Crystal sniffed and grunted as an acrid stench hit her with an almost physical force. “What is that?” She gagged.
“Nightshade,” Adrian hissed.
“Who’s out there!” one of the men called to them.
“Come on out, we don’t need any accidents in the dark,” another man said.
“Nightshade?” Crystal whispered to Hank.
He leaned close to her ear to muffle his deep voice and said, “Belladonna, a poisonous herb. That and wolfsbane are two things that can really mess us up.”
“Oh.”
Guntar glared at them until they stopped and then turned back to the group of men with lights. He squinted and stared forward, motioning to the others. “We’re looking for—looking for that boy right there,” Guntar said while pointing at Chad.
Chad stared at him for a long moment and then his nostrils flared and he sneered. He started to get up but one of the men moved and knocked him back down with his knee.
“He’s already been found,” a man holding one of the longer guns said. He wore a long jacket that looked too warm for the night. If not too warm, definitely too expensive to be stomping around the woods in.
“He hurt a girl,” Guntar said. “Hurt her pretty bad.”
“Hurt her? How’s that?” another man asked. This one wore an Arkansas Razorbacks baseball cap and matching sweatshirt. “Young girls, you know how they are. They get confused and can mess with a boy’s head. Yes and no, lines in the sand with these kids.”
“There’s a difference between yes and no,” Adrian said.
The man in the cap looked at Crystal. “You the girl? You look all right. Well, maybe a tussle in the creek here, but that’s not so bad. Pretty young thing, too. I can see why a young man could get fired up and have trouble hearing.”
“No, I’m n—”
Guntar glared at her and gave a terse shake of his head. He turned back to them.
“I’ll make it right,” the man in the long coat said. “Won’t be the first time I’ve had to take care of a situation my boy’s gotten a little too excited over.”
The man in the coat was Mr. Dixon, Chad’s father. The expensive coat made sense if he was the big-shot lawyer she’d heard about. “You son of a bitch,” Crystal blurted out. “He’s done this before?”
Mr. Dixon’s voice took on a darker edge. “Whoa there, little missy. A virtuous woman wouldn’t lead my boy on.”
“A virtuous woman wouldn’t run around with her tits hanging out and not wearing any shoes or underwear either,” the man with the cap added.
Hank stiffened while Crystal’s cheeks burned. She lifted her chin; now she didn’t dare back down. She knew Hank would defend her honor if she gave him the chance, but doing that might cause problems that couldn’t be undone. “Maybe I should just take it off then,” she growled.
Hank grabbed her arm in an attempt to calm her down. She glanced at it and then up at him. She was calm, but she gave him a nod to show that she understood the caution he was urging. It saved him face and kept the situation from deteriorating. Her actions also earned a chuckle from the man holding the pistol. If she had to lose a little face in front of these jerks, she could accept it.
“That’s right, it takes a firm hand to keep a woman in line,” Mr. Dixon said.
“Man fell from the grace of God because of a woman. Seems fit they want to remind us of the devil’s ways ever since,” the man with the hat said.
“Crystal?” Chad blurted. He looked up at her with wide eyes and started to rise to his feet. Lacking any pants, his virile interest in her was obvious to all of them. The man with the pistol put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. “Beth—your fault?”
Mr. Dixon frowned at his son’s broken words and turned on her. “You’re Crystal?”
Crystal nodded. “I am. He just raped my best friend!”
“Beth,” the man with the hat said. He shook his head. “Damn shame. That girl talked a good talk.”
“Who are you?” Crystal snapped.
“Robert Edgerton,” he answered.
“Oh my God,” Crystal breathed. She shook her head. “Do you know who—”
“Crystal, that’s enough,” Guntar barked at her.
He caught her gaze until she realized she was getting in over her head. Yes, the three men with her could do some amazing things and, maybe, so could she. But Chad was dangerous, even if he hadn’t fully changed. And the other three—Chad’s dad, Stephanie’s dad, and the other guy—were all armed.
The man with the pistol spoke. “How bad is she hurt?”
“Raped and beat up. Some scratches and bruises,” Guntar said. “Where I come from, that kind of thing has a price to be paid. A price in blood.”
“She wasn’t bit?” the man asked.
“Where are you from?” Mr. Dixon asked.
“Bit? That’s a funny question,” Adrian pointed out. “Why are you worried about that? Your boy got rabies?”
Mr. Dixon smirked. “Hardly,” he said before turning to glare at the man with the pistol.
“Let’s see how bad she is,” Mr. Dixon said.
Guntar stared at him and glanced at Adrian. Adrian gave a nod. “Crystal, head back and make sure she’s okay where we left her.”
Crystal opened her mouth to protest and felt the subtle pressure from Hank’s hand on her arm. She sniffed and glanced at Guntar and Adrian. The way they were standing, poised on their feet and ready to act, told her as much as the stink of anxiety and tension in the air. She nodded. “All right.”
Hank let go as she backed away into the woods. As soon as a few trees were between them, she turned and started moving as fast as she dared. It wasn’t fast enough. She wanted to throw herself forward and run on all fours. She reached down inside herself, trying to find something that made sense. She needed something to latch on to. Something she could grab and understand and use.
Instead, she ran, her feet dancing over the soft floor of the woods without regard for the sticks and stones she stepped on.
Chapter 6
Crystal slowed to a halt at the edge of the road and watched as Stephanie’s car drove off. She frowned and turned to stare across the road. Was Beth in the car or still lying on the ground? Had she been abandoned?
Crystal hurried across and crashed through the bushes, all thoughts of being quiet gone. She smelled Beth before she saw her and started to relax. When she stepped around a tree, she saw her lying on the ground with Gwen sitting cross-legged beside her and stroking her hair.
“Gwen!” Crystal gasped. “When did—no, where did Stephanie go?”
“We saw you in the woods and hurried back.”
Crystal turned and glanced into the dark woods behind her. She looked back. “But you’re dressed!”
“I said we hurried,” Gwen said with a smile. “Ember said one of the men was Stephanie’s father, so I stayed with your friend.”
Crystal stepped closer and knelt next to her. Beth’s torn pants were back on and her torn shirt was arranged to provide as much cover as it could. Stephanie had even retrieved Beth’s purse. “How is she?”
“Sleeping and hurt,” Gwen said. “Beyond that, I don’t know.”
“Is she, um, is she going to be okay?”
Gwen ran her fingers across Beth’s hair and didn’t answer.
Crystal glanced at Beth’s pants. The buttons were torn off and the fly was gaping slightly. Her underwear was gone, lost to Chad’s savage attack. “She said she wasn’t bitten,” Crystal said. “Does that mean she wasn’t like I was?”
“I don’t know,” Gwen answered.
“God, I hope she doesn’t get pregnant,” Crystal muttered. “That would destroy her.”
“Her life has been changed,” Gwen commented. “We won’t know how much until time passes.”
Crystal shivered. “This sucks.”
Gwen offered a sad smile. “You and Beth make me wonder what my life would have been like if I’d had children. I hope the
y’d be strong young woman like you.”
Crystal glanced at her. “You’re not that old, are you?”
Gwen smiled. “It’s not the age, sweetie; it’s what I am. What you are.”
Crystal gasped and felt a lurch in her belly. “Wait—I can’t have children?”
“Oh, we can—it’s just hard.”
“Why?”
“Every time we change, our cycle starts over,” Gwen explained. “Convenient—as long as you change once every month, you don’t need to worry about having a period. But if you do conceive a child and change, it won’t survive the shift.”
Crystal’s jaw hung open until she realized it and clamped it shut.
“Shifting rebuilds us,” Gwen said. “It keeps us young and healthy. If you catch a cold or a something worse, just shift and it will be gone.”
Crystal shifted her head as she digested the information. It sounded awesome. No more getting sick and no more cramps or worrying about always carrying spare tampons in her purse. She stiffened and glanced down at herself. Her dress was drying but it was stiff and scratchy from the dirt. She wasn’t looking at her dress; she was thinking about what was beneath it. Her underwear, also stiff with what she and Hank had done earlier. She knew she wasn’t in heat anymore, but she wasn’t on the Pill either. Something could have happened. Except now she didn’t need to worry about that.
Except she didn’t know how to shift.
A broken twig snapped her head up. She and Gwen both rose and moved to stand between Beth and the men approaching through the woods. Guntar led them through the darkness and stopped less than ten feet from them. Adrian and Hank moved to stand beside him while Mr. Edgerton and Mr. Dixon stepped up to Guntar’s right. The man with the pistol was nowhere to be seen and neither was Chad.
“Where’s Chad?” Crystal asked.
“He’s being taken care of,” Mr. Dixon grated. “He’s confused and sick right now. We’ll have a doctor see him.”
“What about her!” Crystal pointed at Beth. “She needs a doctor! Your son needs—”
“Crystal, that’s enough,” Guntar ordered.
Her words died on her lips and she took a step back from the power in his voice. She even dropped her head.
The two wealthy men stepped closer and looked down at Beth. Mr. Edgerton frowned. “I don’t see any proof of any—”
Crystal whipped her head up but Guntar beat her to it. “I saw it and so did my friends.”
“Relax, Robert,” Mr. Dixon said. “I’ll take care of things.”
Mr. Edgerton sniffed and nodded. “Then let’s get out of here.”
“What the hell do you mean, you’ll take care of things?” Crystal sputtered. She felt Guntar glaring at her but ignored him. “You can’t just take care of what he did to her! He beat her and raped her! She might be pregnant! She might—”
Mr. Dixon stared at her while Crystal shook her head and turned away. She clenched her hands at her sides while her arms trembled and her shoulders shook. She was furious and upset and a host of other emotions she didn’t recognize. She wanted to jump on him and push him into the ground. Along the way she’d bite him and punch him and rip his guts out. Maybe even pee on him when she was done!
Pee on him? Crystal shook her head. Where had that come from? She turned back around and saw everyone staring at her.
“Take her to a hospital,” Mr. Dixon said while reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a card and handed it to Adrian, the only man close to him and willing to take it. “Give them my card. I’ll pay for whatever she needs. Including any medication or procedures to make sure there aren’t any complications.”
“Complications?” Crystal scoffed.
“I’ll see to it that you’re compensated for any damages,” he added.
“What? I don’t want any money!” Crystal snapped. “We’re not even her family.”
“You’re not?” He scowled. “When she’s well enough she can speak to me then. Or her parents. Privately. We don’t need to ruin anyone’s life any further by letting word of this out.”
Crystal felt her nails digging into her palms.
“Someone will be in touch,” Guntar promised.
Crystal glared at him and then felt Hank pulling her around and away. She resisted at first and then turned. Behind her she heard the two men walk back into the woods.
“Follow them,” Guntar growled.
Crystal sucked in a surprised breath and turned to see Adrian push his clothing down and then shift into his lupine form. He darted into the shadows and was gone.
Crystal turned back to her stricken friend. “How do we get her to a hospital?” she wondered.
“Go and get her car,” Guntar said.
“I don’t—” Crystal stopped as her eyes fell on Beth’s purse. She stepped over and picked it up. Beth’s keys were clipped to a ring connecting the shoulder strap. She unclipped them and dropped the purse. “Can Hank come with me? These woods creep me out.”
Guntar nodded.
Hank stepped up to her and slipped his hand around her shoulders. Together the two walked out of the woods and began a quick walk to where Hank’s bike was parked. Crystal hugged her arms against herself. She wasn’t cold, in spite of the damp clothing. She was confused and angry. Why had Guntar let them get away? Especially when they outnumbered Mr. Dixon and Mr. Edgerton five to two!
There was more going on than they were telling her. She was going to find out and she was going to make it right, no matter what it took.
Chapter 7
“I’ll explain everything tomorrow,” Crystal repeated into her phone. “Just stay at home, okay?”
She waited a moment longer until Stephanie agreed and then ended the call. The last thing Stephanie needed was learning that her father had been in the woods that night. Crystal had a hunch that all their lives would have gotten a lot more complicated if Mr. Edgerton had known his daughter was there.
Crystal slipped her phone into her purse and glanced at the mirror to check on Beth. She was lying scrunched up on the back seat and appeared to be sleeping. Crystal slowed as she approached the entrance into the hospital’s emergency room on her right.
Hank rumbled along behind them on his motorcycle, refusing to leave her side. Crystal had another call to make but she wasn’t looking forward to it. She needed to get ahold of Beth’s parents. She turned in to the parking lot and decided it could wait until after Beth was checked in.
She drove into the circle drive of the ER and put Beth’s car into park. By the time she climbed out and circled around the car, Hank was at the door and opening it. Inside, the admitting clerk looked up from her desk and out at them. Crystal saw her frown and reach for the phone before she took over holding the door wide open so Hank could pull Beth out.
Crystal shut the door and then hurried to skip ahead of Hank. The automatic doors swooshed open, allowing her to dart in and grab a wheelchair. She spun it around so Hank could lower Beth into it. She whimpered and hugged her arms around herself, pulling her tattered shirt tight against her. Her eyes were closed but her cheeks had shiny trails of wetness on them.
Hank took over for Crystal so she could rush ahead to the clerk’s office. The woman put her phone down and peered past Crystal at Beth. “Is she critical?”
Crystal turned and looked at Beth. “Um, yes. I think so.”
The admitting clerk turned. “Liz, triage a young girl in a wheelchair, stat!” She turned back to Crystal. “What happened?”
Crystal saw a heavyset woman in scrubs step away from a counter and start in her direction. A moment later, the door that led into the emergency room department opened and she emerged pushing a cart.
“She’s been beaten up and raped,” Crystal said while watching the nurse.
“Who are you?”
“What? Me, I’m her friend,” Crystal said. “Crystal, sorry. My name’s Crystal Davis.”
“Well, Crystal Davis, can you fill out this paperwork for me?”
/> “Paperwork? Um, I guess. I don’t know much. I need to call her folks.”
“What happened?” Liz, the nurse, asked as she did a quick inspection of Beth’s visible injuries. She slipped a blood pressure cuff around her arm and clipped a plastic clip to the end of her finger.
“We saw her car parked and stopped to see if she needed help,” Hank said, repeating the story they’d agreed on. “Found her near the creek with some guy trying to finish her off. We scared him away and he ran. Couldn’t catch him. We wanted to make sure she was okay first.”
Liz stared up at Hank and blinked. She shook her head when the device measuring Beth’s blood pressure beeped. She swore under her breath and restarted it. She focused until she got the readings and jotted them down. She looked at Hank again and then glanced over at Crystal. The nurse did a double take. “Where are your shoes?”
Crystal glanced down away from the paperwork she was trying to fill out. Her feet were still bare. “Oh my God,” she muttered. “I lost them in the mud and the creek. Then I forgot all about them.”
“You know this girl?” the nurse asked.
Crystal nodded. “Beth Stenger. We’re friends.”
The nurse nodded and turned her attention to Beth. “Beth? Honey? I’m going to take you back into a room for some privacy while we check you out. You’ll be safe, I promise. Do you want your friends to come with you?”
Beth blinked and let her eyes dart to Crystal. They dropped to the ground again a second later and she nodded.
“Take that with you,” the admitting clerk said with a nod to the clipboard in Crystal’s hands.
Crystal stood up and walked over to stand next to Beth. She dropped her hand onto Beth’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I won’t leave you,” she promised.
Beth shuddered under her hand but didn’t say anything. Liz grabbed her cart and nodded to Hank to follow her with Beth in the wheelchair.
Claimed by the Beast Bundle Page 33
