SHIFT [H.S.]

ONE || CLAN

October

Harry

Crimson blood flows from the neck of another killed deer, the usual sickly sweet smell lingering over the small forest clearing.

Harry, eat a little. You need something in your stomach, Derek tells me. His voice rings through my mind as loud as chapel bells even if it was only a mere whisper.

I watch as he and Gabe tear off limb after limb with their canines, their muzzles coated with glistening red. My head shakes and I sit back on my hind legs, patiently waiting for them to finish their meal.

You might as well shift back if you're not going to join us, Gabe interjects as he looks behind himself at me.

I growl, my teeth slow to snarl. I don't bother saying anything back; these guys know not to push me when I've already made my decision.

The thought of hunting humans has crossed my mind a few times, only for the moral code of the Shifter regime to ring loudly in my ears at Derek's hand. I mean if they're in my way, I'm the stronger one.

I'd say the tables turned when humans were the ones bringing harm to us. Derek seems to forget that part of history and only sees good in those humans who are pure and clad in innocence. I see destruction and imperfection at every turn. That's why Shifters are above them.

Shifters understand one another and intend to keep honesty in all areas of interaction. We understand all the needs, urges, and appetites that come with the lifestyle. Ordinary people go on living their lives without a single grain of order and seek to destroy any chance of stability they have. That is why they are the lowest rank, and we are the highest.

Please, take all day. It's not like we have other matters to attend to, I tell the boys. They continue on with their ripping and gnawing as if they didn't hear me, as if I'm not even present.

I decide to get up and stroll around, knowing that Derek and Gabe are going to take another twenty minutes or so devouring their kill. Lately I've been coming out to the forest with them with the hope of searching out a human, but I would never tell them that. That would break their warm little hearts.

Mine, however, is cold. As a result, I don't see an issue with killing someone who is beneath me.

At least I'm brave enough to admit it to myself.

I leave the clearing and head back into the tree line, where orange and yellow leaves are beginning to fall, making crunching sounds under my paws. The brisk temperature of the air is already tainted with the possibility of snow. Winter's coming. Soon, these leaves will be hidden and the world will be covered in white. I'm not looking forward to shifting during the upcoming season, but it's likely I'll do so more often than than any time of the year.

A few minutes pass of me walking around, surveying the area I've grown to memorize for the past few weeks. The boys and I have been coming out here for hunting and I figure they'll want to find a new area. Sticking to one place for an extended amount of time is not in our forte; we constantly venture for various game we can hunt and kill.

I'm about to head back to the clearing when I hear the maniacal crunching of leaves, as if a large tree fell down. My head snaps to where the sound originated and like I thought, it was a tree. But my ears listen for any minute trace of noise. A tall firm structure like that doesn't tumble over on its own.  A low growl rumbles through my chest and my teeth begin to bare when a wolf comes into view, its fur black with patches of brown and white.

You get so defensive so quickly, dude. Lighten up, Grayson laughs lightly, waltzing closer over to my side.

What are you doing out here, I reply, not understanding why he can't stay in the mansion for one damn hour. You didn't have to knock a fucking tree down to get my attention.