Page 2 of Aine

My mind is in a panic, and I scramble to stand as more beasts emerge from the trees and begin circling me, their jaws snapping as their dark, beady eyes run over the length of my body. I don’t miss the way they linger on my bloodied limbs.

A smaller one darts forward and bites my thigh before I have time to react, ripping off a chunk of my flesh and forcing another scream out of me. Fuck, that hurt. The pain is blinding, and my vision blurs as I struggle to stop the bleeding. My fingers push pathetically at the skin in a sad attempt to press it back together, but it hardly works.

The hope I carried that my end would be painless vanishes as another launches forward.

I drop to my knee, my brain urging me to do whatever I can to survive, despite how pointless it may be.

A loud howl echoing through the forest has the beasts freezing. That’s how they communicate, but I don’t have much time to dwell on it as I focus on trying to stop my bleeding.

My chest continues to heave as the beasts sit around ogling my injured body, saliva dripping from their teeth as they sniff the air around me. I clench my jaw and hold back a scream as I force myself to stand.

I spot a new beast approaching on my left and turn to face it with a muffled grunt. It steps carefully over sticks and rocks as its massive body moves toward me. It’s larger than the others, and immediately, I know it’s the leader.

This is the one that’s going to kill me.

My shoulders sag as another wave of dizziness strikes, and I instinctively step forward to keep myself from falling. I figure I shouldn’t be surprised when the limb fails, crumbling beneath my weight and sending me straight to the ground.

It was all an accident.

The wolf continues to approach, letting out a low growl as it comes to a halt by my feet. I’m sure I’m hallucinating as it whines and begins to quiver, its bones breaking with painful, wet pops. We’ve heard rumors that the beasts can take on human forms, but nobody’s ever seen it happen. They kill us before we get the opportunity.

The beast transforms into a human before my very eyes, and I blink a few times to make sure I’m not hallucinating. He’s on his hands and knees, and his long limbs stretch as he stands. My head drops, but I fight the feeling and force myself to watch him.

He’s terrifying.

His brown hair falls over his equally brown eyes, and he pushes it out of his face with a frown. My mouth runs dry as I lower my gaze. He’s naked, and every inch of his body seems to be covered in thick muscle.

I’d find him attractive if he weren’t about to kill me.

“Go,” he orders, his voice a low grumble that brings goosebumps to my skin.

Most of the beasts leave at his command, loud yips falling from their mouths as they run in the direction I came from. My eyes roll back as a dimness comes over me, but I shake it away, desperate to remain awake.

The man moves closer, prompting me to scramble back. I’m not ready to die. He seems angry as he watches my actions, his lips flattening as he snatches my arm and pulls me to my feet.

My injuries scream as I sag, unable to support any of my weight. The remaining beasts watch, whining as the man wraps his arm around my waist and yanks me upright. A few also shift into their human forms, but the one touching me holds all my attention.

“Take her to the healer.” He breathes deeply and passes me to another.

I feel my body jostle as I’m handed off, my head lolling forward and smacking against a hard chest. There’s a loud commotion as I’m pulled away, my toes dragging painfully against the ground as the world around me goes black.

Chapter Two

AINE

I’m numb.

It takes me a while to understand what’s happening, the voices around me unfamiliar and confusing. They speak too fast for me to process, and I fight through my mind’s fog to remember how to open my eyes.

When they do, I’m even more confused. I stare in shock at the woman hovering over me, unsure if I’m hallucinating. I thought she was dead.

“Jenna?”

My vision is fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure that’s her. Her curly blonde hair and large green eyes are identical to the woman I’m thinking of, and her crooked canine teeth push against her lips the same way. Am I seeing things? I can tell I’m heavily drugged, my mind and body slower than they should be.

The woman shoots me a wide smile before turning and closing the curtain separating me from the rest of the room. She seems to be in a hurry as she adjusts the IV that lives in my arm, the action prompting me to glance at my body for the first time.

My breath hitches, and I take a moment to process as I take in the state of my injuries. Thick, bloody gauze covers large parts of my body, and a needle sticks out of a still-open thigh wound from where Jenna paused her stitching.

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