Under Her Skin(6)
Author: Jeaniene Frost

Daniel smiled slightly. "You smell like fear again, Marlee, but I’ve already told you – you have nothing to be afraid of."

"That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen," I replied, glad my voice was steady even though I was shaking inside. "How do I even know I’m talking to you? It might just as well be the wolf."

"It’s both," he said at once. "Always. And you still don’t need to be afraid."

Yeah. Sure. Considering it might be me shifting into an animal in a couple weeks. From where I was sitting, I had plenty to be afraid about.

"I want to go home."

Even as I said it, I knew it was useless. But it was true—so true that the very words ached.

"I’m sorry for what brought you here. But even if you left and never told anyone about the pack, think of your family. You’d hurt one of them, Marlee. You wouldn’t mean to, but you’d do it."

Ice crept up my spine. "What are you talking about?"

He inclined his head. "Your ankle."

I looked at it. It was still wrapped in a cast, same as before. What…?

It hit me. When I’d walked to the door from the bed minutes ago, I hadn’t been limping, hadn’t felt a twinge of pain. The ugly scratches and cuts were also gone.

"Your ankle isn’t broken anymore," Daniel confirmed, sympathy etched on his face. "And there isn’t a mark on your skin, which would be impossible…unless you were one of us."

Chapter Five

The lights from the street seemed to pale in comparison to the moon, which shone like an ominous bright hourglass in the sky. I looked up at it and shuddered. When it reached fullness, I would change into something not human. The thought was still as unbelievable as it was horrifying.

All the residents of the town were in the streets. I did a mental head count and came up with forty, maybe fifty people. The ‘pack’, Daniel called them. My new family.

I thought I might throw up.

There was a slight commotion as a dozen people came from the far end of town. I recognized one of them and flinched, but Daniel laid a light hand on my arm.

Even though he was a virtual stranger, the gesture calmed me. It shouldn’t, of course. Daniel was dangerous, but somehow I sensed he’d defend me against the man being led to the middle of the street.

I’d only glimpsed it right before passing out, but still, I’d know that face. When someone tries to murder you, it makes an impression. Not to mention that Gabriel was the only person here with one eye. His dark brown hair hung in strands around his face, and he was naked. What was it with these people and their lack of clothes?

Joshua stepped out from the crowd. At least he was still dressed. "Gabriel Thompson, you have been found guilty of infecting a human against their will."

"It’s not the full moon," Gabriel snarled, trying to pull free of the two men who held him. "How do you know she will turn?"

Joshua looked my way. Daniel grasped my hand and led me forward. I didn’t want to get closer to Gabriel, but thankfully, Daniel stopped after a few feet. The blond doctor stepped out of the crowd.

Gabriel shot me a look of pure hate. Instead of scaring me, it strengthened the momentary wobble I’d had in my knees. I’d never done anything to him, but he’d ruined my life. If anyone had a right to hatred, it was me.

I put my shoulders back and matched his glare. Daniel gave me an approving nod.

"Diana," Joshua addressed the blond doctor. It was the first I’d heard her name. "You

examined Marlee yesterday. What did you find?"

"Her right ankle was fractured," Diana recounted in a clinical voice. "She had multiple abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and puncture wounds on both her legs, plus a deeper wound on her right arm."

Joshua swept out a hand to me. "Look at her now."

I could almost feel the eyes raking over me, taking in my skin revealed by the short sleeved shirt and rolledup pants I was wearing. Both were too big, since they were Daniel’s. My own clothes had been bloodied and ripped up in the attack, so they were no good. I didn’t ask about what happened to my backpack. Seeing it again would remind me too much of everything I’d lost.

"She is completely healed. There is the proof," Joshua stated flatly. "Gabriel, your sentence is death."

Gabriel was released. He looked around in defiance, and I saw some people bow their heads, wiping at their eyes. Was his family here? I wondered. Daniel’s was; I could see his mother on the opposite side of the street. How awful for Gabriel’s family, even though I still didn’t pity him.

"I die, but the rest of you will follow," Gabriel hissed. "I’m only giving out the same mercy our kind has been shown. I refuse to be ashamed to hunt those who kill us."

His words had barely died away when a shot rang out. I jumped, sucking in a breath as a gory crimson hole bloomed on Gabriel’s chest. His eyes went wide, then he let out two harsh, labored breaths before falling to the ground.

Somebody sobbed. Joshua’s face was grim as he lowered the smoking rifle.

"We only hunt to eat what we need to survive. We will never be like them," he stated.

Seeing someone die from a gunshot wound was nothing like in the movies, either. No, it was horrible in ways I couldn’t even begin to describe.

"Never be like whom?" I asked Daniel. My voice was dull from shock.

He didn’t look away from Gabriel’s twitching, bleeding form. "Humans."

***

I didn’t stay to watch the five men run the gauntlet. I’d already seen things that would be burned on my memory, no matter how I’d try to forget them. Daniel took me back to his cabin. He made coffee in silence and handed me a cup. It tasted like it was laced with something alcoholic, which I was grateful for.

Occasionally, I’d hear shouts coming from the direction of the town. The gauntlet was a noisy business, it seemed.

"Gabriel’s wife," I said after the minutes stretched. "Joshua said a member of the pack was upset because his wife had been killed. That was Gabriel, right? Did…did hunters kill his wife?"

Daniel sat across from me, resting his elbows on the table as he drank from his own cup. The lighting in the kitchen reflected off his hair, making the russet color look richer.

"Yes."

"But why hurt me?" I wondered. "I was camping, not hunting wolves!"

A sigh rumbled out of Daniel. "Gabriel wasn’t being logical. Neither were the others with him. The pack has been going through a hard time since the laws were changed."

"What laws? No one even knows about werewolves; it’s not like it’s open season on them."

"Gray wolves were taken off the endangered species list a few months ago," Daniel said, his expression hooded. "The government did it knowing what would happen. Before the ink was dry, scores of wolves were killed. They’re trying to eliminate all wolves again. What Gabriel did was wrong, but I know what drove him to it. You can’t understand what it’s like, having people try to wipe out your very existence."