Chapter Forty-Nine Edith
Nils and I wrestle each other, all snarls and teeth.
He swipes out, his claws slicing my shoulder. I bellow in pain, sending spittle flying across his face. He’s going to regret that. Pushing his paws back, I find flesh, and sink my teeth into his chest. Blood fills my mouth, the coppery taste giving me a primal satisfaction.
Nils tears himself free. He lashes out at me, claws whistling through the air.
Those long arms of his make it hard to get close.
My gaze shifts to his shoulder as I recall Amund’s lessons. If I can sever muscle, I’ll be able to get an opening. When Nils swipes at me again, I catch his arm with my teeth. I bite down. Hard. He howls in agony, clawing my skull with his other paw.
But I don’t let go. Snarling, I bite until I feel bone crunch.
Blood curtains my vision.
Everything turns red.
My nose twitches, and I blow out a powerful snort, trying to clear the overpowering scent of blood. The searing pain in my skull. While I’m distracted, Nils sends me flying across the room. I slam into the wall, my head smacking stone.
I collapse, ears ringing from the impact.
As I look down, I see my mom’s hands instead of my own paws.
She catches herself as she falls to the floor of her bedroom, my dad standing over her.
I can’t tell if the stabbing pain in my skull is mine or hers from when she hit the dresser.
My forehead is wet with the same blood that dripped down her face.
My neck aches as I look up at Nils. At my dad. At every man who ever hit a woman to make himself feel powerful. Emilía and my mom and so many others who had to fight for their lives. My entire body trembles with repressed rage.
The vision clears away.
I still have my mother’s claws.
A guttural growl climbs my throat. Something deep and ancient and primal reverberates through my body. Every hair stands on end, my hackles raised. My lips peel back. I am all teeth and claws. I am rage.
We wrestle for control, snarling and snapping at each other.
My teeth find fur. Flesh.
Vicious, I bite and rip and tear at him like the lamb I ate for dinner. Hunger consumes me. The smell of blood saturates the air, and I want more, more, more. I won’t stop until I’ve torn him limb from limb.
I overpower Nils, bringing him to the ground. My claws sink into his back, shredding any flesh I can find. I barely notice him start to change beneath me.
Bones snap back into place, fur retreats.
Soon the werewolf is nothing but a boy.
Nils looks up at me, his eyes wide, trembling with terror.
Blood drips from my claws. My teeth.
Breathing heavily, wetly, I sniff the air, savoring the scent of his fear. But I’m not done with him yet. I’m going to shred him until there is nothing left. I will devour him and lick his blood off my claws. I will end this once and for all.
I heft a massive paw up.
Nils screams—
No. Not Nils.
Shouts from the dance fill my ears, so loud I can hear them all the way here.
Nils says something, but I can’t understand him at first.
Words sharpen in my mind.
Unity Dance.
Bea.
My paw falls to my side.
Protect her!
Instinct drives me. I barrel into Nils and he hits the ground with a heavy thud, like he’s knocked out cold.
I run through the entrails, turning them into a tangled mess on my way out.
I slam into the door, over and over again.
Protect her. Protect her. The door flies off.
I run down the hall on all fours, moving faster than I thought possible.
Finally, I’m outside.
The air is rich and heavy with so many scents beyond anything I’ve ever imagined.
I always thought I had a good sense of smell, but this?
It’s like a store full of different perfumes amplified by a hundred thousand.
I can pick out each individual scent that saturates the air—the rich, clean aroma of the courtyard grass; the subtle notes of wet stone buildings and damp walkways; the cool, crisp moisture of evening fog; the coppery tang of blood.
I keep sniffing, searching for Bea’s familiar scent. I have to save her. If I can follow the scent of her favorite sweet pea bodywash, I know I will find her, wherever she is.
I just hope it isn’t too late.
There. Bea’s familiar scent hangs in the air, a tendril leading me toward my sister.
I barrel across the campus and am breathing heavily by the time I reach the gym.
The doors are sealed shut by the bloody stave Nils painted.
Screams pierce my ears, louder than before, from somewhere inside the gym.
I rake my claws over the stave. Wood peels around my sharp claws, curling into ribbons. Once the stave is destroyed, I hurl my body at the doors with so much force that they burst apart, completely knocked off their hinges.
I rise on my hind legs, searching the gym for my sister.
Balloons dangle limply, splattered with red.
Tables are toppled over, chairs scattered everywhere.
Animals swarm the floor. I don’t see anyone around, but I can smell Bea still.
I push through the throng of animals into the gymnasium. My sister is here somewhere.
Another bear lumbers toward me, but I give it a warning huff.
It backs off. Good choice.
Nothing is going to stand between me and my sister.
Sniffing the air, I follow Bea’s scent to the side of the gym. As I get closer, my claws slide on the floor, slippery with spilled punch and blood. There’s a tall table held up in the corner like a shield. Boars ram into it, over and over, desperate to reach whoever is behind there.
Bea.
My nose twitches. Not just her, either. I can pick up the delicate floral of Patricia’s Dior perfume. Jim’s Old Spice aftershave. I catch a whiff of coconut oil in Valerie’s hair and Amund’s sandalwood soap.
The table starts to split.
There’s too many boars—I can’t take them all.
Rising onto my hind legs, I give a powerful bellow, hoping to frighten them off.
The boars startle.
A low growl rumbles from my lips. After a moment, the boars scatter in different directions. I reach for the table, wrapping my claws around the edges.
Bea starts shrieking.
Amund and Valerie fight to hold the table in place, but I rip it away easily.
Valerie stumbles back.
Amund stands his ground, our gazes locking. In his wide eyes, I see what I’ve become. A massive grizzly bear with glowing yellow eyes, fur matted with blood, red dripping from my maw. Behind him, Jim’s and Patricia’s mouths hang open as they try to shield Bea from me.
My stomach sinks.
I try to speak, to tell them not to be afraid. Instead of words, only a chuffing sound escapes my lips.
What’s wrong with me?
I look down at my paws. Shouldn’t I be human again?
Why—
“Shit,” Valerie says, holding up a knife.
“Wait.” Amund reaches for her hand, stopping her. “That’s Edith.”
Valerie blinks a few times. “Excuse me?”
“I can’t explain how, but I know it’s her,” Amund says, his voice fierce. “Trust me, Val. Please.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Valerie slowly lowers her weapon. “The bear has the same scar as Edith.” Behind her, Jim peers up at me with awe and fear.
Patricia approaches me with raised hands. “Edith, just calm down.”
I am calm, I try to say.
A low growl rumbles from my throat instead.
Patricia and Jim grab Bea and run for the closest door.
“No!” Amund shouts.
Primal instinct seizes me.
Chase them!
My body moves on its own, ready to obey.
“Edith!” Bea screams, breaking free of Jim and Patricia. Instead of running away, my sister runs toward me without hesitation. She throws both her arms around me, grabbing fistfuls of fur, clinging to me as she cries.
Patricia and Jim are screaming now.
I lower my paws—
Bringing them around Bea to hug her back.
I start crying too, and before I know it, my claws retract.
My bones slowly snap back into place. The world lowers as my body shrinks, drawing me closer to Bea. The thick fur covering my arms slowly recedes, replaced by soft, pale flesh.
I gasp for air like it’s my first breath.
I’m human again.
Without my anger, I’m completely hollow.
My insides have been scraped out, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell of a human.
Bea clings to me, tears tracking down her cheeks, and we fall to the floor together.
I’m completely naked, the cold air chilling my skin.
The gym around us is in ruins, but in Bea’s arms I feel home.
I feel Mom’s embrace again.
Patricia drapes her coat over me, and she and Jim fall to their knees, throwing their arms around us.
Jim and Patricia are our parents. They have been for nine years.
They loved both of us from the moment they met us.
They gave us a home, took care of us, gave us anything we needed.
I love them, even if I never let myself admit it until now.
Even if it feels a bit like betraying my mom.
“I’m so glad you girls are okay,” Jim says, his voice thick.
“Me too,” I tell him tearfully.
Over Patricia’s shoulder, I look up at Amund and Valerie. My family is safe because of them.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Amund smiles.
So does Valerie, even if she tries to hide it.
“As much as I hate to interrupt, we still have a bit of a problem,” Valerie says, waving her knife at the animals prowling through the gym.
Shivering, I stare down at my naked body.
My soft flesh. I’m more vulnerable than ever.
I stand, pulling Patricia’s coat around me.
Everywhere I look, I see more berserkir.
Boars are snorting heavily, licking blood off the dance floor.
I can’t tell which is Kris, but they must be among them. Maeve too.
Wolves snarl on the bleachers, fighting over something. Someone. One of the wolves chews a human arm, bone crunching in its powerful jaws. Tala and Isaac are easy to spot among the wolves. Growling, they rip through leather and tear into the hunter like raw meat.
Not just any hunter. Dorian.