Twisted (Editing)

Chapter 14

I glanced at Jonah and he got the message and followed his sister out of the room. I stripped out of my school uniform and stepped into the dress. I headed into his bathroom to wash my face. Looking at myself in the mirror, I inspected the new teeth, that were now smaller. Though nothing but those had changed, I felt like a different person. "I could fight this with to my last breath," I said to myself, rubbing soap on my skin. "But then I'll go feral. But if I let him bite me, I'll be tied to him."

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. There seemed to be no good decisions--what could I do? Where could I go? I didn't want to wait until I was desperate and weak enough to tell him to bite me. I wanted to maintain my dignity.

Then it dawned on me. I didn't feel this way when I was on Wolfsbane, because I was practically human. Who's to say that same effect would stop working after being bitten?

If I could get my hands on just a little, I could make it back to my parents and restock. I could slip under the radar and out of the country.

I could be free.

But he would have to bite me first.

I dried my hands and face and left the bathroom and headed downstairs. The smell of food enticed me. Where was the dining room anyway? A girl a few years older than me in the shirt and pants of a server came up to me. "Are you lost Luna Juvenis?"

"Luna Juvenis?"

"Young Luna, or Luna to be. Your partner is Alpha Juvenis and you are in turn Luna Juvenis."

"Okay....can you me to the dining room? Or where ever they're eating."

"At once Juvenis."

She led me to a dining room with a chandelier and dark wood flooring. Each member of the family was seated and next to Jonah there was an empty chair that had to be mine. I squeezed past his father and a woman who could be his grandmother and sat down.

"Now that everyone is here," Mrs. Evans said. "We can eat."

Plates of food were brought out by servers. A cut of steak was placed in front of me. It was still sizzling, a sign it had just come off the plate. Around me, they had already started eating, but my stomach clenched in knots, my head spinning. The food smelt good, but he smelt better.

His grandmother turned to look at me. "Is there something wrong dear?"

This situation, this place, you people--Everything.

Unfortunately, that is not what I said.

"It's nothing. I'm just not hungry."

"Not hungry?" The older man from earlier said. Maybe he was a grandfather or an uncle, I didn't know. "Jonah don't tell me you didn't mark her yet. The poor girl, she can hardly smell the food."

"I haven't had the chance," he said, squeezing my hand. I gritted my teeth and kept quiet. Work smart, not hard. Work smart, not hard. I chanted the mantra in my head over and over. Lie low for now, let them trust you, Imani, then flee when they've let their guard down.

I cut the meat up into cubes and started to eat. The spices exploded on my tongue--a colorful collage of flavor wrapped up into one bite. After one bite, I took another and another, until my plate was empty and the spicy tang was nothing but a memory. Out came desert--the richest chocolate cake I'd ever seen. Jonah's father stood up, holding the knife.

"This had been abrupt to all of us and the adjusting will be hard to some of us." He looked at me, "but I wish my son and his mate Imani lifelong happiness." He cut the cake, serving me first. It was like a statue sitting on my plate, beautiful and I'm sure it would taste the same, but I felt robbed. I swallowed those feelings and ate every last crumb.

When we were leaving the dining room, Jonah leaned in to whisper. His breath tickled my ear. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Do it." He picked me up off my feet, surprising me. Going up the steps two by two, we ended up at the door of his room. He loosened his tie and took it off, dropping it on the floor. He started to unbutton his shirt. "Wait what are you doing!"

He raised his eyebrow. "Taking off my shirt to give you ease of access. You're probably going to end up biting me too and I don't want this shirt ruined because you puncture through the fabric. I can lend you a tank top and shorts too because my sister really likes that dress."

"Anything to make this go faster." He went into his closet and pulled out a pair of gym shorts and a blue Nike tank. I went into the bathroom and unbuttoned my dress, letting it drop the floor. I pulled the drawstring of the shorts to their tightest so they would fit. Would this hurt? I mean, probably--he was going to bite me. I came back out.

I wet my dry mouth. What was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to do? He laughed. "Don't be so embarrassed."

"You're not helping." I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Get it over with."

His eyes were yellow again and this close I could see how much his pupils expanded. He kept his teeth open in full view. "This is going to hurt."

"I know."

"But it'll get better soon. At least that's what everyone tells me." I glanced at him.

"You don't know?"

"It's not like I've done this before." He pulled back the tank top sleeve." "Okay, here it goes." I closed my eyes, preparing myself.

And like knives, his teeth plunged into my skin.