“Are you sure you and Alex are okay sleeping in the cottage?”
“Kendal, I’m sure. You don’t have to worry about a single thing. I don’t want you and your grandparents to be in trouble.”
“Don’t worry, and this is only temporary. Gramps will deal with Keane, and as soon it’s done, you’ll be back at the house before you know it.”
“It’s okay. Look, this place is more than fine for us. This is a really nice cottage your grandparents have out here.” Harper looked around, it was definitely better than staying at a motel.
“It’s their place of refuge whenever the town becomes a little too much for them,” Kendal said, and she could only imagine her friend smiling from the other end.
“You mean Kean’s gang?”
“It’s not just Keane…”
She scoffed. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing…um―is Alex there?” Kendal paused then dragged a sigh. “How’s he?”
“He’s down with a cold, but aside from that―”
“Wait. He’s sick?”
“Yeah. He’s been under the weather since yesterday, actually.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, he’s taken some medicines and just resting now.” Harper walked over to an open window and closed it, but not before a sudden chill leeched into her. The night air was cold and still. And if it were not for the light of the moon, the woods around them would be in complete darkness.
“Resting?” she heard Kendal asked with a hint of surprise and worry.
“Yeah. But he’s all fine now. Just really resting.”
“Look, why don’t I go over there and stay there with you for the night?”
“What for?”
“Well, since Alex is sick…” Kendal tried to come up with a reason, a solid one, without alarming Harper.
“Kendal, is there something I should know?”
“Um―nothing.”
“Okay. Look, I think Alex is just exhausted. I’d seen how badly hurt he was after his accident and I’ve seen him in his worse. And I think this is just his body’s way of telling him to get some rest. He’s forgotten to take his meds too.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. So don’t worry, okay?”
“Hmmm…okay. But just try and lock your room. Alright?”
Harper scrunched her face. “Okay, you’re being weird. Can you just tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just remembered about the animal attack on the news. You can lock Alex’s room too.”
“Can’t I just lock the doors and the windows?”
“Yeah. Do that. Just don’t forget your door. Double safety precaution.”
Harper shook her head then smiled. “Okay. Anything else?”
“And call me as soon as you wake up tomorrow morning.”
“Sure.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. I think I’m going to take a shower and hit the bed. It’s late.”
“And Alex?”
Harper tilted her head at the closed door to her right. “Sound asleep after I’ve given him some meds.”
“Okay. Good. Good night.”
“Good night.”
She put the phone down on the counter before walking down the empty living room and toward her room. As she had told Kendal, Alex had come down with a cold after a half an hour walk to the cottage where Nan and Pat had asked them to stay for the time being. Kendal’s grandparents weren’t really specific with their reasons why they suddenly had to leave, but Harper thought staying in a town where Alex’s parents could unexpectedly show up wasn’t such a good idea either, so she agreed. She and Alex needed to stay somewhere safe and away from people while waiting for Lucas.
If only he reaches out to me, Harper had thought. Things hadn’t really been good lately, with her parents' separation, people chasing after her and Alex, and now Keane and his animosity towards Alex ― Harper wished Lucas would call her real soon.
Sighing in such dismay with how her life was starting to fall apart, Harper went inside the bathroom and took a shower, taking her time to let the warm water run down her body. She rubbed her shoulders, releasing the knots, her fingers pressing against the sore muscles from the long hikes she had.
The shower was quick and functionary; when her muscles started to relax, she inhaled then exhaled contentedly before switching the tap off. She was done in no time. Changing into her pair of pajamas, she toweled her hair dry before stepping out.
She gasped and stopped on her track. Chill immediately ran down her back.
Her room was dark and heavy breathing filled the air.
Wait. Did she switch the light off before going into the bathroom? She couldn’t remember.
Without making any sound, Harper reached for her eyeglasses on the bedside table, and as soon as she put them on, her heart almost leaped out of her chest, for she saw a dark shape at the edge of her bed.
She gulped, and at once, her guard was up. She reached for the nearest object her hand could find―an essential oil diffuser. She crept for the switch on the wall by the door frame and raising the diffuser over her head, ready to strike.
But whatever it was that sat on her bed didn’t move.
“Alex?” she called, her voice wavering. When there was no answer, she bolted and hurriedly flipped on the light switch.
Sitting on the edge of her bed was indeed Alex, whose eyes were boring into her and lips pressed on a hard line. His bare chest was heaving.
Harper flushed and watched as he took in the sight of her. There was something in his eyes that immediately told her something was up.
“What the hell, Alex?! What are you doing―”
He swiftly crossed the room and pushed her forcefully against the wall. To keep her in place, he put his hands against the wall on either side of her head and pressed his body against hers. He gazed into her face shock-stricken face with those intense, electric blue eyes.
Sniffing, he leaned into her and buried his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. He growled, beads of sweat rolling off his body. His eyes were suddenly the palest of blue, as if it were changing into a different shade.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” Harper finally found her voice. She pressed her head against the wall as Alex’s strong hands dropped down to squeeze her hips. Her mouth fell open as teeth scraped across the sensitive tendon in her neck. She then let out a gasp when she felt his tongue tracing up the side of her neck before it flicked over her earlobe.
“Alex,” his name came out as little more than a whimper.
Alex let out a low growl. "You’re mine," he husked against her ear. His knee pressed between her legs, keeping her pinned exactly where he wanted her.
“Alex, no! Please,” she sniffled as she felt his hands smoothed up her sides and curved around to cup her breasts. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next, and she was frightened. Very frightened at the bestial air that suddenly surrounded Alex.
“Mine…” Alex muttered, his nose brushing up against her jaw before his lips followed.
Harper’s eyes widened when she saw a pair of glowing grey eyes boring into her. “Alex…your eyes…what’s―what’s hap―happening?” She stammered.
This time, Alex brought his hands up and cupped her face, holding her still as he leaned down to cover her mouth with his, parting her lips a little forcefully. His other arm circled her waist, slightly lifting her against the wall and holding her still as his tongue slipped into her mouth, sweeping over her teeth and sliding against hers. He groaned into her mouth, hips tilting, rocking into her.
He kissed her deeply and thoroughly, it was rough and selfish, and it made Harper’s head spin. She could also feel Alex’s body against her burning up. And as soon as Alex pulled away after when her lips were a little swollen, she could still feel the heat coursing through his body.
“Alex…what’s gotten into you? Let me go! What’s wrong with you!” She writhed against his body.
Suddenly…
“Fuck! Harper!” Alex rasped, shaky breath washing across his lips. He winced as Harper’s clothes rubbed against his skin. “What’s wrong with me?” he asked, looking unaware of what was going and what he was doing for the first time.
“What the fuck, Alex?!”
He took half a step back before he suddenly gasped and flinched back violently, looking in pain. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Arrrgh! It hurts!”
“What? What is it? What’s going on…”
He threw himself away from Harper and dropped onto the floor, screaming in pain as he curled into a ball and hugging his legs to his chest. “Harper! Help! It hurts!”
“Oh my god, Alex! What’s happening to you!” Harper panicked. “Let me get some help!” She ran to the living and grabbed the phone on the countertop. Quickly, she dialed 911, but before the operator could even say its opening spiel, a firm hand snatched the phone away from her.
She looked over her shoulder and screamed when she saw Alex standing right next to her, drenched in sweat. She tried to fight him, but her small frame was no match for his towering size.
He slammed her into the wall. “Be still, human!” he growled, his hands dragged down the sides of her throat to her shoulders.
"Alex. Stop, please! What’s going on with you?” she gasped out, shaking.
He pinned her hands above her head with his left hand while his right hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, trailing up her skin and toward her chest. He heard the hitch in her breath when his palm rubbed over her breast, cupping and squeezing.
“Your smell…”
She continued to try and push him away, but the beast in him paid no attention to her protest.
Alex growled, leaning his face closer to hers, his lips brushing her jaw, down her neck. He could hear the blood rushing in her. His lips were hot and burned on her skin when he nipped at it.
“Alex…” Harper moaned when he began sucking hard on her skin. Slowly, his hand moved down her pajama pants, tracing the waistband before pulling it down slightly. Stroking her naked hip with his warm fingers, she bucked against him, fighting his grip.
“Shall I go lower?”
She struggled, her breath coming in short pants. When she tried to knee him in the groin, he easily moved out of the way.
"You’re mine," Alex said, his breath hot against her neck.
She resisted and pulled away from him, but she couldn't. He was just too strong.
Smirking, Alex’s hand started to rub its way down to her inner thigh when, all of a sudden, fresh pain stopped him and pierced across his ribcage. He staggered back. Then pain ripped through him, and he thrashed on the floor, screaming again in no time. His body started to convulse violently as the pain increased.
“A-Alex!” Harper exclaimed, clearly freaking out and not knowing whether to help or to run away. “What the hell is going on with you?!” she yelled, crying.
Alex attempted to climb on his hands and knees, and in one fluid motion, he took the last ounce of strength he had left in him to stand up. He looked around, and the world around him began to come in full blast.
He could hear the pounding of Harper’s heart in her chest. He could smell the scent of her sweat and the tears that stained her cheeks. And most shockingly, he could feel the fear that reeked her entire being.
“Harper…what’s wrong with me? I’m scared,” he squirmed, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. “Please help me.”
Immediately, a wave of worry and panic washed over Harper. “Alex! Dammit! I’m…I don’t know…I’m…”
Alex, all of a sudden, stilled for a moment. “I must go.”
“What―”
But before Harper could even make sense of what was going on, he ran and launched himself out the window. He landed hard on the ground with broken pieces of glass, yet he didn’t mind.
“Alex!”
He could hear her calling after him, but he tried as much as he could to ignore the sound of her voice. He had no clue what was going on with him, and all he knew was he needed to be as far away from her as he could before he would ultimately lose his bearings.
*** * ***
*Full moon…*
Alex fell hard on his knees as his body began cracking and changing. Screaming in pain, he held his hand up to his face. The veins in his arms were bulging, and beads of sweat dripped down his torso. He stared in shock when he could see up close that tiny grey hairs sprout from his fingertips, and his nails grew and morphed into a claw.
What soon followed was a nerve-wracking pain. His pants tore as quickly as every bone in his body shifted and changed: his jawline cracked and stretched, legs snapped, bent and twisted, and his tail bone moved and cracked. His muscles stretched and tore into larger muscles, and his teeth grew into sharp fangs.
He roared, a sound ripping from his throat when his insides soon shifted. Then, his skin began to burn, and small hairs started to sprout and cover his body in no time, a mix of grey and white. His ears followed and crawled up his head.
While it seemed like he shifted and suffered pain in what felt like an eternity, his transformation was over rather quickly after the excruciating pain reached its peak. What followed was the moon's ghostly sound that hauntingly vibrated through his ears, sending a tingle down his spine.
When the pain finally left his body, he stood still on all fours; suddenly, the world silently hummed around him. The wind came to a gust that ruffled his thick fur, beckoning him to look up.
He howled, and his voice barreled through the night, reverberating through the woods. Slaved to the call of the full moon, the beast was back and with it was an insatiable hunger to feed.