The second wolf stood and ran toward me. In a flash, I was on the ground again with another set of teeth piercing my skin.
“Damn it, Jack. She’s mine. I already Claimed her,” a male voice said.
The teeth left my skin, and I twisted in time to see the wolf beside me stand on its hind legs. Its fur retracted into its pale skin, and its legs lengthened. Hands replaced paws, and long ears shortened.
“She didn’t smell Claimed.”
I watched the abnormal mouth form the words yet didn’t believe what I witnessed. I wheezed as I struggled to my feet. Both men watched me.
The world tilted. I stumbled and pressed a hand against my neck. Everything seemed fuzzy. I didn’t think it was due to blood loss, though. It was the two very naked men standing in front of me. Moments ago, they’d been wolves. I was sure of it...wasn’t I?
“She still doesn’t smell Claimed,” the first one said.
“Why is she bleeding so much?” Jack asked, tilting his head at me.
I couldn’t believe he actually asked. “Because you bit me,” I said. “Twice.”
“Roy...I don’t think she’s one of us.” Worry clouded Jack’s features.
One of us. The phrase pinged around in my mind.
Roy lifted his head. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply.
“But she smells so—”
“I know,” Jack said
I blinked slowly. “This isn’t real.”
“Call an Elder,” Jack said, stepping toward me.
“Don’t touch her,” Roy snarled at Jack.
Jack stopped moving, turned toward Roy, and growled. “She is not yours.”
“I Claimed her first.”
Jack snorted. “There’s no first or second. Either you Claim her or you don’t. And you, my friend, didn’t.”
“Neither did you.”
“I know that!”
Their arguing was making my head hurt as badly as my neck. Before I could tell them to stop, a long howl filled the air. On the far side of the clearing, six wolves stepped through the trees.
More? I couldn’t take more.
“If one more of you tries to bite me...” My words came out slurred.
The lead wolf looked back at his followers then at me. He trotted forward, gave the two men a cursory growl, and stopped in front of me.
My vision tunneled, and I caught a glimpse of the sky before nothing obliterated everything.
* * * *
I woke to the sound of my own breathing and something squeezing my neck. When I opened my eyes, darkness surrounded me. I coughed and reached to pull away whatever was at my throat. My fingers touched cloth, and I remembered everything. I sat up, beginning to panic.
My world, which I’d already thought insane, was crazier than I realized. Wolves were actually men, and they argued over who had a right to bite me.
Nearby, I heard the rasp of the lighter. An instant later, I squinted against the radiance of the tiny flame and looked away for a moment. I was once again in the room with the whole window.
Glancing back, I saw the glow illuminating a girl’s face. She didn’t look scary, yet despite her open expression, my heart beat harder once I saw her. Within the tangled mass of her brown hair, her large brown eyes reflected green light back at me. She was one of them.
“My name’s Mary. What’s yours?”
I stared at her, waiting for her to make some kind of move toward me. But she didn’t. She just studied me with open curiosity. I studied her in return. She didn’t look dangerous, just dirty. And she wore one of my shirts. I frowned, remembering how the two men had been naked after they’d changed from wolves. How could any of this be real?
I licked my dry lips and answered her question. “Charlene.”
A storm of growling and snarling broke out in the hall just beyond the door. I shrank away from it. How many were out there?
“Don’t worry. My dad will protect us until the Elder gets here. She is on her way.”
I stared at her as what she said penetrated my stunned mind. Her father was out there. Guarding the door? And someone was coming to help. What was an Elder?
Mary’s eyes continued to reflect at me. It wasn’t the bright reflection of an animal. It was rather dull, and I might have easily overlooked it if not for the flame she held so close to her face.
“What are you?” I finally asked.
She smiled, showing perfectly normal looking teeth, to my relief, lifted her thumb from the lighter, and plunged us back into the black.
“A friend, I hope. Sleep, Charlene. The rest can wait for tomorrow.”
The rest? Of what? And how did she think I could sleep with the racket still going on in the hall? Anger laced the already intimidating growls, punctuated by thumps against the wall. It sounded as if a pack of them were trying to fight their way to the door. Were they really still trying to get to me? I trembled in the dark.
“Why did they attack me?” I asked.
The noise quieted.
“They attacked you?”
“Yes. Didn’t you see my throat?” Perhaps she had arrived after they’d bandaged me.
“Oh. That wasn’t an attack. They were just trying to Claim you.”
“I don’t know what Claiming is, but it sure felt like an attack. Why did they do it?”
“Well...” Her tone conveyed her sudden and extreme discomfort. “It would be better if we waited for the Elder to explain.”
In the dark, I heard her shift her position, but she didn’t say anything more. Her silence annoyed me.
“Fine. They’re going to try again, aren’t they.”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
The fighting in the hall started back up.
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I said, mostly to myself.
“I brought a bucket. Dad doesn’t want us to leave the room.”
A very heavy something hit against the door just then, and I agreed with her father. I didn’t want to leave the room, either.
Three
Even though most of the noise outside remained minimal once I lay back down, fear and frustration kept me awake the rest of the night. At some point, Mary’s breathing slowed, and I knew she slept. The harmless sound helped ease some of my fear of her. However, the creatures that waited outside the door were a different story. I stayed on the floor, moved as little as possible, and thought about what might come next.
A gentle tap on my door at first light gave me the answer.
“If you want to bite me again, go away,” I said, staring at the panel.
Mary immediately sat up and glanced at the door. A smile lit her face.
“She won’t bite you,” she said, standing. As she moved to open the door, I saw Mary wasn’t wearing any pants, just my shirt. I looked away. Who were these people?
The door swung open, and an adult strode in. She wore normal clothes. I couldn’t have been more relieved. Mary closed the door behind the woman, and I noted the complete silence in the hallway.
“Can you sit up, dear?” the woman asked me.
“Are they gone?” I said, sitting up.
“No. But they will behave.” She squatted beside me.
She had very light blonde hair, so light it almost appeared white. She smiled at me and smoothed back my hair with a gentle touch.
“Can I take a look at your neck?”
“I’d rather leave it well-protected.” There was a good two inches of material covering my skin at the moment, and I didn’t want it taken away.
“I understand. However, I would like to check for infection. It wouldn’t do to have you become sick.”
The image of me even more helpless around these people had me nodding. She carefully began to unwind the bandage.