(Discontinued) When the Wolves Howl | Teen Wolf

Chapter 13

Iris was startled awake without explanation. One moment she was asleep, the next she was staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. At first, she couldn't remember where she was or what happened that led to her sleeping in a bed that was not her own. Panic flooded her body, numbing her fingertips and causing her heartbeat to raise. She shot up in the bed, breathing getting heavier the longer she didn't remember.

Her eyes darted around the room, looking for signs of trouble but when she found none she was reminded of where she was: a motel that offered cigarette-smelling towels, broken showers, and lumpy beds for tired girls to have fitful periods of sleep on. Iris heaved a sigh and got out from under the covers. From what she could tell, or rather from what she couldn't hear, Allison had finished her shower and left the motel room, leaving Iris by herself. Resentment flared in her chest before it fizzled out: she didn't have the energy to be mad.

Iris ran a hand through her hair then rubbed at her dry eyes before heading to the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror, she was met with purple circles under tired gray eyes. Chapped lips formed a disgruntled frown, surrounded by a mess of blonde hair sticking every which way. In an attempt to brush the sleep from her face, she ran the faucet and scooped water onto her face.

Something felt wrong when the cool water in her hands met her face. It was... stickier than normal. Iris frowned, cracking open her eyes to see what was different.

She was met with the vision of blood dripping down her skin.

With a hoarse scream, she jerked backward, putting distance between herself and the red liquid flowing out of the faucet head. She looked around for a towel, practically lunging for the gray one on top of the toilet when she saw it. With shaking hands and shallow breaths, Iris got rid of every last drop of blood from her skin.

When she was done, she threw the towel into the corner of the bathroom, expecting it to be stained with the dark liquid. Instead, she was met with shades of gray.

Iris whipped her head around to look at the faucet and saw clear water. Her face in the mirror was devoid of any harsh reds, only the subtle blush that meant she'd scrubbed too hard.

"What the hell..." she said to the mirror, watching her reflection say the words as well.

Her stomach rumbling loudly interrupted the silence that had settled over the bathroom. She absentmindedly ran a hand over her stomach through her t-shirt, thinking of the quick breakfast she'd had before she left to catch the bus. It had been a while since she'd eaten last but she remembered briefly glancing at a vending machine on their way into the motel. She stuck a hand into her jeans pocket and felt a stiff piece of paper that she knew was a five dollar-bill she'd stuffed in there before she left.

The sound of people shuffling into the motel room made her freeze. It was three people, three different heartbeats that joined the chorus of her own in her ears. She immediately recognized the voice coming through the door: Lydia, Allison, and Stiles. Her heart began to race in her chest and despite the nightmare that had occurred no less than five minutes ago, she couldn't feel it in herself to leave the bathroom.

"Last time I saw Scott act like that was during a full moon," Allison was saying.

Stiles responded quickly, "Yeah, I know. He was definitely a little off with me too. Actually it was Boyd who was really off. I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."

"See, it is the motel. Either we need to get out of her right now, or..." There was the sound of a drawer opening and then something rustling before Lydia said, "Someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP, before the werewolves go crazy and kill us."