Page 1 of The Howl
Chapter One
Fighting tears,I drove away from my best friend’s house.
Megan going to New York for a few weeks shouldn’t have been grounds for a torrential sobfest. But, Megan wasn’t just a friend. She was my only friend. The only person who never judged me because of what I was or my hunger.
Even as I thought of it, the need to feed rose sharp and heavy. Wiping away the tears tracking down my cheeks, I glanced in my rearview mirror and cringed at the sight of my blackening irises.
“You are not hungry, Eliana Magdalene Margarete Howland. You are not a Barchim.”
Instead of making me feel better, using my mother’s last name as a reminder of why I needed to fight my hunger only made me sadder. And that additional sorrow only made me hungrier, which turned my eyes completely black.
I switched on the radio to a deafening level and sang along with the music, glad the magical barrier that encircled Uttira and the surrounding countryside didn’t keep the station out.
My hunger hadn’t completely faded by the time I pulled into the oversized garage attached to the Quills’ house. While I knew I’d need to give in and feed eventually, I was determined to put it off for as long as possible.
If only Megan were still here. Her anger did nothing to nourish me, but at least it felt like feeding and tricked my body for a little while.
I smoothed a hand over my blonde hair and checked my eyes in the mirror to ensure they were once again a mellow brown. Not noting any redness from my recent tears, I got out of the car and grabbed the cooler I’d taken from Megan’s house.
When I entered the kitchen, Mrs. Quill looked up from her cup of coffee. Her gaze swept over me before landing on the cooler in my arms. Despite my petite size, the jam-packed container didn’t burden me. Extra physical strength was one of the few traits I didn’t mind inheriting from my mom.
I set the cooler by the fridge and started unpacking the food.
“What’s all that?” she asked.
“All the perishables from Megan’s place since she will be gone a while.”
“That was nice of you to help her. Did she and Oanen get off okay this morning?”
I wanted to groan at her wording when my mind went south. Why did I always have to think dirty thoughts? Why couldn’t I just think normal thoughts like normal teens?
“Yes, they’re on their way to New York.”
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive us?” Mrs. Quill asked.
I shrugged and stuck the lettuce in the crisper. It was an honest, noncommittal answer. After the bullcrap the Council had pulled, Megan had every right to hold a grudge. The Council needed to stop meddling in the lives of the youth stuck in Uttira.
“Are you hungry, Eliana?” Mrs. Quill asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
I realized I was just standing there and quickly reached for the bread.
“A sandwich does sound like it would hit the spot. Would you like me to make you one, too? There are plenty of options with what I brought over from Megan’s.”
“You know that’s not what I meant. You can’t survive on human food.”
“Who said I’m trying to survive on it? I like the taste. Mom eats it all the time.” Usually at high class restaurants paid for by her adoring harem of men, but I pushed that thought aside and focused on the food in front of me.
“Look at me, Eliana,” Mrs. Quill said.
Don’t be black…Don’t be black,I chanted to myself as I lifted my gaze.
The woman who’d raised me for the last four years smiled at me kindly.
“You know you only need to ask, and I will gladly feed you.”
It took everything I had not to vehemently shake my head.
“I know,” I said. “Right now, all I want is a sandwich.”
