Chapter 02: Surviving his Bite

ASHLEY

My lungs burned as I coughed, trying to remember how to breathe. Every heartbeat felt stolen, and painful as my mind screamed for answers, but all I had was silence and the taste of blood in my lips.

My eyes flew open, and for a second, I didn’t know where I was. Everything was spinning so fast, and my heart wouldn't stop pounding like a drum in my chest.

I blinked twice, trying to figure out where exactly I was. I was in the forest... alone.

I tried to sit up, but something shot through my side. “Arrg." I cried out in anguish.

My voice sounded weak, like I was the only one hearing it but then it all came rushing through my mind like a whirlwind: My village. My family. The bite.

I held back the tears that threatened to fall, staring down at myself. My dress was torn, soaked in blood and dirt. My body was covered in scratches and bruises, but surprisingly, I was very much alive.

I remembered the Lycan King, those red eyes glowing with so much hate and anger. I remembered his teeth sinking into my neck, then in my side, and the way my whole body suddenly went cold.

“I should be dead,” I told myself for the hundredth time. “Why… Why am I still alive?”

Then, my mother's words flashed through my mind. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, biting my lip to hold back a sob. “Mama… I tried.”

I lay there for a long time. I don’t know how long. Minutes? Hours? I watched the sky change, but the atmosphere remained quiet. Too quiet for someone like me to survive.

Eventually, I forced myself to sit up again, my body aching from the pain. Slowly, I touched my neck, feeling the mark on my skin.

I gasped, my eyes widened in horror. The mark felt real, it wasn't even a dream. I dragged myself through the trees until I heard the sound of water. When I reached it, I dropped to my knees beside the edge.

And then I saw my reflection. My face looked pale, and tired. And my eyes were sunken with fear. But it wasn’t the bruises or the blood that caught my attention, it was the mark on my neck.

The scar looked almost like it had healed, but the tooth marks still looked noticeable. I cupped my hand into the river, pouring water over the scar like it would change how it looked.

“No,” I breathed, shaking my head. “No, no, no…”

I looked at my waist, there was another glowing bite mark. It looked slightly bigger, like he had tried biting off my skin at that spot. I backed away from the river, muffling myself from screaming.

In a way I wanted to claw it off, rip the mark from my skin and scream until the river swallowed me.

I didn’t know what I was becoming, but I knew it wasn’t me anymore.

"What's happening?” I gasped.

Suddenly, I felt hot, like there was fire under my skin. My heartbeat sped up again, my ears twitched at the sound of a twig snapping from far away. I could hear birds flying, animals moving. Everything sounded loud and clear.

The forest smelled different too. The river, the woods, I could even smell blood. My blood.

I held my head. “This can’t be real.” But it was.

Deep in my mind I searched for something, anything, just to clear the fear screaming in my heart. But deep down I knew the answers. Just like the tales had hinted, I was becoming one of them.

To ascertain my fact I found a stick by the side, and I scratched it over my skin, letting it bruise me. Surprisingly, I was healing. The wounds that should’ve taken weeks were closing fast. The pain was fading, like I hadn't even hurt myself.

I sat there in the dirt, staring at my hands. They didn’t look any different, but I felt different. Everything inside me was screaming, changing, growing into something I didn’t understand.

*********

The forest became my home for the days that followed. I’d sleep on the cold ground with nothing but leaves for a blanket. At night, I'd curl up under trees and try to forget the sound of my mother’s voice.

The first few days were the hardest. My body was still healing, and the pain came in waves. One minute it would fade, the next it would hit me like a hammer. But even that pain… It felt strange. Like my body was fighting against itself, changing from the inside out.

My hunger was worse than the pain. I hadn’t eaten in days. My stomach growled so loud at night, I was afraid it would draw something to me. Wolves, bears. Or worse, the monster that still haunted my dreams.

My mornings were different, I did nothing but scavenge for food and whatever I could find.

It wasn't till three days that I heard the voices of humans. At first sight, I thought they were travelers, or probably survivors like me.

I hid behind a thick tree to listen. “They’re taking girls into the palace now,” one woman said. “Hiring anyone willing to work. Maids, kitchen help, anything.”

“After what they did to the villages?” a man scoffed. “Who’d be crazy enough to go?”

“Some people have nowhere else to go,” the woman replied. “A roof is a roof. Food is food. Even if it’s under the monster’s nose.”

And just like that, an idea popped into my mind.

Disguise yourself. Take the opportunity. Steal the pack's trust, and kill the monster before anyone figured it out.