Bloodmark (10 page)

Suddenly he called to the creatures of the night—a warning cry—and flew away, leaving his supper behind. Searching the trees for what would have caused him to forfeit his meal, I saw a large shadow moving through the darkness. It looked like a wolf, but it couldn’t be.

A knock on the bedroom door caused me to jump and look away from the window. “Come in,” I said. The door swung open, and Baran stood there, filling the doorway. When I looked back out the window, the shadow was gone, as if I had imagined it. Could it have been a wolf, or was it a werewolf? Or was it a human? Maybe it was just a shadow.

“Ashling, I just wanted to apologize for our fight. It wasn’t fair to you. You did do what I asked. I worry about you,” he said.

What had the shadow figure been outside my window?

“Ashling, are you listening?”

It could have just been a dog. Or could it have been Adomnan? I shuddered to think what would happen if he found me. And yet I had no idea what he really wanted from me. Maybe it was just the trees and my eyes were playing tricks on me. But I swore I saw something . . . and it moved. Didn’t it?

“Are you okay?” Baran asked.

“Oh yeah. Fine. Just thinking, I guess.”

“Very well . . .” he hesitated. “Goodnight then.” I was too distracted to respond. He shut the door behind him, leaving me once again looking out the window at nothing. I would have to sharpen my senses and stay focused. Remembering what Grey had said about his plans, I laughed. Maybe I would even head out to the falls. Might be a good place to think, test my senses, and enjoy the
view
. I giggled.

8

Caged

I leapt out of bed as the front door closed behind Baran
. I was ready to take on the world, and I desperately needed to shift into my true self. Baran didn’t have to know. After a sleepless night filled with thoughts of Grey, I was ready to reconnect to Old Mother in the forest and start listening to all of her creatures and memorize their scents, their way of life. And I would be able to spy on Grey. I yearned to see him again.

I knew it was unnatural to be so obsessed with a human or any man, for that matter, but I felt something different with Grey.

I dressed quickly in my leather skirt, tie-top, and boots and ran downstairs. My stomach protested as I passed the kitchen. I was starving, but bland, stale meat wouldn’t do. I wanted warm flesh. I would have to avoid humans and livestock on my way to the falls because my restraint was wearing thin.

I carefully smelled the air, but Baran’s sent was already fading. The city wasn’t awake to see my escape, but the animals were stirring for their breakfast and mine. My mouth watered at the thought of eating. I started running, but only as fast as a human could, in case someone was awake to see me. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I ran. The houses flew by faster and faster to the edge of the forest, and once secluded in the forest’s trees, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. The trees whooshed past me, and the animals froze in terror. I could smell their fear, but I didn’t stop. I followed my ears to the waterfall and climbed a cliff above the pond. It was a good place to hide, with good plant cover.

I lay down among the plants and rocks and settled for the morning. If I were lucky, my breakfast would come to me while I was listening. The animals had started to forget my presence as they entered the clearing for water. Slow, cracking branches came from the east, but the birds continued their song. Whatever it was, it smelled of mushrooms and fresh mud. Definitely not a predator. A pair of boars, perhaps?

I peeked my head around the rock to see two small boars drinking water. I listened to the sounds from the other side of the pond. Something was drinking there too. It was large and seemed nervous with almost a twitch to its flesh. I could smell male pheromones and hear the blood pulse through its veins. I slowly stole a glance at a twelve-point buck standing in the pond, drinking but constantly checking his surroundings. He must have smelled me on the wind.

I rolled onto all fours. I would have to get my clothes off before I shifted, or I would be running back home naked after dark. Nothing says “I broke the rules” more than showing up at home naked, not that it would have been my first time for either. I stifled a laugh as I slid out of my clothes. I shifted my weight to reach the knot on my back, and a leaf cracked. The tiny sound was enough to alert my breakfast of my presence. My eyes darted to my prey; his head was up, ears were moving. My next movements would determine if I would get to eat today.

I untied the top and gently put it on the ground. I hunched back on my legs, coiling, and pounced off the rocks across the pond in my wolf form. I felt my warm blood flow through my veins, and my mind was at peace.

The deer started to run as I hit the water. I misjudged the distance, about four feet short. But the muddy bottom of the pond was on my side, making the deer slip, and I sunk my teeth into his throat, silencing his cries. The warm blood ran over my fur as it trickled down my throat, satisfying my hunger. The sounds of the forest had gone quiet again. All its inhabitants were hiding. Watching. Waiting.

After devouring half of the deer’s meat, I left him for the critters to finish off and become a part of Old Mother again. I jumped back into the water to rinse the blood from my fur as I swam back to the other side.

The warmth of his blood and flesh made me tired. I jumped back up the rocky cliff to my hiding spot, pushing my clothes under an overhanging rock with my nose. Circling twice, I lay down, curling into a ball to rest.

My morning nap was suddenly shattered by the sounds of a large truck and men talking. The sun was late in the sky. I crept to the edge of the rocks toward the noise. It was too far off through the trees to see anything, but they were making enough racket that even the dead could have heard them.

“Set that one over there on the left.”

“Got it, sir.”

“Where in the hell did Grey run off to?”

My heart pounded with fear and anticipation. I could smell him—he was close. I searched the waterfall and the pond for him, but not a ripple was out of place. Why did my survival instincts not wake me up? I was a werewolf; I should have heard him coming miles away. A rock clattered from below where I hid as Grey climbed up into view. He saw me and froze but not with fear. He almost looked excited, but there wasn’t time to figure out the inner workings of his crazy mind. I threw myself off the cliff too quickly and skidded down the last few feet, ripping my flesh. The pain pulsed through my limbs. I ran through the trees, but he was following close. I could hear his footsteps. I knew if he could still see me, it wouldn’t be safe to run too fast. It would cause too much suspicion. I just had to out-maneuver him until I was out of sight.

My fascination with him had affected my ability to protect myself. Anger coursed through my veins, shooting through me like a steroid, but he was still gaining on me. Impossible. I was going to have to break the rules. I couldn’t let him get too close. I glanced behind to see his smiling face. What did he have to smile about? Maybe I should just turn around and take a bite out of his ass. Then he would have something to smile about, I snickered to myself.

I turned, breaking left through the dark canopy of the trees. Faster and faster I ran from his sight. Only small slivers of light broke through the trees to the ground, giving it an ominous look, light versus dark, good versus evil. Glancing back, I couldn’t see him anymore. He was gone and I was free. As I looked forward, my eyes began to water as a cracking sound registered in my mind, followed by the slamming of metal. The pain rippled through my body, and I whimpered as my nails tore at the metal-bottomed cage and I fell onto my side.

Trapped.

I looked through the bars; I was surrounded by cages. There had to be fifteen metal cages out here, all set and ready to catch large prey like me. I had run right between them. I must have passed about five of them before smashing my shoulder into this one. I licked my shoulder as I remembered the pain that had already started to fade.

There was a slit of light right outside my cage shining on the dented lock. If I could just reach it, I could set myself free. And this would all be a bad memory.

Who did Grey think he was, running with wolves as if he were afraid of nothing? I was a predator, he was my prey. Sure, my sole existence was to protect him and his kind, but he didn’t know that.

I shifted back into my very naked human form and shivered from the cold metal under my legs as I slipped my thin hand through the bars. The light hit my skin, and I marveled at how my pale skin looked in the ominous light. It almost glowed around the edges.

I had to get this unlocked, I reminded myself. Then I would be free. I pushed on it with all my strength, but my hand slipped, and the metal lever cut deep into my fleshy palm. I cried out from the pain and licked my palm as I would if I were my animal self. My saliva would numb the pain until I shifted again.

I reached through the bars again . . . I almost had it. Just a little harder, but it was such a difficult angle. None of this would have happened if Grey wasn’t so stupid. I fumed at his absolute disregard for his own safety. I caught Grey’s scent coming closer, and I quickly pulled my hand back inside.

“What the hell?” Grey said. As he came running over, I shifted into a wolf.

He fell to his knees to unlock the cage. “I’m so sorry, miss—are you okay? I don’t know what happened. But I’ll get you out.” Then he looked up into the golden eyes of a wild animal—my eyes.

Grey sat back pretzel-style, letting his hand fall from the lock to the ground, but his eyes never left mine. His eyes were glowing around the edges, and his scent was musky and earthy. It made me feel warm and content. I wanted to touch his face, to ease the worried lines between his eyes, to rub my lips ever so lightly across his and feel the warmth of his skin on mine.

“But I saw you.”

I cocked my head to the side, watching his movements, trying to read his expressions. Mostly concern. Could it be concern for his mental health? Thinking he saw a woman, only to be confronted with a red wolf? Or concern for the wolf herself? He turned his head to match the angle of mine. He seemed to be humanizing me.

I winked at him, and he smiled and winked back.

“I know what I saw, Red. I know what I saw.”

What did he know? He was just a human. He thought he knew what he saw, but he didn’t know anything. Then again, neither did I. My mind whirled through the possibilities for these cages—were the victims to be destroyed? His smile faded. He looked almost expectant, as though he thought I would change before his eyes, but I could outlast his curiosity. I could stare at his perfect face all day. As though he sensed my decision, Grey stood up.

“Look, I know I’m not supposed to let you go, but I can’t leave you here. You’re far too beautiful of a creature, a vision. So you better not hurt me when I set you free. . . .” He sighed. “Geez, I’m talking to her like she’s going to talk back,” he said to himself. Grey unlocked the cage and stepped back, letting it fall open. There was an ocean of space between us, but I felt unable to cross it. “Go ahead, you’re free,” he said.

I hesitated. I wanted to be with him to ease his worry, but I decided to save my own skin. I leapt from the cage toward him, knocking him over into the dirt. He groaned from the fall. I stood with my front paws on his chest as I felt the rise and fall of his breathing. Still he showed no fear. He reached up and touched my shoulder, feeling the soft fur of my neck between his fingers. I leaned into his touch, drowning in my desire.

I licked his cheek and ran into the darkness. I ran from fear and from the passion that swarmed in my stomach like bees. The salty tang of his skin remained on my tongue, taunting me.

I had to get back to my clothes and get out of here. Luckily, I didn’t hear him following me. The sounds of the forest were silent as the creatures watched me flee from my greatest fear, a
cage
—whether the cage was a cold, metal box or the oppressive societal position of a woman in my culture. Forever beneath another. Even in marriage, she was never an equal. Trapped as a servant, all thoughts and opinions stripped from her. All because her father sold her in marriage. A servant to her father, a servant to her husband, a servant to the world. That was not the life I chose. Those were not my rules. I was through following the rules of someone else’s game.

I quickly shifted into human form and put my clothes back on. I sat down to slip on my boots when I heard Grey arguing with someone as they entered the clearing.

“Damn it, Grey, where have you been?”

“I was . . .”

“I don’t even want to hear it. You were supposed to be here helping us set up the cages!”

“I know, it’s just that . . .”

The older man squared his shoulders to Grey. He was probably in his forties, but his skin looked older than that, weathered. The sleeves on his khaki-colored shirt were rolled up over his elbows, he wore leather gloves, and his hair matched Grey’s.

“It doesn’t even matter what your excuse is, Grey! You always have one, don’t you? Absolutely unreliable.”

“But Dad, I had to . . .”

“Had to what? Be a failure?”

“No,” Grey said, as he squared his body up to his dad in silence. His whole body was rippling with rage. Except his eyes. They gave him away with a deep sadness. No wonder Grey seemed so rebellious, with a father like that. His father’s hand was ready to strike him down for his defiance. In that split-second, I decided what I had to do before it even registered in my mind.

I jumped to the ground silently, out of sight, and I walked toward them calling ahead, “Grey, do you think you guys could give me a lift home when you’re done working?” I paused for dramatic effect. “Oh, you must be Grey’s father. Hi! I’m Ashling. I got myself all lost in the woods, and Grey was nice enough to help me. So sorry I took him away from his work for so long.” I put on my sweetest, most innocent smile. Grey looked confused but seemed willing to accept my lie, for now.