CHAPTER 4:
1181 Words
Brooke's POV
I didn't think. I just ran along.
Alan and his teammates were already shifting, their bodies contorting mid-sprint as they headed toward the woods. I watched Josh's bones c***k and reform, and Carter's skin ripple with fur.
I'd never seen a pack shift together before. It was both terrifying and beautiful and I didn't have time to process any of it.
My wolf was already clawing at my insides, desperate to join them.
Not here.
I veered off toward the tree line, taking a different path. Once I was deep enough in the shadows, I let Mel out.
The shift happened fast. My clothes shredded as silver-white fur burst through my skin. My bones snapped and reformed. The pain was familiar, almost comforting.
Then I was running on four legs instead of two, my wolf senses exploding to life.
I could smell everything—the pack ahead of me, their scents mixing together in a rush of dominance and loyalty. The earth beneath my paws. The fear-sweat of a human girl who didn't belong here.
Poppy.
And underneath it all, something else that was wrong.
Like rotten meat and madness. The rogue.
I pushed harder, my wolf eating up the distance. Tree branches whipped past me. My paws barely touched the ground.
Then I heard her screaming.
*********
I burst into a clearing and froze.
Poppy was backed against a tree, her camera hanging forgotten around her neck. Four massive wolves surrounded her—Josh, Carter, Damon, and another one I didn't recognize.
They weren't attacking. They were circling. Playing with her like cats with a mouse.
Poppy's face was streaked with tears, but she was still filming with her phone. Her hands shook so badly I didn't know how she was holding it.
"Please," she sobbed. "Please, I won't tell anyone. I swear. I'll delete everything."
Josh's wolf—a massive gray beast—snarled, snapping inches from her face.
Poppy screamed.
My wolf moved before I could think.
I slammed into Josh's wolf, knocking him sideways. He yelped in surprise, rolling across the forest floor.
The other wolves spun toward me, confused.
I planted myself between them and Poppy, hackles raised, teeth bared.
A growl rumbled from my chest. Back off.
Damon's wolf—dark brown and scarred in one eye—took a step forward. He was bigger than me and stronger.
But my wolf didn't care.
I snarled again, louder this time. The sound came from somewhere deep inside me, somewhere I didn't know existed.
"STOP."
The word didn't come out as a word. It came out as a command that rippled through the air like thunder.
Every wolf froze.
Josh's wolf sat down abruptly, whimpering. Carter's wolf flattened his ears. Even Damon's wolf backed up a step, head lowering.
What the hell just happened?
A massive black wolf emerged from the trees. Alan. His wolf was bigger than all of them, radiating power and authority.
He looked at me. Then at his pack. Then at Poppy, who was still pressed against the tree, hyperventilating.
Alan's wolf growled—low and commanding. Stand down.
The pack of wolves backed away from Poppy, still shooting confused glances at me.
I shifted my weight, keeping myself between them and the terrified human girl.
Then the smell hit me again. It was stronger now.
Alan's head snapped toward the darker part of the forest, ears perked up. He smelled it too.
A shape launched from the shadows.
The rogue was massive—bigger even than Alan. Its gray fur was matted and dirty, patches of skin showing through where it had clawed itself raw. Its eyes were pure red, no humanity left in them.
And it was heading straight for Poppy.
I didn't think. Mel didn't think. We just moved.
I leaped between Poppy and the rogue, jaws open, ready to fight.
The rogue slammed into me like a freight train.
We hit the ground hard. Pain exploded through my shoulder as its teeth sank deep into my muscle and bone.
I screamed—a horrible mix of human and wolf sounds.
The rogue shook me like I weighed nothing, and I felt something tear.
Then the weight was gone.
Alan's black wolf had the rogue by the throat, ripping it away from me. Josh and Damon joined in, tearing at the rogue's flanks.
The rogue was insane with bloodlust. It fought like it didn't feel pain, snapping and clawing at everything.
I tried to stand. My front leg buckled. The bite was deep, already healing, but not fast enough.
Carter's wolf positioned himself in front of me and Poppy, protecting us while the others fought.
The rogue broke free from Alan's grip and ran. Not retreating—running with purpose, like it had somehow accomplished what it came for.
Alan started to chase it, but Josh's wolf barked a warning.
Too dangerous. Let it go.
Alan's wolf paced, clearly wanting to pursue, but he stopped and turned back.
His blue eyes—still wolf but so obviously Alan—locked onto me.
I collapsed.
*******
The shift back to human was agony.
My shoulder was bleeding badly, and the bite mark was still visible even though it was healing. Someone—Carter maybe—threw a jacket over me.
Alan was human again, crouching beside me. His hands were gentle as he examined my shoulder.
"You're okay," he said quietly. "It's healing."
"I'm fine," I managed through gritted teeth.
Then Poppy screamed.
I'd forgotten about her. We all had.
She was staring at her arm. At the deep gouges running from her elbow to her wrist. Blood streamed down her skin.
Claw marks.
My blood ran cold.
No. No no no no.
Josh shifted back, pulling on his pants. He saw Poppy's arm, and his face went white.
"Tell me it didn't bite her," he said. "Please tell me it didn't bite her."
But we could all see it. Mixed in with the claw marks were teeth punctures.
The rogue had bitten her.
Poppy looked at me, confusion and terror in her eyes.
"Brooke?" Her voice was small, broken. "What's happening to me?"
My shoulder throbbed. My wolf whimpered.
But it wasn't my pain I was feeling.
It was hers.
Because I knew what was coming. The fever. The transformation. The agony of becoming something she never asked to be.
Poppy was going to turn.
And it was all my fault.
Alan's hand tightened on my good shoulder.
"We need to move her," he said. "Now. Before the fever starts."
Josh was already moving toward Poppy, but she scrambled away from him.
"Don't touch me! Stay away!" She was crying, cradling her bleeding arm. "What are you people? What the hell is happening?"
"Poppy—" I tried.
"You're one of them!" She stared at me with betrayal. "You knew. You knew what they were and you didn't warn me!"
She was right.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words died in my throat.
Because Poppy's eyes had just flashed amber.
The change was starting.
- Writer
