The Beasts Inside Us

Chapter 16

"No. You're not doing it right."

Tavarious rubs his face in frustration. A prominent dark shadow has settled under his eyes, physical evidence of what my presence in his castle has done to him. He leans back against the wall and waves his hand lazily, motioning for me to try it again. I huff and turn around.

We've been practicing for two hours and I still haven't been able to shift on command. Tavarious seems ready to rip my head off if I don't get it right this time.

He's not the best teacher.

All he said was to think about my wolf, but that's obviously not working. Every time, I fail. I try to picture myself as a wolf, but the image is always fuzzy and I don't feel connected to it. It feels as though I'm just imagining a wolf, not me as a wolf.

But he says this is the way to do it so I try and try again, hoping I'll get it someday.

I close my eyes and concentrate.

Ok.

Think wolf.

Fur.

Pointy ears. Claws. Tail.

Chasing a rabbit.

No... a deer.

I am chasing a deer in the forest.

As a wolf.

I open my eyes and...

Nothing.

I whip around to voice my frustration to Tavarious but he's already right behind me. Not expecting his sudden appearance, I run into him and stumble back.

"What the heck?" I rub my head as though his chest is hard enough to actually cause me harm. It's almost there.. but not quite.

He doesn't answer me, just sneers.

"I understand now."

I look at him incredulously.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, then I shake my head, deciding to ignore his nonsense. We don't have time for it.

I turn around and face the opposite wall of the training room, starting to pace. "We need to change tactics. Is there another way to shift? This way is obviously wrong."

He grabs my arm in a tight grip and yanks me around to face him. I wince as his claws dig into my skin.

"I said, I understand now." He growls, pulling me closer until his eyes are inches from mine.

I squirm in his grasp, trying to escape. "Yeah, I understand now, too. This was a bad idea. I should've never agreed to come live with you."

He tightens his grasp, drawing blood. I glare up at him, feeling anger begin its journey, coursing through my body.

"I understand why Caide wanted to get rid of you. He knows how weak and useless you are."

I freeze in shock, not expecting him to say that.

"No. He got rid of me because I'm a monster," I look up, glaring, "like you."

Tavarious' black eyes pierce into mine menacingly as he shoves me back. This takes me by surprise and I don't have enough time to catch myself before I'm on the ground. I slide back a little on the smooth floor.

Tavarious chuckles, but there's no humor in it. "See? You're weak. I don't even know why I took you, I could of had anyone else. Like maybe.." he pauses, looking up as though he's thinking.