Bella Vita (13 page)

You're my predator.
I said to her, she yipped in response.

I reached out and pet her soft pelt- that
was when my body began to shake. I felt her begin to take control.
I fell forward in a howl of pain. My body contorted to her
response. The thick soft black fur that began to sprout all over my
body was like having needles sown through your pores. My leg joints
bent backwards with a loud crack. My hands shrank back into paws
with razor sharp claws attached. A tail grew from my tail bone- it
was as if my body was producing new bones.

My entire body got smaller with each new
change to my extremities.

When I finally opened my
eyes, I was panting hard and a wolf. My senses were heightened. I
wanted to run. A howl that escaped from my body seemed to stretch
from the tip of my tail to the points of my ears. I didn't
understand the thoughts circling through my mind. I knew that the
people around me were familiar, but their faces were distorted with
fear.
I know no one with such fear.
I looked out towards the woods.
Yes, freedom.
I inched
toward the trees that were on my right. A blonde male human stepped
in front of me. His face was stuck in my thoughts like I knew him.
He emitted no fear when he stood in front of me- blocking my path
from what I wanted.

I growled.

“
Emma?” His word was
touched with a place I knew as Australia.
What is Australia?

I stepped back.

“
Emma, fight the beast and
get control again.” The command was clear.

I'm not to be controlled.
I'm Alpha in my world.
I
snarled.

He stepped back.
Emma Hutchinson, you're a vampire not a
wolf.

Images flashed through my mind, I shook to
try to get them out.

The strange male sent more thoughts to
me.

Instead of succumbing to the thoughts, I
braced myself for my leap.

The images continued to
flood towards me, so many feelings were mixed in.
Weak human.

I felt each of my muscles lock into place,
and then I sprung with my teeth bared.

The human fell to the floor, covering his
head.

I heard him shout to the others standing
there, “Class dismissed, could someone please go and tell Master
DeDominico about this,” it sounded as if another animal was
trapped, but I couldn't risk going back for it.

I ran. The wind ruffled the fur in my ears,
and filled my nostrils with all the surrounding scents. I picked up
the odor of a large cat, but something was wrong about it. I stayed
far from it. Now was not the time for curiosity. The soft pads of
my feet made no noise as I ran through the trees and
underbrush.

I heard the word 'Emma' shouted again
somewhere in the distance from me. I ran faster. I would not be
caught by these creatures in my pursuit was all I knew.

I ran until the sun was up, and my body was
exhausted. The trees had thickened around me. I found a low-lying
cave of sorts. The air around it smelled stale, a clear sign that
it had not been used in a great many moons. I crawled into its
mouth, the floor was soft from all the small leaves and debris that
littered the floor. I found the deepest spot I could fit into and
curled into a tight ball. My breathing slowed and soon the
exhaustion from my flight caught up to me. Sleep claimed me.

I blinked one eye open and
then the other. My entire body ached. I was in a dark place, and it
smelled of the Earth and soil. I closed my eyes again. When I
opened them back up I was fighting to see where I was. I reached my
hand out and felt cold stone.
What the
hell?
I began to panic. Both my hands made
contact with rough rocks as I pushed them out to try to find my way
out. A small opening just to the right of my head had me breathe a
sigh of relief. I tried to roll over to my belly when I noticed two
things. The first was that the space was so small I couldn't turn
over, and the second was that I was naked.
How the bloody heck did I end up here and like this?
I didn't have time to think about this. I wanted
out of this tiny space. I wiggled as best I could on my back out of
the hole.

The ground scraped against
my skin. I knew I would have some serious deep cuts when I finally
got out. After squirming for what felt like forever, I was inside a
larger- but still low- cave. My back felt instant relief as I
rolled over to my belly. I army crawled out of its mouth, just to
bump into a giant black cat.
Oh, crap. Is
that a panther?
My mind was racing. I must
have woken it because it stretched and then looked at
me.

I was suddenly standing face to face with a
very nude Leland.

“
Um, excuse me? But when
the bloody-freaking-aye did I fall into the damn twilight zone?!” I
shouted at him.

“
I see you don't remember.
Not surprising. You are the first person I ever met that has been
able to fully morph into their predator on the first try. I never
thought... then again that was probably my mistake. I mean, it's
you, isn't it?” He looked at me in amazement.

“
What the fuck are you
talking about?” I lost it.

“
Emma, do you remember
going to Tracking class yesterday?” His eyes were
bright.

“
Eh, yeah. I went and you
were talking about something about connecting with one's inner
animal or something. Why am I out here naked?” My head was
beginning to throb.

“
You changed! Emma, you
frigging turned into a beautiful black wolf. I tried to get you
back but you got past me and took off. I had to follow you. I've
been out here making sure you were okay all day. I had a student
tell Dominic about this. I had to make sure you were safe. But, oh
my god! You frigging became a damn wolf. No one has EVER become a
wolf. You truly are unique.” He was bouncing on his toes from the
excitement.

“
What do you mean, no has
ever turned into a wolf?” I was seriously wondering if I was a
damaged vampire.

“
In the history of
vampires, since we learned to morph into our internal predator-
there has never been one that could take the shape of our natural
enemy!” Leland's voice was thick with his accent as he shouted his
news at me.

“
Great, you think I'm going
to go and enlist in some sort of anti-wolf campaign? Yeah, right!
My best friend happens to be a werewolf, you git!” My temper was
near the surface and I could feel my skin prickle, the wolf inside
me was stirring again.

“
Do you not understand how
important you are? You could be the blooming difference between us
being hunted down and murdered or our survival!” He was in my face
now, his hazel eyes were filled with excitement.

“
So not interested. I'll
not out my best friend. You are S-O-L if you think I would.” My
muscles were tense I wanted to run and get away from this
guy.

“
Emma.” He took my hand I
wanted to pull it back instantly. “I'm not asking you to go against
your best friend. I'm merely pointing out the fact that you, darl,
are the only vampire that can go near the werewolves when they're
in pack form and fit in. You are the piece that links both worlds.”
He crooned at me.

“
Leland, let go of my hand
before you lose your own. I'm going now.” It was a simple
statement, but it was the truth, and after I said it I shifted back
to my wolf form and ran.

Who the hell does he think
he is? We need to strike a balance, my dear internal predator. You
can't just take me over, we have to share.
I felt ridiculous talking to myself, but I knew she could
hear me. There was a soft growl in response.

I don't want to do anything
that would create more problems within the two communities. So it
looks like this wolf shifting thing will have to be mastered
completely and then we can reach an agreement as to what's
okay.
The air rushed by as I let her
control my body. I knew she'd take me back to where I needed to
be.

Dominic
. The name came from her, and I knew she caught his scent. It
was like cold water in my veins, she allowed me partially back into
my body. I could smell him. I ran towards him.

Dominic put his hands up in defense and took
a low crouching position. “Whoa, there doggie. I'm not going to
hurt you.”

Dominic.
I called out mentally to him.

“
Emma?” His eyes widened in
shock. “So it's true.”

Yes.
I answered him.
I need to shift back
now
. I spoke to my wolf self, and she
released the control she had over my body- I willed myself back
into human form.

“
Um, you're a bit nude
there, love.” He shrugged out of the coat he had on.

“
Yeah, apparently it's
better than shredding your clothes. I thought you would've brought
mine with you.” His eyes continued to size me up, my nudity was not
the issue at hand.

“
The student that came to
tell me what happened,
mia
bella
, didn't say you would be naked. I
was told you changed and took off and Leland had to go after you.”
Concern filled his eyes.

“
Yes, I changed. And now
I'm freezing and I think your friend is an idiot.” I said as I
began to march back in the direction as to what I hoped was the
school.

“
There's a car not far from
here. I'm sure we can discuss how Leland handled this later, let's
just get you home.” He wrapped his warm arm around me and walked me
to the borrowed school car.

When we got back to the school, the word had
spread and I felt like an even bigger freak. Once I was dressed, I
got an official request to meet with the school head. I was tempted
to tell them all to blow me as I walked off, but I went
anyways.

The office was cold, even with my cooler
temperature. The room was large, full of windows, and overly
expensive antiques. There were lush thick red drapes over the huge
windows, but I doubted they actually helped to keep this room any
warmer. Even with all the rich colors from the oriental rugs,
well-worn leather wing back chairs by the enormous fireplace, and
beautifully carved desk and bookcases, the room still felt cold. I
decided it was the small squat of a man behind the desk that
allowed such a welcoming setting to be so frigid.
He was about five foot, balding, and round around the middle. His
face didn't hold the wrinkles of someone that smiled a lot, rather
it seemed to be stuck in a constant frown. His eyes were a cold
black, matching the few strands of hair he managed to comb over the
giant shiny bald spot on the top of his head.

I desperately didn't want
to have anything to do with the little cold man. As I stepped
further into the room, I noticed Dominic standing next to Leland in
his panther form. I was briefly annoyed by the fact that Leland
clearly had enough sway with this little man that he didn't need to
switch back to human form.
Ugh.

Dominic stepped forward. “Head Master
Spawling, may I introduce Miss Emma Hutchinson,” he gestured to me
with a hand sweep.

“
Yes, Miss Hutchinson, I've
heard quite a deal about you.” Spawling's words were like nails on
a chalkboard.

I managed not to grit my teeth.
“Unfortunately, Head Master Spawling, I've not had the pleasure.
How do you do?” I tried my best to tone up the snobbery in my
voice- he was so beneath me with his snakelike ways.

“
Quite fine. I understand
that you have a rare talent.” His words were a statement.
Something I'm sure will be of great use to the
vampire community.
His words echoed in my
head.

“
I've quite a few of them
if you want to get technical, so you'll have to be a little more
specific than a 'rare talent'?” I didn't know why, but I felt I had
to give him a hard time. I could only imagine all of the poor
students that this man had intimidated.

“
So the attitude is a
truth. How about your ability to heal- even bring back from the
dead?” The calculation was present in his eyes.

“
Yes, but I've yet to try
it on a human. Feel like volunteering?” I cocked my brow and fought
the desire to sneer at him.

“
Emma!” Dom
gasped.

“
It is quite all right, Mr.
DeDominico. I've dealt with unruly students for more years than she
has been alive. As interesting as your offer sounds, I'll have to
decline. I would like to know more about you though. You can heal
beyond what most dream of. I hear you're also quite talented with
your mind. You're a Seer as well, if I'm not mistaken?” Spawling
merely smiled at me.

“
Yes, sir. I can also turn
into a wolf, which is why I assume you have deemed me worthy to
summon me into your nice office. But I'll tell you the same thing I
told Leland. I. Do. Not. Care. If. I. Can. Become. A. Wolf. I. Am.
Not. A. Narc!” My temper was
very
near the surface, and I was tempted to try out my
mental training from Betty- I wanted to hurt him bad.

“
No one is suggesting that
you become a spy. And, I did call you in for your unique talents.
However, the wolf aspect was merely icing on the cake. You see,
Emma, you're a great asset to the vampire community. You are beyond
our several professors here, and I'm sure with a little more
control training you'll surpass Leland there with the ability to
morph.” I heard a soft growl when he vaguely gestured to
Leland.