Chapter Eight: Bitten (Molly Cassidy)

One night, Molly's life changed forever...

June, 2013

            Jasper's been distant ever since I told him about my...I don't even know what to call them. Hallucinations? Whatever they are, I should have kept quiet about them. He didn't speak to me for the rest of the day after our disastrous date, and I'm worried I've ruined everything.

            I spent that afternoon doing my chores. Jaden works alongside me, and after watching me silently for a time, which is getting under my skin, he finally asks me what's wrong.

            "Nothing! I'm fine!" I snap at him.

            "But, Molly-" He begins. His tone is laced with brotherly concern.

            "I said it's nothing!" I cry.

            I stalk off to the stables, pick up a brush, and walk over to Winter. The mare sniffs at my hand. Normally I bring carrots with me when I come to brush out her coat.

            "Not today, Winter." I tell her. She neighs in protest.

            I groan and throw down the brush. Apparently she only likes me for the treats.

            "Having a bad day?" Christian's voice startles me. I spin around to face him, and scowl. He's leaning against one of the empty stables.

            "Let me guess; you talked to Jaden." I grumble in annoyance. I really just want to be left alone, not pestered by my brothers. "I already told him I'm fine."

            "He didn't believe you, and neither do I." Christian replies. He moves towards me. "Is this about Jasper?" He demands. "Did he do something to you?"

            I groan again. "No, Jasper didn't do anything!"

            He thinks Jasper hurt me in some way; in some physical way. Of course that's the first conclusion draws.

            "It's me! There's something wrong with me!" I burst into tears; I've been holding them back for hours, and I can't any longer. In the next second, I'm wrapped in Christian's embrace.

            "Shh, baby girl, it's alright; you're alright." He sooths me. He wipes my tears from my cheek with his thumb.

            "I just want to be normal." I mumble against his chest.

            "You are, baby girl." He tells me in a whisper.

            I'm not. I know that. I've never been normal, and I never will be.

...

            I'm filled with relief the next night when Jasper asks me to meet him in a clearing in the woods behind the farmhouse. He promises to bring wine and a midnight snack. I've never had any kind of alcohol before, and I'm nervous to try it.

            I wait until my brothers are snoring away, and then leave. As I'm making my way past Christian's bed, my hand accidently brushes his, which is dangling off the edge. He stirs in his sleep and mumbles something incoherent. I freeze as he lifts his arm, but then it falls limply down onto his stomach. His head turns in my direction, but his eyes remain closed.

            I wait with bated breath until his breathing deepens and his soft snores resume. Then I head out.

            There is a clear dirt path through the woods that I follow. I've walked it plenty of times previously with Jasper. With each step my anticipation grows.

            After a few minutes of walking, I come upon the clearing. Jasper is there, dressed in all black, but there is no blanket or basket or bottle of wine to be seen.

            "Jasper, what's going on?" I demand. I'm instantly on edge. He smiles at me, but it isn't his usual confident smirk; the one I've become accustomed to and love. There is tension in his dark gaze.

            "Do you know what you are, Molly?" He asks me calmly. "Who you're destined to be? What the purpose of your birth; of your very existence; is?"

            I stare at him, my brow furrowing. "What on earth are you talking about?" The tone of his voice, coupled with his expression, frightens me.

            "You're the thirty first." He tells me solemnly.

            "The thirty first what?" I don't understand.

            "This All Hallow's Eve, you will be used as a blood sacrifice to raise the powerful demon Ruem, who will curse the earth with lycanthropy, effectively wiping out humanity." He murmurs. He speaks as though he's reciting text from a book he's read.

            "Lycanthropy...As in werewolves?" I query nervously. I read a book on mythical creatures once, and werewolves were among them. "Whatever game you're playing, Jasper, it isn't funny." I tell him. My voice trembles lightly.

            "This is no game, I'm afraid." He says seriously. "I'm truly sorry, Molly. I wish I didn't have to do this; that it didn't have to be this way...Know that your death is for the greater good...You're going to save the world, Molly."

            "Jasper!" I gasp. I stumble backwards. My...death?

            Jasper tilts his head upwards toward the full moon, and as he does hair begins to sprout all over his body, arms, legs, and face. He opens his mouth, and his canines become elongated. He falls onto his hands and knees and arches his back. His entire body shudders violently.

            I stare on in absolute horror as he transforms from the boy I love into a sleek black wolf; one with yellow eyes that are trained on me...Eyes like the ones from my dream.

            His clothes rip as his body is contorted, and through my panic and fear, an understanding dawns on me.

            The memory of the night I tried to escape flashes before my eyes; how Christian's clothes were torn but he had no discernible lacerations. I couldn't explain it. Is it possible that my brother...

            I don't have time to complete that thought, because without any warning, Jasper lunges at me, and I scream.

            A sand colored wolf bursts into the clearing from the left, and collides with Jasper in midair. The two wolves roll on the ground, embroiled in a melee.

            I recognize the remnants of the blue plaid flannel shirt that adorns the sandy wolf's body as belonging to Christian. My mind is racing. So it must be true. My eldest brother is a werewolf.

            Jasper throws the sandy wolf...Christian...off of him, and sends him sailing. He lands on his back and struggles to right himself.

            Jasper charges at me again, and before I can react he's knocked me off my feet. Terror fills me as he lowers his muzzle, and his teeth puncture the bare skin of my shoulder. I cry out in pain as black spots appear across my vision.

            Then Jasper is thrown off of me, and Christian is standing over me, his muzzle gently nudging. I reach up weakly and grasp a hold of his fur. I pull myself up into a sitting position. I look dazedly over at Jasper, and see him locked in battle with a bronze colored wolf.

            Through the haze of the pain, it registers to me that the light gray rags clinging to the bronze wolf's fur are the scraps of the sweater Jaden fell asleep wearing. So he's a werewolf, too.

            Jaden has his teeth around Jasper's neck. Jasper yelps. His yellow eyes find mine. They're pleading.

            Jaden wolf bites down hard. There is a distinctive snap, and when he opens his mouth, Jasper falls limply to the ground. He transforms back into a boy. His eyes are closed, and his neck is bent at an unnatural angle. His body is eerily still.

            I feel sick, but I don't even have the energy to vomit. I lean heavily against Christian, whose fur is soft and warm. I struggle to stand, my hands not leaving him. He begins to whine.

            Jaden trots over and rubs up against me. I feel my consciousness slipping away. The pain in my shoulder is too much. I slide down onto my knees. Jaden moves forward, and I fall onto him. My face meeting his fur is the last thing I can recall before the blackness overtakes me completely.