Justin sighed and let his body float along in the void his mind seemed to be trapped in. I can’t.
Yes, you can. Get up and go to your food.
But it’s so far. Justin’s arm twitched, but he had no strength left in him. The coolness of the slab eased some of the pain, and he wanted to lie there forever. A surge of electricity thrashed through him, making Justin whimper.
Use the powers I am lending to you. Get up and feed.
Once more, Justin attempted to lift himself, to crawl to the succulent scent. His arms wobbled, and he had to use them to pull his lower half along like the dead weight that it was. His fingernails dug into the stone, his nails breaking as he fought to move.
The chains rattled, and the scent of blood grew closer. “Bite my fucking calf. Bite it.”
I want to live, but oh god, the pain!
Separate the pain from your body, son. You can do this. Think only of the food being offered to you. You must get to it.
Justin reached out, but his hand fell short. Something wet slid from his arm, and he knew it to be his charred skin. He was melting. He cracked his eyes open and swore he saw his father’s translucent form standing next to the blurred form chained to the wall.
His father waved at the leg stretched onto the stone slab. “Feed.”
The ghost then turned to the blur against the wall. “What is this place?”
“The old McGovern mansion. But Elron is here and so is his pack. You have to get to Demetri and warn him that a sniper is watching him.”
“Help is on the way,” the translucent form said. “And thank you for offering your life to save my son’s.”
“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this for Demetri,” the harsh voice stated. “And I’m not offering my life, just a meal.”
Justin wanted to cry when his father disappeared.
“You heard him. Get your ass over here.”
Using all the strength he could muster, Justin yanked himself forward and latched onto the leg. He sank his fangs deep into the calf and drank as if the blood were the nectar of the gods. And it was.
“Ow, fuck! Easy on the leg there, Justin. I’m going to need it later.”
Wulf. The voice belonged to Wulf.
Justin continued to drink greedily. He had an urge to tear the flesh so he could get at more of the blood. He’d started to snap his teeth closed when Wulf shouted, “Don’t you dare!”
He’d tried to focus, to think past his all-consuming thirst when the door swung open, clanging loudly against the wall. Justin smelled wolf, but he couldn’t seem to care. All he wanted was the sweet blood. All he could think about was quenching his thirst. He sucked down deep drafts, his fingers curled mercilessly around Wulf’s leg, as if he was afraid it would be taken from him at any second.
“Get away from him!” Wulf shouted.
Justin was yanked back, tearing a piece of Wulf’s flesh as he was pulled through the air at a rapid rate. Wulf shouted as Justin curled into a ball. Something had grabbed him under his arms. Furry hands. Hands with claws. Justin spat the skin from his mouth and slowly opened his eyes. He stared into blood-red irises. Werewolf. He sifted through his foggy memory. Hadn’t he heard Aberdeen say something about Elron being here?
Yes, yes he did.
The creature stood upright on two legs, slightly sloped though. Its head was massive, and there were points rising up from the top. Ears. And that snout. It was long and ended in razor-sharp teeth. The lip was curled back as Elron snarled dangerously at Justin.
“It’s his third form, Justin,” Wulf said. “More dangerous than his wolf form on four legs.”
Good to know that Elron could get even deadlier.
“I’ve done nothing to you,” Justin said in a less than convincing tone. He was terrified, and his voice had broken. Justin was far from fully healed and had very little strength. Elron’s claws began to slowly sink into Justin’s back and chest. Justin screamed, feeling what little blood he’d managed to consume trickle out of the wounds the creature was creating.
“Let him go!” Wulf shouted. But it did no good. Wulf yanked at the chains holding him to the wall, but the chains held. Elron snarled louder and then threw Justin into the concrete wall. Justin slammed his head into the wall before he crumbled to the ground.
Pain exploded as Justin breathed shallowly. It felt as if his ribs were broken.
Along with my gunshot wound, crispy skin, and dying thirst. Seems today isn’t my day.
Justin stayed down, hoping the creature thought him too injured or even dead. He just prayed that Elron didn’t want to finish the job by ripping Justin’s heart from his chest. He wouldn’t be able to recover from that.