(MxM) Tales Of A Shifter (P1) - The Meeting

Chapter 55 - Weak & Warm

Chapter 55

Brandon kept his breathing shallow, tried to listen only to his heart beat and the bodies in the room. He wanted to focus on Ezekiel, but he wasn't close enough, nor was he speaking. He was standing far back, standing rigidly like he were holding himself in place, but why Brandon didn't know.

He found that he wished that the Shifter was speaking or moving so that he could focus on that instead of the girl. But he couldn't.

So Brandon tried to focus on how cold he felt and the pain in his stomach.....anything to keep his thoughts off the pull within him.

The flame, the energy waking up, clawing at him like a sickly puppy. Like a heavy drum beat it thumped against his soul, reaching out, sensing. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't control it. But he understood what it was reaching for.

The Leopardess. Erin.

She was a beautiful young girl, as tall as Ezekiel and as stunning to look at as Glen, but like the rest of Shifters that Brandon had encountered he sensed the beast in her. An unnatural grace. A predator.

With her soft hazel eyes, brown hair, and heart shaped face. She looked more like an amazon to Brandon then a healer, but beyond that he sensed something in her. A spark of extra power. A small buzz of extra energy. And he wanted it. The flame inside of him wanted to consume it. He felt it flickering alive in his soul. Taking advantage of his weakness to resurface, to hunt.....to feed.

Brandon didn't know what the spark was that emanated all around Erin. It felt soft and weak and warm....and just what he wanted. But Brandon didn't want to risk the chance that he would do something horrible.

He knew that it wouldn't hurt her if he took the small bulb of energy off of her, nor would she feel it if he stole the excess energy away from her, but as tired as he was just then....as sick as Brandon felt; He didn't want to give into the power within him.

He refused to feed it. He despised it. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to starve it. He wanted to flame to die away as it had before.

So he held it down. But still the energy buzzed, just along the Leopardesses' fingertips as Erin spoke to him and began to remove the shirt that was soaked in his blood. The world swam in and out, all that mattered was the buzz, until his shirt fell away and he heard the young healer gasp in shock.

It took him a moment to realize that Erin was staring at his chest, at the scars that littered his torso. And Brandon forced himself to focus on her and what she was saying.

"Oh my god...." The Leopardess gasped and Brandon watched her look at Ezekiel. Her hazel eyes glanced about the destruction, and she flinched back as though she wanted to touch one, but didn't know if she should. "What happened to you?" Erin asked him.

Not planning to give an answer to that question; Brandon swallowed and tried to act like a normal person. "If....if it's too disturbing...." He said began barely putting his mouth to work. But Erin cut him off. She touched the bloody wound on his side gingerly almost like a ghost and slowly tapped around the abused flesh with her fingertips.

"No, It's not disturbing at all." She said. The shocked look in her eyes remained as she looked him over, but a genuine smile lit up her face. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised....and I'm just a little afraid that Ill hurt you. Are they still tender?" She asked him, looking like she wanted to pull her hand away instead of continuing to prod his side.

Still feeling cold, Brandon glanced over her head and found warmth in the eyes that captured his. Ezekiel watched him steadily from his spot a few feet away. His blue eyes glanced at the damage with neither shock nor empathy registering within them....just rage. And pain.