My humanity died with the bite of a beast.

The evening was frigid and cold with a winter's wind nipping at my heels and rustling my tartan school skirt. That wind chased away my parting call and I waved at Erin joyfully before spinning on my heels, my thumbs tucked into the straps of my school-bag.

At the end of the block stood my towering apartment building of red brick stone. The balconies were decorated with strings of lights - like my own glimmering beacon to guide me home.

I followed the path cut by other people in the slush and mud, wondering absently what Mam had cooked for dinner. I didn't mind the way the winter wind yanked at my dark hair, spinning it loose into the air before dragging it down in front of my faceUnder my breath, I hummed the new tune the music teacher had begun showing us, already wishing to have piano keys under my fingers so I could practice and practice until the sight of the notes nearly made me sick.

Movement startled me. My gaze flew upwards from my ratty shoes as a male stepped out of a side alleyway suddenly in a rough, jolting movement. Sudden, startled fear shot through me and I instinctively noted the darkening skies and the empty streets. I dipped my hand in my pocket, curling my fingers around the tazor.

He had not noticed me. Instead, he raised his head to the grey skies, his long lashes fluttering closed as he sucked in a deep, calming breath. But that breath stuttered in his throat and he spun around in alarm, dark brows bunched tight.

I was entranced immediately. Trapped there under the weight of whiskey-gold eyes that caused me to taper to a slow walk, my eyes riveted on his. Giddiness welled up in my throat and with it, my cheeks burned crimson.

He just stared at me, his rich tanned skin illuminated under the torch-light. The collar of his coat was shucked up and my gaze dropped, cutting over his expensive winter boots. I stopped and stared. "...hi?"

His breath caught in his throat. Slowly, a shy and dimpled smile rose. "Hi."

"You look like you're lost," I let my hands fall and swing. "You're not the sort I usually see around here."

His head tilted. "Oh? What are the sort of people you see around here?"

I tried to play it off coolly, but my tongue tripped and I just uttered a nervous laugh. The man took in a breath and flexed long fingers before curling them tight enough that his knuckles went white. That action – that little flex of thick knuckles broke through the fog hazing over my mind.

I took a step back.

He took a step forward as if yanked by an invisible string. Those warm eyes flashed, caught at the right angle under the light. Terror shot through me, realisation chasing it.

This was no man.

"Lycan..." I breathed.

He moved in the blink of an eye. A warm hand seized my wrist and I was flying forward, grey walls rushing walls rushing past me before my back was pressed against cold walls. He boxed me in and my school-bag was gone, discarded somewhere in the madness.

Burning hands smoothed down my shoulders, down my arms and back up again. "Please don't be frightened."

A sob hitched in my throat and my heart thundered so hard behind my breast-bone that I thought it would crack open like an egg. I had never seen a Lycan so deep in our sector. My voice was so weak – so choked with fear that it was achingly soft. But he heard it. "Please don't hurt me."

Slipping a hand into my wind-strewn hair, he looked down at me sadly. "You know the Law."

"The---what?"

"I – I don't want to do this but the alternative..." He teetered on uncertainty. I didn't dare push him – how often had our teachers warned about the razor-thin control of young Lycan males?

"The al-alternative ?" Lordie, fear had robbed me of my voice. It fogged my brain and I knew that this was familiar to me but my brain just screamed run Nova.

There was no warning then – no pause before he ducked, sinking fangs into the juncture between my shoulder and neck. I couldn't scream, my agony caught in a knot in my throat. My body tried to curl in on itself – to replicate a spider's dead dusk but he kept my flailing limbs pinned. I grabbed him, my fingers curling in tight. Hot tears washed down my cheeks.

And then, he was pulling back. His expression was down-cast, his guilt obvious. He dipped a hand into his pocket, withdrawing an un-used hankie. He began blotting at my neck clumsily, his broad hand shaking. "I am sorry, little mate."

A sob raked through my chest. "Please don't kill me."

He froze, his gaze shooting to mine. The shock onto made his harsh face more terrifying and I shrunk back, convinced he would tear me open. "I did that only because I had to. My Law would only inflict punishment on you if I left my m..."

"You tried to tear out my throat!" I cried. The mark of his teeth burned and I felt as if it had tainted my blood already, changing me irreversibly.

He dropped the napkin back into his pocket carelessly and a light-bulb pinged above my head. 'Stupid girl' I thought.

Large hands, capable of inhumane and brutish violence, cupped my cheeks with aching gentleness. I couldn't have melted at the sight of his attempt at a calming smile, not with my blood on his teeth and the pain shooting through my veins from my neck. My hand wormed into my pocket.

"You are my..."

Before I lost my last shred of courage, I yanked the tazor up and shoved it at his neck. Black swallowed his eyes, a snarl curling his lip but he jolted back, his body spasming like mine had moments ago. I pushed away from the wall, my hair loose and wild and my neck wet with fresh blood.

I ran.

Straight from the arms of one monster and into the arms of another.

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