PART I: EARTH

"Don't forget to take off your watch."

"I won't."

"I mean it, Maddy, last time you shifted, you forgot and the band snapped right off." Dee admonished. She stopped walking to adjust the rope looped over her shoulder and waist.

Maddy didn't wait for her. He didn't have time to. He looked around the abandoned hiking trail trying to find the best tree to strap himself against. His eyes landed on a large oak nearly double his size, he said mindlessly walking slowly towards it, "You know what nearly snapped last time, the rope. Let's not let that happen again."

"Are you for real?!" Dee said stomping over to him, her tone laced with agitation. "I triple-knotted the thing. It's not my fault your wolf form is getting stronger."

Maddy kicked his off his shoes, then hooked off his socks with his thumb before shoving them into their respective shoe. His toes curled as the pads of his feet made contact with dead leaves and cold soil. Magic living inside the soil tickled his skin similar a cat greeting her owner. She purred and bobbed between his ankles before settling back down into the earth.

He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, feeling the cool Autumn air swirl and mingle with the dark beast that resided in his chest. And for a moment, his pain and fever- symptoms of shifting- seemed to ease, in the same way, chocolate fills your entire mouth, spikes your dopamine levels, and comforts your soul, before dissolving and leaving you craving for more.

"Rope." He said succinctly, eyes snapping open. His cravings were growing stronger, and they weren't for chocolate.

He stripped off his hoodie and welcomed the breeze that caressed his bare skin. Anything on his body now felt scratchy and suffocating, causing him to quickly strip down to his briefs, earning him a whistle from Dee.

"What?" She challenged, feeling the heat from Maddy's gaze. She unraveled the rope around her. "I'm just admiring the goods."

Maddy opened his mouth to scold her when a wave of pain crashed into him. His words got hitched in his throat and started choking him. On instinct, he squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed as if it were a lump of hot coal. He felt the trail of heat and rock drop and dissolve into his stomach. It twisted his guts before seeping into his veins, turning them into thorny and sharp, prickly stems that wrapped around him from the inside out and prickled at the flesh under his skin.

When it was over and he was still standing, Dee took a tentative step forward and asked, "Are you okay?"

For a moment, Maddy didn't move. Another side effect of shifting was how loud everything became. He was tucked away in the woods behind his Willow Creek park. Ravens should have been cawing about the change in weather, squirrels should have been playing tag with each other, and, hell, even the trees should have been making a rustle with how often the wind was blowing, but today all of that seemed to be drowned out by one single sound.

The sound gave Maddy goosebumps. The good kind. The kind he got just before taking a bite out of his favorite sandwich. The anticipation of a mouthful of meat, chips, and mustard. The crunch it would make as he sunk his teeth into it, the flavors that would pool into his mouth, made his mouth water and his heart excited.

It was of course the sound of Dee's blood erratically thumping in her veins.

"Maddy?" She called out to him, but her voice seemed distant, overshadowed by the quickening pace of her heartbeat.

It was a snare drum solo, a lullaby for baby rattlesnakes, a monotonous melody that made Maddy think of meat… and chips… and mustard…

It was the one and only warning he would get that something was wrong.

"Maddy?" She tried again, taking a few tentative steps forward, giving Maddy the impression she was a mouse eyeing a piece of cheese on a suspicious-looking plate.

He cleared his throat and jerked his head, his eyes burning with a feral hunger. Dee wasn't food, she was his best friend. "The rope, quickly."

Dee nodded and handed him one end of a rope. It was reinforced by a spell she said in broken Springs before they left the house. "Are you okay? You're not looking so good."

Maddy's nose twitched as their hands brushed against each other. Her expensive perfume did little to hide her true scent of crushed jasmine and herbal tea. And, of course, there was her blood. The liquid form of her ever so fervent heartbeat laced with the buzz of ancient magic.

His mouth watered. He didn't have to wonder about the taste. He could reach over and find out. It would be easy.

Maddy squeezed his eyes shut and breathed out slowly. A dark memory threatened to float to the surface of his brain, but even if he wanted to remember it would be almost impossible and would cause a great deal of pain to try. "You should go, I can do the rest on my own."

"Okay, but first, let me try and ease the pain," Dee said looking up at him, deep worry lines etched on her face.

Maddy should have said no. He should have pushed her and ran. He should have ignored the sound of her blood. The smell of it. The need to taste it.

She didn't wait for his answer and prodded his shoulder and waited for him to lean into her touch. Her palms warmed as small fragments of magic pooled into her palms and within seconds he let out a sigh.

It was only when Dee let out a sigh of relief herself, happy with her handiwork, did Maddy snatched her wrist, his fingers turned claws that buried deep into her flesh and denied her escape.

Mouse caught.

He yanked her arm up, unhinged his jaw, and buried his fangs into her skin causing it to split and burst open, like a popped cherry tomato.

Dee screamed.

Maddy's eyes sparked with life.