That Girl is Poison

by Milly Taiden

  Mara paced the cage, not able to stay still. She felt on edge. No longer human? Never had she thought she would be anything but human. Shifters weren’t a secret, but she didn’t personally know any either. Now she was thrown into the world of shifters, and she didn’t know exactly how to respond to that. It is not like there would be anything she could do about it.

  Her body heated, a fire starting deep within her. She didn’t know what was happening to her. Suddenly her stomach churned and cramp. She wrapped her arms around herself and fell to her knees. A tingle grew in her arms and back. Black fur shot up through her skin. She looked at Trina with wide eyes and a panicked expression.

  “You’ll be okay. Just let it come naturally.” Trina sat up on the bed and tried to calm her.

  Mara screamed as her body twisted in different angles. She fell over, her arms and legs changing. She could hear the snap of her bones as they shifted shape. The pain had come and gone. For a moment, she lay there. Unsure what she should do.

  “You’re beautiful,” Trina exclaimed, going over to the bars.

  On unsteady paws, Mara got up from the floor. She looked at her body, totally covered in black fur. What the fuck? She screamed out, but her voice did not come. Instead, a loud roar sounded from the mouth. The strangest feeling hit her. She tried to ask Trina what to do, but only another roar came out. Normally a calm person, she felt a panic attack coming on.

  “You’re a panther.” Trina took a knee next to the bars. “A beautiful, sleek, black, fierce panther.”

  Mara took the few steps it took to get to the bars on the side of the cage. It didn’t come as naturally as the others because she wasn’t meant to be a shifter. At least, she didn’t fall on her face. Trina reached her small hand out to her. Everything is going to be okay. She moved her body against the bars and let Trina run her hand down her back. It felt similar to someone running their hands through her hair. She walked around her cage, getting used to her new legs. How is this even possible?

  I’m good, a voice said in her head.

  “Who is this?” she roared out.

  No answer came. Mara paced the cage. Her anger mounted at the voice in her head that never answered her. What if whatever Dr. Phenix did to her, made her crazier than a loon? She had no clue what all Dr. Asshat had done. He could have just added shifter DNA to her, or he could have messed her up completely. The more she thought about it, the more pissed off she got. She would make him pay for what he was doing to all those people… somehow. First, she had to get out of here. Maybe now, being a panther, she’d be able to fit through the bars.

  Not happening, the voice again spoke in her head, this time Mara noticed a hint of the roaring tone.

  She walked straight at the bars, no way her head would even fit between them.

  Told you. The voice in her head laughed.

  “If you won’t tell me who you are, then fuck off.” Her anger came out in more roars. She wasn’t even sure whoever she could hear, could hear her.

  The door on the right side of the room opened. A man came in with a gun slung over his shoulder. She recognized him. He was the man that had offered to help her with the lug nuts on her car. Her eyes narrowed in on him. He walked past the cages. The shifters reached through the bars, trying to slice him with their claws. Sadly, he stayed just out of their reach.

  “Oh, you’re a pretty one. Aren’t cha?” He aimed the gun at her.

  “No! Don’t take her. She just shifted. She hasn’t had time to adjust.” Trina pleaded with the man.

  “Quiet! Or I’ll get you too. I’m sure we can find something to do with you.” He blew Trina a kiss.

  Mara hissed and swatted at the bars, trying to intimidate the man. He aimed the gun at her again and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, and a tranquilizer dart hit her in the hind leg. Fire shot through her, and she hissed. She tried to get the dart out but couldn’t reach it. Stumbling to the cage bars, she rubbed up against it. The dart dislodged and fell to the ground. The door to the room opened again, and Dr. Phenix walked through. His grin had been all she needed to know that he enjoyed it. Mara hissed as Dr. Phenix came closer.

  “Should I shoot her again?” The man put the gun up to his shoulder, ready to fire again.

  “No, one should be plenty. She’s already drowsy.” Dr. Phenix cocked his head to the side and watched her.

  She hadn’t noticed her body sway. Her legs became weak and she could no longer hold her own weight. She dropped to the floor, trying to hold her head up. The first chance she got, she would bite the shit out of whoever came close enough.

  “Open it up, Henry.” Dr. Phenix ordered.

  “She’s not out yet.” Henry hesitated but pulled out his keys.

  Mara focused on those keys until she could no longer hold her eyes open. She tried to listen for when Henry came close to her. Too late, she didn’t have control over her body. Again, darkness took her.

  Chapter Four

  Bright lights surrounded her. She couldn’t move, but she could hear everything going on around her. They rolled her onto her side. Her body had shifted back to normal. She couldn’t tell if the straps restrained her in that position or not.

  “Do you think it’ll take hold this time?” the other man asked.

  “Vampirism is tricky to work with, Henry. There’s no telling when it will take effect. I’ll give her a couple more. We don’t want what happened to the last bastard to happen to her. It would be a shame to waste such a magnificent specimen.” Dr. Phenix pushed a needle into the base of her neck.

  It didn’t hurt, but she could feel the pressure. Mara tried to wiggle her toes just to see if she could. To her surprise, her toes moved with her. Trying not to make any big movements, she continued to wiggle them under the thin sheet draped over her. Her eyelids fluttered close. Maybe they wouldn’t know she wasn’t out of it. She glanced through her long lashes and realized she hadn’t been restrained. She fisted her hand where it lay under the sheet. Her limbs tingled.

  Wait for it, the voice in her head spoke again.

  Mara ignored it since she had no plans of moving until she knew she could. Slowly, she pumped her fist to get the blood pumping faster. The faster her blood flowed, the quicker the sedation would wear off. She would only get one chance at an escape. If she got caught, chances were they would lock her up even tighter. Timing would be everything.

  “I need to get another vial of serum and check on our other guest. Give her another tranquilizer just to be on the safe side.” Dr. Phenix suggested then walked out of the room.

  Henry had his back to her. No doubt filling another syringe. This was her chance.

  Wait for it, the voice insisted.

  She needed to make her move. Looked like there was only one person in the room. She could easily wait until he left, but by then, he would have already sedated her. He would lock the doors on the way out. Henry walked over to her, syringe in hand. As he drew near, she could hear his heart beating in his chest. Her mouth became dry, and she resisted the urge to swallow.

  “Now!” the voice said when Henry came up next to the bed.

  With no warning, she sprang off the bed. Henry didn’t even have time to jump back before she pounced on him. She bit his neck with all her might, ripping flesh from his body. It felt like instinct to go for his neck, but whose instinct? The thought of his blood being in her mouth sickened her. She spit the blood out and let Henry fall to the floor.

  “Eww, that’s gross,” she said quietly, glaring at the lifeless man on the floor. “That’s what you get for shooting me in my ass, you bastard.” She kicked him.

  She had to admit the blood didn’t taste that bad. Pulling herself together, she searched for the keys she saw him with earlier. Grabbing them from his front pocket, she went to the door and eased it open. The hall looked clear. She ran to the far end and didn’t look back. Covered in blood, her ass no doubt hung out of her hospital gown, she slipped out the service entrance.

  She only saw dar
kness. How long had she been in there? All day or a couple of days? She couldn’t tell. Weeks could have passed, and she would have been none the wiser.

  Footsteps sounded on the concrete, coming closer. Mara ran to a nearby column and quickly hid behind it. She peeked out just enough to see Frank, the night shift security guard, walk through the door she’d just exited. She could run to him for help, but she didn’t know who to trust. He might already know what Dr. Phenix was doing and would take her back to the basement.

  She needed to get away from here and get help for the others. Would her car still be on the side of the road or hidden in a ditch somewhere? No way could she hitch a ride. She needed a phone. She wanted to call the police, but Dr. Phenix had lunch with Sheriff Langley often. She could contact Xeon; he was the only person she could trust.

  After dashing across the walkway, she stayed to the shadows. The cover of night would lend a hand in concealing her. Running around in a hospital gown would draw too much attention to herself.

  I’ve got this, the voice said in her mind.

  Her stomach twisted. The cramps were not as painful this time. She bit her lip to keep from crying out when the change took over. She dropped to the ground, black fur sprouted from her arms and legs. She tried to stay close to the wall, so no one would witness her transformation.

  While in her shifter form, she’d be able to hide in the shadows better. Her black body blended in with the darkness. If someone happened to see her, at a glance, they might think they saw a large dog. If they did recognize a panther, they’d probably think they needed more sleep.

  She didn’t want to go home. Dr. Phenix had her address and would probably send someone after her the moment he realized she was gone. Instead, she went in the opposite direction. The more Mara got used to being on all fours, the faster she ran. Before long, she was racing at top speed. She didn’t pause at intersections because she didn’t want to chance someone seeing her. Only when lights were coming did she stop and crouch out of sight.

  Just when she passed an intersection, she saw an emergency call box on one of the streetlights. This was definitely an emergency. She only had one problem. At the moment, she had paws in place of her hands. She had no clue how to get back to human form. What if she was stuck like this?

  Just say so, the voice told her. She finally understood the voice in her head. It was the panther.

  “I want to be human,” she said internally.

  This time the transformation came with less pain. Hopefully, after a few more shifts, the pain will be gone for good. Did she want to be like this forever?

  No choice, her panther told her. It felt strange having someone else in her brain.

  “That’s what I figured,” Mara sighed.

  She stood and dusted off her hands. Her palms were scratched from her sudden stop. She picked a piece of gravel out of her skin. The scratches slowly disappeared. Within moments her palms were completely healed.

  “Now, I could get used to that.” She smiled.

  Looking around, she made sure no one was passing by. Her body was naked from the shift, she needed to find something to cover herself with. Noticing a ratty blanket thrown by the dumpster in the entrance to the alley, she ran to grab it and wrapped it around her body. Disgusting as it was, it had to be better than showing her bare ass on the streets if she was going to try to make herself invisible. She had to make this quick so she could take cover and stay out of view. She ran to the phone box and opened it up. Thankfully, being good with numbers, she remembered the alpha’s from when she called him before. Her eyes searched the road as the phone rang.

  “Come on, pick up.” She tapped her foot as she was impatiently waiting

  “Xeon here.” He answered the phone after three rings.

  “Xeon, it’s Mara. I need help,” She whispered into the phone. “I’m in danger. I found out what happened to your pack mates.” She paused. “Are you listening to me? I know who has the shifters.”

  “How do I know you’re not messing with me? I waited for you for over an hour.”

  “I have a good reason, but I need to hurry up and get off this phone. I’m in trouble. Will you please come and get me? I promise I’ll explain everything. I know what’s happening to the shifters.”

  “Fine, where are you?” His voice was curt and to the point.

  “I’ll be on Calhoun Street, down the alley just after Franklin.”

  “Down an alley? You better not be fucking with me. You better be there.”

  “I will be,” she promised. “Oh, and bring a shirt please.” She hung up before he could ask any questions.

  She dashed down the alley and hid behind the dumpster where she found the blanket. A wooden pallet leaned against the brick building. She laid it down flat and sat, waiting for him to show. Every time a car passed, she leaned forward to see if it was him. Thirty minutes later, an SUV turned into the alley and stopped. The headlights flashed once, and she knew it had to be Xeon.

  She stood, then realized she didn’t want to hang on to the dirty blanket any longer. The odors coming from it was making her ill. A new confidence in her body, one she’d never had in the past, filled her. She threw the blanket back into the dumpster and held her head high before she marched out from behind the dumpster. The lights shone brightly, putting her body on display. Him being a man, surely, he’d seen plenty of naked women. Why would she be any different? Besides from what she understood, shifters were used to being naked around each other. She walked close to the SUV, then noticed someone sat in the passenger seat.

  Chapter Five

  When Xeon and Kyro pulled into the alley, he’d thought there was no chance the doctor would be there alone at this time of night. There wasn’t any sign that anyone had been here. He flashed his headlights once to see if that would get her attention.

  “Do you think it’s a trap?” Kyro asked, shifting his position in the passenger seat.

  “Maybe we’re on the wrong side.”

  Just as Xeon turned to look behind them, movement in the alley caught his eye. Mara stepped out into the beam of the headlight. Seeing her beautiful, totally naked body caused Xeon to glance at Kyro.

  “She looks so in control,” Xeon said.

  At the same time Kyro said, “Dibs.”

  He watched her head toward the SUV. Xeon raised his brow at his beta. “In your dreams.”

  “Oh, come on.”

  “I really hope I don’t have to beat your ass over a woman. You may be a little taller, but I definitely have more brains and finesse.”

  “Can’t you just share your toys?” Kyro smirked. “Your mom did teach you to share your shit, didn’t she?”

  “I’m pretty sure I failed that lesson when it comes to my mate.” He watched Mara glance at the passenger seat then walk around to his side.

  Xeon unlocked the doors when Mara put her hand on the back door handle. She jumped in, making no motion to cover up. He enjoyed her confidence while he was trying not to stare. He noticed something different about her. She didn’t seem the same as in the photos he found online.

  “Why are you naked?” Xeon twisted around in his seat and handed her one of his shirts. “Where are my pack mates? And what happened to your eyes?”

  “What’s wrong with my eyes?” she asked, pulling the shirt over her head.

  Kyro turned to her once she’d put the shirt on.

  “Weren’t your eyes green?”

  “They are green.” Mara insisted.

  “No, they aren’t.” Xeon adjusted the rearview mirror so she could take a look.

  Mara leaned forward for a better look, and her eyes widened. “What happened to my eyes?”

  Xeon frowned. “Where are my pack mates?”

  Kyro slapped his shoulder. “Give her a moment, bro.”

  Mara blinked her gorgeous eyes at him. He loved these new eyes. He wasn’t going to complain. The emerald green that used to be there was now golden amber, captivating, drawing him in. They were the ey
es of a shifter, yet she’d been human, hadn’t she? He took a deep breath and could tell something had happened; she didn’t have a human scent. He stared into her amber eyes when he heard a soft purr come from deep in her throat.

  “Sorry.” She cleared her throat, stopping the purr, and sat back in the seat. “I’m naked because apparently when I shifted, the hospital gown I wore magically disappeared.”

  “Shifted?” Kyro asked. “I thought you were human.”

  “I’m, well, I think I am. Or was.” She glanced down and wrung her hangs.

  Xeon reached back and placed his large hand over her small delicate fingers. “You’re safe now.” He assured her. “I just need to know where my pack mates are.”

  She shivered. “I’d really like to leave this place. I’ll tell you everything I know, just please, get me out of here.”

  He nodded. “I’m taking you back to the compound. You’ll be safe there from whatever is going on. Rest now and tell us what is going on when we arrive.”

  “Compound?” she asked while she settled into her seat.

  “It’s a private community where my pack lives. It’s just outside of the city. You’ll be safe, I promise.”

  “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Just get me away from here.” She looked behind them as if she expected someone to pull up behind them.

  Xeon readjusted the rearview mirror and headed out. Mara laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Kyro looked back at her then to Xeon.

  “She looks like she’s been through hell.” Kyro communicated telepathically through their link, beta to alpha.

  “Let’s get her back and see what kind of hell she’d been in.”

  “Do you think she knows where the others are?” Kyro asked and looked back at Mara, sleeping in the back seat.

  “I fucking hope so.” He glanced back at the beauty in the rearview.

  Her head lolled to the side. Long black hair hung down in her face. A light purr sounded from her. Had he not had enhanced hearing, he wouldn’t have heard it at all.