Page 72 of Rocky Top

Right above the wound, not hard enough to maim, but hard enough todo something. It burned. My skin lit up like someone poured gasoline through my veins and struck a match.

I screamed. Loud.

And then everything wentblack.

I woke up in the clubhouse.

The Wild Dog. I knew it even before I opened my eyes—could smell the leather and beer, hear the murmur of voices and the hum of motorcycle engines in the distance. My body ached, like I’d gone ten rounds with a freight train.

“Eliza,” I croaked, my throat raw.

She was there in a flash, brushing hair from my face with tears swimming in her eyes. “Oh my God, Birdie. You scared the hell out of me.”

“What happened?” My voice was barely a whisper.

“You were attacked. Rocky... he saved you. But you were losing too much blood. He had to...”

The memories slammed back into me. The monster. It’s claws. The blood.The bite.

“No,” I whispered. “He bit me.”

Eliza nodded, biting her lip. “He didn’t have a choice. You were dying.”

I turned my head and saw him.

Rocky.

Standing in the doorway, arms crossed, face shadowed and unreadable.

I sat up fast, my vision spinning. “Youbit me.”

“I did,” he said. No apology in his voice. Just truth. “I’d do it again.”

“What does thatmean, Rocky?” I snapped. “What did you do to me?”

He walked in slowly, as if afraid I’d bolt. He should’ve been afraid. I was two seconds from grabbing a damn pool cue and using it like a javelin.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he said. “But... the bite changes things. You were dyin’, Birdie. I did what I had to do.”

“Stop saying that!” My voice cracked. “Whatchanges? Am I gonna die? Grow a tail? What, Rocky?”

Silence.

“You’re gonna shift. Not now. It takes time. But it’s comin’. And once it starts, there ain’t no going back.”

My mouth went dry. “You’re telling me I’m gonna become likeyou?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus Christ.” I stood too fast, staggered, but caught myself. “You had no right—”

“You weredyin’!” he shouted back, finally letting the emotion crack through. “I couldn’t just let you bleed out in the dirt, Birdie. Not you. Never you.”

Tears blurred my vision. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to run. I wanted to crawl into his arms and let the whole world burn around us.

Instead, I said the one thing I knew would cut deepest.

“You should’ve let me die.”

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