The Animal In Me

Dark One

I hear Sam's voice in my head. "Us werewolves have telepathy. So we can talk to other members of the pack or other wolves even if they're a long ways away." "Okay. Where do you think Alec would've gone?"

"There's an old shack deep in the Woods. Me and him go there a lot to fight." I growl at him. "No, no. It's practice, Em. I swear." I huff and let him run ahead.

After about thirty minutes, we reach a run down shack. "Y'all fight HERE? It looks like it'd come down if you even breathed inside. Y'all are stupid." Yeah, I say y'all a lot and ain't, but I'm not country. I just say those things.

Sam's tan wolf glares at me. "Yeah, well...It's good practice. We gotta dodge falling pieces of wood and shingles." "Whatever. Is he in there?" I smell something....musky and sweet.

I take a deep breath. Sam growls. "Someone's here." I step forward. That scent.....oh it smells wonderful. I step into the small shack. "Em! Get back here! I don't know who's in there!!"

I'm not even listening to him. I look around the tiny space and my eyes land on a man. He's naked, lying on his side, bloodied. I pad over to him. I hear Sam snarl at me, and jump in my way.

"Get. Out. Of. Here. Em. Now." I bare my teeth. "He's hurt. We gotta help him." The man stirs. He rolls onto his back. Sam heaves and turns away. I cringe at the view, but step closer to look at the man better.

His eyes snap open and I jump back. He groans. I glance at Sam, sitting in a corner, glaring at me. "How do I turn back?" He shakes his head. "You don't wanna do that. You'll be naked."

I huff. "Just tell me how." "Fine. Just will yourself to become human again. It'll work." I try. When I open my eyes, I'm crouching down, nude, like Sam said. I tentatively touch the man's face as he closes his eyes again.

His eyes pop open, one a weird mix of black and gold, and the other a bright green. He looks at me. "Wh-who are you?" "I'm Ember. Who are you?" "I'm...Malleroy."

Malleroy blinks and both of his eyes turn bright green. I cock my head, looking into his changing eyes. "Why are you staring at me?" "Oh. Sorry. You're eyes....they...."

"Oh. Yeah. They do that." "Why are they both different? One is green and the other is black and gold." He just shakes his head and sits up. "I need clothes."

He looks me over. I try to cover myself. "You do too. Why are we naked....together?" I glance at Sam. He walks over to us. I hear his bones snap and come back together as he turns human. I shudder.

Ew. That sounded nasty. "We, me and her, are wolves. I know you're something, but I don't care enough to ask. C'mon, Em. Let's go find Alec."

Malleroy's head snaps to me. "Is he a little brown headed kid?" I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah....why?" "I saw him a while ago. There's a pond further in the forest. He might be there. I can show you."

I nod. "Thanks." Malleroy grabs my wrist. "The pond is guarded by other creatures, Ember. We'll have to be careful." Sam stands over me. "She'll be fine. Em, get up. There's some clothes over here." I stand, using my hands to cover up.

Sam holds out a small, tight looking t-shirt and some small shorts. They both fit perfectly. "How did you know my size?" He laughs. "Those are mine and Alec's old clothes from when we were little."

"Oh." Malleroy stands next to me. "Do you by chance have shorts for me?" Sam glares at him. "Yes. Here." Malleroy takes the shorts and slips them on. My gaze makes its way down his very muscular skin, lingering on his abs.

Sam clears his throat. I glance back at him. "Yeah?" He grabs my wrist and pulls me aside. "How do you know he can be trusted? What if he tries something on you?!"