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Holy shit what was I doing? My eyes flitted to the sides, but not for long.
A growl rumbled towards me, deep and menacing, but once again, I was too frozen in place to do the smart thing and run. Instead, I kept rattling off different names like I was reading from a list. Maybe I was just hoping to buy myself some time until I could figure out if I was really screwed or not.
The thing stepped forward, the sound of its footstep so loud and heavy that it vibrated the trees around us. My heart shot up into my throat, and I gulped thickly. Yeah, I was seriously gonna piss myself. Apparently, skinwalkers were a hard limit for me, because fuck…
Before he could come any closer, something moved in the trees. We both snapped our heads in that direction and watched as a pale white figure appeared through the brush, moving fast and low to the ground. The skinwalker pivoted, facing the approaching shape, stepping in front of me. I frowned at his admittedly very muscled back in confusion. Was he protecting me? I nearly snorted at the thought. He was probably just saving me for himself and making sure I wasn't snatched away by some other ghost or ghoul in these woods.
I peeked around his massive frame and sucked in a breath as none other than Chaos himself stepped into the light. I shivered in complete revulsion at the sight of all his spidery limbs, paper-thin pale skin, and the gaping mouth filled with black drool and rotting teeth.
“Not this guy again.” I groaned, and the skinwalker stiffened in front of me, as if he wanted to turn around at the sound of my voice, but he just kept his eyes on Chaos. “I liked this one a lot better as a gooey pile of flesh on my bedroom floor…”
The skinwalker snorted, and I stilled. Was that a laugh? Or maybe it was a warning. Either way, it was the first sound he’d actually made since showing himself. As I peered around him, I realized that Chaos wasn’t at all interested in anything we were doing. No, he was way too busy…playing like a fucking dog. He had something round in shape that he kicked and nudged at, rolling it across the mossy ground. Then he would leap into the air and catch it in his mouth before tossing it away again and running after it.
I literally scratched my head in bewilderment, watching this monster created from the deepest darkest depths of my nightmares playing like a happy little puppy through the trees without a care in the world. Cyn’s words echoed in my ear.“You killed my dog!”
I couldn’t help but laugh for real now, nearly doubling over with it. That was, until Chaos decided to kick the round ball thing towards me. It rolled to a stop at my feet, and as I peered down at it, I cursed, jumping away from the decapitated head that stared at me with blank, dead eyes.
My eyes bounced between Chaos and the head he’d been playing with like a toy ball. The worst part was that I immediately recognized the head. There was no mistaking that passably handsome, yet boring face that had smirked cockily at me from the other end of my dining room table. It was Chris the jackass lawyer guy, the smarmy smile wiped clean off of his face and replaced with a mouth that gaped in horror at whatever he’d seen in his last moments.
I must have lost my damn mind because the second I realized who it was, I nearly broke my toe as I kicked it back towards Chaos. The monster leapt into the air and caught the head in his mouth before shaking it back and forth violently, then running back into the dark tree line.
I stood there gaping at the spot he’d occupied, my mind spinning in all different directions. The skinwalker chose that moment to turn and face me again, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was making a decision. I looked up at him, and if I’d been wearing boots, I would definitely have been shaking in them. What was it about this thing that set me so on edge? If he was going to kill me, then he needed to do it right now, before I made myself look like an even bigger idiot.
* * *
That thing in the trees
The scentof her fear was overwhelming—so sharp and stark, it filled my nostrils and slithered through my body, urging me to go to her.
She was afraid of me, as she should be. I wanted her to be afraid. If she were smart, she would run for her life. I wanted to devour her, both flesh and soul. I wanted to peel back the layers of her to discover what hid beneath.
I'd been following the human for days, stalking her closely and learning her habits. She was an odd one, I'd admit—not like other mortals I'd come across, who were boisterous, loud, and insufferable. This one was content in her quiet melancholy, simmering in a cloud of rage that had been building for years.
Her light gray eyes were the color of the clouds overhead, and they widened at the sight of me as I stepped into the light. I didn't often show myself to the humans I hunted, but tonight, I wanted this one to see me. I wanted her to know that I'd come for her,andto see the face of the one who would end her life.
It was clear that she didn’t like Chaos much. After his impromptu interruption as he kicked around the severed human head, the woman looked a little green. I recognized the head as I was sure she had too. I’d followed the shadows last night as they made their way into town, tracking the scent of the human they hunted. They’d known I was there too, but hadn’t bothered to ask why I was sticking so close.
I didn’t know what the human had done to incur such wrath on this particular night, but it had taken hours for them to finish him off before they tossed his carcass to Chaos to play with. The human’s remains were scattered throughout my woods now, and I just hoped Chaos would be quick about cleaning it up before it started to rot and attract the humans.
“You still haven’t told me your name yet,” she said, pulling my attention to the fact that she now stared up at me, her gray eyes shining in the silvery moonlight. She was beautiful for a human, and that surprised me, as I normally didn’t care for such things while I hunted. “If you can't speak with words, can you at least nod your head?”
I found myself nodding once, unsure why I was going along with this strange interaction. What I should have done was pounce and devour her. Her life was now on borrowed time, but I couldn’t explain what stayed my hand, other than the fact that I found her amusing.
She tilted her head, and even though the gesture was meant to make me think she was calm and at ease, I knew she was anything but. Her heart was fluttering in her chest, and her hands were shaking in terror. “Do you even have a name?” she asked.
Did I have a name? Had anyone ever asked me that before? I shook my head no, and something in her eyes lit up at my coherent response, proving to her that I was more than some mindless monster.
She began to back away slowly, as if I wouldn’t notice, but I did. I could detect every single small movement she made with perfect precision, and if I wanted to, I could even predict what her next move would be. I’d been hunting her kind for centuries, and there was nowhere she could run that I couldn’t find and catch her.
Still, I allowed her to back up, inching away from me, but she just kept talking, babbling really. She was nearly twenty feet away from me now, but I didn’t bother to close the gap. I was curious about this human, and I wasn't ready to end her life just yet. Perhaps I’d pay a visit to Kazimir and coax some information out of him.
“I’m going to give you a name then,” she said, and my ears immediately perked up. It was my turn to cock my head. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, as if she was suddenly feeling brave. It made me want to chuckle, but I knew that the sound that would have come from my mouth wouldn't seem like a chuckle to her ears. She backed away faster and faster, until I could barely see the glow of her white hair through the trees. Then, her soft voice echoed as it traveled towards me, a new name rolling off her lips. “I think I’m going to call you Creature.”
Creature… I liked the sound of it, oddly enough. Creature was me, and I was Creature. When I looked back up, the human was gone, the scent of her fading into the darkness.
Iris
There was a voice on the wind that called to me. It was so fucking beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. I immediately wiped them away before sitting up in the dead of night, staring at the window while rain battered the shutters.
