Chapter 192
~ NYSSA
Screams cut through the air as the blue recruit fell to her knees, blood gushing from the wound at her back.
The red recruit stood behind her, knife drawn and covered in blood, eyes unfocused and dark as he stared down at her crumpled body.
The crowd moved in a panic. Voices overlapped as people rushed to escape the arena, and as the pandemonium grew, so did the casualties.
A thick, pungent odor filled the air—fear. No matter where I turned, I smelled it, it was a rancid smell, settling over the people, the area... even me.
Guards were already moving, trying to calm the crowd, and in the middle of the arena, people had gathered, trying to get the blue recruit to safety while others surrounded the red recruit. The whole scene was a mess and yet, for some reason, I could not draw my eyes from the puddle of blood sitting there.
"Nyssa, we need to go," I heard someone say next to me but I did not dare move. "Right now."
"So much... blood," I managed out.
"Someone is going to clean it up. Let’s go—"
I felt a warm hand wrap around my wrist hard, like some kind of shackle.
Unease rose inside of me, my insides twisting uncomfortably. For a split second, my vision went dark and it felt like I was pushed to the back to my mind.
A snarl ripped its way from my throat before I could stop it and I bared my teeth. "Don’t touch me!"
Aria stepped back, hands held up in surrender. "Whoa! We’re on the same side here, remember? What the hell is going on?"
"I—I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry."
I ran my hands down my face, wondering what the hell just happened.
"Nyssa," Rowan said, voice soft. "I need to get you out of here. Can you go with them?"
I nodded slowly.
No one touched me this time. They just formed a protective circle around me as they led me through an empty corridor.
The walls around me shook and even there, I could hear the shouts from outside but I could not focus on them.
"Was that you?" I asked my wolf but she shook her head.
"I don’t know what happened either. Maybe you just snapped?"
"That didn’t feel like me. hell, I know it wasn’t me."
"Who else could it be?"
I didn’t get the chance to answer because we burst out into the front of the arena.
People ran in multiple directions outside, each one trying to get to safety. I saw bloodied forms running through the streets. The whole thing was a fucking mess.
"The car is just a few minutes away from here," Eric said. "We should go this—"
"Help me!"
A man stumbled over to us, his hand pressed against the side of his head as he limped over.
Blood rushed down his face and his leg seemed to be bent at an uncomfortable angle. Underneath all the blood, I smelled him—werewolf.
He would not heal on his own, not the way the lycans did.
He grabbed my arm, his touch warm and wet. "Please."
He was wrenched off me by one of the guards. I heard their voices but I could not make out what was being said. Instead, I stared down at my hand; at the bloody print resting against my skin.
I expected to feel disgust. I thought my stomach would churn and I would rush to wipe it off but I did none of those things.
Something else bubbled inside of me, something old and dark. It felt suspiciously like what I felt earlier, it was cold... and hungry.
A rough cloth brushed over my hand, cleaning the blood off in one swipe and it was like I was thrown back into my body.
I blinked twice at Eric who was responsible. "I—where’s the man?"
He stared at me incredulously. "You were right here, Nyssa. Did you not see one of the guards take him to the hospital?"
I opened my mouth to speak but at the last minute I decided against it and shrugged.
The truth was, I didn’t see anything.
I had no idea what the fuck was happening, but I also knew that this was not the right place to have it.
"Can we just go home?" I asked.
Thankfully, we found the car without incident.
I said nothing on the drive home, and even after arriving, all I did was murmur a few words of gratitude under my breath before rushing inside and heading straight for my bedroom.
It was only when I slammed the door shut behind me that I managed to breathe for the first time; each breath felt like a thousand knives going through my lungs at the same time.
"This is so fucked," I mumbled, running my hands down my face. I glanced down at my skin, hating the way it crawled. "I need a fucking shower."
I let my hand drop when I saw it.
It was a small patch, barely noticeable where the man had grabbed me earlier. Eric had wiped it off but he clearly didn’t get it all because there on my skin was a streak of red.
I stood there, staring, unable to understand the feeling that bubbled up inside of me. Something about it felt wrong, my insides twisted with uneasiness but I could not stop it.
My body began to move of its own accord, my hands lifting as I inspected the touch.
"It’s blood," my wolf hissed at me. "What more do you need to see?"
Still, my hand came closer to my face and I took a discreet sniff—metallic and rich... definitely blood.
I brought it lower, to my lips and slowly darted a tongue out and licked it.
My mouth was flooded with a metallic taste but underneath that was something warm, something richer. It tasted unlike anything I had ever imagined, like warmth and earth and—
"What are you doing?"