Maddy stopped by the pool before leaving Alfonzo’s house. He couldn’t help himself. The girl and her friends were still there, wrapped in a giant blanket and smoking a joint.

He watched her from the shadows formed from the house lights and licked his lips as the smell of her blood brushed against his nostrils, still present despite the strong scent of chlorine and weed. He purposely sniffed it out. It wasn’t particularily enticing. It didn’t smell like flowers or fruit, nevertheless, it made his stomach growl and jaw ache.

The noose around his heart gave a heavy tug.

She adjusted the blanket around her, and his jaw unhinged, the need to taste her growing with each passing second. He took a step away from the pillar he was leaning against, the hunger in his belly rising. He was so close to her now, maybe ten feet away. Their eyes met, and his body went hot all over. She quirked her head as if uncertain whether what she was looking at was real or a hallucination, and he stepped out of the shadows.

“Hello?” Her face scrunched up in confusion.

His nose twitched.

“Can I help you?”

He wanted… He needed…

His hand gripped the nearest tree and he found himself throwing up six hundred dollars worth of tequila and much cheaper beer. Laughs and cheers came from the group he was just stalking.

“Hastings is wasted!” One boy hollered and whooped.

“Rip!” Another one said.

Tears threatened to pour down his face, but he wasn’t about to give the boys by the pool more fuel for the fire. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt a tingling sensation from the hand leaning against the tree. It was like little ants making their way up his arms, each carrying a bit of medicine.

He took three deep breaths, ignoring the jeering of his classmates, and opened his eyes. It took sheer determination to let go of the tree and walk right past them. They had phones and were recording him. He needed to keep it together. The noose squeezed so tightly around him it was making his heart palpitate.

Still, he kept walking. Until the scent of her blood no longer had a hold on his senses, his muscles relaxed, and the blearing light from the street lamps didn’t burn his eyes. He veered off the road and threw up again, more tequila and more cheap beer.

He shouldn’t have let Dee convince him to come tonight. He only agreed because he didn’t want her to be flirting with Greyson, but in the end she ditched the both of them.

Maddy huffed out a breath, stood up, and froze. He took a step out into the empty street and waited. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as a couple of lamps blinked light along his path. He called out, “Hello?”

There was no response. Not a single car drove by in the last fifteen minutes that he’d been walking. But he could feel he wasn’t alone and even the noose around his heart gave a tentative nudge. He continued walking, sticking close to the lights. This had to be some cruel joke, by one of his classmates. They must have seen him watching them and wanted some playful revenge.

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When he made it to the park he beelined for his favorite spot, past the slides and swings, and deep into the trails. It was not marked by any of the usual trail markers and was completely surrounded by trees except for a little clearing with a single wooden bench that he tried to keep clear of foliage and debris. Sometimes he wondered if it was made just for him.

Even in the dark, he knew where to go, his legs did all the work, avoiding rocks and loose roots, but he barely got past the playground and into the wood when something hot and hard hit his back and threw him off his feet.

He hit the ground, face smacking against the forest floor. Almost immediately blood pooled into his mouth like a spring breaching the surface. His heart pounded hard against his chest, and before he could flip himself over, his attacker’s knee dug into his shoulder blades. His hands were pulled from under him and placed behind him at an unnatural angle. Another rough movement and his shoulder popped out of its socket.

A silent scream escaped his lips as shock and pain battled for control inside his brain. An elbow collided with his temple. Pain won, making anger it’s General. He screamed, “Let go of me!”

If Dee were here, what would she do? The idea of his best friend in danger was enough to fuel the fire burning in his chest. He spit the blood out of his mouth and bucked his legs, colliding foot with face and other muscular body parts.

Strange words spewed from his attacker and heat radiated from their hands, glowing orange in the darkness. Within seconds, Maddy’s back was on fire. Pain sliced at his back like the claws of a tiger. Another scream got caught in his throat and the smell of his clothes and skin burning clogged his nostrils. He drooled out blood and spit as the fight inside him sputtered.

Like a beacon in a storm, he felt the noose around his heart give a heavy tug and he thought his heart actually stopped. With a gasp of air, he squeezed his eyes shut. The noose, glowing and electric blue in his mind whipped around wildly. He mentally grabbed it and heard a roaring in his ears, like a great beast that had been set loose.

It growled rugged and raw, “SHIFT!”

It wasn’t a request, but a very angry command.

Maddy snapped his eyes open. His arms were bound and his assailant was dragging him across the forest. He didn’t know the first thing about shifting and the last time he did he killed someone.

“SHIFT!” The voice in his head roared once more.

Immediately he lost control of his body, as if the beast within him thrashed him out of his body and he was forced to just watch as his muscles tore and bones popped. The band of his wristwatch snapped and the seems of his clothes stretched until they were taunt against his skin. He finally let out a scream, but the sound was so foreign, if it was not for the pain that scrapped the walls of his throat he wouldn’t have known it was his own.

There was a thrashing in the woods behind him and a moment later his attacker was thrown off of him. He was barely able to register the scent of strawberries and spice as short-term relief washed over him. His vision blackened as the cold night air brushed over his back like a feather made of broken glass. His breath got caught in his throat and he couldn’t let it out. His nails, now sharp and pointed dug into his neck and he knew his eyes were opened, but he couldn’t see anything.

It was the spell, or what was left of it. It had to be. Its thorns dug into his skin and bones, desperately trying to stop him from shifting. He rolled on his back, needing air. His legs kicked at the dirt as he struggled to breathe. One more minute and he’d be dead.

He didn’t know when Greyson stood over him. Hell, he could hardly make out the smooth features of his face, cold and calculating. He could hear him speaking the sounds, instinctively making his toes curl as if he could feel the wet sand beneath him and icy water lapping at his ankles. Soon it was up to his knees as the ocean air brushed across his face.

Greyson shook him bringing him back to reality. He was asking him a question. He forced his eyes to refocus and he could just make out the words, “Do you give me permission. Give me permission,” Greyson shook his shoulders again. “Give me permission, damn it!”

Maddy wasn’t sure what Greyson was asking, but with the last of his strength, he gave him a nod. Whatever he was about to do he hoped it would help him breathe.

And then he bit him.