𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒 ⸻ 𝖻𝗅𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋

→ chapter eight.

The following weeks torment. The Pack was at each other's throats, snapping at the slightest provocation, and it was by some miracle they didn't run across into any leeches. They were in such a disarray, any strategic leech—or even a dim one—could've wiped out the entire Pack with ease.

Leah spent each day in agony. Her skin was on fire, her eyes burned, everything hurt. She wanted to claw her own skin off. She wanted to sleep in a bed of ice to stave off the burning. This was worse than her first Phase. Worse than the Phase fever that had taken a hold of her. Even her teeth hurt. Her gums often bled. Her skin often shifted and shimmered as though the wolf was fighting to come out. Thank God she wasn't in school or had a job; how could she explain away the dark fur that poked out of her skin?

"Is everything okay, honey?" Sue asked, looking up from her magazine as Leah walked into the house from the latest patrol.

Leah paused. "It's fine," she said tersely, keeping her tone dry, as she pulled off her sneakers and started for the stairs.

"Wait, come here for a second."

Swallowing the urge to groan, Leah obeyed and fought hard to keep her expression calm.

"What?" she mumbled, keeping her eyes on her bare feet so she wouldn't have to look into her mom's eyes. Her eyelids flagged as she fought to stay awake. Her entire body hurt so bad and all she wanted was to fucking rest, not assuage her mother's guilt.

"What's wrong?" Sue asked. "I hardly see you anymore and when I do, you give me one word answers and go up into your room."

From beneath the fringe of her lashes, Leah could see Sue was staring. "I'm tired, Mom. Besides you hardly see me? I don't have a choice in my patrols. You choose spend all your time with Charlie Swan."

Sue's cheeks darkened, whether with rage or embarrassment Leah couldn't tell. "I am dating him, Leah. I wish you wouldn't be so harsh on him."

"Oh, no, I'm sure he's a great guy, but his daughter ruined my fucking life. She's a harpy and all she does is cause trouble."

"Leah! That's—"

"Mean? Rude? A lie?" Leah scoffed and laughed, the sound scraping out of her throat. "You might be willing to look the other way when she ruins the Pack's lives but I won't. Because I'm Pack. If it wasn't for her, maybe Dad would still be alive." Maybe I'd be a normal girl. She swallowed down the intense ache the thought caused. "Bella kept those monsters here and then tried to wiggle her way into my Pack when they dumped her. The minute they came back, she took off. I won't fucking forget or fucking forgive her." She scowled. "You're free to pretend like she's the helpless victim in all this. I know better because I'm living with the repercussions."

Sue reached for her but Leah shook her head, turned, and fled upstairs. Her skin was on fire. She was burning alive. But she wouldn't scream. Instead she fell face-first onto her bed and curled into a ball, fighting the tremors and suffering through the cold sweats, wondering if she was dying.

Death, she thought, would've been a relief.

➽───────────────❥

Leah's childhood bedroom swam and dipped, then came into focus when she woke up. She lifted her head then immediately regretted it. Pain exploded behind her watering eyes. She laid back down. Everywhere hurt. Even breathing hurt. Was she sick? Wolves didn't get sick. Was it some sort of wolf Flu?

Slowly, she rose up onto her elbows again and swallowed down the bile that rose. Then she inched to the side of her bed and eased to her feet. When the world remained steady, she started to shuffle forward. The wooden floor creaked with every slow step. It was hard to focus thanks to her skewed equilibrium that made every step a thousand times harder than it should be.