Claimed by the Beast Bundle (5 page)

Crystal screamed.

Chapter 8

Crystal sat on the small couch in Hank
’s trailer with her arms crossed tight against her belly. They’d tricked her. Drugged her with something, maybe. There was no way she’d seen what she’d seen. It wasn’t possible. There was no way that Ember could turn into a wolf and then run off into the woods.

The door opened and Gwen stepped in with a plate of steaming meat on it. She smiled at Crystal and stepped in to offer her the plate.
“You need to eat, sweetie,” Gwen said.

Crystal shook her head even as her stomach rumbled. She could smell the roasted meat and it looked really juicy, even if she was screaming at herself to not touch anything these people gave her. Her hands trembled as she reached out and accepted it.

“Hank, how about you give us some time to talk?” Gwen asked the big man.

Hank looked at Crystal, one bold eyebrow raised to seek her approval. Crystal heard her breath whistle in her throat. Was she whimpering? She glanced around the small trailer and nodded. It was almost too small for the three of them to be in anyhow. Unless Gwen sat down next to he
r.

Hank climbed to his feet and offered her a smile before he disappeared out the door.

Gwen took his seat and waited. Crystal put the plate on the cushion beside her and stared back. “What?” she asked the older woman.

“
You should eat,” Gwen said. “I seasoned yours with some herbs that will help.”

“
Help? Help what? Screw my head up and make me see more crazy stuff going on?”

Gwen shook her head.
“Crystal, Ember’s inappropriate behavior showed you what we are. Why would we drug you?”

“
What you are?” Crystal asked. She swallowed, unwilling to accept that they could all do that. Her eyes dropped to Gwen’s vest and skirt. They were similar enough to Ember’s that she could do the same thing. She could rip them off and pounce on her before Crystal could get off the couch. “Oh God!”

“
We’re not as bad as you think,” Gwen said. “Even Ember. And by the way, she said she’s sorry for scaring you like that.”

“
She—she did?”

Gwen opened her mouth and hesitated. She sighed.
“No, she didn’t. She wouldn’t dream of doing that. But we’re working on her.”

Crystal bit her lip to keep herself from crying again. She glanced around, hoping for some escape. The trailer was clean enough, but it was dark and
it smelled musty. There was a half-open door beside the couch that she’d spied a bed in when she came in. A small kitchen with random pieces of junk in the tiny sink was behind Gwen’s chair. Her house wasn’t the greatest, but it beat Hank’s trailer by a long shot!

Crystal
’s eyes went back to Gwen and found her smiling at her. The smile made her stomach twist and grumble.

“
Please, Crystal, eat.”

“
I’m not hungry,” Crystal lied.

“
Yes, you are.”

Crystal ignored the rebuke and stared at her.
“You’re like her, aren’t you?”

Gwen tilted her head.
“Ember?”

“
Yes.”

Gwen smiled.
“I’m like you, too.”

“
I’m not—”

Gwen held up a hand, stopping her.
“We’re women, and that means we’re difficult.”

“
No, I’m not,” Crystal argued. “And that’s not what I meant.”

“
Oh?” Gwen asked with a lightness to her tone. “What did you mean?”

“
The thing where she—you know, she took off her clothes and…”

Gwen nodded.
“And she turned into a wolf.”

“
Oh my God,” Crystal breathed out in a rush.

Gwen nodded at the plate of food.
“You should eat. Ember tracked that deer down so we’d have enough for all of us.”

Crystal
’s head jerked to the side as she processed Gwen’s words. It didn’t look like the kind of meat she was used to. It smelled different too, and that wasn’t just the green and brown herbs sprinkled on it. Those had their own scents that she could pick out.

“
Holy crap,” Crystal whispered as she realized what she was doing. “I can smell the, uh, the meat and stuff.”

Gwen nodded.

“Ember, um, did this? She caught a deer?”

“
She’s our best tracker,” the blond woman said. “We all can, but Ember has the best nose.”

Crystal stiffened.
“She really was sniffing me!”

“
Yes.”

“
What’s going to happen? Am I going to die? Here, I mean?”

“
I hope not,” Gwen said. “We’ve already lost someone. We don’t want his death to be for nothing.”

“
Gee, thanks.”

Gwen shrugged.
“We saved you the other night and you haven’t thanked us yet. It’s only because Henry is smitten with you, and I’m trying to remind myself that you’re scared and clueless, that we haven’t given up on you.”

“
Thanked you? For saving me?” Crystal gulped and remembered when she’d ridden home with the large man. “Um, I thanked Hank.”

“
So you should know we aren’t going to hurt you.”

Crystal frowned. She couldn
’t deny what Gwen was telling her but that didn’t make it any easier to accept. “Okay, um, thank you. But now what?”

“
Now you should eat.”

“
Enough with the damn eating!” Crystal blurted. “I’m kind of freaked out here. Food’s not my number one priority!”

“
If you want to know more, you’ll have to eat first.”

“
Fine!” Crystal snapped and picked up the plate. It had cooled but she could still feel the heat on the bottom of the ceramic. She glanced up at Gwen when she realized there was no fork or knife with it. Gwen nodded for her to go ahead. Crystal sighed and picked up one of the thin strips of cooked meat and bit into it.

The flavor exploded in her mouth, stinging her tongue and overwhelming her senses for a moment. She tore it off and chewed on the morsel, savoring the juice that she squeezed out of it before she swallowed it down. She tore off another piece and followed that with the third and final bite. After she swallowed it
, she saw two more strips remained. She devoured them and licked the flavor off her fingers and lips before she remembered Gwen was watching her.

Crystal looked up at her, intent on playing it cool. Gwen
’s grin told her the woman knew her secret. She’d love the crude meal more than the most expensive dinner she’d ever eaten. She ignored her smile and said, “There, I ate.”

“
Do you want more?”

Crystal forced herself to shake her head.
“I’m fine.”

“
You’re a terrible liar.”

“
Whatever.”

Gwen shook her head.
“We don’t lie to one another, young lady. That’s the first rule you need to learn.”

“
I’m not one of you,” Crystal protested. “I’m just a kid in high school!”

Gwen frowned.
“You’re right and you’re wrong.”

“
All right, you seem to know so much—you tell me what’s going on.”

“
The Beast that bit you got your scent and tasted your blood. He won’t stop until he has you and makes you his.”

“
You mean kills me and eats me?”

“
Probably,” Gwen said matter-of-factly. “But that’s only if you can’t survive being bred.”

Crystal
’s jaw fell open.

Gwen nodded.
“He’s not like us.”

“
What’s he like then?”

Gwen smiled.
“A beast. Cunning, strong, and deadly, but not like us. He can’t shift, like we can.”

“
Shift? You mean, um, like what Ember did?”

“
Yes.”

“
So wait, you mean that thing under the bridge—the Beast—it’s always like that?”

“
Yes.”

“
What about all this talk about being poisoned?”

She nodded.
“It will weaken you after a while, make you easier to find. That way he can find you and—”

“
And breed me?” Crystal whispered.

Gwen nodded.
“Unless you’re too weak. Then he’ll just kill you.”

“
So I’m screwed any way you look at it.”

Gwen winced.

Crystal frowned and realized her choice of words. She groaned. “That’s not what I meant, but I guess it’s true.”

“
Yes,” Gwen agreed.

“
But you said I could fight it?”

“
We have to kill him,” Gwen said. “Then he’ll stop hunting you. We hurt him the other night but he’ll be recovered soon, if not already.”

“
Won’t I still be poisoned?”

“
Yes, but we’ll try to help you beat the poison. It’s been done before.”

“
Oh, cool. Um, okay. What do I have to do?”

“
Spend as much time with us as you can. You’ll need our strength and knowledge and protection.”

“
What about school? And my mom? And thanks, but as cool as Hank is, I’m not going to just start staying here with him.”

Gwen sighed.
“Ember will stay with you then.”

“
What?” Crystal said while shaking her head. Maybe the trailer wouldn’t be so bad. She could almost stretch out on the loveseat…

“
She won’t be happy about it either,” Gwen agreed. “Would you like to reconsider?”

Crystal groaned.
“No. but how’s she going to go to school with me? And my mom’s not going to be happy having some strange girl hanging out. Especially one who dresses like she does!”

“
You’ll have to figure it out,” Gwen said. “Or we can just leave you to—”

“
No!” Crystal blurted. “I’ll, um, I’ll figure something out. Jesus, this is messed up!”

Gwen smiled and stood up.
“You should come out with me. You need to be there when I tell the others.”

“
I thought Guntar was the leader?”

“
He is,” Gwen said with a twinkle in her eyes.

“
Is he going to agree to all of this?”

“
Yes,” she said. “I’m his mate.”

“
Oh,” Crystal said, even though she didn’t understand. “Um, what if he doesn’t want to do it that way?”

“
I’m his mate,” she repeated. “He’ll do what I tell him. Haven’t you ever had a boy wrapped around your finger before?”

Crystal winced. She remembered how Hank had deferred to her when she asked him to leave. She suspected there was more to it, but Gwen was already opening the door. She took a breath to steady herself and stood up to follow her.

She hoped Ember had changed back and put her clothes on, at least.

Chapter 9

Crystal opened the front door and saw her mom sitting at her desk, working on some paperwork. “Hey, Mom, um, I’ve got kind of a big favor to ask.”

Brandy
Davis looked up from her stack of bills and smiled. “What’s wrong? Is—oh, hello. I’m Crystal’s mom. Please, call me Brandy.”

Crystal turned and saw Ember smile.
“Brandy? Hi. I’m Ember.”

“
Amber?”

“
Ember,” the redhead said with a touch of edge to her voice.

“
Oh, I’m sorry. That’s an unusual name. Very pretty though,” Crystal’s mom added.

“
So, anyhow, uh, Ember is the problem,” Crystal interrupted. She ignored the almost silent growl from the redhead and continued. “She moved into town recently and her dad had to fly back out West to take care of some things. Since it’s a new town and school, I wondered if she could stay with us?”

Brandy frowned.
“I didn’t know you had a new friend.”

“
Mom, it’s not like we see each other all that much!”

Brandy nodded.
“I know, and I’m sorry. We’re short-handed at the hospital and I figured the more shifts I can pick up, the easier it will be to help you pay for college.”

“
I said I’d figure—”

Ember pushed past Crystal, interrupting her.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Brandy. I promise you won’t even know I’m here.”

Crystal had to fight to keep herself from scowling.
“Yeah, she’ll even sleep on the rug in my room if she needs to.”

She saw Ember
’s shoulders stiffen and knew she’d struck home. Her mother sighed and nodded. “No, no, that’s fine. She’s not a dog! If I’m working, you can sleep in my bed and Ember can have yours.”

Crystal fought back a laugh and asked,
“What if you’re not?”

Brandy winked at her and nodded towards the couch
. “Then you can be a good hostess and take the couch.”

Ember turned to look at Crystal and smirked.
“I think I’m going to like it here,” she said.

Crystal forced a smile on her face.
“Come on,
Amber
, let’s go.”

She led the way upstairs to her bedroom and heard Ember following be
hind. Ember looked around and smirked. “Pink?”

“
What’s wrong with pink?”

“
Nothing,” Ember said. “It’s the same color as a deer after I’ve torn out their throat and they’ve bled out.”

“
Jesus!” Crystal gasped. “That’s sick!”

Ember shut the door behind her.
“Call me Amber again and I’ll tear your face off. Then you can match your walls.”

Crystal backed up a step and felt her bed against her leg. She sat on it and pulled her phone out of her purse so she could plug it in. It was nothing more than an excuse
to not look at the woman who scared the hell out of her.

“
Don’t worry,” Ember said. “It won’t take long.”

Crystal jerked her head up.
“What won’t take long?”

Ember smiled.
“He’ll come soon. He’s probably already healed.”

“
You’re supposed to protect me, I thought?” Crystal asked. “So far you’ve threatened to rip my face off and reminded me there’s some creepy monster after me.”

“
The real world isn’t princesses and slippers,” Ember said.

Crystal clamped her lips shut and fumbled with her phone, finally plugging it in.
“I know that,” she mumbled. “My life hasn’t been easy, you know.”

Ember laughed.
“I bet you’ve been through hell.”

Crystal spun to face her and stood up. By the time she was standing
, Ember was right in front of her. Crystal hesitated and then remembered how Ember was taunting her. “Before or after I was almost run off the road by a biker gang so I could be bitten by something from a bad horror movie?”

“
You don’t know anything,” Ember snarled. “You’re a baby. Your fate was sealed when you walked down that road. We prolonged your life, that’s all.”

“
I’m a baby?” Crystal scoffed. “You’re what, six months older than me?”

The redhead snorted.
“Six months and a dozen years.”

Crystal
’s jaw dropped again. When she gathered her thoughts, she said, “No way! You’re not—”

Ember sighed and said,
“Sit down.”

“
No.”

Crystal grunted when her back and head bounced off the wall behind her. She rocked forward and caught herself with her arms on her bed. She straightened and sat on her comforter.
“You hit me!”

“
I don’t like you,” Ember spat. “But I have to keep your worthless ass alive, so you do what I tell you, when I tell you.”

Crystal opened her mouth but Ember thrust a finger at her. A finger with a nail that looked a little longer and a little more curved and pointed than it should have.

“You don’t ask questions. You act and then later, if you’re still alive, you can try to figure out what’s going on,” Ember explained. “Now, why I’m older than you but I look better? I changed when I was sixteen.”

“
Changed?”

Ember fixed her
with a stare and then clamped her teeth together. Crystal winced. “We age, but not as fast. It’s a fountain of youth. We’re stronger, faster, heal quicker, can see and smell better, and pretty much can run circles around any norm in the world.”

“
Norm?” Crystal asked. “What’s that?”

“
Normal person.”

“
Oh. So, uh, that sounds pretty good. But you live in dingy trailers. Are you guys like gypsies or something?”

“
We have to,” Ember said. She turned and looked around the room and focused on a lava lamp. She reached over and turned it on and watched it as a red light radiated from the liquid while it warmed up. She turned to look at Crystal and finished her explanation. “We’re monsters.”

“
Monsters? You make it sound like a gift.”

“
You can return a gift,” Ember said.

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ember shrugged.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“
I don’t? Seems like I’ve got a lot to worry about, if what you and your friends tell me is true!”

“
Of course it’s true.”

“
How do I know? Maybe you’re just trying to scare me.”

Ember glowered at her.
“Yeah, because scaring kids is our thing. We get off on it.” Ember shook her head and narrowed her eyes into slits. “Do I need to shift again to remind you how real this is?”

Crystal leaned back until she touched the wall. She shook her head and forced her heart out of her throat.
“No,” she squeaked. She winced and forced herself to prove she wasn’t as scared as she really was. “Then I’d have to explain to my mom why a dog shed all over the floor.”

Ember
’s fists clenched at her sides and trembled. In a menacing tone, she growled, “You’ve got balls, but you’re stupid. I’m the only person between you and a fate worse than death. You should show me some respect.”

Crystal swallowed and nodded.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just not much of an ass-kisser, I gue—”

“
Nobody’s saying kiss my ass. Just don’t be so catty. You know what wolves do to cats, right?” Ember asked with a glint in her eyes. “And if you even think about turning the ass-kissing line into a joke about me licking myself, I swear to whatever god you worship that you’ll need to be more afraid of me than you do what’s waiting for you out there.”

Crystal grimaced.
“Heard that joke before?”

“
I’ve heard them all.”

She nodded.
“Okay, um—”

A knock at Crystal
’s door interrupted her. Her mom stuck her head in and smiled. The smile faded when she saw how Ember was standing. “Is there something wrong, girls?”

Ember relaxed while Crystal shook her head.
“No, just a misunderstanding. We’re cool now.”

Brandy tilted her head. She saw the smiles on both girls
’ faces and pursed her lips together. “Okay, well, if there is, I don’t want any trouble in here, okay? And speaking of trouble, I didn’t realize the motorcycle I heard was yours, Ember.”

Ember turned to face her.
“Oh, sorry. Is that a problem?”

Brandy frowned and looked at Crystal.
“You rode on it with her?”

“
Kind of had to get home somehow.”

She shook her head.
“I’ve seen a lot of people hurt on motorcycles.”

Ember stiffened and then relaxed.
“Brandy, I’m a good driver. Very defensive—it’s almost always the people in cars that cause accidents, so I know what to look for. I’ve been riding my whole life and never laid my bike down once.”

“
There’s always a first,” Brandy said. “I didn’t see any helmets on it.”

“
No helmet law here,” Ember said.

“
You’re both under twenty-one,” Brandy said. “So there is a helmet law.”

Ember opened her mouth but Crystal hurried to keep her cover
. “Oh, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry. Uh, I’ve got my bicycle helmet. Will that work?”

Brandy snorted and then twisted her head.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but maybe. It’s definitely not good enough in my opinion. If you’re going to ride it, you need real helmets. Both of you.”

“
I don’t see how you can make me do that,” Ember grumbled.

“
You’re staying at my house? My rules,” she said. She shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry, but you’re a very pretty young girl, and I don’t want to see you in the hospital.”

“
You won’t.”

Crystal got up from
the bed and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll get Beth to give us a ride in the morning and we’ll get helmets before we ride again. Right, Ember?”

“
What?” Ember frowned and stared at Crystal a long moment before she sighed. “All right.”

“
Great,” Brandy said. “And it’s getting late. Crissy, I put some blankets downstairs on the couch for you.”

Ember bit off a short laugh, earning a glare from Crystal.

“I’m going to bed. I’ve got to be in early tomorrow. Good night, girls.”

“
Night, Mom,” Crystal said and waited for the door to shut. She turned to a grinning Ember and said, “You do not get to call me Crissy. Ever!”