CHUPACABRA

Chapter Fifteen: The Interloper

Cade cups his hands around his mouth and makes a series of loud, squeaking noises. Forty recognizes it as a rabbit distress call. Suddenly, as if materializing out of thin air, three people emerge from the trees. There's two men and a woman, all varying shades and ages. Forty suddenly feels very nervous. A group this size can easily overwhelm her.

"Look what we picked up," Cade calls to the group, gesturing at Forty and Thirty-Seven. The others walk over and take turns inspecting them, pausing occasionally to scent the air.

"Where the hell are they from?" the woman asks. She's tall and thin, her face pale and eyes sharp. Dark, dark hair cascades over her shoulders in lank chunks. "They don't smell right."

"According to them they come from a place called Project Chupacabra," Missy says, her voice disbelieving. She breaks from her position behind Thirty-Seven to sidle up next to Cade. He pats her head affectionately, and Forty is stunned to see they look almost identical, if not for Missy's bright red hair.

"They look like Suckers," a large, broad man comments. He stands well over the crowd, but his face is oddly gentle and round. "Especially that one." He gestures at Thirty-Seven, who snarls in turn.

"Why did you bring them back here?" another man, seemingly younger than the rest, says harshly. "Look at the way she walks and talks. Looks like government for sure."

"Tell me again, Khal, when you've heard of stiffies using Suckers for recon?" Cade snarks. The other man cowers under the comment.

"No, he's right. Why did you bring them here?" the woman from earlier asks. She gets up in Forty's face, setting a clear challenge. Forty doesn't take the bait, but she does have to hold Thirty-Seven back with a firm grip on his shirt.

"I'm a little disappointed," Cade tuts. "I thought I laid our philosophy out plain as day to all of y'all. We always, always help a fellow Sucker."

"And you're sure they are?" Khal asks, looking suspiciously at Forty. She flushes under the accusation, unknowingly staring through him with a piercing gaze.

"She's more Chupa than all of you!" Thirty-Seven growls. "And she can prove it!" Forty whips around to glare at him. Now is not the time to start a fight.

"Oh, really? How?" Cade asks, not even trying to hide his interest. Forty's heart stutters in her chest.

"I can... let me bite one of you," she says, refusing to meet their eyes. "Anybody that has issues with their predatory form, I can fix that."

Cade looks at his companions. The large man seems unbothered, casually watching a monarch butterfly flit into the woods. The other two are not so calm. "Hmm, Kimi, let her bite you," Cade directs, pointing at the tall girl. She whirls on him.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she yells. "I'm not letting that freak bite me!"

"Well, you're the only one here with hunting issues. Those nasty veins you have make it hard to see, right?"

Kimi flushes, chastised. She reluctantly opens her neck up to Forty, who with little fanfare presses the vertebra to make her teeth descend. She gives a clinical bite to the woman, who makes it a point to keep all pained noises inside. Forty doesn't stop until she tastes that awful bitter venom. She chokes back the flood of memories in her mind, trying to remind herself that she's biting someone else, not Thirty-Seven. Kimi shivers around her teeth, gasping when Forty lets go. "What... what did you do to me?" she mumbles, sounding drunk.

"It's my venom. I'm the only one who has it as far as I know. I'm the only person ever born from two Chu— uh, Suckers," Forty explains, watching closely as Kimi shifts into her predatory form. She's astonished to see someone who has such a firm grasp of their transformation. Only Sixteen could do that at the compound.