Under Her Skin
Page 3
I stopped screaming, trying another tactic. "Let me go. I'll leave and you'll never see me again."
"Why were you in the woods alone, Marlee?" he asked. "That's not very safe."
Considering my current situation, the absurdity of that statement made me laugh. "You don't say?"
He ignored that. "You remember what you saw. That's why you stink like fear now."
"It wasn't real," I muttered. "I was tired, I'd been lost for days, and I panicked because of the attack –"
"You know it's real," he cut me off. "Sorry, but you know, so we can't just let you go. Even if nothing comes of your bites."
That froze me more than the two hundred pounds of muscle holding me down. I'd been bitten – several times, in fact. I'd seen the movies, knew enough of the folklore to know what happened to a person who'd been bitten by a…
"This can't be real," I whispered.
His gaze was grim. "It's as real as it gets."
* * *
I insisted on sitting in a chair to meet Joshua. Daniel stood next to me, his presence a silent threat that any attempts to leave would be quickly stopped. Still, when one met the leader of a pack of werewolves, one wanted not to be trapped under another werewolf in bed, right? Yeah, I thought so, too.
Of course, I was also still thinking – hoping – that I'd just eaten some bad mushrooms along the trail and none of this was real. Be careful what you wish for, ran through my mind. I'd wished for years to go to Yellowstone. My ex-boyfriend Paul and I had planned this trip, down to the places we'd hike and where we'd camp. We were thrilled when my best friend Brandy and her boyfriend agreed to come. The more the merrier, right?
But things changed. Paul moved to Manhattan, our relationship couldn't overcome the long-distance strain, and four months later, I ended up being a third wheel on this trip instead of it being a fun, couples' getaway. Add that to being overworked and underpaid as a paralegal, and my fervent wish for something new and exciting to come into my life.
Looks like I got that wish, though it might come with a set of claws. I waited, missing my small cubicle at the office more than I'd ever missed anything.
Ten minutes later, the blond doctor returned with a man in his late forties. He had edges of gray on his temples, but the rest of his hair was thick and auburn — the same color as Daniel's, actually. He also had a similar large, muscular build, albeit not quite as lean as Daniel's. He wore a tan jacket and vest over his collared shirt, with a pair of denim pants.
In short, he looked like your typical Yellowstone tourist, not the leader of a secret pack of monsters.
"I'm Joshua," he introduced himself, holding out a hand.
At a loss over what else to do, I shook it. Part of me wanted to run screaming out the door, and the other part wanted to burst into tears. Surprisingly, this myriad of emotions left me feeling slightly numb, like I was running on auto-pilot.
"Marlee."
Joshua sat on the edge of the bed. His posture was casual, but there was nothing relaxed in his gaze. He looked me over as if I were a potentially-contagious virus. I fought not to hold my breath.
"What happened yesterday was very unfortunate," Joshua began.
"Yesterday?" I couldn't help but exclaim, glancing at the window. It was nearly dusk. I'd thought it was the same day as the attack.
"Yesterday," Joshua repeated, giving me a frown that said he wasn't used to being interrupted. "A member of our pack was…distraught over his wife's death. He and a few others began hunting you. You were lucky Daniel found them when he did, but you'd been bitten, so we couldn't drop you off at the nearest hospital. You haven't heard of our kind before, Marlee, and there's a reason. We do whatever's necessary to protect our existence."
We'll kill for it was left unsaid, but I heard that loud and clear. I nodded, striving to hold onto my numbness. Hysteria wouldn't help me, no matter how tempting it was to give in to that.
"A person has to be bitten several times to be at risk of transforming, and half the people who've been bitten still don't shift," Joshua went on briskly. "We won't know whether you'll turn into one of us until the next full moon, two weeks away."
Two weeks? It would take that long for me to find out whether or not I'd become a monster? I'd go insane wondering until then. And if it did happen…well, suicide didn't sound like a bad idea all the sudden.
"What happens if after the full moon, I'm not…ah…like the rest of you?" I couldn't bring myself to say a werewolf. I just couldn't.
Joshua gave me a thin smile. "That depends on you. Either you stay with us, as a member of the skinwalker part of our pack, or…"
He shrugged. That single gesture completed his sentence. Or we kill you.
One way or the other, I was screwed.
Chapter Three
"Hungry?"
I sat in the chair, my broken ankle finally in a cast, and glared at Daniel before replying.
"Somewhere between the death threats and the thought of turning into a four-legged monster, I lost my appetite."
Part of me wondered why I dared to be so surly. The other part figured I was as good as dead anyway, so it didn't matter.
Daniel grunted. "Suit yourself, but I'm getting something."
He stood, stretched, and then held out a hand. I just stared at it.
"Why were you in the woods alone, Marlee?" he asked. "That's not very safe."
Considering my current situation, the absurdity of that statement made me laugh. "You don't say?"
He ignored that. "You remember what you saw. That's why you stink like fear now."
"It wasn't real," I muttered. "I was tired, I'd been lost for days, and I panicked because of the attack –"
"You know it's real," he cut me off. "Sorry, but you know, so we can't just let you go. Even if nothing comes of your bites."
That froze me more than the two hundred pounds of muscle holding me down. I'd been bitten – several times, in fact. I'd seen the movies, knew enough of the folklore to know what happened to a person who'd been bitten by a…
"This can't be real," I whispered.
His gaze was grim. "It's as real as it gets."
* * *
I insisted on sitting in a chair to meet Joshua. Daniel stood next to me, his presence a silent threat that any attempts to leave would be quickly stopped. Still, when one met the leader of a pack of werewolves, one wanted not to be trapped under another werewolf in bed, right? Yeah, I thought so, too.
Of course, I was also still thinking – hoping – that I'd just eaten some bad mushrooms along the trail and none of this was real. Be careful what you wish for, ran through my mind. I'd wished for years to go to Yellowstone. My ex-boyfriend Paul and I had planned this trip, down to the places we'd hike and where we'd camp. We were thrilled when my best friend Brandy and her boyfriend agreed to come. The more the merrier, right?
But things changed. Paul moved to Manhattan, our relationship couldn't overcome the long-distance strain, and four months later, I ended up being a third wheel on this trip instead of it being a fun, couples' getaway. Add that to being overworked and underpaid as a paralegal, and my fervent wish for something new and exciting to come into my life.
Looks like I got that wish, though it might come with a set of claws. I waited, missing my small cubicle at the office more than I'd ever missed anything.
Ten minutes later, the blond doctor returned with a man in his late forties. He had edges of gray on his temples, but the rest of his hair was thick and auburn — the same color as Daniel's, actually. He also had a similar large, muscular build, albeit not quite as lean as Daniel's. He wore a tan jacket and vest over his collared shirt, with a pair of denim pants.
In short, he looked like your typical Yellowstone tourist, not the leader of a secret pack of monsters.
"I'm Joshua," he introduced himself, holding out a hand.
At a loss over what else to do, I shook it. Part of me wanted to run screaming out the door, and the other part wanted to burst into tears. Surprisingly, this myriad of emotions left me feeling slightly numb, like I was running on auto-pilot.
"Marlee."
Joshua sat on the edge of the bed. His posture was casual, but there was nothing relaxed in his gaze. He looked me over as if I were a potentially-contagious virus. I fought not to hold my breath.
"What happened yesterday was very unfortunate," Joshua began.
"Yesterday?" I couldn't help but exclaim, glancing at the window. It was nearly dusk. I'd thought it was the same day as the attack.
"Yesterday," Joshua repeated, giving me a frown that said he wasn't used to being interrupted. "A member of our pack was…distraught over his wife's death. He and a few others began hunting you. You were lucky Daniel found them when he did, but you'd been bitten, so we couldn't drop you off at the nearest hospital. You haven't heard of our kind before, Marlee, and there's a reason. We do whatever's necessary to protect our existence."
We'll kill for it was left unsaid, but I heard that loud and clear. I nodded, striving to hold onto my numbness. Hysteria wouldn't help me, no matter how tempting it was to give in to that.
"A person has to be bitten several times to be at risk of transforming, and half the people who've been bitten still don't shift," Joshua went on briskly. "We won't know whether you'll turn into one of us until the next full moon, two weeks away."
Two weeks? It would take that long for me to find out whether or not I'd become a monster? I'd go insane wondering until then. And if it did happen…well, suicide didn't sound like a bad idea all the sudden.
"What happens if after the full moon, I'm not…ah…like the rest of you?" I couldn't bring myself to say a werewolf. I just couldn't.
Joshua gave me a thin smile. "That depends on you. Either you stay with us, as a member of the skinwalker part of our pack, or…"
He shrugged. That single gesture completed his sentence. Or we kill you.
One way or the other, I was screwed.
Chapter Three
"Hungry?"
I sat in the chair, my broken ankle finally in a cast, and glared at Daniel before replying.
"Somewhere between the death threats and the thought of turning into a four-legged monster, I lost my appetite."
Part of me wondered why I dared to be so surly. The other part figured I was as good as dead anyway, so it didn't matter.
Daniel grunted. "Suit yourself, but I'm getting something."
He stood, stretched, and then held out a hand. I just stared at it.
