One Bite

Chapter 1-5

"Zara," a monotone female voice called to me, vibrating against the imprisoning walls.

I shook my head, blinking against the white light. With a flick of my tongue, I licked my dry, sticky, lips, dipping into a warm, sweet taste. Looking down at my paws, the white fur was coated in dark, red liquid, matted black in some areas.

My nose twitched at the heavy scent, emanating from a nearby carcass that pooled blood on the floor toward my paws. I lowered my nose and sniffed, inhaling an earthy, iron-coated scent of blood.

Gross.

Then I dragged my tongue across a wet spot on my right paw, the same warm and sweet sensation filling my tastebuds.

Not bad.

My paws looked horrendous, like I clawed through a crime scene, so I licked at them until they seemed presentable. The effort was as successful as a child's finger painting.

"Zara," the voice pressed.

With blood squishing between my toes, soaking the hairs, I grounded my paws into the puddle and stood up. My eyes followed the blood trail to what remained of the goat, a pile of bones, the ribs arching up over the blood-matted carcass.

My ears twitched to find the source of the voice. Anna's voice appeared to come through an intercom speaker in the ceiling. I took a few steps at it and sniffed the air. Compression and backward pull on my right leg halted my steps. One look over my shoulder revealed that my leg was tethered with a heavy chain, with the other end bolted to the floor.

"You need to shift back."

I opened my mouth to respond 'How,' but only a sharp bark came out.

Lovely.

"Zara, you have to shift back. You have to control yourself. Picture it in your mind. Recede the fur and slide the bones back into their original positions."

Is that all?

My lungs expanded with a deep breath, which I pushed out my nostrils and squeezed my eyes shut. Imagery of my original form, my bare arms and legs filled my mind. Smooth skin replaced the bloodied white fur, my blonde strands flowing out my scalp.

A pulsating sensation built up in my stomach, throbbing faster than my heartbeat, and spread into a slow burn throughout my body. Another ear-sickening round of cracking noises filled my ears, churning my stomach and wrenching my face with tension.

While this time the transformation was still painful, it paled to the initial time.

Finally.

My lips released a gasp when the waves of dull pain receded and the cement floor radiated cold into my skin.

Skin.

With slow movements, my palms pushed myself back up off the floor. My eyes roamed my body, sighing when I inspected a human form. I laid on my side with my knees curled up to my chest... in my birthday suit. Bare-ass naked, my pale skin was coated with blood remnants. Sweaty and clammy, my skin smelled metallic and rancid, like decay.

A seamless door opened and Anna's voice flowed through, "There you are."

Anna's heels clicked across the cement, each louder with her approach. Towering over, she covered me with a blanket, then pulled my shoulders up and brought me to standing. I leaned my weight on her, my ankles wobbling with each guided step down a narrow, cement-walled hallway to an elevator.

The dull hum of the elevator, my body jiggling under its shifts, oddl calmed my racing mind. Once the doors opened, I recognized the upstairs hallway, back to my bedroom. Anna hooked her arm around my back, her hand cupped into my ribs. Despite my goat engorgement, my weight sagged onto her side with each stumbled step.