The Steel Wolf

Chapter One: It's Rude to Stare

Shay stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the signal to blare white. A gang of motorcyclists sped by and she could have sworn that they were staring at her. She felt as if everyone around her was staring at her, at her eyes. The man with the fedora and the well-groomed mustache. The trio of teenage girls, giggling and whispering about who knows what, most likely her eyes. Even the baby babbling and gurgling in her carriage, grabbing at the air. 

Yes, she was sure that they were all looking at her eyes that revealed that she was not like them. It wasn't because her dark brown hair represented a bird's nest and her plaid shirt was tattered and her sneakers might as well be called flip flops and her face was decorated with patches of dirt and the tips of her nails were the color of death. She was convinced that it was because she was not even human; she was a Shifter and her gold eyes screamed that fact. (Little did she know that no one was even sparing a glance towards her. No one cared about another homeless person, obeying the laws of the road as she waited to cross the street. Her eyes weren't even gold, they were her regular milky brown.)

It took every fiber of her energy to not bolt across the street into the dark alley. When she finally reached it, she leaned against the rusty dumpster, its smell invading her nose. The smell of moldy bread and rotting Mexican food didn’t make her gag; in fact, it was almost welcoming to her. Same with the flickering dim light above her and the oily puddles of water. All of it reminded her of isolation, of being unknown to the world.

She released the breath she had been holding in. clenching her forehead and closing her eyes, she told herself that all the stares earlier were just her imagination. Yes, she was very aware that she was occasionally paranoid and that just made it worse.

A sweet baritone voice called her name from behind. She instantly knew who the voice belonged to. She opened her eyes and mentally cursed, noticing that everything in her vision had sharpened. That could only mean one thing: she was going to Shift soon.

“Riley.”

“Shay?” he repeated. “You okay?”

“Just peachy,” she said, her voice coming out strained as she felt the beast inside her stir.

She dared not turn around, in fear of what he would think of her and her topaz eyes. Of her and her lack of humanity.

“You haven’t been home in a while.”

Home? She almost laughed. She had not had a “home” for a very long time now and Riley’s apartment could hardly be called her home.

“I’ve been… busy.” That was a blatant lie. The busiest Shay had been these past few months involved digging through a dumpster much like the one she was next to right now.

“Right,” Riley said unsurely. “Well, you should come home soon. There’s someone I want you to meet.” He knew better than to question her words. It was a not-so-unspoken rule between them: she could leave the apartment whenever she wanted and he would not ask any questions as to what she did during her absence.

She released a heavy sigh, her grip on the dumpster loosening enough so that the metal would not bend. His honey-covered voice was distracting her thoughts of “Hey maybe you shouldn’t Shift in front of the man who thinks you’re a harmless homeless woman and not someone capable of ripping his throat out in a split second.” One thing was for sure: she was losing it and she needed to leave soon.

“I will,” she said briskly, her free hand moving to her stomach as power surged through her body. Along with her hunched back, she probably looked like she either had a terrible stomachache or she was in the beginning stages of giving birth.

“Hey, are you—“

“Yes!” she said a little bit too loudly, “I will go back in two days.” She took a step forward, ready to make a run for it. By now, there was a building strain on her bones as if someone was trying to break all of them at the same time.

“See you soon then.” He waited for a response and every second that passed was hell to her. Just leave, Shay repeated in her head like a mantra. Finally, the crunch of the gravel echoed and then faded in the alleyway.

Her feet started to move on their own. She no longer cared about the people looking at her like she was a freak. At that moment she only cared about escaping civilization and obtaining release from the growing pressure inside of her.

Even when she was miles from the city, she kept on running until she reached the depths of a quiet forest.

Quickly stripping her clothes off and falling to her knees, she waited for the pain. The pressure inside her eased slightly before a sickening crack vibrated through the air. Her left arm now hung in an unnatural way. Gritting her teeth, she cradled it with her unharmed arm before yet another pop occurred, signifying a dislocated shoulder. Her bones continued to break as she began screaming, no longer able to stand the immense pain. She watched as her nail grew into claws and black fur pricked out of her skin. And when the final bone snapped into the form of a new body, her world went dark.