Skin (Shifters #1) | On Hold

Prologue

Never go into the woods.

Especially at night.

Her mother's words rang out in the girl's mind as she trampled through the forest, terror written across her face as she fled towards the small village. Growls could be heard from the underbrush, the reason why no human ever went into the woods at night made apparent as the source of the noise stepped out from the bushes.

White teeth were the first thing she saw, saliva dripping from them as the wolf-like creature slunk out from underneath the cover of the leaves. Black fur rippled, dancing slightly in the faint breeze, yellow eyes narrowed on its prey – her.

Her lungs were burning, her feet torn from the amount of running she'd just done. She'd lost her shoes, and now she was about to lose her life if the beast in front of her had any say in the matter. Fangs snapped together, moving ever closer to where the sixteen-year-old had fallen, ignoring her small whimpers of fright.

Wide brown eyes clenched shut, her body tensed, preparing for the worst as hot breath brushed against her cheek. That still didn't prepare her for the feeling of teeth sinking into her shoulder, barely missing her neck. Still, the girl didn't make a sound, earning a snort from what looked like a sort of cross between a wolf and a bear.

A shifter.

Male or female, the girl had no desire to check. She was just glad it wasn't a werewolf. They had far less control than the mighty race of shifters which ruled over the entire continent of Reika. They weren't known for their clean kills. If she'd been facing a werewolf she'd already be dead – ripped into bloody chunks while she was still breathing. Werewolves weren't kind to their victims. None of the beasts that roamed the forest were.

And once in their sights, there was no escape.

Not for a human.

Saliva burnt into her skin like acid, the poison in it making itself known to her body as she writhed, trying to detach the fangs buried in her flesh. All too soon, though, they were gone, yellow eyes simply watching as blood poured out of her shoulder.

"Stop it..." The girl whispered, tears leaking down her face as she slumped into the base of the tree, watching as a pink tongue lapped up all the blood staining the shifter's teeth. A cruel, mocking grin appeared on its face, shivers wracking her spine as eyes locked back on her neck, ignoring the blood leaking down her arm.

Meaning it didn't see the strange blue spark that fizzled through the sticky red liquid.

Fangs leapt towards her yet again, tearing into her throat, intent on ripping it from her body – the beast evidently having grown bored of her struggles. It was stronger than her, and they both knew it. Blood was dripping from the gleaming white fangs again, brown eyes wide as she dimly heard the grinding of teeth against bone. Pain coursed through her, a strangled yelp barely making it past her lips before she heard a juddering crack. A coppery taste filled her mouth, her lungs unable to take another breath even as she was cast to the ground, yellow eyes appraising her slowly before the creature sat down on its haunches.

Blood dribbled from her lips, her chest burning as the sky turned hazy, her vision growing slowly darker by the second. Not fast enough, though, that she couldn't see the final mocking smirk of the shifter as it watched the life drain out of her body.

She was falling, blackness surrounding her as far as the eye could see. "I really wished I'd listened..." Her voice was a whisper, tears forming as she thought about her mother. "Oh well... I suppose I'll see you one day." She mumbled, a soft smile on her face. She couldn't even remember the argument that'd caused her to storm out of the house at an ungodly hour in the morning, but she didn't think it mattered. The black waters beneath her were growing closer by the second, their depths looking oddly inviting. Before she could hit them and go peacefully on her way to the afterlife, a thin blue strand of glowing rope wrapped around her ankle. Her body was jerked to an untimely halt, her face only inches away from the inky black liquid, one arm immersed elbow deep in the strange substance which made a wave of sleep want to wash over her.

Her tranquillity didn't last long, though, the rope giving one sharp tug and then she was flying back upwards at an incredible speed. The glowing blue thread catapulted her back to life, startling the beast standing over the girl's prone form splayed across the ground.

Teeth snapped again, closing around her freshly healed throat, but as soon as they made contact with her skin the shifter was thrown back a few feet, blue sparks crackling around its body.

A set of electric blue eyes snapped open, the reptilian pupil locking on the black-furred beast, and then the woods were bathed in a crackling pale blue light which lit up the area for miles.

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A/N

There'll be slow updates on this until summertime, since this is my secondary account, and unfortunately I don't have much time to spare right now, but I will get around to it eventually.

I hope I shouldn't have to say this, but don't copy my story. There's an amazing thing called copyright.

Until the next chapter.

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