Lielit
Pain made me choke, and I tried to push him away. When that didn’t work, I grabbed his hair and pulled as hard as I could. I felt my blood spill down my neck. He was going to kill me. The snarl locked my muscles in place.
My eyes bulged as I stared at the window.
I couldn’t breathe for the pain.
I tried to focus and realised the agony wasn’t coming from my neck. It writhed in my gut, then shot up into my chest.
Heart attack.
I clutched my chest as it pounded deep and hard. The pain burrowed again—this time into my head.
My head snapped back, and a bloodcurdling scream tore out of me.
One long scream that seemed endless.
He shouted my name.
The monster who wanted to kill me.
I spun, lost my footing, and crashed to the floor. Blood dripped onto the wood. My back arched, my spine jerking like it would snap in two.
My vision blurred as my body shook uncontrollably—a seizure?
I hit the floor fully, clawing at the boards. The wood splintered beneath my fingers.
I opened my eyes.
Two large paws.
Not the monster’s.
Mine.
A cackling sound filled the room, growing louder, sharper.
He’s mine, a voice said.
I whipped my head around and saw him—Blaidd.
I lunged toward him. He raised his hands, saying something I didn’t hear.
Kill him, I hissed.
I leapt, my paw slicing toward his neck.
Blood for blood.
He blocked me with his arm, but I caught the scent—metallic, sharp.
He was cut.
We struck again and again.
Miss.
Swipe.
Three deep gouge marks raked across his face.
We blinked—hesitated—and lost our chance.
The giant wolf stood before us.
We snarled, snapping our teeth, circling each other like prey.
His snout dipped close to my tail, and I snarled back.
I didn’t care if he’d infected me.
I didn’t care if he’d made me a monster.
It was better than being a weak human waiting to die.
The wolf stopped circling and sniffed the air. His jaw slackened, a long pink tongue lolling out as he panted. His snout tipped upward. He sniffed again.
What is it doing? I asked, hesitation rippling through me—but I couldn’t tell if it was mine.
Recognising a queen, the voice said, laughing as the wolf stepped back. Chase him.
I didn’t understand what was happening, but we leapt—
And he turned and ran.
We chased him down the stairs, claws skidding, bodies colliding with walls. I caught the flick of his tail as he vanished into a room.
Get him, I shouted as he burst through the far side and into the trees.
We tore after him.
The world blurred, yet my vision sharpened beyond anything I’d ever known. Branches cracked. Wind screamed past my ears. I could hear him—his weight, his breath—just ahead.
We were gaining.
I thought we were.
Before I knew it, we’d circled the island twice.
We collapsed into the forest floor, chests heaving, lungs burning.
What are we? I asked—the voice, or perhaps the infected beast inside me.
We are something ancient. Forgotten by time. He did not infect us. He was trying to bond with you—but you thought he was trying to kill us, it said, cackling like a—
Oh my god. You’re a hyena, I gasped, sitting upright.
No. We are one. Human and hyena, it said, the laughter finally subsiding. The attack woke me in your blood.
It must have been a defence mechanism. An animal instinct. How could I not have known?
Most bloodlines died. Ours survived, the voice continued. My name is Bouda.
Doesn’t that mean evil eye? I asked.
I think it rather suits me, she said, sounding faintly defensive.
It’s perfect, I said warmly—and felt her soften.
Now… how do we get off this damn island? I asked, surprised by the spark of excitement in my chest.
For the first time since I’d been brought here, I felt something I hadn’t dared to before.
Hope.
?
?
?
We found a freshwater spring as we explored every corner of the island. It felt good—so good—to be outside. To feel the earth beneath my paws. To move without walls. To learn Bouda’s rhythms as we tested our limits together. She was strong. A little reckless.
I liked that about her.
We avoided the humans in the smaller house, though that was where the dock was. Two boats were tied there—one small, one much larger. The problem was, I didn’t know the first thing about boats. The little paddle ones from the park were the only boats I knew about and they wouldn’t get us anywhere.
Bouda laughed. She did that a lot.
After so long without anything to laugh about, I found I adored the sound.
We eventually found a soft, mossy patch beneath a great tree and curled up there for the night. Above us, the stars twinkled in the distant sky.
“Thank you, Bouda,” I murmured, a yawn breaking through the words.
She didn’t answer—but I felt her warmth settle around me.
And for the first time since coming to this place, I no longer felt alone in the world.
?
?
?
When morning light crept in, I woke shivering—and to my dismay, the sable fur and dark stripes were gone. I sat up, naked.
I froze.
That scent.
Cedarwood and white cypress.
I scanned the clearing, but I couldn’t see him.
“I know you’re here, dickhead,” I snapped.
Is this what I smelled like?
Oh, you smell far better to him, Bouda laughed, startling me. Tell him his ass is too big to hide behind that tree.
“You can’t hide that massive ass behind a tree,” I shouted.
I swallowed. I thought you’d left me.
I kept watching the treeline until Blaidd finally stepped out from behind a trunk. He looked offended—though it was hard to take seriously with his face still plastered and bruised from my swipe the night before.
No. Your body needed to rest, Bouda said.
But—
“Lielit,” he said, raising his hands slowly, palms out. “I come in peace. There seems to have been… a slight miscommunication.”
I gaped at him.
Mis-fucking-communication?
This fucker had tried to destroy me.
He pulled his sweater over his head and tossed it at me.
That’s when it clicked—he wasn’t being polite.
He was wary.
Maybe even spooked.
I didn’t care.
“You bit a motherfucking hole in my neck. You nearly killed me in that cell. You ruined my company and threatened my family. And to top it off, you shoved your nasty dick inside me,” I screamed, my voice echoing through the woods.
I scooped up the sweater and clutched it to my chest. There was no way I was taking my eyes off this arsehole—even if it meant staying cold.
Tell him! Bouda joined in, only this time she didn't laugh.
She raged.