Hybrid

Chapter 4: Blood

*Normal people have no idea how beautiful the darkness is*

Using the back of my hand, I wiped the blood from my lips and took a deep breath drawing a fresh gulp of air into my lungs. I could feel my beast returning to the back of my mind satisfied for the moment. Taking a second, I say a quick prayer thanking the Moon Goddess for this nourishment then stand and whistle. 

I can hear him before I can see him. The soft sound of wings flapping brings a smile to my face. Lifting the rabbit and tossing it in the air, I watch as a massive bird swoops down snatches it from the air in it's powerful talons.

"Good morining Demi boy." Landing on a branch a few feet above my head, he begins ripping into the fur, chirping loudly as he happily munches down. I lean back against a tree and laugh "Someone is hungry this morning, huh?"

Demi is my hawk friend, we have had the same routine for nearly five years now. Every morning I would take my usual run and always end up sharing my meals with him. I have no idea where he came from or why he has stayed around these parts for so long but I truly enjoy his company. And I'm pretty sure he feels the same, cause anytime I'm having a bad morning and go for my run he is always here waiting for me with a meal already caught.

It doesn't take him long to finish off the rabbit so I call for him and lift my arm. Normally it would be very dangerous for a random girl to have this bird with such sharp talons landing on her arm but it's a good thing I'm not normal.

I shift quickly shift everything from the elbow down, covering my arm with my black scales, just before he lands. Making himself comfortable on my forearm, I stroke his neck and back admiring his colors.  The top of his body and wings is covered in silky reddish brown feathers while just the tips of his wings are jet black. His tail is a much lighter color of red and his underbelly is white, speckled with the same red color for the tail feathers.

Demi pushes his head into my hand and continues to chirp. "I know, I know. I promise we can go hunting tomorrow" I say to him "Did you remember today is supposed to be my birthday, so Emma has my day planned to a T." He give me a look of disapproval and spreads his wings wide, flapping then once before settling back down. "Mmhmm... Sure." Lifting my arm, I kiss his head and he jumps from my arm. With two downward thrusts of his large wings he's off, screeching his goodbye.

Shifting my arm back to my normal skin, I resume my morning run and make my way back to the pack house. A much needed shower was calling my name and Emma would have my head if I wasn't ready to go by the time she was finished with her family. Sneaking back into the house wasn't an option at this point. I could hear others milling around the house before I stepped through the front door.

As I made my way through the main foyer, each person I passed either gave me a wide berth or shot me death looks. This was nothing new to me though.

I ignored them as I jogged up the stairs. Our room was on the top story, only the Alpha family was allowed up there and since I'm with Emma, I get included in that bunch. The Alpha and Luna's rooms were on the right side of the house while me, Emma and Zachary stayed on the left hand side.  Saying that each room was huge was the understatement of the century. Lets just put it this way, me and Emma each had our own queen sized beds and there was still plenty of walking room. Our closet was big enough to to live in.

Grabbing the clothes she picked out for me, I slipped into the bathroom to get ready. Undressing, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My murky gray eyes staring defiantly back at me. I was so unlike the other pack members, my hair color being the number one reason. Everyone here had either blondes or browns with the occasional black hair thrown in the mix. Running my hands through my hair, I watch as the light lays across it making the red look even brighter. I had tried dying it once back, despite Emma's protests. The color didn't last past the first wash. I remember watching the bottom of the shower turn black as it all rinsed out and the disappointment in my eyes when I stepped out to see my usual red taunting me.

Lowering my eyes I took in my figure. My complexion as smooth but my skin was pale. My skin has always been much lighter than the rest. I was fit but not muscular in the least even though I could feel strength coursing through my body. I had soft curves unlike Emma who was very busty in all the right places.

Sighing, I turned the water on as hot as it could go in the shower and stepped in letting it melt away all my worries. Lathering my hair with our vanilla shampoo and conditioner, I sat down to let it soak in. I just closed my eyes and relaxed, letting the water work it's wonders.

*Flash back continued*

The bad man laid before me, bloody, beaten and most importantly, dead. I just stood there and stared at him. Even though I could hear Zachary making his way towards us, I couldn't make my body move. I could still taste his blood in my mouth, the sweet tangy copper taste lingered on my tongue. I could feel his blood dripping from my face and fingertips. My body was covered head to toe in it but I didn't care. He was gone, the threat to my sister was gone and my beast roared with happiness inside me. I could still feel her on the surface but she had given me back the control, happy with the situation. This was our first kill and even though I knew it was wrong deep down. It felt good, soo good.

"What are you?" Zachary's voice cut through my thoughts and I flinched. Turning towards his voice, I could clearly see the fear on his face and it was fear of me. I tried to smile and reassure him, to reach out to him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. That the monster was gone now, we could be safe but he jumped back away from me. "Monster" He whispered.

My young mind didn't understand though. I couldn't understand why he was looking at me when he spoke about the dead man. "Zachary, It's okay. I killed the monster." I took another step towards him, reaching out for him again.

Not even fazed by my voice, he shook his head and screamed at me "Stay away from me you monster!" Stumbling back he fell. Scrambling to get up, he runs away from me with tears in his eyes.

Looking down at my arm, I noticed something different. It wasn't my arm. Shaking my head and wiping away the blood and tears from my eyes, I looked again at both. Midnight black arms covered in a leather like skin and hard scales are all that I could see. My fingers were no longer fingers but long sharp claws. Looking down at my body, my night shirt and pajama bottoms were ripped to shreds and barely covering my skin. Blood was smeared all over my torso as well as down my legs.

I stumbled back away from myself and landed next to the dead man. Looking him over, I seen he had no throat. It was completely gone, and his face was unrecognizable due to the amount of gashes on it. Missing an arm, he was horrifying to look at.

Pulling my knees to my chest and rolling into a fetal position, I sobbed softly. I had done this.

We have done this. Gasping at the words in my head, I sobbed even harder.

There was a monster in my head that made me do this.

Wrong.

"No!" I cried.

We are not a monster. She cooed to me. We are strong and brave, they don't and will never understand.  Be strong. 

I laid there for what felt like an eternity, silently crying and trying to ask the voice in my head many question but I was only met with silence.

*Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story, I'm hoping to get a chance to write some more this evening but I doubt I will be posting anything just yet. Once again, don't forget to comment and vote!*