to happen so soon.

I look to the sky. I can almost taste the time of the moonrise in my mouth. It’s close but still a few hours away. A part of me hopes it never rises, the other part is curious to see what will happen to me and now her.

I watch her writhe, and I try to figure out what might be different about her bite verses my own. It was the same wolf, of that I am certain. But her bite came during the day and the moon is half full where are mine was a moonless sky, not to mention the snow …

Okay, I have no idea if any of this matters but if there was one thing I learned from high school science it’s that every variable can cause a different reaction.

I mean she’s a girl for crying out loud, if they mature faster then boys why wouldn’t her reaction time be faster than mine.

I force myself to refocus.

For now, all I can do is watch as she beats at the ground in pain. She rolls again to her back, her jaw tight and her back arched.

That’s when I saw it.

The color drained from her face and hands. The veins in her neck pulsed prominently blue across her ash skins. Then she gasps. In that moment the pink rushes back into her skin and her veins recede. She returns to her stomach, curling into the smallest form she can manage.

Another strange growl, resembling a mountain lions, rolls from Ity’s vocal cords. The sound somehow vibrates to the center of my body. I dig my heels into the ground, pushing my back against a tree. Waiting, until her tremors subside, her labored breathing steadies, and then she voluntarily rolls onto her back.

For a moment everything is still. Her face is turned to the sunlight, which is flickering through the branches directly onto her skin. One - Two - Three - Her eyes open and she stretches her back.

Her hands start at her face, attempting to clean the mud and snow from her cheeks. In slow motion, she rotates her shoulder then carefully she sits up to examine the blood on her shoulder with slanted eyebrows.

What could possibly be going through her head, the pain, the fear the confusion. So many of the things that were racing through my own, surely she would unload all that chaos on me, the one who had worked so hard to become her friend.

Then, unexpectedly, Ity’s rolls her eyes and shakes her head in disgust.

“Um, are you okay?” I ask, my voice cracking through the new quiet.

After a deep breath, Ity turned to meet my gaze. She studies my hunched posture for a long moment. The silence wraps around us again until … she smirks.

The smirk sent a prickly chill down all my limbs.

Branches rustle and Sterling comes back into the clearing, I hadn’t even noticed he too had chased after the escaping wolves. But his two legged return proved it hadn’t been successful. “They all got away.” He huffs. Ity releases a heavy sigh. “Let me see your shoulder,”

Merely concern about the bite, Sterling reaches down to assist. Ity on the other hand narrowed her expression into such an intense glare that he instantly stopped his approach.

“Don’t touch me,” she says, her tone dark threatening.

The actual sound of her voice may have been enough to bring us both into stunned silence but the disdain in her tone, causes even Sterling to take a few steps back. “You are the reason I’ve been bitten, mutt. So stop helping.”

After sputtering for a moment Sterling finally found his voice, and he burst out laughing. “You can talk! Wait, did the bite make her talk or could she talk before that?”

He spoke passed Ity, to me. I knew my eyes were probably as wide as dinner sized paper plates but I couldn’t help but glance at Ity to see her reaction. Her expression remained dark and didn’t shift from Sterling.

Like an old VHS tape my mind rewound to that moment before she was bitten. That moment I noticed my hands and body had changed and so had she.

Using the most steady and low tone I could manage, I answer. “Pre-bite.”

“So, you’ve been able to talk this whole time.” Sterling jeers. He is obviously not trying to be sensitive. “Lier, Lier pants on fire.”

My eyes roll closed and I pinch the bridge of my nose. Sterling was acting like a child, and I don’t understand why.

“Sterling stop being a jerk,” I warn him but then Ity does the most unexpected thing. She taunts him back.

“Oh the high and might Wolfe Pack. So pretentious you flaunt what you are right out in the open.”

“We do not.”

“Oh really, Sterling WOLF!” Sterling shrunk back a bit, Ity continued. “And because of you and you,” She points at me, “I became a blasted target in your stupid turf war!”

She winced and rotated her shoulder, rubbing it with her other hand. “Now I’m gonna have to kill the wolf that bit me. All I wanted to do what quietly finish high school. That’s not asking much!”

“I’m confused.” I literally raised my hand to draw the attention to me, and perhaps it was from months of conditioning at school but it worked. Both went silent giving me the chance to speak. “You knew Sterling was a shifter … er a Lycanthrope?”

She doesn’t answer, her eyes merely dart away from mine, and now it was my turn to feel irritated.

“You pretended not to know anything. Even when I was bitten, you suspected I was changing into one of them, didn’t you? I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised since you were lying about being able to talk …”

“Lies are necessary for self preservation, as you’re currently discovering.” She says, her clear green eyes connected with mine sending a series of chills down my spine. “And don’t be stupid. You are not changing into a Lycanthrope.”

My face flushes again and I look down at my hands. My very human hands.

“But you are something.” She adds.

I swallow before looking up to reply. “Whatever I am, you might become one too. We did get bit by the same wolf.”

Her eyebrows lifted for a moment, but she was clearly holding back something that might resemble a laugh. “Making us what? Werewolf?”

I shrug, “Maybe.” Her expression doesn’t change for a long while. Eyes remain locked on me while her hand traced up her own arm, touching her bloodied shoulder.

“He’s right.” Sterling’s calm had finally returned. He crouched down beside her. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you were bitten by no ordinary Lycanthrope. He somehow had the ability to turn Levi into whatever he is, with a single bite - “

“That much I’ve seen.” She says, certainty coating her voice. “But there’s a flaw in your theory…” Under her own power, Ity pushes herself to her feet and instantly regrets it. Her body sways and focus slips from her eyes.

Instinctively I react. I rush forward and slip one arm around her waist. Using my hand I braced her injured shoulder until her legs steady and she stays vertical.

The instant the focus returns to her eyes they slowly trace down to my hand around her waist. Again, embarrassment fills my entire body, but I don’t dare make any sudden movements. Slowly I peel my fingers away, then my hand, my wrist, and my arm is last, before I cautiously back away. Both hands mimicking the best surrender pose I know.

“What flaw?” Sterling asks, which helps the awkwardness melt away.

Ity makes an attempt to brush the mud from her jeans. “A Lycanthrope cannot turn a human with a bite.”

“See, how do you know that?” Sterling asks, his own voice carefully flexed.

She looks us both over carefully for a moment, a moment that lasted longer than necessary. “Maybe I’m guessing. And from the look on your face, I’m right. So that means there’s something about this bite thats unique. And I’m willing to bet you don’t know what that is.” She winced and looking at her fingers in surprise. Wiggling them slowly in front of her face, wearing an expression of confusion.

“My bite stung for many days after.” I state. Hoping it might bring her comfort.

She looks at Sterling, “How long does a normal bite feel like this?”

Sterlings eyebrows rise, his lips parting but he doesn’t have an answer. Neither of us do.

“Moments.” Rory answers. His approach isn’t very obvious. He’s limping, favoring his left leg but he forces himself to stand a bit taller. “It depends on the depth but it’s no different than a bite from any animal. Why?”

“You said it stings?” Sterling asks urgently.

Her eyes did a dangerous dance across the sky, “like, fire after it eats away the skin.” She looks straight at Sterling while rolling up the sleeve on her opposite arm. “You bite me.”

“What?” Both of us sputter. Rory is just as surprised though he manages to keep it inside.

“There is something strange about his bite. But since I haven’t been bit by a Lycanthrope before I can’t know for sure until I have something to compare it to.” She steps closer to Sterling, “Bite me.”

Sterling steps back, his head shaking no.

Ity rolls her eyes, “I don’t have much time before the sensation wears off, I need you to bite me now.”

“I’ll do it,” Rory volunteers.

“NO!” Sterling and I shout.

Ity licked her dry lips, “You don’t have to bite all that deep, just enough to break the skin.” She pushes her arm toward him, or Rory, apparently she doesn’t care who. Sterling doesn’t move but I can see the wheels in his head turning slowly. Too slowly for my liking. I know he won’t do it, but he was actually thinking about it. He’d bitten only one human before, and then suddenly, I get why he was taking his time to think.

At this point, was Ity still human?

The heat was building in my chest again, my pulse escalating. Impatient Rory pushes Sterling aside and grabs Ity by the outstretched arm.

A flash of heat rushes through my body and I don’t remember moving. But after I blink, I had Rory’s shirt gathered in my fists. He dug his feet into the ground to keep me from pushing him backward, while his hands press hard into my chest. His face contorted as he pushed, and I know he’s not holding back his strength.

Somehow, right now, we are evenly matched.

“No more biting,” I say, my voice holding a foreign vibration but I don’t blink again. I hold Rory’s complete attention. Thats when Sterlings hand pats my shoulder, encouraging me to calm down.

“How about we get a more professional opinion,” Sterling suggests.

CHAPTER END