Beast - Chapter 4
Nosing briefly at the girl’s body, he stared down at her with the utmost contempt and distain, then rolled his eyes and turned to jump onto the porch, completely bypassing the feeble stairs and the teenager’s limp form and landing with a thump and a worrying creak. Shifting his position, he laid across the threadbare mat in front of the ruined door and glared down at his uninvited guest. She looked peaceful despite the fact that she was unconscious-like she was only sleeping, perhaps, even though he knew that wasn’t the case.
He’d had no intention of helping her out. If she was going to wander into the forest without proper protection, and she was stupid enough to disturb the bear, then she deserved whatever fate she met with. Even though he wasn’t there to see the initial chase, he’d heard her bumbling around for quite some time before he heard her path cross with the bear’s. Then she had run, like a true idiot, and the bear had given chase. Figuring she was dead anyway, he’d turned away and curled up tighter in his bed, his bones aching from the nearness of the full moon. That, he’d figured, was that.
Only it wasn’t. She had come closer and closer to his house, and had brought the bear with her, and that was not okay with him. He didn’t like other predators so close to his den, and even if he didn’t want to get between the creature and her meal, he knew she wasn’t going to stop now until she had the weak human pinned beneath her no matter where she was. At least she didn’t have cubs to protect, or else it would have been worse. Rather than deal with a home invader who didn’t care what she wrecked, he’d waited until the last possible second and then, cursing the idiocy of humans and everything they stood for, he’d jumped out to protect his home. And he had.
Later, he would find the bear and hash things out with her so that she knew to never come near his den again. He didn’t care at all if she remained on his territory, because he was willing to share his forest with the other predators so long as they knew that it was ultimately his forest, and therefore he was in charge here.
The cut above his eye had scabbed over nicely, so he didn’t bother trying to clean the blood away. It would get washed away the next time it rained, hopefully. His healing ability couldn’t be defined as supernatural, but he still healed faster than the average human, or animal, so by then the cut would be gone and he wouldn’t be annoyed by the slight stinging sensation that was irritating him right now.
A soft groan from the teenager was met with an unimpressed stare from him. The girl couldn’t stay here. He’d drag her to the edge of the forest, perhaps, and leave her to find her own way home. Or maybe he’d only take her far enough away from his home for his own peace of mind, and then he’d leave her for the foxes or maybe even the bear if she decided to come back. That meant that he’d have to touch her, though, or at least her shirt, and he wasn’t looking forward to that at all.
“You should have stayed home, you stupid thing,” he grunted. Nevertheless, he hauled himself to his feet with a well-repressed wince and shook himself off as if that would shake the pain away as well. He always ached a few days before the change, and it was something he doubted he would ever get used to. “Let this be a lesson to you, and never again go where you are not wanted.”
Stepping down the four steps between his porch and the ground, he bent his head to gather a mouthful of the girl’s thin shirt to lift her. As his face got closer to hers, he inhaled naturally and brought in her scent, and then paused with his mouth half open. His eyes narrowed and he sniffed again, more deeply this time. Something wasn’t right. Abandoning all pretense of modesty, he shoved his nose under her jaw and snuffled wetly. He smelled hints of lavender and cherry, and other flowery fragrances, but beneath all of that was the deeper, natural musk of a young male. Did this human have a mate? It wasn’t a trace scent, though.
Curious despite himself, he kept sniffing. His nose traced a wet trail down the slender throat and nosed under the hem of the girl’s collar. He bumped the swell of a bra cup and his ears flattened; his brow furrowing as he prodded at it and didn’t feel anything that made him think of a female’s breasts. In fact, without the bra there to create the shape, he guessed that the girl’s chest would be as flat as his own was when he was in his human body.
Continuing his investigation, he sniffed the teenager from head to toe, and got his definitive answer when he moved to the groin for a good sniff and bumped genitals that were definitely male in nature. Rearing back, he sneezed violently, his lips curling, and wrinkled his nose as he tried to recover.
Naturally, that was when the teenage boy on the ground woke up with a jolt. Wide green eyes stared up at him, and pupils ringed by hazel shrank to the size of pinheads before blowing out in terror. “Oh my god,” the boy moaned weakly, and the sudden stench of fear was enough to incur another bought of sneezes.
“Knock it off,” he barked, shaking his head to try and clear his nose before giving up and stalking to another part of the clearing that didn’t reek. Sitting on his haunches with a loud thump, he glared at the trembling human. He could still smell the sour tang of terror. “If I wanted you dead, I would have let the bear kill you. Just, seriously, stop it.”
The boy scrambled backwards in the opposite direction, rucking up his skirt somewhat and showing off long, pale legs before his face turned bright red and he closed his knees and yanked the fabric back down. Snorting at the fumbled try for modesty, he glared off to the side and beat his tail angrily against the ground. “Why are you here?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw the boy tilt his head. His voice, when he spoke, was soft and could easily be mistaken for feminine. “I was being chased by a bear.”
“Not what I meant,” he snapped, and he felt a vicious sense of satisfaction when the teenager flinched at his harsh tone. “What are you doing in my forest? Especially dressed like that?” No one in their right mind went for a walk through the forest looking like that. It was just asking for trouble. It wasn’t like he even cared, really. The faster the boy left, the sooner he could go back inside and try to sleep. Humans were stupid, though. They assumed that if they did something once, they could do it again. It was very likely that the boy would come back unless he gave him a good reason to stay away.
The boy tucked his legs underneath him neatly and fussed with his skirt until he had it arranged in a way that was apparently acceptable to him. Then he folded his hands in his lap and looked up, trying to be brave but ultimately betrayed by the tremble of his chin. “I was out for a walk, and wandered into the forest,” he replied in his soft, melodious voice. “What are you doing here? Do you actually live here? Of course you do, look at the state of your fur. How is it you can talk?”
All of the sudden questions left him reeling, and, when coupled with the persistent ache all over his body, made him angrier and more defensive. “What does it matter?” he spat. “Leave. Now. Don’t come back.” Deciding to end the conversation there, he stood up stiffly and began to prowl back to his home. Maybe if he went inside, the boy would get the hint and leave.
No such luck. The boy did stand up, but before he could feel relief he realized that the young man was following him. How old was the kid, anyway? He looked so young, especially with his rounded, soft face, but he had to be at least fifteen or sixteen. Were they the same age? It didn’t matter, in the end. He wasn’t looking for companionship, or a tag-along. Whirling around, he bounded right up to the teenager until his face was in the human’s, and made himself look as wild and vicious as possible. He even bared his fangs for extra effect, and felt the saliva dripping from his lips.
“Go. Home.” He enunciated each word clearly; his voice a low, dangerous rumble, and was rewarded for his efforts when the boy backed away so quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. “You aren’t welcome here. Get out.” With his message delivered, he turned and walked up the old, weak steps. No footsteps followed after him, so he was fully prepared to go back inside and listen to the defeated teenager return to his own life.
“What’s your name?”
Rolling his golden eyes heavenward, he cursed the god his parents had unsuccessfully tried to make him believe in. He hadn’t even gotten fully inside. His tail wasn’t even past the threshold. It lashed to show his displeasure, and he glared back over his shoulder. Without any electricity to light the house, the inside was thrown mostly into shadow, so his eyes glowed in the murky darkness.
“I don’t have one. Why haven’t you left yet?” The last thing he wanted to do now was touch the little pest. He was probably heavier than he looked, and would just end up making him even more sore than he already was.
The teenager had stood up, and was brushing off his skirt now. Did human males actually wear skirts? His father never had. Then again, his mother hadn’t worn them, either. Was this some new kind of thing? Was it a new thing to be one sex but look like the other, too? Humans were a weird bunch, that was for sure.
“Everyone has a name,” was the response he was given. Growling in frustration, he swung back around and sat in the doorway, glaring at the intruder. He tried to make every inch of his posture project GO AWAY, but apparently the message was not received, because the boy kept talking. “You know English,” he pointed out. Apparently he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, because he kept dropping them to his sides and fiddling with his skirt, only to bring them back up and straighten his top before lifting them even higher and running his fingers through his hair. “If you know English, then that means you’ve had at least some contact with people before. Your parents, maybe? They had to have given you a name.”
“And if I had parents, what makes you think they cared enough to give me a name?” This whole conversation was hitting some nerves he really didn’t want touched. It was making his hackles bristle, and raising the hair all down his spine. “What kind of parents would want to stick around when their kid looked like this?”
That narrow, pert little chin lifted, and he sensed a stubbornness that was almost admirable, if it didn’t piss him off so badly. Snarling in response to the silent challenge, he threw himself off of the porch again and got in the brat’s face, and he did something that he rarely did anymore-he stood up on his hind paws. It made him much taller than the slender teenager, who had to tilt his head back and even take a few steps away in order to look up at him properly. Those hazel-and-green eyes widened, and he heard the soft swallow in response to his appearance. Good, let the little child be afraid. He should be afraid. He should be downright terrified and running for his life from the salivating jaws that could end his miserable, wretched life in one bite. The scent of fear was almost overpowering now, but instead of being repulsed by it, he reveled in it and took another step closer.
“Everyone is loved by someone,” the teenager whispered, his words barely audible. His big eyes were shimmering, as though he were holding back tears. “No matter what you look like, or how you think you look, someone out there has to love you. If they didn’t, you would be dead.”
Dropping back down to all fours again, he stalked around his prey in increasingly tighter circles until his fur was brushing over smooth, soft, unblemished human skin. “Is that so?” he purred, his words like silk and daggers. “And who out there loves you, little human? They must love you an awful lot, for you to dress like this for them.” Biting at the rippling skirt, he pulled on it just for the satisfaction of watching the boy try to tug the material out of his mouth. “Perhaps your mate is attracted to your feminine features, but nothing else? Or maybe your mother, or father? They love you enough not to drown you in the river, but instead dress you up as their pretty little doll? How adorable.”
A muffled slap echoed through the sudden silence. The boy stumbled back, hugging his hand to his chest. His cheeks were still dry, but his eyes were even wetter than they had been a moment ago. “I’m sorry your parents hurt you so badly.” His voice was thick, and his words trembled as badly as his body. “What they did was wrong. Just because they hurt you, though, doesn’t give you the right to hurt others.”
“No one is forcing you to stay and listen to me.” Bite him. Tear him to shreds. Rip out his judgmental tongue and carve out those sympathetic eyes. Those eyes were infuriating. They watched him, pitied him, as if the harmless little imp could possibly know what his life was like. They begged without words for him to open his soul and spill out his secrets. Furious, he let loose a bellow and slammed his skull into the boy’s chest, knocking him down and forcing the air from his lungs. He stood over the gasping, coughing human, his saber-like fangs just an inch from scratching that soft, innocent cheek. Still, those eyes pierced through him.
“Get out of my forest,” he growled, stepping back finally and watching with narrowed eyes as the teenager scrambled to his feet. “Don’t ever come back. If I see you again, even a foot inside of the trees, I will kill you. I will make you regret every miserable nanosecond of your useless, pathetic life.”
They stood in tense silence, regarding each other, and then the boy whirled around and ran away. His chestnut-brown hair streamed out behind him, and his feet moved so quickly they almost looked blurred. The beast stood, unmoving, until he was out of sight, and then until he was out of the forest, before he finally turned and vanished into his den. Fury still ran hotly through his veins, so he dug his claws into the rotten carpet on the ground floor and ripped it up in dusty, disgusting strips.
Miserable, wretched creatures, coming where they weren’t wanted. They should keep their weak little noses out of places where they weren’t welcome. No one asked that boy to wander into his domain, and then speak his feelings at him. He had no use for such garbage. He’d been doing just fine on his own, ever since he chased his parents away.
He didn’t need anyone.
Likewise, who out there needed a nameless beast? No. He paused, panting from the force of his anger, and glared down at the ruined floorboards. Not nameless. His parents had given him a name. They had at least done that much for him.
But if he had a name, then what was it? And why did that boy care?