Under The Skin

C h a p t e r E l e v e n

© Amber Kalkes 2015

Song: "Control" By Halsey

C h a p t e r E l e v e n >

"Poppy!"

She doesn't hear the scream. All she hears is the sound of her heart in her ears. She hears the blood rushing through her veins. She hears the snarling of her wolf. She doesn't hear the call of her very scared and horrified sister.

"Oh my god she's going to kill her!"

She wants too. Poppy feels the urge to rip Laura apart. Her wolf wants it to. To see Laura, someone who has pushed them both over the edge too many times, bleed out under them. Poppy wants it too. At least she thinks she does. She can't see the difference anymore between her own desires and those of her wolf. Does she want Laura dead? She doesn't know but she knows that's where she's headed.

Poppy has been called many things over the past six years and none of it bothered as much as this. Its irrational for her to feel so attached to someone she doesn't know, let alone feel the murderous urge she does because of it but it can't be stopped. She doesn't know Nick much but she knows he is her mate and that's enough for her wolf and her to go for the kill. Laura has crossed a line that she didn't know existed but now she may be the one to pay the ultimate price.

"Stop," Another voice commands and this one has her wolf pausing but only for a moment, "Enough!"

She hesitates but before she knows what she's doing, Poppy's hands grip Laura's hair and she begins slamming her head into the ground. Laura has long been unconscious. Her face is bruised and bloody from Poppy's blow. Her hair is knotted and missing chunks. Her white clothes colored with her own blood. She's not dead, Poppy can hear her heart but she could be...oh so easily.

Poppy is ripped off of Laura and thrown across the clearing by the root of her braid. She falls to the ground with a thump and cries out when her back hits the base of a tree. Her hands claw into the cool hard dirt beneath her and she gets on all fours as a snarl breaks through her lips. She isn't her anymore but she isn't her wolf either. The moon still holds its sway and her wolf only has so much pull during this time of year. Still, it's a struggle for Poppy to keep herself in check. Even when faced with the punishment she has no doubt she'll receive.

"Poppy..."

"Rae stay back," Colton snarls as he stalks towards Poppy. He grabs her by the back of her neck and pulls her head back sharply by the back of her hair again, "Stand down!"

Poppy's wolf pushes against the restraints of her mind and a growl escapes through her lips. Colton bares his teeth at her and Poppy watches his eyes glow a powerful gold as they glare down at her. Poppy feels the urge to cower but her wolf doesn't get the message immediately. Instead she bares her teeth at him making Colton let out a deafening snarl that shakes not only Poppy but her wolf to their core.

"I am your Alpha," Colton growls out lowly, "And you will stand down or I will make you."

Poppy drops her eyes and blinks hard once. She feels her wolf pull back her presences in Poppy's mind as her eyes fade into their normal blue. Her body starts to shake, not from the need to shift but from the overwhelming shock going through her body. Colton, realizing her wolf has gotten the message, removes his grip from her neck and wraps his arm around her shoulders. He holds her close to his chest as she quickly breaks down into sobs.

"Laura!"

Poppy glances up to see a bare-chested man running through the group around the scene. He has dark buzzed hair; olive toned skin and light brown eyes that grown even lighter when they see a bloody Laura on the ground. He falls to his knees and grabs her up in his arms to put his ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. When he finds it he holds her close to his chest and seems to be whispering something to her before nodding at a few men nearby. The other men run off and suddenly those brown eyes narrow in on Poppy.