Blood Shadow by Aurora Kryan (digital e reader .TXT) 📕

“Momma come play with me!” I protested.

My mother only laughed as she patted my head trying to concentrate on her collage papers splayed out on the desk top. I huffed; she was supposed to play ball with me not study. Grabbing her white sleeve I pulled on it to get her attention.

“Momma.“ I whined.

“What my Little Rose?”

My name was Alice, my middle name was Rosemarie, but she always called me her Little Rose. Stretching my hands out to her she lifted me up onto her lap absentmindedly. Taking in a deep breath I smiled at the strong scent of sunflowers that clung to her chocolate brown hair. Resting my head on her shoulder I played with the ends of her hair.

Glancing over at her desk I saw her scribble dark lines on a blank piece of paper. They didn’t make any sense to me, just shapes not words. I was five but I hadn’t begun to learn to read, the scribbles meant nothing to me. Turning back to my mother I tugged on her white shirt again, whining the word play at her. Her face light up with a radiant smile as she sat me down on the floor again.

“You go play I have to work. Linda will watch you, sorry Little Rose.”

I jutted my lower lip out in a pout making her smile apologetically. She always had to leave to work at the hospital or work on her papers from collage. It took her away from me more then I liked but it was something she loved to do, I couldn’t pull her away from it. Turning back to the desk waves of brown hair fell into her face, covering her beautiful brown eyes.
I ran my fingers through my own hair. It was the same rich brown as my mothers, my eyes a slightly more golden chocolate then hers. But for all the similarities between us I was always told I looked more like my father. Rather she always told me I looked like him; I’d never had the opportunity to meet the man in person. Thinking about the stranger called father I glanced over at one of the many pictures of him that hung around the house.

The picture I looked at only showed him and my mother, I wasn’t even around yet according to Linda. The man whose arm was hung low around my mother’s waist smiled at me from behind the glass. Compared to her he was a giant, nearly two foot taller than my beautiful mother. Being so tall didn’t take away from his muscle though. He was buff, chest and arms sculpted under his plain grey shirt.

Combined with his raven dark hair and ocean blue eyes they looked striking together, beauty and the biker. I looked closer at his face. Defined cheek bones and a blocky jaw, that was what mom said I looked like. She said we had the same face and personality but I didn’t see myself in him. We could pass each other on the street and never think we were related.

“Go on my little pup.”

Turning away from the picture I smiled knowingly at my mother. She knew exactly what I wanted to play though she couldn’t come out with me. Bounding out of the room I concentrated on the feeling of the floor under my bare feet. How cold it felt against my skin. What it would feel like under my paws. Bursting out the door I barked at the open air excitedly.

Stepping down into the lush grass of our back yard I dug my nails into the soil. The feeling of the wind blowing through my fur was soothing. It’s been like this ever since I could remember, shifting from a little girl to that of a white wolf. Mother said it was because I was a special girl, a special werewolf, whatever that was. Pacing around the yard I hunted for my ball.

Naturally my eyes wondered over to the fence separating my yard from the neighbors. I frowned at the bordered up hole in the fence, memories of old Miss Garrison nearly fainting when she saw me shift clouded my mind. Snatching my ball from under the porch I chewed on it nervously. Mom never freaked out about my mysterious wolf form, but others did.

The only accident I ever remember happening was with Miss Garrison. It was winter, the third snow fall of December, kids were playing outside in the freshly fallen snow and I wanted to join them. But because I was so much younger they told me off. It made me mad I couldn't join them but I left. I didn't know at the time that my emotions were linked to the wolf, or my thoughts.

Being so put down by the older kids frustrated me. My beloved blue ball wounded up sailing over the fence and into Miss Garrison’s yard. It was also the one time my baby sitter Linda wasn't around to watch me. Desperate to get my ball back I crawled under the fence and right into a slush puddle. It chilled me to the bone, inadvertently making me shift into my wolf form.

Miss Garrison chose that moment to walk out into her yard with my ball. She started screaming words like ‘monster’ and ‘freak’. It scared me to think I was so frightening when all I had even been told was that my wolf form was cute and adorable. Naturally I fled back into the house. It was a lesson I learned the hard way, keep it a secret. Shaking the memory away I started stalking the tennis ball in the middle of the yard.

I hunted like that for awhile, alone, but soon got bored. This is no fun

. Huffing I went to the only tree we had, an old maple, and curled up under it for a nap. Maybe Linda would come out and play with me, maybe even mom if she finished her work. With thoughts of play and laughter in my mind I drifted off to sleep.

Distant footsteps drew me from the thick fog of sleep. Ears flicking forward I stretched my limbs out. Either Linda or mother had finally come out of the house which meant I could get back to playing. I wasn’t sure which of my guardians would greet me though; I was still cloaked in the fog of sleep, not really aware of who was walking towards me.

Before I could even open my eyes a wall of foul stench assailed my sensitive nose. I whined. Jerking away from the burning odor of salt and rust I blinked at the tears. It was so strong it was making my eyes water. Burying my nose under a paw I whimpered. Where was that horrible smell coming from? Even with the barrier of flesh covering my nose I could still smell the rust. A pair of black shoes stopped just in my line of sight, bringing a new wave of that retched odor with it.

Squinting up at the dark figure I growled then whined nervously. My baby sitter Linda was there, standing awkwardly in front of this stranger, but she wasn’t moving. The first thing I noticed was her normally shiny black hair flipped to one side in a mess of matted tangles. Body tense I looked closer at her face. Trickling from the corner of her mouth was a thick crimson liquid.

The wind rustled the leaves around me, forcing the smell down my throat. In that second two things clicked. One, that liquid covering the lower half of Linda’s body was blood. And two, that hole in her chest was where her heart use

to be. The fur on the back of my neck stood on end. Blood, so much blood

. Body trembling a small growl eased out from between my gaping jaws.

Linda dropped to the ground like a lifeless doll. Her body made a wet thumping sound when it landed; face down, in the grass. I felt numb, afraid. That smell of blood was so much more then it seemed. It was too strong to just be from Linda. It was too powerful to just be blood. I was smelling death, multiple deaths. Through the tears of pain and fear I saw the man move forward.

His face was blank but his eyes, his crimson

eyes, were mirrors of carnage and massacre. The hood of his black cloak fell back to reveal a head of neatly styled black spikes. His overall appearance was frightening but what scared me the most was the blood dripping from his claws. Despite his sinister appearance he walked toward me with a kind smile plastered on his face.

The faintest hint of sharp canines peeked out from under his lips. I wondered if he was a wolf like me, the sharp teeth being a trait. But he was different somehow. Life fled from him instead of gravitating to his presence like it did to me and my uncle. I wasn’t sure what he was but one thing was clear, he was a dangerous inhuman monster. Knowing this my mind became a mess of tangled thoughts.

Two hammered at my brain louder than the others. Did I attack him or flee and leave my mother behind? The idea tipped my undecided mind. A low growl emanated from deep in my chest as I tensed under his stare. My veins burned with adrenaline, vision tinting red at the edges as my instincts kicked in. I hated this man for hurting Linda, worse yet I was terrified that he had hurt my mother.

Lunging I aimed high, for his arm or shoulder. My teeth sunk into his upper arm. A burst of decayed flesh and cold riddled my throat. He didn’t just smell bad he tasted worse, living dead soaked in blood. Shivering I felt the chill of his lifelessness flow from his body over into my fur. It was cold, foreign, and very dead.

Glaring at me he raised a hand up so I could see it. Growling I chewed on his arm. His lips pulled back in a hiss. For a second the sight of his fangs startled me. They were so long and snake like I wasn’t sure if he was going to bite me or slap me with his raised hand. Suddenly, faster than I could see, he swatted me. The world went dark for a moment, my body disconnecting from itself.

Did he hit me?

Spots bubbling up in the darkness, my jaw slid open allowing me to collapse to the ground. I felt the world shift faster than I could