by Cecy Robson
He lowers my pack at my feet, carefully backing away as if intruding on something intimate.
“Thank you,” I tell him, kneeling and bowing my head so he doesn’t notice my unease.
I position the pack so I can open it like a suitcase, wondering if I have anything Celia can actually use. The wolf edges away, his keen sight bouncing from me to Celia.
I jerk my head, trying get the wolf to give us more space. As much as he’s a part of Gemini, he’s more a twin to Gemini’s wolf than twin to Gemini himself.
Gemini’s mother was pregnant with twins. She didn’t know, until she lost one and the Omega wolf who treated her told her she was still pregnant. They didn’t expect the wolf spirit of the twin to survive. He did and joined the other who inhabits Gemini’s soul. Like many strong weres, Gemini changed at six months. But instead of one wolf, he became two.
“Go,” I mouth, when he sits just a few feet away. I’m doing my best to look cool in front of Celia, but the wolf is making it hard. He wags his tail, his full attention on Celia.
I unzip the pack and rustle through it. Aside from the jeans and black T-shirt I wore here, I have a pair of sweatpants shoved beneath my sneakers. The sweats will work fine. Celia can roll them and tie them or something. I shove my hand down to the bottom to retrieve the gray shirt I’ve likely had since our last excursion. I pause. Instead of offering Celia the gray shirt, the clean one, I hand her the black one I wore here, reasoning my scent will comfort her.
Maybe I shouldn’t. It’s like I’m marking her as mine, or something equally as crazy.
I clear my throat and offer her the sweatpants and shirt. “We can turn our backs if you want. Or, if it’s better for you, get dressed behind those trees over there.”
It takes a moment for Celia to lift the clothes from my grip, her powerful jaws careful as they clench the soft fabric. I start to say something more in the hopes to calm her fear about us, but the words lodge in my throat when I catch my friends’ slacking jaws. Even the wolf is gaping at me.
“Problem?” I ask.
“Aric,” Liam says. “What did you just do?”
I lie, since I don’t know myself. “Nothing. Just turn around and cover your eyes or something. Celia needs to get dressed.”
Liam crosses his arms. “I think it’s only fair we see her as she is. She’s seen us, right, boys?”
I know Liam is just curious about Celia. She isn’t like anyone, or anything, we know. Still, I’m ready to pelt him in the head with a rock.
Koda storms away, giving us more space than we probably need. “You heard him, Liam. We’re making Celia uncomfortable. You know better than to do that to a female.”
It takes hearing those words for Liam to finally see the light. “Sorry, Celia. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”
Celia eases her way toward the trees. I’m not sure if I should follow. But then my beast doesn’t give us a choice. It’s like my wolf needs to be by her side and ensure she’s safe. I allow him to guide me and lead us forward, his senses enlivening mine as we shadow Celia. He recognizes something within her that I haven’t yet discovered. I want to, though. There’s a reason she’s here. I just have to figure it out.
“Can we at least watch her change?” Liam asks. He raises his hand. “I’m asking for strictly scientific purposes.”
“What does that even mean?” I ask.
It’s Gemini who answers. “He wants to see if she changes like we do or if it’s different.”
I shrug, trying to downplay my answer. “It’s similar. Maybe a little faster.”
Gemini raises his eyebrows. “Faster? We’re pretty fast, Aric.”
I recall how I only barely tracked her change. “I know,” I say. “Just let her call the shots, okay? If she wants to show us, she’ll do so when she’s ready.”
Celia turns and tilts her head. I can’t guess what she thinks of me. I hope it’s something good.
“Take your time,” I say. I smirk when I realize she’s working hard to keep her attention on my face and nowhere else. “We’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”
Celia’s steps are hesitant as she walks past the wolves. She speeds up once she clears Koda. I’m certain she’ll take off and I jog after her, trying to keep some distance yet not quite managing as much as I intend. My wolf is drawn to her tigress. Like an invisible rope, she pulls him along, encouraging him to keep close.
I force myself to stop when she reaches the edge of the forest and disappears behind an old oak, the trunk is massive. I suppose it suits her need for privacy and maybe gives her time alone.
I force myself to turn away, so she doesn’t find me waiting for her like a lovesick puppy. I’m just in time to face Koda’s reprimanding glare.
“Aric,” he says. “What are you trying to do here?”
My stance tightens as I try to beat back the heat creeping up my neck. “Get her to trust us,” I reply.
“Get her to trust us or score yourself some hero points?”
All right. I see where he’s headed and I can’t really blame him. Wasn’t I the one who found females annoying just this morning? “I’m not sure what you mean,” I reply. Hey, just ’cause he made the right call doesn’t mean I have to own up to it like a wimp.
“Yes, you do,” Gemini says. He’s not mad, not in the way Koda is. But he is questioning my decisions, something that doesn’t sit well with me as an alpha.
“Are you accusing me of doing something immoral or something that goes against our pack?” I question. “Or are you telling me I should have left her where I found her to fend for herself?”
Gemini lowers his chin, admitting defeat. “Yeah,” I say slowly. “That’s what I thought.”
Liam’s focus jumps between us, worry keeping him silent. He seems to want to say something, but just as he starts, he quickly shuts his mouth.
Celia steps away from the tree, pushing her long wavy hair back from her face as she steps carefully through the withering grass. The sweatpants are huge on her and she had to roll them many times so they’d stay on her tiny waist.
I may have more to grow, but Celia has reached her limit. She’s small. But she must be tough to have survived the harsh forest elements overnight.
My lips press tight as I try not to laugh at how sweet she looks. My T-shirt hangs low enough to be a dress on her and mud streaks her cheeks in rough and awkward lines. Aside from the few glimpses I caught when we first met, this is the longest I’ve looked at her human form. Like before, I can’t get enough of her.
“Whoa,” Liam says. “You’re really pretty.”
“Um—”
“I mean hot. Really hot.” He nudges Koda. “Hey. Isn’t she hot?”
“Liam,” Koda spits out through his teeth. He motions to where I’m standing and not smiling anymore.
“Oh, sorry,” Liam says. “I meant sexy. Is sexy a better word for you Aric?”
My mouth pops open. How has Liam survived this long?
Celia’s hand covers her face. It doesn’t quite hide her blush, nor keep her from turning into a shy kitten instead of a formidable tigress.
“Thank you for the clothes,” she stammers. “If you could, I really need to find a way back to Jersey.”
“Why?” Gemini asks. “Who’s there?”
“My sisters and foster mother,” Celia replies. Again, she’s guarded, not wanting to give too much away.
“You have sisters?” Liam asks. “How many?”
Celia crosses her arms. “Three.”
“Cool,” Liam says. He inches closer to her. “Are they pretty like you?”
“We have similar features,” Celia cautiously answers.
“They’re golden tigers, like you?” Liam presses. He holds out his hands. “Wait. I know—
don’t tell me. They take the forms of other big cats. A lion, maybe? How about a cheetah? I like cheetahs. Well, the ones I’ve seen on T.V., anyway.”
>
Celia stiffens. Liam needs to back off, and I should tell him. Except, like the rest of us, he’s curious and wants to know more.
“I’m the only one with an inner beast,” she replies. “They . . . they’re different.”
“Different from you?” Liam asks.
“From everyone,” Celia responds. Her demeanor turns grave. I don’t quite understand it. It’s like her sadness is too much to bear. “We’re different from any race of human, were, or vampire on earth.”
“Weird,” Koda infers.
Celia’s tiger eyes replace her own and hurt and anger flake off each word she speaks. “That’s one way to describe us.”
Koda glances away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I didn’t like how Koda referred to Celia or how his comment affected her. I came close to storming over and making him apologize. Except, for all Koda is like a dangerous cloud waiting to storm, he’s not cruel, especially when it comes to females.
Liam blows blond hair away from his face and grins. “You didn’t answer my question, Celia. Are your sisters pretty, like you?”
Another splash of red against her cheeks is just what Celia needed to erase her anger. The truth I scent behind her words lift her lips into a small smile. “They’re beautiful,” she replies.
I return her smile, but it doesn’t last.
Dread punches me in the gut and I whip around in the direction of the woods. That smell—that disgusting festering smell I caught earlier—saturates the air and coats it in a vile yellow mist, snuffing out the fresh breeze.
Gemini’s twin wolf barks with pure rage and dashes into the woods. We growl as a pack, including Celia. There isn’t a need for words. Something evil this way stalks and it’s up to us to destroy it.
I prowl forward, my friends and Celia following closely.
Gemini’s twin cries out in agony, the sound of splintering bone cutting off his tortured whimpers.
Gemini’s eyes fly open. “No!” he yells.
“What’s happening?” I snarl. “What do you see?”
Gemini’s dark eyes gleam in that way they do when he sees through the eyes of his twin. “It has us,” he rasps. He falls forward on all fours, clutching his neck. “It’s coming.”
“Screw this,” Koda rumbles, taking off in sprint.
The twin wolf skyrockets from the thick stand of trees, landing at our feet with his head twisted at an odd angle. Gemini races to him, gathering him in his arms and hoisting his sagging body from the ground.
Koda stands a few feet from the dark forest, cemented in place, his attention on the spot where the yellow mist seeps out in thick tendrils. “What the hell is that?” he growls.
I grind my teeth. “Fall back.”
Koda shakes his head stiffly. “No way.”
“It’s not a request,” I bite out.
Koda backs up, the filthy yellow air that follows him morphing into a gelatinous, suffocating amber.
Celia and Liam gag, choking on the smell. I shove the bile burning its way up my throat, whispering low. “Liam, take point on the right, Koda, the left. Gemini, where’s your twin?”
“Hidden, but unable to fight,” Gemini says. “Something’s wrong with him, Aric. He’s not healing.”
“If he can’t heal, we may not be able to, either,” I say. I don’t mean to be blunt, but they need to know what we’re up against and fight smart. Liam spits on the ground and Koda releases another few swears.
“Gemini, take the rear,” I order, my hackles rising when I sense something drawing closer. “We’ll see to your wolf when we’re done tearing this thing apart. Stay sharp and keep Celia behind you.”
“I’m no weakling,” she insists. “I can help you fight it.”
“This is our battle, not yours,” I tell her.
Her resentment claws at my back. I don’t bother arguing with her. We change into our beasts, ready to protect. Ready to fight. Ready to kill.
Liam’s amber and brown fur blends into the mist, not that it will help us. Whatever approaches is manipulating this power in its favor. I rack my brain, trying to sort through all the entities I’ve studied to put a finger on what this thing is.
I don’t wonder for long. Like a weary, old man, dragging his legs behind him, the mist parts and the creature emerges.
No. Not just any creature. A skinwalker. One of the few beings that are impossible to kill.
Chapter Four
There are legends of skinwalkers spoken in whispers. My grandfather was one of the few weres brave enough to speak of them after sundown. As Guardians of the Earth, we fight dark entities who threaten our world. We’re brave and strong, but neither our prowess nor our beasts can shield us completely from fear.
Skinwalkers are said to be weres damned to hell for turning on our kind. My grandfather didn’t agree. “No were can commit such atrocities to deserve a fate like that,” Grandad said.
“Then, what is a skinwalker?” I asked.
“A creature born of the evil man has committed upon our earth. It cannot be killed. It doesn’t bleed. It simply ravages anything in its path.” Next to Dad, my grandfather was the toughest were I ever met, yet he shuddered as he explained. “Dear boy, it’s the one creature I pray you’ll never meet.”
I now understand why.
The first thing I see is the head of a festering stag, its sixteen-point rack appearing too large for his willowy and hunched frame. He stands on hind legs, the hooves stamping into the soil like a being four times his weight, while long-clawed hands drag grooves into the soil.
Chunks of rotting fur drop in wet clumps as he approaches. What flimsy hide remains, covers his shoulders and face in uneven and withered patches. His ribcage is fully exposed, revealing wads of shriveled intestines and mismatched portions of a liver and lungs.
There’s no heart. He doesn’t need one. Malice enshrouds him like a plague, alerting those in his path of their impending doom.
Anyone else who crossed him would be easy prey. Not me. Not my friends. Not Celia. My wolf releases an unearthly growl, converting my fear and shock to rage. I thunder forward, leaping into the air and using the full weight of my body to nail him like a battering ram.
My claws puncture through his ribcage and into what remains of his lungs, the bones cracking like splintering wood beneath my weight. I mistake this for an easy win, but the bones quickly reform around my paws, trapping me, and tightening around me when I try to wrench free.
His breath releases in a long exhale through his snout, delivering more of that vile mist directly into my face. I can’t breathe, choking on air that punches its way down my throat.
Koda and Liam have his long talon arms pinned to the ground, and Gemini is trying to control his legs. The retching sounds they make obstruct their focus. But they can still breathe. I can’t.
The mist coagulates into a gelatinous lump, blocking my windpipe. I attempt to warn my pack, but every movement expands and solidifies the lump.
I thrash. I won’t give up . . . but neither will this skinwalker.
The skinwalker screeches like a thousand feral cats, shattering my left eardrum as he flings Koda away like a toy. Koda is close to four-hundred-pounds of muscle in his wolf form. He collides into the tree Celia dressed behind. The large trunk crumbles.
So does my friend.
I writhe, breaking my right paw free only for the decaying bones to reform and sink their shards into my flesh. I use the weight of my hind legs, digging them into the skinwalker’s pelvis and raking my rear claws through his guts.
I think I hurt him, but it’s Gemini who pays. The skinwalker kicks his hooves into Gemini’s chest, pulverizing his torso and sending him soaring backward.
Tears from the lack of air cause my vision to spin. I’m fighting half-blind, barely able to make out what’s in front of me.
Liam’s jaw crunches over the skinwalker’s throat. I think we have him until
Liam falls into a seizure, resuming his human form and foaming at the mouth.
“Don’t bite him!” Celia yells when I snap my jaws. “His body is poison.”
My vision fades in and out and Celia is suddenly there, clutching a large boulder in her hands. She brings it down on the skinwalker’s head, cracking his snout and making him scream.
The skinwalker flails his clawed hands, trying to reach Celia. She ducks and jerks out of the way, lifting the boulder again and smashing it into the creature’s face. The weight and force indent his snout, preventing it from reforming and releasing more rancid mist.
The lump in my throat loosens enough to allow a small wheeze. It’s then Celia realizes I’m choking.
“Aric.”
This time when Celia slams down the boulder, the skinwalker’s arms flop at his side. She leaves the heavy boulder in place and scrambles to me, her nails protruding into razor sharp points.
Celia grunts as she uses her claws to puncture the skinwalker’s chest, cracking open the cavity so I can break free. I collapse on my side. My front paws are stripped of fur and my lungs are on fire. I know I should move, but right now, and I can barely focus.
Celia hurries to my side and rolls me over. I think she means to haul me away, but then her fist rams me in the gut.
I’m vaguely aware of her actions as I lose consciousness. It’s only when I feel that lump of thickening waste dislodge in a painful jolt, that I realize what Celia was doing. I tilt to my side, spitting out blood and foam and whatever putrid waste the skinwalker fed me.
Like a row of daggers, Celia’s nails elongate as she backs away. I’m breathing hard. I can’t see much, but it’s enough. The skinwalker shoves away the boulder and rises, that torturous screech blaring as he stalks after Celia.
“You want me?” she challenges. “Come get me.”
The earth trembles beneath me as I push up to the side, each step the skinwalker takes toward Celia rattling the ground.