Claimed by the Beast Bundle

by Dawn Michelle

  Crystal rode in a silent car that was filled with tension. She felt Jennifer’s glare burning into the back of her head. Stephanie was excited and nervous. She kept glancing around and her breathing had picked up. Steph’s hands fidgeted on the steering wheel, too. Crystal sniffed carefully, not wanting to draw attention, and picked through the flavors in the air.

  Distinguishing Jennifer from Stephanie was easy. Jen had a salty taste beneath the hair products, deodorant, and residue of detergent she used to wash her clothes. Crystal’s eyes widened at the thought. She sniffed and thought of it as a taste? She nodded and caught herself doing it. Crystal bit her lip and glanced at Stephanie. For all her excitement, she hadn’t noticed.

  Stephanie smelled different. Better. She had a lot of the same processed stink about her, from her over-processed hair to the cocoa butter lotion she used to keep her skin hydrated. Beneath all the glam, she had a natural smell to her. Crystal licked her lips and found that helped her. She could add a new dimension to the scent. Stephanie tasted like a fresh stalk of wheat plucked before it was ripe so it was still sweet and sugary.

  “You okay?” Stephanie asked when Crystal gasped.

  Crystal jerked her head to her and nodded. “Yeah, sorry. Just thinking.”

  The blond pressed her lips together. Crystal saw the questions on her face but Stephanie kept them to herself. Jen harrumphed in the back seat, more pissed off than ever. Crystal turned to stare out the passenger window and waited while Stephanie drove.

  Several tense minutes later, Stephanie pulled into Jen’s driveway. She lived in a nice two-story house that made Crystal’s home look like a garage. It was nothing next to Stephanie’s or Chad’s, but it reminded Crystal of one more reason why Jennifer had always been one of the cool kids and she’d been an outcast.

  “Are you going to let me out?” Jennifer snapped.

  “Oh, sorry,” Crystal muttered. She clenched her jaw to keep from moaning and opened the heavy door of the sports car. She ducked and rolled out, moving smoothly even though her legs sent fiery sparks into her hips and back. She stepped back, still barefoot, and watched Jennifer climb out of the back of the car and straighten.

  Jennifer glared at her a moment and then her eyes dropped all the way to Crystal’s feet. She smirked and turned away. “Call me when you’re done with her,” she tossed over her shoulder as she walked up her driveway.

  Crystal looked down, wondering about Jennifer’s smirk. Everything looked fine until she saw her feet. They weren’t as dirty as she expected, but that wasn’t what blew her mind. Her toenails, coated with a soft yellow finish only half an hour ago, were now almost completely bare. Only a few flecks of paint remained on them.

  Crystal shook her head and turned back to the car. She dropped and fell as much as sat down into it. She grunted and reached for the door.

  “You okay?” Stephanie asked.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled, still rattled by her discovery. “I’m kind of tall for this car—hard to get in and out.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Stephanie said. “When I wear my tall heels I have that problem too.”

  “I bet.”

  They sat in the driveway for a few seconds before Stephanie cleared her throat and asked, “So, um, what’s going on?”

  Crystal turned to her and studied her face. “Do you trust me?”

  Stephanie’s breath caught. She licked her lips to erase the trace of a smile. She nodded. “Yes!” she hissed.

  “Why?”

  Stephanie’s eyes had begun to soften and her eyelids lower. They shot open at the question. “I don’t know. You’ve always been nice and helpful to me. And, um, the other day you did something to me—”

  “I what?”

  Stephanie nodded in spite of the color that flooded her cheeks. “The parking lot? You opened my eyes.”

  “I’m not gay.”

  Stephanie leaned back and her brow furrowed for a fraction of a second. “Oh, that’s right, you’ve got a boyfriend. What was his name? Frank?”

  “Hank.”

  Stephanie nodded. “So, um, do you go both ways then?”

  “What?”

  The blond shrugged. “You and Beth. Oh God, Beth! Um, look, I didn’t—”

  “I’m not a lesbian and I’m not bisexual,” Crystal said as clearly as she could. “Hank is it for me.”

  “Oh, but—”

  “Did Beth say something?”

  Stephanie bit her lip before saying, “I guess not. I mean, she kind of let me think a few things and then she, um—”

  Crystal groaned. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  Stephanie stared at her with wide eyes. Her chin trembled and she nodded.

  Crystal returned the cheerleader’s stare and wondered where the confident prom queen had gone. She looked like she was going to cry. “Sorry, that’s none of my business,” Crystal said even though she felt something burning inside her. She’d known already, but hearing it finally confirmed it.

  “She came on to me,” Stephanie blurted out. “I didn’t, um—I mean I was curious. More than curious, after what you and I did. But that wasn’t why we spent Sunday together. Well, it was, but it wasn’t how it started. I ran into her at church and she just kind of worked her way in and got my parents to invite her to come and hang out with me. Then back at my place she—”

  Crystal held up her hand. “TMI. I said you guys can do whatever you want—it’s not my business.”

  “But—”

  “No buts.”

  Stephanie’s eyes shimmered until she blinked and looked away. She nodded. “All right.”

  “Still trust me?”

  Stephanie jerked her head back to look at her. “Yes. I do. Completely.”

  Crystal nodded. “Good. I need a ride somewhere.”

  Stephanie turned and put her car in reverse to back out of the driveway. “Where to?”

  “Ever been to the swamp?”

  Chapter 8

  Stephanie drove down the same road she’d followed Crystal and her pack on Saturday morning. She glanced at Crystal with wide eyes. “This is where you were going on Saturday!”

  Crystal nodded.

  “Why? What’s in the swamp? And what’s that have to do with you running like a track star today? Was Jen right—was Chad after you?”

  “Whoa,” Crystal said. “That’s a lot of questions.”

  Stephanie’s eyes rounded and she swallowed loud enough for Crystal to hear. “Sorry, I just don’t get it.”

  “No, that’s fair,” Crystal admitted. “Um, yes, we were going to the swamp and—”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t get hurt!” Steph interrupted. “You flew through the air and bounced! It looked terrible!”

  Crystal winced. “It stung, but, uh, it looked worse than it was. Soft ground, I guess.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Crystal stared at her, shocked that Stephanie would accept that weak answer. “So the swamp, um, I needed to go and meet somebody.”

  “What? Like something secret? Why?”

  “Sort of, but, uh, she lives there.”

  “She?”

  Crystal nodded. “Yes, she. She’s, um, a witch.”

  Stephanie took her eyes off the road long enough to make Crystal clear her throat to remind her she was driving. The cheerleader pulled her car back into her lane and asked, “A witch? Like, a real witch? You don’t believe that stuff, do you?”

  “I didn’t use to,” she said. “But now I don’t have a choice.”

  “What? Are you—” Stephanie caught herself and changed her question. “Why not?”

  Crystal took a deep breath before admitting, “I put a spell on you, I guess.”

  Stephanie stared at her again. “You did what? What kind of spell?”

  Crystal glanced up at the soft top of the car and sighed. “A love spell.”

  Stephanie stared ahead, her jaw clenching and relaxing in time with the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening and smo
othing. Emotions played over her face that Crystal could barely begin to guess at. Fear? Anger? Excitement? Lust? She shuddered and decided it would be better to hear what Stephanie said rather than try to guess what she was feeling.

  “I don’t love you,” Stephanie finally said.

  “You don’t?”

  “No.” Stephanie shook her head.

  “But you said you trust me completely.”

  “Because you’re a good person. Clueless, but good.” Stephanie frowned and spared her a glance. “Or I thought you were. So now you’re telling me you’re a witch?”

  “No, I’m not. I could have been, I guess, but I turned it down.”

  “You turned—okay, this is getting really weird. I’m sorry, Crys, but I think maybe you hit your head when you got in that crash the other day.”

  Crystal chuckled. “I did. Hard, but that’s not it.”

  “Then what is it? I’m sorry, this is too much for me. I mean, I respect your beliefs even if my folks would probably try to hold an exorcism or burn you at the stake, but it’s just crazy!”

  Crystal nodded. “I know. Trust me, I know.”

  “Then why are you—”

  “Steph, do you still trust me?”

  “Um, I don’t know. Should I?”

  “No, probably not.”

  Stephanie laughed. “How can you be that honest and expect me not to trust you?”

  Crystal saw the humor and allowed a smile. She knew it was real, but she didn’t know how to prove it without scaring Stephanie bad enough to get them in an accident. Then again, that might not work either; she had no idea how to shift. And Guntar and Adrian had insisted norms, like Stephanie, couldn’t know anything about them. She groaned.

  “What’s wrong? I mean, um, other than the obvious.”

  Crystal nodded. It was screwed up. An idea popped into her head that might just work. “This is pretty screwed up. I didn’t know what I was doing—I guess I had some natural talent. Maybe I still do, I don’t know. But I turned it down. I don’t want to be a witch.”

  “Trying to make me love you sounds kind of witchy.”

  “I still think it worked. You changed after that kiss.”

  Stephanie blushed. “You opened my eyes. We’d kissed before, but that was me being a bitch to you. I’m really sorry about that, by the way.”

  Crystal waved the apology away even though she was beginning to believe it. “So why was it different that time?”

  “Because of how it felt. Because I felt real passion. It wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before. I came close one time with a boy—he was a really good kisser—but you rocked my world.”

  “And you wouldn’t leave me alone after that,” Crystal pointed out.

  “Well duh!” Stephanie laughed. “You just proved to me that either I was going to hell or everything my mom and dad have been pounding into my head about gays and lesbians was wrong. I didn’t have anyone else to talk to about it. And if you felt that way, maybe there was something more between us.”

  “What about Beth?” Crystal asked without thinking. She held up her hand to stop Stephanie before she could even open her mouth to respond. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

  Stephanie’s razored eyebrows drew together. “Why not?”

  “Beth’s my best friend. She told me she has a crush on me, but I don’t like her. Not like that, I mean.”

  Stephanie nodded. “All’s fair in love and war.”

  “What?”

  Stephanie chuckled. “Come on, I’ve screwed around. Usually it’s just fun sex, you know. I’m into the guy, but not crazy in love with him or anything. Those are the times when you shouldn’t screw up somebody else’s relationship. But if it’s real—if you really feel something for someone—well, that’s different. Maybe that person is happy and maybe they’re not. Maybe they’d be happier with you. Or with me. Whatever.”

  “Slut,” Crystal muttered.

  Stephanie frowned. “Really? Slut? Come on, it’s twenty fourteen—if you don’t like sex, there’s something wrong with you.”

  Crystal blinked and turned away. The conversation was not going where she wanted it to. She needed to steer it back, but Stephanie had some interesting thoughts. She didn’t agree with them, but she could understand why the blond thought that way. “So, uh, since Beth and I aren’t a thing–”

  “She sure does act like it though,” Stephanie said. “She’s more devoted to you than Kevin Pickner was to me last year.”

  Crystal frowned. Kevin was a year older than they were. A year older and a really smart guy. For six weeks, Stephanie had twisted him around her finger before she broke it off and sent him into a depression so bad he almost ruined his scholarship.

  Crystal pushed the reminder of the evil bitch version of Stephanie away after a few seconds and decided to get back on course. “So, um, you’re not in love with me?”

  Stephanie laughed. “You were my first girl. First real girl. That’s always special.”

  “You’ve kissed some fake girls? Blow-up dolls?”

  “No!” Stephanie burst out laughing. “I meant first real girl kiss. Not something I did to turn on some guys or mess with people. You’re an awesome kisser.”

  Crystal knew she should have been shocked by Stephanie’s admission but she pushed it aside. She was too tired and had too much ahead of her to deal with. “Thanks. I think it worked. The spell, I mean. I wasn’t trying to and I feel bad about it, but I think I turned you in to a lesbian by accident.”

  “I am not a lesbian! I mean, I still like boys. Maybe I’m bisexual, but I think I’m just experimenting,” Stephanie snapped. “So if you cast some kind of spell on me—and I don’t think you did—it didn’t work very good.”

  The memory of Ember dressed up and heading off for her date with Stephanie flashed through her head. She almost asked about it, challenging Stephanie’s declaration, but she shook her head instead. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.”

  “You started it.”

  She sighed. “I know. I’m tired. Look, what I did to you, whether you believe it or not, I did to Chad Dixon too.”

  Stephanie’s jaw dropped and she turned to stare at her. Crystal rolled her eyes and pointed at the road ahead of them.

  “And he’s after me. You were after me, but I could deal with you. Chad, he’s a lot worse off. He won’t take no for an answer.”

  “He never would,” Stephanie muttered.

  Crystal’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not arguing with me about this one.”

  “Ever since you tried to slap some sense into him, Chad’s been obsessed with you,” Stephanie admitted. “He was pushy before, but with you it’s different. He’s acting crazy and I’ve even caught him trying to hide a boner a few times when he was talking about you.”

  “Yeah, that didn’t work so well,” Crystal said. It had nothing to do with why Chad was after her, but it tied everything together. “So I need help from the witch in the swamp. She helped me with you.”

  “She did what? What about me?”

  “She explained what I did to you,” Crystal hurried to explain. “And I think she might have done something to make it stop. Come on, you haven’t been as crazy about me since this weekend.”

  Stephanie opened and closed her mouth. She frowned. “Fine, but I still call bullshit.”

  Crystal nodded. “That’s okay. But come with me and meet her, that way we can be sure.”

  “This is crazy.”

  “You’ll see it’s not. I mean, it is, but it’s real.”

  Stephanie spared a glance and shook her head. Crystal was afraid she was refusing until she sighed a moment later and agreed. “Fine, but only because you suck at manipulating people because you’re too honest.”

  Crystal wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. “Um—”

  Stephanie laughed. “It means maybe I believe a little bit of it. I can’t help but want to hang out with you and there’s
not much you can do for me, so there must be something more to it.”

  “Wow,” Crystal breathed. “You know how cold-hearted you make yourself sound?”

  Stephanie nodded. “I do, and that’s why I’m telling you that this time there’s more to it. I really like you. I mean, it’s genuine. I haven’t wanted to be close to someone like this since I was a kid.”

  Crystal raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, obviously the spell didn’t work.”

  Stephanie pressed her lips together and shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s go meet this crazy old bat.”

  Crystal laughed and saw the roadside park coming up and pointed towards it. Instead of warning her that Clover didn’t look much older than they were, she said, “There. Pull in and we’ll get ready.”

  “Get ready?”

  “It’s not an easy trip through the swamp.”

  Stephanie’s eyes narrowed. She pulled into a parking spot and asked, “Why not?

  “She’s surrounded by water and she’s got the only boat.”

  “What? Then how—”

  “We had to take off our clothes and swim there last time.”

  Stephanie’s eyes widened.

  “Trust me,” Crystal said and had to fight a smile when she saw Stephanie’s face relax.

  Chapter 9

  “Oh hell no,” Stephanie muttered when Crystal walked to the edge of the parking lot and took her first step through some weeds. “Do you know how much these shoes cost?”

  Crystal turned around and looked down at her feet. She hadn’t put her shoes back on yet.

  Stephanie stared at her and frowned. She looked down at her skintight jeggings and then back up. “You’ve got a dress you can pull up—there’s no pulling these up!”

  “I told you what we did last time.”

  Stephanie’s eyes widened. “You were serious?”

  Crystal nodded. She wasn’t naked, but the others were. Stephanie didn’t need the details, though.

  “So help me God, if there’s somebody with a camera in this swamp or if you leave me stranded, I will make your life hell!”