Chapter 12

“You’ve drugged me. You had to have-.”

The words were weak on my lips, the denial flowing through my system the longer I stared into his yellow eyes. They were most defiantly a pale yellow now, gone was his dark human colour. And even his iris had shifted shape slightly, something you’d never noticed unless you were face to face with him.

A monster.

“This isn’t real,” I wanted to snap it loudly but it was a whisper. His breath fanned across my skin and I swear the not-noticeable hairs on my face rose and trembled. Goosebumps flooded across my skin and my breath hitched. I panted for breath as his fingers still gripped my arm, his short nails managing to dig into the skin much like I’d done to myself earlier.

“Jared, release her,” Dean commanded from somewhere in the distance. His voice wafted to me but it sounded so quiet, so far away. My world was zeroed in on the man before me, if he could be called a man.

“I’m not done yet,” Jared spat back and my body tensed at his voice. It was changed, deeper, darker and each word pronounced with that weird rumbling sound.

He moved to the door and I was jerked with him. My vision blurred as I stumbled and staggered after him as he pressed on, deaf to the shout Dean let out.

I was dragged out of the office and down the hall. Thankfully we were on the bottom floor or I would have fallen for my legs had lost their bones it seemed. I wobbled after him like a toddler, my mind oddly silent as my whole body grew cold.

I couldn’t track where we were going only that I ended up outside and I was yanked before him. Jared spun me around, his hands moving to my hips to keep me up right as I pitched forward. I couldn’t feel my chest move. Was I even breathing anymore? I gasped out loud as my eyes focused on the world around me.

People were scattered around the grass at the back of the house. Some were jogging in and out of the surrounding forest, others were play fighting to the side. But my face was pulled by a hand to focus on the boy that had crashed to his knees. His back was heaving and he cried out. Yet no one looked to him.

Young and clearly hurting, his neck snapped back as something cracked. The sound echoed through the sky and was quickly followed by more as the boys body began to buckle into itself. His back caved inwards as his legs shot towards his stomach and he fell to his elbows.

Some young ones glanced his way while those that were older paid him no notice. I stepped forward but was jerked back into Jared. His chin rested on my shoulder as his fingers kept my gaze firmly on the dying boy.

He screamed then and I winced. My eyes pinched shut and I hunched over. Shivering my hands pressed to my face but they were ripped away.

“Look!” Jared hissed and the command forced my eyes to open.

Gone was the boy whose body was ripping apart and instead in his place laid a shaggy dog. He panted for breath, body heaving with the effort before he stood slowly and shook himself out. Strange red goop was flung from his body and he turned once before lolling out his tongue.

I’d been wrong, I thought as I stared at the animal whose yellow eyes were now pointed towards me. He sniffed the air before tossing his head back and howling to the sky. Other cries answered his from the forest and he dashed off.

“Wolf,” I breathed, correcting my first assumption as I watched him disappear into the forest.

Just as I lost sight of his form another beast strutted from the darkness. He was much larger than the body and as he prowled into the opening, the sun kissed his dark reddish fur. Behind me Jared laughed quickly, ducking his head so the sound was muffled by my hair. Yet my eyes were trained on this wolf.

Like the boy it seemed his body was beginning to tear itself apart. Patches of fur fell away to the ground as his legs buckled and his snout collapsed within itself. Unlike the boy he didn’t cry out and it seemed his change was faster too.

In no time a man was in his place and I gawked as the Leprechaun from the meeting crouched in the wolfs place. He stood and my gazed dropped to his bare torso and lower before I fully understood that he was naked.

“You see, we’re the Tyler’s of your story,” Jared murmured, his lips tracing my neck as he spoke.

I couldn’t answer him. My mind couldn’t form words and my body couldn’t run. It was weak, light and rattling with an energy I couldn’t release. It began in the pit of my stomach, roiling around and bubbling up as it clawed its way up my throat. It pooled in my mouth, tickling my gums and tongue until I gave in to it and parted my lips.

My screech tore through the forest and had each person around me ducking and covering their ears. Behind me Jared fell back, crying out as my wail rose higher and I just kept screaming.