Damaged Mate

11

“I hate how calm he acts about it,” Aiden hissed as he stormed across the park. “Like it was as simple as that—they accused him of murder, and he acts like they did nothing wrong!”

“Aiden.” A stitch started to form on my side as I struggled to keep up. “Hey, slow down a bit, would ya?”

He seemed to ignore me, as if I was just some dead weight he was carrying around. “My family’s never been looked at the same. He didn’t do anything! The Ayers just want someone to blame, and all because my dad didn’t want this place falling apart!”

“Aiden, seriously!” I tugged hard at my hand, gasping as nails dug into the skin. That seemed to snap Aiden out of his stupor as he quickly released his grip, staring at the scratch marks down my wrist. Crap, was that blood? Had his nails really dug in that deeply?

“A-Aria.” He flew into panic as he got close, hands hovering below my injured wrist. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t—are you okay?”

Jeez, he was acting like he’d amputated my hand. “It’s fine, really. You should probably cut your nails, though,” I joked.

Aiden glanced around, gaze fixating on a nearby fryer’s booth. “I bet they’ve got some band-aids we can use. Wait here, okay?”

Without waiting for a reply, he went sprinting through the crowd, desperation fueling his every step.

I let out a heavy sigh and clutched under my arm, trying to keep the blood from staining my jacket. This was just not a good day for the poor thing: first a basketball assault, now this. It was hard to tell how bad he’d gotten me, what with the sky getting as dark as it was. “Maybe it’s time to call it quits on today,” I mumbled to myself.

I dropped onto a nearby bench, fishing Aiden’s pumpkin out from my backpack. My fingers traced the grooves and lines of the gourd’s surface, my attention fixated on every little detail. The wolf’s silhouette wasn’t even the most impressive part of the piece, but I found myself staring regardless. “Wolves, basketball, and a bloody past.” I sighed. “Guess it was too much to ask for Dad to live somewhere without drama.”

I wasn’t even sure why I looked up at the tree line when I did. Maybe the festival was too stimulating, or maybe staring at Aiden’s gift reminded me of the crazy history he shared with Clyde’s family. But as I glanced over at the dark woods, I was surprised to find a kid bent over and shuffling toward it, as if he was trying to remain unseen.

“No way,” I stood, squinting to try and get a better look. He couldn’t be any older than seven, awkwardly wading through grass that went far past his waist. With a few blinks, it was confirmed that, yes, I wasn’t just seeing things—some kid was going into the woods alone at night.

“Crap, crap, crap.” My head swiveled around as I tried to find some panicked parent, a nearby cop, anyone I could talk to. This was a commonly known thing in town, right? Dad said everyone followed this rule, and yet…

My stomach started tying itself in knots once I realized what needed to happen. Taking a deep breath, I stuffed Aiden’s pumpkin back in my bag before starting forward, desperately keeping my eyes on the kid even after he broke through the tree line. Dad was gonna kill me, but I’d feel worse if something happened and I had just stood by. With any luck, I’d be in and out before any animals could find us.

Cutting through the grass was easy enough, but once I broke into the trees, my pace slowed considerably. I had no choice but to roll my jacket sleeve back down, as I’d much rather get out blood stains than risk any possible infections. Tangling roots caught against my tennis shoes while low-hanging branches scratched at my face; getting tag-teamed by the forest wasn’t my idea of fun tonight.

Finally, the brush broke into an alcove of sorts, which the kid seemed to stumble into as well. Somehow, he’d managed to avoid every aspect of the forest, completely free of small branches and cuts like myself. I expected him to look out of breath, maybe a little scared, but if anything, he looked… pretty calm. Like this was exactly where he was supposed to be.

I had to force myself to take a step forward, even though every fiber of my being told me to run. “It’s just a kid,” I reassured myself. “He’s probably doing this for clout, or something.” I opened my mouth to speak louder, to call out and reassure him I was here to help, but the words got caught in my throat.

As the full moon rose through the tree leaves, the kid’s entire frame began to shake violently. He dropped to his hands and knees, the horrible tear of clothes echoing alongside his grunts and groans as his skin gave beneath him, bones visibly pushing and shifting. Patches of dark hair soon covered his pale skin, condensing and flushing out into full swaths of fur as his clothing finally fell to shreds on the ground beside him.

My brain filled to the brim with static, body growing numb and clammy with each passing second. There was no way—that cider was just spiked, right? That’s what made it the “best,” and Aiden’s family thought it’d be funny not to tell the new girl. That had to be it, otherwise…

“Otherwise, I’m literally watching some kid turn into a legit werewolf.”

I hadn’t realized I’d said that out loud until it was too late. The kid—the wolf— swiveled his body to face me, shoulders hunched and covered in ashen fur. Pointed ears turned up and outward, a snout pulled from what was once a nose parting and letting out a panicked growl. I couldn’t help but stare at his bright, sharp teeth, his elongated claws, and a pair of amber eyes that looked as confused and frightened as I felt.

“It… it’s okay.” I don’t know what possessed me, but I was suddenly walking toward him, hand outstretched. “I’m not gonna… everything’s gonna be okay.”

He let out a whimper, pulling back on his hind legs before shifting to all fours. God, but the kid really did look terrified out of his mind. Maybe I could talk to him, put this adrenaline of mine into something soothing, something calm.

That idea flew immediately out of my head as something black crashed into my side.

I hit the ground hard, air expelling from my chest while I tumbled. The shade didn’t give me any time to recuperate, immediately locking its jaws around my backpack. Pumpkin juice oozed across my shoulders as instinct took over; I somehow managed to bend my arms out of the straps and scramble away just as the creature flung it around like a chew toy. The moonlight struck against its form, illuminating yet another of those insane, werewolf-like creatures. Its fur held a more bluish tint than the kid’s, almost curling at the tips with far more hair piled up around the head and neck. Its body was slender, built more for speed than power—a she-wolf, I realized.

The back of my head hit the base of a tree trunk, pulling the female wolf’s attention back my way. With a throaty snarl, she threw the backpack overhead and charged toward me, frothing at the mouth as ice-blue eyes drilled into my skull.

That was when a real shadow came out of nowhere, barreling head-first into her chest and taking her straight to the ground. She yelped and dug her claws into the earth, easily turning herself upright before growling and snapping angrily at my savior.

Christ, but this one was huge. Far bigger than the she-wolf and more broadly built, with fur that practically blended into the night itself. His ears pointed upright alongside his stance, teeth bared as he postured over her. Shoulders hunched, the she-wolf tried darting past him, only for him to slam once more directly into her chest. The tearing of skin caused me to wince, a spray of blood splattering the grass beside me as the larger werewolf staggered back. He let out a snarling howl, filling the forest with more glowing eyes than I ever wanted to think about. The she-wolf snapped angrily, dropping to all fours while slinking away from us. Eventually, she backpedaled and ran toward the younger wolf, tugging at his side as the two vanished into the brush.

My vision started swirling as the larger wolf turned my way. Panic tightened against my chest, black spots appearing with each step he took closer my way. The back of my head was really starting to ache now; I could’ve sworn I heard birds chirping in the forest.

“At… at this time of night…?”

The werewolf tilted his head, getting down on all fours so we were eye to eye. There was more than just intensity, something beyond an animal instinct and self-preservation. Genuine intelligence shone beneath, as if he was aware who I was and how lost I’d become.

The chirrup of birds grew louder, swirling with the distant howls as the black wolf’s form shifted and blurred. I blinked furiously, trying to catch the face that appeared through the swirling haze.

But the image had been replaced entirely with my room’s ceiling as daylight streamed in through the curtains.