The Cursed Lycan

utumn’s withering leaves, Leya feels some

eyes shift back and forth restlessly, soot-black lashes fluttering when the rou

e

rest floor. He whines again, bending low to bop the soft crown of his face on h

he cat rubs his face on hers once more. He bares his teeth as if threate

ll grasping for a shred of clarity from the

ing at her with slow blinking olive eyes before turning back t

ger as she begins to feel something du

Be

ustard’s sudden feral hiss as her head swivels around wildly in search of the cre

the girl’s disappearance batters down her throat, forc

er voice is a muffle to her ears, the buzzing sound of her hearing

revious storm. One drop falls on her cheek like a cold tear. “Anna!” Leya pivots on her heel, s

nn

dread in one particular direction,

small clearing painted in b

oo

crimson, white crystals outlining the streaks like ermine. The absence of a body would have saturated her

p through the forest, tunnelli

was

e. Each step is taken with careful, heavy consideration and followed by her skittish gaze darting f

en, searching for her, taking utmost pleasu

pths of the cabin. With a queasy stomach, Leya forces herself up the short flight of stairs, almost staggering into th

and wet, crisp leaves matting the better half of her jaw, a sparse scattering of sunburn

ls of her mind, blood from the scene in the woods, dripping luxuriously down sharp edges

down her body, conscious of any wounds or gaping injuries but to her rel

while drawing on a clean pair of jeans and the closest shirt she had near, which happened to be a thrift s

her slow, drifting figure opening one drawer after the next, wi

n water. Their replacement is inevitable; such things take precedent in her life, yet thi

e had been doing: here she was growing concerned over the pric

take her, she draws out the bag of kibbles an

affectionately, olive eyes gazing at her imploringly and with slight inflectio

dies her cat thoughtfully for a moment, vaguely w

tively safe during a terror-filled night, surely

aze fixated on the tall looming trees; gnarled branches void of leaves; tree bark now a deep mah

ew mirror, glancing once more at th

es constantly darting to the side mirror and the windows as she drives past the forest. The adrenaline, though subsided, still

echoing in her mind, and the thought of it vaporizes all moisture from her mouth, leaving it parched, tongue

lunt, and she glances at the screen every

wered only confirms the w

umn paddings, conversing idly on the pavement. Most shops are open, and those that are n

ng seems

er of blood in the woods now fades into background noise, uncertain and clouded. As she round

are parked befor

sed shop, a notepad in hand, Anna

what catches Le

his head buried in his arms. He rocks back and forth almost rh

at and Leya finds herself drawing to a slow halt bef

m but stops halfway, unable to say something when the man’s wretched distraught face rises to the sky. His eyes are

can make out his words despite

n

n

n

n

the previous night’s events only anchor her to the ground, each l

began to move, and she would have caught most words had the fog of disorientation not clouded

s furrow at the c

ats the

cation, Leya reaches into her pocket

de

ogetic manner. He speaks again, almost casually, before catching his

know th

an afterthought ad

ughter passed away last nigh

tion hitching slightly. She hesitates as Anna’s figure paints itself bef

htly as they type in the

face, studying with him with sudden clear-eyed precision. The co

ll the time not to le

atively, she pockets her phone and walks away after thanki

ital is empty when she arrive

ppened t

the new set of sound amplifiers. The doctor sits behind his table, jotting down p

,” he says and points at them with the tip of his

back and… fell…” The lie sounds strange on her tongue and the doctor watches her for a

ld deal with the itching. My advice is to care for them pr

Leya murmurs her thank you and p

r debit card, she pays for the new device and gel, grateful for the ability to hear again. There had always been

d between a cafe and small, second-hand bookstore. Her legs begin to move with a mind of their own towards the gun shop,

sidewalk and starts to beeline for the shop when a

rs and she flinches back, hands rising to cup either

arch the stree

nd searching eyes slide back and forth behind glas

ed at an awkward angle; an attempt by the dri

ill at the si

man stands b

a figment of her imagination after a traumatic night and lack of pe

as the man stoops and turns his head, allowing her a glimpse of the side of his face. He runs his nose along the

ened into a caramel brown but Leya can only wonder of its true hue. His vein

f warm, honey hues and predatory gold ripples along his cornea towar

then he turns. Her body involuntarily tightens at the sight of his lean, towering body facing her now, the defined planes of his to

st seem

hu

ens the ardent hues of his eyes. The muscles on his legs ripple and his shoulders flex p

tience. The further and further he drives forward, the more vivid the black markings become but she doesn’t quite process what the

om her fog of confusion and she reacts too late a

ches f

cafe’s window is bare, dry and rough and big enough that its fingers tou

ends a jolt of pain from the back

front of his body pressing with an unnatural intensity that has her

one-handedly at the man. Her palm presses on his bare chest, feel

s not

d, Leya feels his chest cave into her face as his nose burrows into her hair, smelling, inhaling with a starving desperation. As though unsatisfied by

s her brow, over her closing eyelid, further down the soft curve of her cheekbone and over the bridge of her nose.

her skin. The pain of it is hardly registered as the man’s face suddenly ho

w, wait a

resses on her lower lip

bering it with saliva. She purses her lips reflexively, earning another deprecatory growl. His other hand suddenly snakes down her spin

rks for weeks. He slides her further up along the glass window unti

her teeth indulgently before pressing on her tongue as he tries to draw it into his mouth possessively. He curls

ed as his hand drags down the curve of her throat, squeezing

of saliva webbing between their lips which h

uddenly squeezes her bra-less breast hard. The action is unrestrained

mouth back on hers. His torso briefly leans away from hers, only to return

e grows in

the skin, sucking the blood as he shifts his hips aga

vul

ean

w. Pain jolts up her knuckles upon impact yet he seems unfazed by the action

Mis

ntion away from her and towards the s

behind digs in further, nails breaking past the barrier of her jean

the crowd, aiming tasers and a gun at the man. “St

lling back to flash canines as a feral sound echoe

now,” he ord

t from the looming man,

ass which screeches and whines. Her belly rubs on the prominent vein beneath his cock,

e,” the officer say

ne-cut face unyielding be

ne

gro

wo

ya into him

hr

lf from his arms, she teeters unsteadily as her feet touch the ground, then ducks as his long arm reaches for

officer moves between, barricading the path

t, the vicious expression on his f

s yet the man does not react, as th

on, and he makes a move to step forward once more

rival’s actions. Ignoring the officer who now yells into his rad

rop to it,

o