Free Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) by Emma Woods Page B

you of sorts. After a few moments his pheromones hit me. My instincts took over. I bit into his lip hard enough to draw blood. He screamed and jerked back. His action was enough to regain control. Before he could escape, I held him down by his shoulders. He didn’t move.
“I told him, ‘I’m not going to kill you. Tell them you fought me and escaped.’ He nodded at me. His eyes were curious, searching my face. I used my fingernail to cut a deep x over his heart. I let him go and he ran away quickly.
“Ten months later you were born.” Mother took my face and looked me in the eyes. “Lea, you don’t have to be a killer. You can do what I did. I know you can.”
I sniffled and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I know, mom, I know.”
     

 
    Chapter 8
    ~Runaway~
     
“Pain, Lea! Use your nails. That’s why we didn’t cut them.”
I snapped around to face Mom. The red fog blurred my vision, but I could still smell her, hear her heart pounding. The scrape of her weapon of choice, an aluminum bat, made me shudder. It echoed in the small room. I couldn’t take it.
“Get out! Get out!” I growled at her and swung a bristled fist. She ducked and swung the bat at my midsection. The impact crumpled me to the floor.
She pulled the lever and waited by the door, in position to strike me again if she had to. Her entire body was shaking and her breathing labored. I knew she didn’t want to hit me; I could smell the salt from her tears.
“Mom, I’m sorry,” I cried. The pain from the blow had thinned the mist. “Please, Mom. Stay. I can control. I can.” I shoved my thumbnail into my palm to keep my mind clear.
“No. I can’t. It’s too late.” She backed to the door as Nana opened it, bat still raised. “I’m sorry I hit you. I never wanted that.”
Mom had worked with me every change, helping me find ways to control my anger. This weekend had been worse than any other.  When I finally pulled the lever Monday night, Mom couldn’t hide her disappointment in me.
“We only have one chance left.”
“I’m sorry. I’m trying.”
“That was trying? I had to hit you with a bat. I’ve never had to do that before.”
“I know. It’s getting harder to control myself.”
Mom lifted my chin. “Look at me. You will do this. You can do this. Say it.”
“I can do this.”
“Tell me you’ll hunt without killing.”
I sighed. We went through this after every changing. “I’ll hunt without killing.”
Mom squeezed my shoulder. “That’s my girl. Now, let’s go upstairs and have some dinner. Nana made pork chops.”
***
I made it to the classroom just as Ms. Dawning was closing the door. The desks had been pushed against the back wall and tables were in their place. Each table had three or four large metal pans with something light pink in them. Beth motioned to an empty spot between Rally and her.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“Pigs.” Beth pointed to her pan. A small dead pig was lying on its side. Its slimy skin had a pink tinge and it reeked of formaldehyde.
“I think we are going to dissect them,” Rally murmured.
Ms. Dawning clapped her hands. “Everyone! Today we are going to practice heart removal. I understand that a pig is hardly a savage male, but they're the closest thing we have.”
My heart raced as I noticed knives in the middle of the table. The room began to spin and my stomach lurched. I seized the table for support. Ms. Dawning’s instructions were drown out by a pounding in my ears. A jolt rocked through my body and my tongue went numb.
“Are you alright?” Beth’s head was floating off of her body.
I blinked. “No.” I wasn’t sure how loud I was talking. I wasn’t even sure I was speaking aloud. “No! No! No! We can’t. I can’t!”
“Ms. Corre!” Ms. Dawning’s voice came from far away.
Eyes glared at me from every direction. Ms. Dawning was still talking, but I couldn’t understand her words. I ran for the exit, knocking over chairs and people as I went.
I