Meet Amber, a teenage girl struggling with the death of her father, an overstressed mother- and lycanthropy. All she wants is for her life to go back to normal, but a magical corporation has lost a valuable test subject and they believe Amber will b...
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Chapter Seventy Seven
Kimberly was still sitting in our bedroom when I came to get her. Her skin was as pale as chalk, and the way she looked at me told me exactly what she was thinking. The purple bump on her head stood out at a stark contrast with the rest of her. I knelt down, swaying a little when the sudden motion made my head spin. I was getting low on blood. This wasn't a race just to save Kimberly's life anymore.
"Kimberly, baby," I said, and held out my good hand. "Come to me."
I was convinced that wasn't going to work. I was covered in blood after all, and she'd just seen me get shot. Not to mention pulling the bullet out again. To my surprise, though, she obediently got to her feet and came to take my hand. Her little five year old fingers wrapped around my bigger, bloodstained ones.
I paused, confused. Why had she done that? In my injured state, dazed and confused, it took me a few seconds to realize what was going on. D.K. had been the Swag Pag's alpha. I had killed him. Now I was the alpha, and that meant Kimberly would do everything I told her without question.
"It's going to be okay," I said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. "I promise."
She looked up at me, and I could see trust in her eyes. "I'm scared, Amber."
I nodded. "I know. I was too."
That was a lie. I hadn't known I was going to change until it actually happened. Kimberly didn't need to know that, though. I turned, and gently led her out of our room. She didn't look at Tyler as we left. When we walked down the hallway, she closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see D.K.
Good girl, I thought. Block it out. Be strong for me.
We came to the door, and found Stark there waiting for us. His face was grave, but he didn't ask any questions. He just looked me in the eye, and nodded.
"We need to get her out into the woods as quickly as we can," he said. "Can you carry her?"
I looked down at her, and then at my wounded arm, and shook my head. Without another word, Stark knelt down and picked her up.
"Follow me," he said, and turned and ran. I did as he said. At first, I was afraid that my blood loss would make me lag behind, but it didn't take long for me to see he was holding back for me. Besides that, the moment the moonlight touched my skin, I could feel it flooding into me. Unfortunately, that meant the changes started again as well. I sucked air into my lungs again, and held my breath.
I can't keep this up for long, I thought as I followed Stark further into the woods. Luckily, he stopped less than a minute later and set Kimberly down. Her eyes were already open wide, the irises a wolfish shade of yellow. She hunched over, hugging her stomach, and screamed.
"You need to change first, Amber," Stark said, turning toward me. "Hurry, and make sure she sees it happening."
I didn't need to be told twice. The moon was pushing on me so hard that I probably would have broken within the next few seconds anyway. I went to kneel in front of Kimberly, where I knew she could see me, and began to tug my shirt over my head.
