Bitten

by Noelle Marie

  Since that night, all she had been craving was meat. She preferred red meat, but poultry was okay as well. Other foods, however, had lost their appeal to Katherine. The smell of the cabbage casserole her mother had made the other night, for example, had smelled so terrible – so rancid – that she had been sure her mother had used bad cabbage. Both her parents had assured her after trying it that it tasted perfectly fine. Still, Katherine refused to touch the stuff, opting to make herself a quick hamburger – meat still a little pink in the middle – instead. It wasn’t just cabbage either, an assortment of other foods – mostly vegetables like broccoli and asparagus, greens that she’d always enjoyed in the past – were now completely unappetizing to her.

  Food wasn’t the only thing her suddenly enhanced sense of smell picked up on either.

  For the first time in her life, Katherine realized that people had scents. She wasn’t referring to the funky smell that always followed around her history teacher, Mr. Jeffers, or even the flowery perfumes that Abby often saturated herself in.

  No, people had scents beneath all that. Like her dad, who smelled a bit like worn leather, or her mom, whose natural fragrance more closely resembled lilacs. Not everyone had a pleasant aroma, however. Mallory’s smell, for example, was putrid – not unlike the stink of sour milk.

  No one’s scent was overpowering and she often only caught whiffs of people as they walked pass – and that was only when she put her mind to doing so. It was when she spent a lot of time with people, like her parents, or even Abby who smelled a little like freshly cut grass underneath her heavy lavender perfume, that she really noticed it.

  Katherine sighed, forcefully pulling herself out of her daydreams. She couldn’t be certain, of course, but none of the books her parents – mostly her mom – had bought for her and her sister about puberty mentioned the strange ability to smell other people.

  Frankly, Katherine thought it bizarre.

  Realizing that as she had daydreamed, her MP3 player had played through quite a few songs and was now in the middle of a particularly sappy one about unrequited love – not a good song to run to – she reached down to the device in her pocket so she could change the sound track to something a little more upbeat.

  It was because she was looking down that she completely missed the man who had suddenly appeared in front of her. By the time she had looked up, it was already too late and she collided full speed into him, eyes wide as she looked up just in time to crash into his solid mass.

  She was shocked that she didn’t plow him down, despite their rather substantial size difference. Instead, she practically ricocheted off him, her body flying backwards. It was a battle to stay upright on her two feet – a battle she was losing – until firm hands grasped her hips and righted her, allowing her equilibrium to return to her.

  An embarrassed flush rising up her neck and spreading to her cheeks, she quickly stepped out of the man’s grasp. “I’m so sorry,” she immediately apologized, refusing to look up at his face as she did so – too mortified to, really. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  “Are you alright?”

  Katherine froze at the question. Not because it was unusual – she would probably ask the same thing if someone had crashed into her running as fast as she had been. No, her body had stiffened so quickly because she immediately recognized that she did not recognize the voice.

  No one in Middletown had such a cultured timbre. The question itself was spoken softly, but there was an undeniably hard edge to the voice that had questioned her.

  Curiosity overwhelming her, Katherine looked up despite her embarrassment. And what she saw stole her breath away. Those eyes. They were a familiar and intense dark blue – remarkably similar to the pair that had been haunting her dreams for over a week now.

  The same, her subconscious screamed at her, they’re the same!

  Katherine didn’t even realize she was staring – quite rudely, she imagined – until the man cleared his throat. “Miss? Are you alright?”

  Katherine quickly commanded control of herself. “Yes,” she managed to respond, voice not the least bit shaky, she noticed proudly. She pulled the MP3 player’s buds out of her ears, quickly putting the small device in her pocket. “I apologize for nearly running you down. I must have been distracted and didn’t see you.”

  The stranger – and he was certainly a stranger, for Katherine had never seen him before – didn’t respond right away and it allowed Katherine the opportunity to really look at him now that her eyes weren’t glued to his in shock.

  He looked a lot younger than she had originally thought, his somber voice making him seem so much older than he must have been. In fact, Katherine wouldn’t say he was more than two or three years older than her.

  He was also astonishingly handsome – the best looking male Katherine had probably ever seen. He was tall – well over six feet – and though he was somewhat lanky, he had an obviously muscular build. His angular face was perfectly symmetrical and framed by dark, disheveled hair that suited him entirely. He had an attractive nose and strong jaw line, which Katherine had to admit made her heart start beating a little faster than it should have been. And of course, there were his blue eyes, which were currently studying her as indiscreetly as she was observing him.

  Both of them dropped their gazes, however, when a rather loud bang sounded to the right of them. Katherine looked over her shoulder at the noise, and saw that the elderly Ester Johnson, one of Middletown’s most notorious gossips, had stepped out of her house and onto her front porch, unashamedly watching them as she settled into a rocking chair.

  Shaking her head at the blatant invasion of privacy, Katherine turned back to the man she had run into only to find that he was looking at her once again, his brow furrowed and his mouth pulled down into a slight frown. Katherine tried not to take the stranger’s less than friendly expression personally, but couldn’t help her heart from sinking a little, though she had no idea why.

  Finally he spoke, an obvious dismissal, as he turned his back towards her. “Be more careful next time,” he bit out gruffly before walking away.

  Katherine watched him as he did so, torn between feeling disappointed that this stranger who shared her dream wolf’s eyes was such a prick and anger that he had so rudely dismissed her – like she was a mere annoyance for him. A bothersome little girl.

  Katherine grit her teeth at that thought and even sent a small glare towards Mrs. Johnson, who was still watching her rather interestedly. She was positive the stranger wouldn’t have been so coarse with her if the old coot hadn’t so tastelessly announced her presence.

  As Katherine jogged away from the spot of the collision, she berated herself for taking the stranger’s rejection so personally. So what if the man – whatever his name was – had been handsome and made her heart race a little? So what if she felt an odd connection with him? He was obviously a jerk and she wouldn’t waste her breath on someone like that.

  It wasn’t until Katherine returned home from her jog and was in the middle of having breakfast – she had made herself a few sausages, as that’s what she was craving – that she realized she had crashed into the man almost directly in front of Miller Road. A chill rushed through her body when she realized it, a too familiar feeling of trepidation flooding her.

  Almost immediately, however, she resolutely pushed the feeling away. She wasn’t going to waste her weekend lost in thoughts of the wolf attack, Miller Road, the note, or the strange changes her body was experiencing. They would only lead her in circles, anyway, and give her no solid answers. With that in mind, Katherine opted to push her realization about where she’d collided with the stranger to the back of her mind, determined to examine it at a later date – preferably, a much later date.

  For the majority of the weekend, Katherine was successful in her endeavor to forget her latest worries. It was Sunday evening, however, that everything came to a head.

  She had just gotten out of the shower and w
as critically inspecting herself in the mirror. Despite her sudden improvement in all things physical, her body looked much the same as it always had. She was still slender – no sudden protruding muscles – and still rather on the short side. Gazing at her face, however, she still could see one noticeable difference in her appearance.

  Her eyes.

  For as long as Katherine could remember, they had always been a sort of muddy combination of green and grey. Now, however, they seemed much brighter – the green, more vivid than she could ever recall, almost completely outshined the grey, which was only present in a small ring around her pupil.

  Not only were her eyes brighter and more noticeable, but they seemed more alive, sharper somehow than they had ever been. And, oddly, they looked more dangerous as well. Like they belonged in the face of some spirited dare devil – not her, average little Katherine Mayes. The dark circles under them – largely the result of her restless sleep – only served to emphasize her eyes more.

  Even Abby, who was normally about as observant as a small child, had noticed them and asked where she’d gotten the sweet contacts.

  Forcing herself to look away from the eyes reflecting back at her from the large, glass mirror, Katherine quickly pulled on her normal oversized sleepwear, intending on going to bed early in a bid to catch up on some of the sleep she’d been missing lately. Her plans were thwarted, however, when she heard her mother calling her from downstairs.

  “Katherine!”

  Sighing loudly – and a bit obnoxiously, she could admit – she forced herself to exit the bathroom and make the trek down the stairs. She first checked the sitting room, but upon finding it empty, made her way to the dining room. “Mom? What do you need?”

  When her mother smiled mischievously at her from where she was standing next to her dad – who was looking vaguely amused himself – she knew that she should have just stayed upstairs and pretended to not have heard.

  When her mother didn’t immediately answer her question, Katherine quickly grew impatient. “What?” she asked again, her irritation showing through a bit.

  Her mom’s smile didn’t fade, however, and her dad looked no less amused.

  “With a temper like that, it’s a wonder how it is you even got an admirer,” Elaine finally replied teasingly.

  Katherine frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?” she asked once it became clear she wasn’t going to elaborate.

  Her dad laughed a little at that, his loud chuckle quickly filling the room. “You don’t have to hide it from us,” he said through a grin. “I promise not to be too hard on him if you bring him around for dinner.”

  Katherine’s frown grew and she crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying to ignore the heat she could feel creeping up her neck. She would not blush. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Elaine lifted her right hand, revealing that she held something in it. A crumpled paper note. Katherine immediately tried to squash the apprehensive feeling that threatened to overwhelm her at the sight of it. “What’s that?” she demanded.

  “You don’t have to be embarrassed, Kit,” her mother replied, smiling even as her daughter cringed at the nickname. “You’re turning into a beautiful young woman. It’s only natural that others are starting to take notice. You’re sixteen after all. I remember Sam having had a few boyfriends by that age.”

  Katherine would have been surprised if her face wasn’t completely red by that point. Not only was she terribly uncomfortable with the compliment, but she hated being compared to her sister.

  “Hey!” Benjamin objected good-naturedly. “I’ll be perfectly happy if Katherine chose to remain single through her thirties,” he told his wife in a playfully stern voice before smiling at his daughter.

  Torn between embarrassment and anger at her parents’ antics, Katherine impatiently bit out her next words. “I told you that I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

  Elaine’s smile finally deflated a bit and Benjamin frowned at his daughter. “Katherine, there’s no need to get so worked up. You have to expect a little ribbing if you allow your parents find a love letter.”

  Katherine glowered, still not knowing what in the world they were talking about. Elaine sighed and held out the piece of paper for her daughter. “I found this in one of your pockets,” she explained. “You always forget to clean them out before putting your shorts in the dirty laundry.”

  She quickly snatched the note from her mother, hoping her blush had died down a little by now.

  Before her parents could tease her anymore, she pulled open the crumpled paper.

  What she saw made her temporarily lose her ability to breath. She felt the blood drain from her face as she recognized the neat cursive. This time, the message was actually addressed to her.

  Katherine,

  We need to talk. You know where. Sneak away as soon as you can. Please.

  Like the first note, it was not signed. Before Katherine could react – though she had no idea how she was supposed to react – she felt a hand on her shoulder, jolting her out of her distressing thoughts.

  “Are you alright?” Elaine asked.

  Katherine glanced up at her parents, both of whom looked concerned. Her reaction to the note must have startled them.

  “I’m fine,” she choked out. But she wasn’t fine. Not even close. “Just tired.”

  “It better not be because you’ve been sneaking out to see this boy,” Benjamin pointed out, and in her numb state, she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

  Katherine immediately shook her head. “Of course not,” she managed, barely hearing herself above the sound of her heart palpitating in her chest. She quickly shoved the note into a pocket of her pajamas. “I’m going to bed,” she informed her parents. “I need to catch up on some sleep.”

  “You have been looking awfully tired lately,” her mother agreed, seemingly willing to let the subject of the love letter go for now. Katherine allowed herself to be pulled into a brief hug. “Sleep well.”

  When her father had also bid her good night, she quickly left the dining room, barely able to stop herself from rushing up the stairs.

  Once in her room, Katherine immediately took out the piece of paper and began to study it. The handwriting was definitely the same as the one on the note that had been planted in her locker. But just like the locker, she had no idea how the note had gotten into one of her pockets. She felt like she should know – like all the clues were there – but she was coming up empty.

  Perhaps because she didn’t truly want to examine her thoughts too closely. She was almost afraid to. Like if she found the answer to all the questions that had been plaguing her, she wouldn’t like what that answer would mean for her. That she wouldn’t like it at all.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Katherine couldn’t believe that she was actually going to go through with this.

  Staring at the boy in front of her, however, she didn’t really see what choice she had.

  Her parents were completely convinced that the note they had found last night had been a love letter and despite her insistence that it had not been and no real evidence pointing to the contrary, they had been adamant that she bring her “boyfriend” to supper that evening.

  Her first instinct had been to refuse, but she didn’t particularly want to deal with the consequences of that. Her dad, in fact, had threatened to investigate the situation for himself if she didn’t bring the boy over.

  The problem with this? There was no boy. Only some whackjob leaving her weird messages in which he insisted she meet him.

  And her parents definitely didn’t need to know that.

  So here she was, about to do something that she knew would have some very unpleasant consequences. All because of that stupid note.

  “Hello Brad.”

  A small bang and muffled curse greeted her. The blond boy looked irritated as he pulled himself out of the confines of his locker, a rapidly growing red
mark on the center of his forehead where he had banged it on the metal. The annoyed expression was quickly wiped from his face, however, when he saw her. He offered her a flustered smile. “Hey Katherine.”

  She took a deep breath. It was now or never.

  Oh how she wished she could pick never.

  “Are you busy tonight?”

  Brad looked surprised by the inquiry and Katherine didn’t blame him. It was only last week that she had turned down his offer to sit with him at lunch. He quickly recovered, however, and asked her a question of his own. “Why do you ask?”

  Reminding herself that it had to be done, Katherine plastered on the friendliest grin she could manage. “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over later.”

  Brad’s earlier surprise was nothing compared to the astonishment he showed now. His eyes were the widest she had ever seen them.

  “You know, to my house?” she clarified, hoping to jolt him out of his shocked stupor.

  It seemed to work and he let loose a bit of an embarrassed laugh. “I figured that.” To her frustration, however, he still didn’t answer her question.

  “Well?” she persisted, trying not to let her exasperation show through.

  “I would like to go,” he admitted, but the hesitancy in his voice didn’t encourage her. “But I can’t help but wonder why you’re inviting me. You didn’t really seem interested in hanging out the last time we talked.”

  “Only because of Mallory,” Katherine immediately objected, though it wasn’t exactly true.

  Brad must have known because he didn’t look convinced. “Well, nothing’s changed on that front,” he pointed out. “Mallory would still probably freak if she knew we were spending time together.”

  Katherine sighed, resigning herself to telling Brad the truth. She supposed it was better this way anyhow. After all, it wasn’t her intention to lead the boy on. Not that she actually thought he was interested in her, but she’d still feel better about the whole thing if she was honest with him.

  “The truth is I’m in a bit of a bind and need a favor,” she confessed. “Some idiot thought it’d be a good idea to write me this prank note and my parents found it and for some crazy reason are convinced that it was some sort of love letter. They’re insisting I bring whoever wrote it to supper tonight.”