Chest heaving, I glanced down at my hands, which were burning. I
blinked twice and jerked back. Blood dripped from punctures in my palms,
and where my nails should have been, there were claws.
“Fuck,” I squeaked as fear snaked into my heart.
Casey’s gaze snapped to me and then to the other guy. My cousin had
Jared’s shirt in his fists, but he shoved him away. “What’s wrong? Did that
other fucker touch you?”
I hid my hands behind my back and shook my head, swallowing the panic
in my throat. “Nope. I just need a minute. Alone.”
Turning, I clutched my bloodied hands and jogged toward the bathroom,
Casey’s voice carrying behind me.
I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
A beetle thwacked the lightbulb overhead, and I squinted, my eyes
burning from the brightness. I took a breath and ambled toward the sink,
bracing myself on the cool tile. My vision blurred before clearing. Trails of
crimson blood streaked down the white porcelain sink, and my breath
quickened as the pain in my jaw throbbed.
Stay calm, Savy. There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, I
thought, though deep down, I knew better.
I inhaled and looked up, meeting the eyes of my reflection in the mirror.
A monster stared back at me.
11
Savannah
“Oh, my God, no.” My heart rate and breathing skyrocketed as I braced
myself against the sink and studied my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes had gone amber. Auburn hair had sprouted along my forearms,
and claws extended from my bloody fingertips, still aching from their release.
This wasn’t PTSD or a trick of the mind. This was real.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I couldn’t move. The horror of
the truth had rendered my body immobile.