The Beasts [Book 1]

CHAPTER TWO - Grace's monster

Grace stared down at the calendar. It was happening sooner than she wanted it to. She could feel whatever was inside her, it wanted out. Badly. She was short of breath, and felt uncomfortable in her own skin. "It's coming, I can feel it. I wonder how painful it'll be." She looked up at her boyfriend, looking scared. "I hope I can survive it."

"Of course we'll survive it. We're not going to war! Not yet, anyway. Heh." Her voice, who she'd named Vixen, snickered.

That only brought her a bit of peace, because Vixen was always like this. She didn't know what the hell to believe when it came to her beast.

"Just let me out. Get it over quickly. You get used to the transformation after a bit, so starting as soon as possible is the best idea." Vixen said seriously, and Grace attempted to relax. Fine, Vixen. I give you permission to... do whatever you're doing. She thought, and without a reply, pain exploded in her back. She let out a yelp and Jordan immediately rushed to her side, frantically asking what was wrong. "It hurts!" She cried out, but then the cracking came. One bone, one finger. Then all of her other bones. Spine, ribs, legs... the pain was excruciating and she had to bite down on a rag to keep from alerting any vampires to their existence.

"What's happening?!" Selene whimpered. "Will that happen to us?" Grace had gone limp as her body was reconstructing itself, but she was still awake. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were wide, pupils dilated.

"I think it will." Jordan shook his head helplessly. "I don't think there's any way around it." He stared down at his girlfriend, petting her hair as she slowly grew russet fur. It was another thirty minutes at least before the full transformation was complete.

"Hey! You're a fox—does that mean I'll be a snake?" Jordan joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Oh I can feel it! The time is close, Jordan! We'll be one at last. Man and beast, ready to fight side by side to become something greater." Slithers hissed, "just a few more nights, yes yes."

That sent chills down Jordan's spine but he didn't comment on it. Grace was resting her head in Jordan's lap, her breathing now steady. She wasn't up for moving just yet, but she had got through it.

"Vixen was fitting, was it? Maybe there's something in a name, yes. Razz, who knows what Razz will be. Ha." Vixen's "voice" was almost mechanical. Like she found her joke funny but was too much of a stiff to actually laugh.

"I guess I'm next." Selene's wispy voice broke them both from their thoughts. "We'll reach the peaks by sundown tomorrow."

"And maybe tomorrow, however much of the moon is left, will be the blood moon." Jordan shivered, "it was orange tinted last night."

"We'll have to hope so... or not hope so. I'm scared, too. But we have to get through this." Selene mumbled, and Grace suddenly pushed herself up, pressing into Jordan. Jordan let out a small yelp, but hugged her anyway.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Grace... but how do you return to your human self?" He scrambled around to gather up the clothing that she'd ripped and pulled off of herself as she shifted forms.

Grace looked thoughtful before more cracking was heard and she quickly grabbed her clothing from Jordan, pulling her shirt over her naked body. "Just think about being human again." She gasped out. "It wasn't too bad, now that it's over." She stood up and pulled on her undergarments and shorts, smiling weakly. "I feel a lot stronger and alert now, though! Like I'm ready for anything."