Beasthood (The Hidden Blood Series)

by A. Z. Green

  Jaz stared at the spot on the ground she'd been focusing on in astonishment.

  Then she flicked her gaze up, peeking between her lashes as she skewered the girl who had made her sister's life a living hell.

  *

  Sunday June 5th , Construction Site

  It was exactly a week later when things took a turn. For the worst.

  She had been helping out with the build everyday from the early morning until around one o'clock. When she got the chance she'd spend it laying in bed; her legs, back and arms aching.

  She'd had two fevers but they had been manageable. Edda knew about them but didn't show any signs of concern. They'd appeared around dinner time and continued all the way through the night. Jaz had stayed in bed without eating, sleeping it off.

  After an hour or so from returning to the cabin, she'd always get a visitor. Either Alf, Skye, Ronnie or Kelda and Kenna. They would drag Jaz out the house, taking her on long scenic walks. Jaz hated to admit it, but she did feel better afterwards and she really enjoyed their company.

  The sisters came to see her twice, one time together another time with Skye. Ronnie came three times, always with Skye, and Alf came every time Ronnie did. The two boys were very close.

  Skye visited everyday that week, talking to her about the routines, the council, what everyone did. How the whole community saw each other as equals and took equal share in the chores. How they were self-sufficient but still did trading with the outside, and between Packs who they had good alliances with. She skipped over the ones they weren't on such good terms with, and Jaz didn't ignore it.

  She took Jaz around the plantations, the stables and pens. The crops and greenhouses. She showed Jaz how people planted and sowed and explained to her the process. She introduced her to members of the community. Jaz always kept everyone at arms length but was grateful for the effort Skye put in to getting Jaz to feel at home. She didn't feel like she was a prisoner anymore, as such, but she certainly didn't feel at home.

  She still wasn't allowed to contact her family or friends. She'd asked Edda about it that Friday.

  Edda had shook her head and said, “It's not possible now. I promise soon, but it isn't down to me.”

  Jaz had scowled at her and had retorted, “Then don't promise something you can't keep.” She'd gone into her room and hadn't come out until the next morning.

  Edda wasn't there and by the time she got back from work and her walk, Jaz didn't mention their quarrel. So Edda didn't mention it. Jaz didn't hold grudges, even if she tried she couldn't. She was terrible at it. But she didn't forget when someone burned her. Even if it seemed she had forgiven them.

  She didn't know it yet, but her ability to hold grudges was about to be tested, more than once.

  It was coming up to eleven o'clock that Sunday, when Jaz was having a ten minute break that she observed two things.

  The first thing she had overheard half an hour before.

  A man called Garth who looked only a few years older than Jaz, with stone-grey eyes, light auburn hair that flicked out past his ears, a cautious mouth, pointed nose and a slim physique, was talking to Carr -the group leader who had worked Jaz hard. Carr was looking down at Garth, listening to him. Garth was asking him about the building plan. He was holding what looked like drawings of the project.

  She was walking past when she heard Garth say, “We won't be able to finish it in two days, he must be joking!”

  Carr replied coolly, “The Pack Leader never jokes about work. He knows you can do it.”

  “I don't see him coming down here and-”

  The threatening look that Carr shot at him stopped him mid-sentence. “Nik,” Jaz's shoulders went stiff as she walked past with her back to them, “trusts you to do it for him. He's very busy and appreciates all our efforts.” He continued to assure Garth, always with a warning tone in his voice. Garth swiftly backed down.

  Jaz didn't hear anymore of it, her mind reeling.

  Now she sat on a log, staring at nothing as she absorbed this new information.

  Nik. Nik who was Lora's husband, is the Pack Leader? My brother-in-law? So where the hell is he then? Why hasn't he even spoken to me!?

  Something was trying to poke it's way out of her subconscious but she couldn't pull it out.

  The next thing she discovered soon after.

  She was watching the others. The walls of the building were fully up. They had been built with brick and then cladded with oak planks. There was an engraving on a recently nailed plank on the side. She hadn't noticed it before but the moment she laid eyes on it, she recognized it immediately and her heart skipped a beat.

  It was an oval insignia with a vine of roses and thorns interwoven with the foreign letters. The joined 'X', the one lined 'I' and the sharp 'R'. She didn't know what they meant but she'd definitely seen them more than once before.

  On Lora's Diary.

  And, she remembered thinking before when she'd found the diary, she'd seen the letters somewhere else. But for the life of her she hadn't been able to remember where. It was really frustrating.

  Ronnie sidled over to where she was and sat by her. She looked at him several times. He saw her and frowned self-consciously. “What?” he asked uncertainly.

  She paused. “Who's Nik?” she inquired steadily. He stared at her as if he'd been winded. This made alarm bells ring in her brain. “Is he the Pack Leader?”

  Ronnie was stunned by her question. His eyelids softened as if defeated. “Yes,” he answered quietly.

  Jaz nodded. She had to be sure. Rather than delve in further, -though she wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to ask, but knew there was something- she changed topic. “What does that mean?” She pointed to the insignia and Ronnie looked that way, relief trickling into his face at the change of subject.

  He gazed back at her, thinking about it for a moment. “It's sort of our crest.”

  “Of your community?”

  He shook his head. “Of our species.”

  Jaz tried not to look as uncomfortable as she felt when he said that. Especially with the way he'd emphasized 'our'. “What does it mean?” He furrowed his brow. Jaz thought the grown-up expression looked so cute on his chubby childish face. “The letters?” she encouraged.

  “Oh, it's Norse. Like you know, from Viking times or something? It's the word 'Dyr' in the Runic alphabet. It means Beast.”

  “Oh.” She eyed it and then said casually. “I think I've seen it before.”

  Ronnie nodded smiling. “Yeah probably, we have it everywhere. Inside the main building, outside on a few of the walls, the Pack Leader even has it on a-” he stopped dead. The words caught in his throat. He'd said more than he should have and made a face.

  Jaz stared at him with wide, hungry eyes. “What were you gonna say?” she demanded.

  Ronnie shook his head furiously. “Nothing, it's nothing.”

  “Tell me, Ronnie.” He shook his head, even quicker. “He has it on a...? On a what?” And then the answer came to her. Her face drooped. She stared not seeing the building in front. She'd seen it before but had never processed it in her brain. It had always been in the background. Now she knew. “A ring...” Her voice was strained. It barely came out in a whisper.

  Ronnie eyed her worriedly. “Jaz?”

  Now it all made sense. The weight of the knowledge crushed her. Her lungs gasped for air. “Jaz? Are you okay?”

  She blinked and looked up at the startled boy's face. It wasn't his fault. She forced a smile. It wasn't very convincing but his face softened a little. “He has it on a ring,” she repeated, her voice hollow.

  It didn't sound like a question but Ronnie bobbed his head in reply anyway. “All the Pack Leader's do,” he added uneasily, still watching her with questioning eyes.

  She closed hers slowly and opened them again. She didn't need to ask because she knew what the answer would be. Still the words escaped her mouth as if they had a mind of their own.“Nik Driver...the Pack Leader?”

>   The look on Ronnie's face was enough. She felt like she'd been stabbed in the back, literally and metaphorically.

  “Please don't tell anyone I told you.” She snapped her head up at his words. “We weren't supposed to tell you.”

  “Who? Skye, Edda, you?”

  “Well... everyone.”

  Jaz felt another stab in her back. The knife kept on coming, gouging holes in her flesh, digging in deeper. “Did he tell you all not to?” Her voice was a ghost of its former self.

  Ronnie gazed at her carefully for a moment and then replied, “Yes.”

  *

  12:34p.m.

  She worked hard for the rest of the day, trying to keep her mind off of anything but the planks of wood, the digging, the carrying, whatever she was asked to do.

  She didn't think this day could get any worse. But she was wrong.

  “Watch it, Weakling!” Came a sharp, high voice from behind her.

  She had been carrying a heavy plank when she'd nearly walked back into a pretty, dark-haired girl with a cruel face.

  Fraya.

  Everyday that week she had been forced to work beside her. The only day she hadn't been on the same shift was the very first day. After that Fraya had been exactly what Skye had said. “A nasty piece of work”.

  She continued to tease Jaz, mock her lack of strength, her clumsiness, her slowness, how easily she got tired. 'Weakling', was her favourite nickname for her. Though there were much worse names she could have chosen, the way she said it was so patronizing and felt like sharp nails down Jaz's spine.

  Jaz had endured it. Ignoring her and smiling it off, being polite and at times sarcastic because that was what she was good at. All those techniques were her shield. Bullies wanted a reaction from you, so your best protection was to do the exact opposite. It would seriously drive them up the wall but eventually they'd get bored and give up.

  The worse thing you could do was show how much it got to you.

  Ever since that bitch Bethany from school had caused her so much grief that Jaz had once cried in front of her, the complete humiliation of that day had taught her a valuable lesson. Appear like stone and no one can touch you. They can chuck you around but you'll never break, at least not when you're in front of them. Plenty of time to cry it out later when you're alone. “Sorry, I didn't see you,” she replied calmly.

  Alf who was holding the other end glanced from one girl to the other, not liking where this was going. He knew how Fraya could be.

  “Clearly! What is it with you!? Did you forget your brain this morning or don't you even have one!”

  Jaz clenched her jaw.

  Keep calm, ignore it. But instead, she ignored her own brain. She bent her knees and dropped her side of the plank. “Wow, I'm surprised that you were even able to form such a long sentence. Did it hurt your head?” she remarked sardonically.

  Fraya glowered at her and Alf turned white. Jaz was too angry to feel scared though Fraya was a very frightening woman.

  “Keep it up, and it's your head that'll be hurting!” Fraya barked.

  Jaz smiled triumphantly. “So you admit it?” Fraya frowned, confused. Jaz helped her out, “Your head hurts, huh?”

  Fraya made a face that was so menacing, Jaz's smile dissolved. She watched Fraya with cautious but defiant eyes.

  The raven-haired pit bull was several inches taller than her, with the graceful movement and figure of a model. But there was nothing nice and graceful about her personality. “Watch it Weakling. I could snap you like a twig.” With that she turned on her heel and stormed off.

  Jaz didn't think it could get any worse than this, then severely regretted it when in that moment, the Heavens opened and the sky pelted down with rain. It penetrated easily through the wider opening of trees, soaking the wooden planks, cement and bricks. Everyone rushed to cover the wood with plastic sheeting.

  The main building had a temporary cover for a roof so with Carr ordering them as he helped, everyone heaved the thirty-odd, long planks of wood into the building. Jaz carried several; the ground became sludgy, causing her to slip often.

  The rain was heavy now and everyone was drenched. Jaz's hair was stuck to her face and looked like dark rat tails.

  Skye came up behind her, her red ponytail flattened to her neck, soaked clothes clinging to her slender frame, as she carried the last of the planks. In the rush, the wet plank slipped from Skye's hands about to fall on her foot. Jaz turned fast to help her and knocked into a body, sending them both flying. They hit the ground. Jaz looked to her side, disorientated. She gazed up to see if Skye was okay. Skye had managed to catch the plank in time and was holding it, staring down at Jaz with nervous eyes. Jaz frowned, realized she was on top of someone and sat up. The head of the person sprung up and Fraya's face was inches from hers, contorted into the most terrifying glare.

  Jaz had read more of Lora's diary, though she'd been too exhausted over the past week to read it in depth. But she'd read enough about Fraya's temper and her horrible jealousy, to know what she was capable of. How she'd lashed out at Lora many times, had spread horrible rumours and turned people against her. At least until they found out the truth. When Nik had cleared a lot of the bullshit up.

  Thinking of him made her furious, giving her the mental shove she needed to spring up and away from Fraya before she tried anything. She had been about to say sorry to her but she clamped her jaw shut.

  No. I won't waste my breath. She thinks I'm weak, I'll prove that bitch wrong.

  “You!” Fraya screeched.

  Jaz balked, gluing herself to the floor, ready for her attack. Instead the pit bull opened its jaws, shouting profanities -some of which Jaz hadn't even heard of- before stopping to shriek, “Stay the fuck away from me, y'hear!?”

  Jaz felt the growling Beast within her and used it to change her trepidation to furious defiance. She was not going to be anyone's victim anymore.

  Until Hell froze over!

  “How about you take your bony pit bull arse and psycho complex out of my face and back the fuck off!” she roared.

  People had stopped to see what was going on. A small few continued to cover the equipment and tools, pushing or carrying whatever they could under the shelter. The rest watched, oblivious to the hammering rain. They were waiting for Fraya's reaction. Skye was closest to them, but Jaz noticed she'd stepped back. It annoyed her though right then she was too busy to figure out why.

  “You think you can take me on?” Fraya cackled.

  Jaz didn't move. She studied the demonic pit bull for a moment and then thought to herself,

  This isn't you. Walk away, she's not worth it.

  “I don't plan to,” she replied in a low voice, though she still didn't move. Something was holding her there. She began mentally fighting with herself.

  Fraya grinned mockingly, blood lust in her eyes.

  She wants you to fight her. Because she knows she'll kill you. Walk away. NOW.

  She obeyed her rational voice and turned her back on Fraya. It was a massive insult. More than anything Jaz could have done. Everyone was stunned and gaped as she strutted away, fists clenched.

  Fraya's face warped into what could only be described as pure, undiluted rage. She was about ready to pounce on Jaz when two strong hands clamped down on her shoulders.

  “Don't even think about it, Fraya,” warned Carr's gravelly, cool voice.

  Jaz didn't turn to see him pulling Fraya away.

  “That's okay. I get it,” called Fraya as she was dragged away. “I guess being a weak, pathetic virgin whose never had a man before let alone a real man, I should expect nothing else!” she spat.

  It took all of Jaz's self-control not to look back, or to blush, or to cry her eyes out. She'd just reached where the trees grew closer together, and the forest was darker and thicker before Skye caught up with her. She had Kenna, Kelda, Alf and Ronnie on her heels. They were panting, not from the run, but from the excitement and shock of the scene that had just took place.<
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  “Hey, Jaz, you okay?” Skye put her hand on Jaz's shoulder but Jaz shrugged away. Skye looked at her, confused. “What's wrong?”

  Jaz swung round and glared at her. “What's wrong!? Seriously!?”

  Alf played the cool headed referee, “Hey, it's over now. She won't bother you anymore.”

  Jaz glowered at him and he flinched. “I'm not talking about that bitch!” she snapped. “I wouldn't expect any less from her, but you!” She focused on Skye.

  Skye was stunned. “What are you talking about?” she asked quietly.

  “Why didn't you do anything? You stepped away and just watched me try to reason with that ogre and you did nothing!”

  “I thought, I thought I was helping.”

  “By watching from the sidelines!? I was stupid to think that perhaps you might have known me long enough to consider me a friend-”

  “I do-”

  “- if not a misfit guest in this community and you don't even back me up!? I have friends, great friends that I know would be standing right beside me, hell, even in front of me, ready to sacrifice their behind for my safety. That is a true friend! Not you! And I can't even call them! I'll probably never see them again! Thanks to your fucking Pack Leader!” Jaz swung round ready to meet the trees only to be confronted by Driver's dark, penetrating eyes, coolly watching her increasingly reddening face.

  She couldn't tell if he was angry or not, and if he was, whether it was aimed at her. Not knowing was very unnerving. She looked him up and down cautiously.

  He was dripping wet. His black, long-sleeved top was glued to his muscular body. His jeans were dark and shiny. Water trickled from his dark eyelashes, his long pointed nose and strong chin. She gawked at him, unable to speak as he bored a hole in her face.

  Her back foot that had lifted onto the ball ready to step forward, was stuck in place as she'd frozen mid-stride.

  The others stared anxiously at their Leader's expression. He barely glanced at them before giving Jaz the full force of his calcining glare. She was nearly knocked back. She put her feet together and stood up straight before she lost her balance.