Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [71]
“Hey,” Lucy said, breaking through her thoughts. She stood in the doorway wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, looking for all the world as though she intended to relax around the house. “Are you coming with us?”
“Where?” Beth pulled off her socks and stuffed them in her shoes.
“When we’re all at home, we usually run around the woods surrounding the house. You know, goof around.” She smiled invitingly. “Wanna come?”
“I think I’d better stay here.”
“Ah, come on! I’m always outnumbered by the guys,” Lucy pleaded. “It’d be nice to have a girl to back me up for a change.”
“I’ll pass.” Lucy looked so disappointed that Beth forced a lie past her lips. “But maybe next time.”
“Are you sure?” Lucy hovered uncertainly in the doorway, obviously warring with whether or not to push the issue.
“Leave her alone, Luce.” Braden gave her a gentle shove down the hallway. “Chase is waiting for you downstairs and Caleb pulled in ten minutes ago.”
“Okay. See you in the morning, Beth.” She disappeared down the hall, yelling for Chase.
“Who’s Caleb?”
“My other brother. He came in from Portland.” He leaned casually against the doorjamb, studying her. “You didn’t eat much at dinner.”
“I wasn’t very hungry.” She turned away from his scrutiny and moved toward the window. Lucy and Chase goofed around on the lawn. Another man—Caleb, she assumed—scooped Lucy up over his shoulder and spun around. Lucy shrieked with laughter. The clear sky continued to fade from brilliant blue into a reddish-purple glow. They didn’t seem to notice. Or care.
“You shouldn’t skip meals before the change. It’s not good for you.”
“You should go. Your family is waiting for you.” Beth gestured toward the window, silently willing Braden to leave.
“I thought maybe I’d stay with you.”
“I don’t want you here.” She strode across the room, her mind set. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Braden caught the door she tried to slam in his face.
“It’s easier with someone else. Please, Beth.”
“No.” A spasm ran through her, her fingers clenching involuntarily around the door. “Go away.” A shudder racked her frame, the muscles in her shoulders and along her spine rippling. He had to leave. Now.
“It’s already starting?” He moved as if to step into the room, brown eyes warm and concerned.
Beth put her hand in the center of his chest and pushed. “Just go.” Desperation tinged her voice. He took a small step back, enough for her to slam the door and twist the lock. The moment she did another spasm ripped through her, tormenting her sore muscles and igniting the places the Taser had touched her. She barely managed to muffle the cry that bubbled up her throat.
Moving as quickly as she dared, she stripped out of her jeans and T-shirt. She was down to underwear when the first true contraction hit her. She stifled a scream, as the pain drove her to hands and knees.
The doorknob rattled and Braden’s voice pleaded through the door. “Beth, please. Don’t do this.”
Why isn’t he shifting?
Beth gasped for breath and struggled out of her bra. Her stomach turned. Saliva that tasted of the roast chicken dinner flooded her mouth. She distantly registered the first howl from the front yard. She answered it with a scream of pain that drowned out everything else.
Chapter Sixteen
Braden slammed his fists against the door, Beth’s screams raking through him like claws. He fought his own change, delaying the inevitable.
His shoulders rippled and tensed. He breathed through the muscle spasms, willing the shift to wait a few more minutes.
“Braden?” His mother’s voice cut through his concentration.
Braden made a desperate grab for the control to not shift on the spot.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. You’re fighting the change.” His mother stepped up next to him, the scent of lemon and rosemary still clinging to her skin. “Why?”
“She’s hurting.” Beth’s screams had died almost as soon as they’d begun but her painful whimpers continued to echo through the door.
And his gut.
And his heart.
“Hurting yourself won’t change that,” she scolded. “I’m going to go check