Howl by Brieanna Boyce (chrome ebook reader txt) 📖

I grabbed Adoni helped him up and ran down the street dragging him behind me. I could hear nothing but the rhythm of our feat hitting the pavement; feel nothing but my heart slamming wildly against my chest. I finally found a sewer cap and slid it aside quickly; Adoni gave me a skeptical look but then reluctantly climbed down into the sewers, me following shortly afterward pulling the cap over our heads. We made our way down the ladder feeling suddenly like we were in the belly of a beast, it was damp and dark the air was thick with the…wretched odor of the… oh my god déjà vu. This was exactly like my dream I pulled Adoni out of the light and into the darkness and heard the footsteps above and the clatter of the sewer cap; I could feel Adoni trembling and barely see his wide eyed fear. Finally, a calm serene male voice cut through the silence, “The human is quite skilled, it’s astounding really. How humans are capable of surprising you after centuries.” A more brittle harsh voice, higher pitched and female sliced through the chilly night air, “It doesn’t matter she’ll either turn into one of us or die in the process, or who knows she may turn and kill her brother,” She chuckled darkly as the light returned back to the sewers, her cackle echoing through the night.
This time my head did not fill with questions they were after me because I murdered a man I still don’t understand what terms like “centuries” or “turn” mean. Were the two voices talking about me? I put my hand to my neck feeling a warm abundance of liquid. They couldn’t be talking about me, another sound of a liquid dripping, my blood they couldn’t be…
Time crept by unnoticed by Adoni or I; I was still waiting to wake up in my room coated in sweat but it never happened.
“Let’s go Adoni.” I started climbing up the ladder Adoni following behind me. I moved the sewer cap aside and looked around warily standing and searching relieved by the sight of our peaceful quiet neighborhood. Adoni got up after me and I sighed relieved until I heard a deep, intimate voice with a hint of a Hispanic accent whisper into my ear “Nice try mi Amor.” I felt the strong arm curl around me and I knew who it belonged to even before he turned me around, and sure enough there he was. Piercing, angry, dark eyes and full lips upturned in a cruel smile, high cheek bones and a gaping hole in the side of his head. The man from before, the one I shot in the head the one I left to die in the middle of my kitchen floor. “I quite enjoy your spirit Skylar but you must be tired.” I tilted my chin and tried to wriggle out of his grip “Not tired enough to let you have your way with me.” Suddenly a tall gorgeous woman with long golden blonde hair and strange red eyes walked out, her shirt plunged low and clung sensuously to her curves she moved with an authority and grace unparalleled she headed over to my brother and wrapped one of her arms around his waist.
“Don’t touch him!” I screamed, kicking .biting, and thrashing trying to do whatever I could to get out of my captor’s grip but he didn’t even flinch or even budge. “Give up,” he said sounding annoyed as if I were nothing more than a pesky bug, “don’t worry about his death yours will be much more painful.” He leaned his head down and gripped my wrist slowly pulling his head down the woman holding Adoni mirroring his movements. Her mouth opened revealing a set of fangs, my head went whirling.
Suddenly I saw something running in the forests. “Help! Help us!”
The girl’s head lifted her eyes widening in horror in another direction, as she backed away and started to run. I felt my captor release me and I ran over to Adoni whose eyes were darting around anxiously. I looked over to them running away then turned back to the forest when a large creature the size of a bear launched itself from beneath the cover of the trees with incredible speed followed by others. They were so fast that I blinked and they were already on top of their victim’s; our predators. Something told me that I should run but instead I watched them in morbid fascination as the creature’s large teeth sank into our perpatraitors ripping apart their flesh as the vampires screamed and thrashed in agony. I tried to look away as they ripped out bones and organs but I couldn’t all I could do was stare.
I examined one with light brown fur with a reddish tint, black ears and piercing yellow eyes. The shape of the animal’s muzzle and the build of its body was that of a wolf but the size was enormous the biggest one then the brown reddish one started walking towards me. Adoni backed away fearfully.
“Go to Tristan’s house Adoni.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine you tell him I sent you. Go.”
Adoni ran away and I was relieved that none of the wolves chased after him. I didn’t realize how close the light brown, red one was. Then I looked at all of them. “If you’re wolves like I think you are then you must be the alpha male.” Slowly I reached out and pet the red brown one’s head this was probably due to the fact I lost a massive amount of blood. The smallest gray one in the back growled at me, silver eyes gleaming; it looked sleeker but the creature was as menacing as the rest baring its teeth. The red brown one growled and the small grey one went quiet. “It doesn’t seem like that grey one likes me very much do you?” I continued petting him then his fur turned to skin, his paws grew to hands and a lopsided grin took the place of fangs. He stood up from a crouching position his eyes going from electric yellow to a very soft dark gold his skin had a bronze hue, his hair was dark and hung limply near his cheeks. He was muscular and his shirt was shredded, his pants now practically shorts.
“What is your name?” He asked, his voice was kind and warm yet strangely held command and authority. I stared not sure if I should answer. The grey wolf turned into a beautiful girl with brown eyes, brown hair, straight nose and a willowy, model esque frame, her hair was down to her waist and her eyes were a piercing blue-grey. “She’s with them,” the girl frowned crossing her arms.
“If you mean the vampires then no you’re wrong.”
“I know,” the boy in front of me smiled then his mouth dropped into a grim, serious, straight line. “You have two options let that vampire bite on your neck run its course and turn you and you might die or let me bite you and turn you into one of us…or die.”
I gaped touching the wound on my neck. I knew that I’d gotten bitten but I’d never put two and two together. If I said no then I'd turn into one of them and if I said yes I’d turn into something else... “I just want to be normal I want this all to be a dream.”
The boy frowned sympathetically “I’m sorry you’ll never have your old life back…you have to choose…This will change everything.”
I felt tears well up in my eyes, I didn’t want to be either I didn’t want to kill I just wanted to be me I had a hard enough time figuring that out. “I … I want to be with you.”
Suddenly the rest of them changed to humans; the fiery red one turned into a black and green spiked haired, muscular kid who was the largest wolf and person. There was a pure white wolf who was another boy who had pale luminescent skin, light blue eyes and white blonde hair, he was tall and skinny and altogether almost alien looking and then a chocolate brown wolf that turned into a black kid who had cornrows a lip piercing, an eyebrow piercing, and a scar from the side of his eye to his lip.
They all circled around me and I shifted uncomfortably hoping I’d made the right choice. I looked at the boy who was the red brown wolf and leader, “What’s your name?”
“My name’s Kale…I’ll introduce you to the others once you’ve changed….Are you ready?”
I gulped, no one’s really ever ready for their lives to change but I nodded. Kale wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close holding me gently and I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. Kale opened his mouth his teeth turning long and sharp but his face remained the same his eyes looked at me sadly almost apologetically then ripped open my shirt I gasped and squirmed but he held me firmly against him. He leaned over and sank his teeth into my shoulder. I could hear the crunching of my bones, I could feel his teeth pierce my skin and I groaned for some reason it felt strangely good and Kale didn’t seem to mind either. But I was weak and I felt my eyes roll back in my head as my body went limp. I could feel Kale lifting me into his strong arms. The only thing I remember after that was a sound cutting through the night air a sound that’d change my life forever. It was a single, long and drawn out howl.
My eyelids felt heavy, my head aching painfully, in fact my whole body hurt. I opened my eyes and found my gaze on the familiar popcorn ceiling and crown molding of my room. I sat up groaning when I felt my side cramp up and I looked around my banana colored room in confusion. On the opposite side of the room against the wall was a large white dresser with a vanity mirror. On my left was a giant bookshelf overflowing with books I looked down at my light blue sheets and my red Victoria’s secret pajama set which I could swear I wasn’t wearing last night ….
I jumped out of bed thinking that maybe that vampire was messing with me or even more likely I was going insane and made this all up but then I got distracted by the reflection in the mirror. I walked closer to it gaping at my reflection. I had auburn curly hair that I usually wished was straight, my face was round and my skin was really pale, my nose was small and dotted with freckles on the bridge of it. My lips were plump and pouty. These were things I was used to seeing every morning in the mirror.
However today my complexion was perfect my skin still pale but looking smooth instead of chalky, my hair usually ugly frizzy ringlets were now smooth and tame, the color going from an auburn to a deep mahogany. The biggest feature change in my whole face was the color of my eyes. My right eye was a crimson color while my left eye was a piercing gold. For awhile I just stared at myself waiting to get used to my new look but I realized shortly after that it wasn’t going to happen. I looked at my reflection in the mirror checking to see if anything was amiss but nothing else had changed I was still the shortest girl in my grade and I still had no boobs to speak of. I flipped my hair in frustration and