TAMED | FREENBECKY

2

Freen startled awake, opening her eyes to stare at gray sky filtered through dark branches. A large rock dug into the bare skin of her back, and her whole naked body ached. Turning her head to the side, she exhaled shakily as she took in the grass and trees surrounding her. Two years without incident, and now here she was, waking up once again without any idea where she was or what she'd done the night before.

Stomach turning, Freen fought not to vomit. She closed her eyes and tried to filter through the meaningless jumble of memories that flitted through her mind. There was Renee, of course, and the loose rope. How scared she had been at the moment of transformation, and how quickly the fear dissipated as nature took over and conscious thought slipped away. But as for her night on the prowl, she had only flashes: the moon, dark city streets, and the trees her beast-self always sought out. She knew only that she was currently in West Gate Park, unless she had run very far indeed.

Freen steeled herself, then sat up, checking her body for evidence of the night's activities. Dirt and bits of leaves were stuck to her skin and in her hair, but she didn't detect any blood. At least not much. Freen studied a smear of crimson near her elbow. It was probably her own, though she couldn't find the source. That wasn't surprising—only a very recent wound would still be open. Along with the ability to shift form, Freen was capable of rapidly accelerated healing.

When her adoptive parents had found her the morning after her first uncontrolled shift, sleeping near the carcasses of the dead family sheep, Freen had been covered in blood. The sweet, pungent smell, so difficult to wash off her skin, stank like the end of childhood, like the severing of human ties. Since that day, her greatest fear was waking up with that scent in her nose again. That's what her whole routine was about, the charade she put on with call girls. She never wanted to harm another living thing. The absence of blood now, after a night out in the city, made her hope that her beast-self knew her human heart and had simply run free among the trees, hurting no one.

"Miss?"

Freen jolted at the sound of a deep male voice. Heart racing, she drew her knees to her chest, startled to see a dark-skinned man in a T-shirt and sweatpants standing on a walking path not fifteen feet away. Her senses were still heightened beyond normal, so he shouldn't have been able to surprise her like that.

The man held up his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?" He shifted his weight nervously, clearly uncertain about how to interact with a dirty, naked woman in public. Judging from the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, he was in the middle of a run. He kept his eyes locked on her face. "You look like you're in some trouble. May I help?"

"No, I'm fine." Freen grimaced at the foreign sound of her voice inside her head. It was always like this the morning after. She felt a strange disconnect with the body that had so recently betrayed her, not to mention the mind that withheld the details of what she'd just been through. "I'm okay."

"Do you...know where your clothes are?"

Freen exhaled, then shook her head. She knew exactly what the man thought had happened to her and realized that she wasn't likely to convince him otherwise. She didn't know what she would rather have him believer. "No. I'm not sure."

The man hesitated, then said, "I'm going to take off my shirt now. But I am not going to hurt you. I just want to give you something to wear, okay?"

Freen nodded, shamed by the kind gesture. Here this man thought she was a victim of assault, when in reality she'd been the baddest monster stalking the park last night. "Thank you."

Stepping closer, the man held out his shirt and scanned her body. He was obviously trying to be subtle, but she curled in on herself slightly. She couldn't imagine he would see anything that might give away her true nature, but the scrutiny made her feel vulnerable and unsettled.