Midnight Curse (3 page)

It grew darker as I sunk to
the bottom of the river a second time. It was still night. I was
still in my torn leathers, and I could feel the dried blood on my
skin.

Bubbles escaped and floated
to the surface. Couldn’t they see them?

Nothing I could do but let
the water flood my lungs. The pressure, the terror that enveloped
me, was more than I could stand.

I screamed once more and my
jaw unlocked. My voice cracked, but my scream left me and went
nowhere. The water buffered it.

If I could scream, I could
swim. I had no time left. It was now or never. With every ounce of
my being I fought to move my arms and legs. At first there was
nothing; the pain from the cramps was more than I could
bear.

It was getting so dark, and
it was not due to my surroundings. I was not getting enough oxygen
to my brain.

Slowly, ever so slowly, my
arms and legs moved. More screams tore from my lips. If I ever made
it out of here I was going to kill them.

My feet sunk into the sludge
at the bottom of the river. I was never going to make it out! I
would drown all over again.

Screaming still, I fought
like mad to swim. I refused to die here, in the
darkness.

That’s when my body started
changing. One by one bones fractured, my spine arched backwards at
an impossible angle, another scream tore free, and my fisted hands
formed claws. I could hear as each of my bones broke. It was one of
the most horrendous sounds I’d ever heard, and I would never forget
it. My deformed body altered, until there was nothing left of me
but a bone-filled bag of fur. I could tell I was no longer in a
human body. I was on all fours, sort of, and my face felt
wrong.

I could not worry about that
now. I had to swim! If I didn’t breathe soon, I was a
goner.

I pushed limbs that were not
my own, learned to move limbs that did not belong to me, so that I
could reach the surface. It seemed so far away.

Just as I was becoming too
weak to move anymore, I felt the cool night air on my face. I could
see the trees, and they looked wicked and foreboding.

Screaming, I struggled to
stay afloat--except I did not scream.

An enraged howl rang out
into the night. Panicking, I nearly went under again. Fighting the
river that was choking me, I paddled until I felt the muddy
riverbank underneath my feet. Again I screamed, and again a
spine-tingling howl broke the silence of the night.

Finally out of the water, I
crept towards the fading voices in the distance.

My body burned, ached, and
tried to give out on me. Still, I crawled. Still, I struggled to
get as far from the vile water as I could. Covered in muck, I
slipped and fell over and over again. I choked on whimpers, on the
tears, and the dirt in my throat. The dirt was
everywhere.

“
Get Daryl! Run!” Abel cried
when he saw me struggling towards him. He reached me just as I gave
up. I could not move another muscle.

“
I’m so sorry, so sorry,
Angel!”

My body shook, my muscles
cramped, and I could not speak. A whine left my lips. I was
whimpering like a baby.

“
It’s okay, I got you, just
relax.” He scooped me up and I looked into his eyes. That is when I
noticed I was not human, but a wolf.

Panicking, I thrashed about
madly, causing him to nearly drop me.

“
Shh, it’s okay. I will
explain everything. Just let me get you home,” he whispered, his
voice cracking. He was obviously upset, yet he was no more than a
stranger to me.

Exhausted, I gave up as
darkness released me from the mind-numbing nightmare of this
endless night.

Part Four

Georgia, Truths

“
She’s coming to,
Daryl.”Abel’s voice startled me.

I jerked up and stared into
the ice-blue eyes staring back at me.

That is when I noticed I was
completely nude. I jerked the covers over my chest. Abel averted
his eyes and my Pa rolled his. Even in the gloom, I could see we
were inside Abel’s little wooden lean-to that was built into the
hill.

“
Since you are alive, girl,
I have to tend to the chaos you created outside,” my father told me
coldly.

“
They are starving,” I
managed to say, before he walked out the makeshift door.

He turned back around,
scowling, and looked at me as if I had spoken in another
language.

“
Ma and the girls are
starving.”

“
How? I sent them food just
last week,” he replied.

“
We never got it. Grandpa
died two weeks ago. Bobo has not been seen in three or more weeks.
I don’t know how long I’ve been… like this.”

“
Two days,” Abel whispered,
interrupting my father, who had opened his mouth to answer
me.

“
I sent Bobo to your
Granny’s with food. I will skin that boy alive,” Pa said, leaving
me alone with the stranger who could not stop looking at
me.

In that moment I fully
realized that I was human again. I nearly jumped out of the bed. My
muscles ached, but I was alive. Not a wolf and not
drowning.

“
I’ve had the most
horrifying dream!” I cried, sitting up and nearly losing my covers
again.

“
About that…,” Abel started
to say.

“
What?” I asked him
nervously, giving him a dark look full of fear.

“
Drink this and I will try
to explain,” he replied, handing me a cup.

It was nasty, but I was so
thirsty I didn’t care, and I wanted the briny taste and dirt of
that river out of my mouth.

“
While I was changing, you
left. The wolf that came into the camp, the one I’d lost, was
Harley. She is kind of protective of me. Long story short, she is
very jealous. Your pa has been trying to get Harley and me to mate
for awhile.”

Giving him a look as though
he was crazy, I finished the herbal tea. I enjoyed a good story by
a fire, knowing it was only that, a well-told story. I just kept
telling myself that.

“
You do remember being a
wolf, right?”

At first, no I could not. I
thought he’d lost his mind. It had been a dream, right?

Then it clicked. Flashbacks
knocked me off-guard, and I remembered every agonizing detail. A
scream began to build inside of me.

“
No!” I cried, struggling to
stand, tangled in the sheet. The darkness of the room and the
makeshift pallet were not making things easy.

Abel was at my side
instantly, covering my body again. My modesty had flown the coop
when I realized my life was never going to be the same.

“
Shh, no, listen. I will
explain everything. Do not get upset and scream. The others will
come and investigate. They will check on me, and that would be
bad.”

Giving up, the panic
receded, and I listened to his voice as he pulled me into his arms.
His leather and burnt-woodsy smell pacified me for some reason. I
relaxed against him and allowed him to continue.

“
Let me finish before you
get upset again. Harley is like me, like you, a wolf. Your father
bit me years ago and started this pack. Many times he thought about
changing you himself, but I managed to give you more time. Harley
was afraid that he would make you my mate. She knew I didn’t want
her. Your father was just protecting us, keeping the pack alive, by
enforcing the weakest-member law. Our numbers have dwindled over
the last several years. His mate and latest brood of pups died,
leaving him angry and hell-bent on saving us.

“
A few days ago, Harley lost
her head and attacked you. In her defense, she is almost always in
wolf form and was not thinking clearly. She has lost a part of her
humanity, and instinct takes over.

“
When I realized what she’d
done, I tried to stop her. It was too late. I pulled you from the
river and did everything I could. As pack master, your father gave
the order. He did not think you would survive the change. I
disagreed, but he ordered me to throw you back in, so the gators
could destroy the evidence, your body.”

It took a moment for it all
to sink in. I had been used, attacked, dead, drowned, changed, and
nearly drowned again. I could not begin to accept it all. Hate for
my Pa boiled beneath my skin.

“
I had to clean you up
because the others rarely leave the wolf form. I’m their human
translator, for lack of a better word.”

Abel was just as distressed
as I was, and I remembered his words when he thought I was dead.
Words that haunted me and made me feel odd.

“
You did not take her for a
mate because…,” I started.

“
I am in love with you,” he
finished. The look on his face told a story of untold love and
loss. One I was not sure I wanted to hear.

Trembling, I tried to move
away from him, to leave this place and find my family.

“
I understand if you are
weary of me. I am a stranger to you, but let me help you through
this change and understand,” he whispered, holding me to him. I was
too weak to struggle.

Exhausted, I gave in. My
dignity and modesty flew out the door. There was nothing else for
me to do. In this moment I was alone and needed someone to show me
the way. Could I trust him? Had his actions spoken clearer than any
other’s?

“
If you go out there now,
the pack will destroy you, tear you limb from limb. The weakest of
the pack must die--its law. Harley has already challenged you. Your
pa allowed it. His pack is his whole world. You are just another
member of it to him, the weak one.” His voice told me that he
disagreed with this and found it just as disturbing as I
did.

My heart broke, my anger
flourished, and I finally saw my pa for who he really was. My hate,
distorted by years of his strange behavior, grew and left me
feeling cold.

“
I managed to get you some
time before you have to accept the challenge or leave the
pack.”

“
Leaving sounds good,” I
said harshly, and tried to pull away. “Just let me go, and I’ll
sneak out the back and run back home.”

“
You won’t be allowed to go
home, for two reasons. One, you know the secret and cannot be
trusted, and two, this is our territory.” He tilted my chin yup and
gazed into my eyes. “But you should know, if you leave, I will go
with you.”

This man was willing to
leave his pack for me. I was utterly astonished and
lost.

Contemplating his words, I
accepted his protection and let my heart take over. My feelings and
instincts were all I had to go on at this point.

“
Thank you,” I whispered,
before I let the darkness take me once more, sleep too difficult
for me to deny.

When I awoke, Abel was
missing. My pa sat on the log in his place. His face was a mask of
emotions that I could not begin to understand. His actions, on the
other hand, left me with a burning need to hurt him.

“
You are finally
awake.”

“
I’m sorry to disappoint
you, Pa.” My sarcastic reply was a bit harsh, but I was as lost to
this fury as I was to wanting to destroy Harley.

“
Do not sass me, girl!” His
deep voice shook the foundation. I was afraid the makeshift hut
would cave in on us.

Ignoring him, I looked at
the wall and bit my tongue. If I said anything, one of us would get
hurt.

“
You are part of my pack at
the moment, and you will not disrespect me!” he growled, making his
southern accent seem throaty. It was inhuman and scary.

Why had I never noticed?
Seeing him in this new light made me notice several things. For
one, he was a burly, strong man, capable of taking down bears.
Plus, he commanded power and respect. He was also a leader of
men.

But not of me, I thought,
angrily. “Fine, so now what?” I asked.

“
You have twenty-four hours
to accept Harley’s challenge or run away with your tail between
your legs. As it stands, you will die. That is the way of the
pack.” He cared nothing for me or his other children, that much was
clear.

Swallowing my pain, I
nodded. “Did you see Ma?”

“
You’re Ma and the girls
will be fine. Had I known what my son had done, I would have
brought more food. They are not wolf, but they are still my flesh
and blood. I will provide.”

That is when I remembered
that, when the wolf had attacked me, I’d stabbed her with all my
strength. I’d put everything I’d had left into shoving my knife as
deep as I could into her chest. At that angle, I should have killed
her.

“
Which wolf attacked me,
Pa?”

“
I done told ya, Harley
issued the challenge. Abel told ya, she was with him when she
attacked ya.”

“
I stabbed the wolf that
attacked me, I know I did!” I retorted, feeling fury rise within
me.

“
Yes, ya did. A good hit,
but not a killing blow. In wolf form we are just like the natural
wolves, but we heal a little faster and can take a little more
damage.”