Howl

Chapter 7

I screamed myself awake. My hand felt as though it was on fire. My ring, it was silver, and I was now a verified werewolf. I grasped my finger trying desperately to twist the metal ring free but it only turned my other hand too.

Frankie barrelled through the door. “What the-” His eyes zeroed in on my hand and he disappeared again. I could only hope he'd actually gone to get help rather then just back to bed.

I push back the covers on my bed and ran from the room, across the hall and into the bathroom. I turned to cold tap on full blast and shoved my hand under it. Anything to stop the burn.

The water ran red, the ring had burned through my skin.

“Whats going on?” Artem mumbled, appearing behind me.

“My ring.” I cried. “I can't get it off. It's burning!”

“Jash!” Artem barked.

His brother appeared at my side and pulled my hand from the water. Of course. He wasn't a werewolf yet, it wouldn't burn him. He grasped the ring between thumb and forefinger and twisted, skin came loose, but the ring didn't budge.

“I think I'm going to be sick.” I groaned.

The pain was enormous, searing, burning.

Pliers appeared before my eyes as I stared down.

“Cut through it carefully Jasha.” Frankie commanded.

“No!” I gasped. “You can't, it's special!”

“It's the finger or the ring Kim. You can't keep both.” He reasoned before turning back to Jasha. “Steady hands son.”

My hand shook as Jasha pulled it toward him and clamped the pliers around the circle of metal. The ring represented so many things. My parents .My home. My past.

Here it was before my eyes, cut in two. Broken.

The ring fell apart, tinkling softly as it hit the floor. Jasha swooped down to pick it up before any of the vulnerable could step on it. Frankie clasped my hand with gauze, absorbing the blood that was falling from the new wound.

“Artem call Kyle. He'll need to look at this.” Frankie ordered, pulling me to sit down on the rim of the bath. A good job because my head was spinning.

Artem nodded and left.

“Happy Birthday.” Jasha said half heartedly.

I groaned and buried my face in my uninjured hand. My stomach turned tumultuously. I wished I was still in bed.

The Doctor arrived twenty minutes later and Frankie helped me down the stairs to sit at the table as the tended to my hand. Everyone was awake by then, and my patching up turned into a spectator sport. Not something I approved of.

“Surely you're not that stupid that you didn't realise it would burn you.” Holly scowled.

I ignored her and focused on not vomiting all over the table.

“She forgot Holly, cut her a break.” Luke snapped.

Kyle pawed at my hand for a moment, twisting it this way and that. The ring had burned a away and entire ring of flesh. Bone was visible. The Edges of the wound were jagged and blackened, seared away by the silver.

“Can you sew it up?” Frankie asked, sitting on my other side.

“There isn't enough skin to sew it up, if I were to stretch it over then the skin would be too tight and she wouldn't be able to use the finger.”