Marked (18 page)

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and began
typing.

Are you wanting to come with me to Katie’s Halloween
party tonight? I’m getting ready now at Rachel’s. ~ Tessa

Five minutes passed before Jace finally replied.

I don’t think so. Have fun, but I think I’ll pass
this time.

“
Guess I’ll be riding with you
guys; Jace doesn’t want to come,” I said, sounding more
disappointed than I wanted to let on.

“
What? I can’t believe him.
Why?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said, ‘Have fun,
but I think I’ll pass.’”

“
Screw him then. Here.” Rachel
tossed a pair of leather pants into my lap. “Try these
on.”

“
Oh my God, these things are going
to be skin tight,” I muttered.

“
I know and you’ll look
hot.”

* * *

Thirty-five minutes later, Rachel and I stood in
front of her full-length mirror that hung on the back of her door,
staring at ourselves dressed in our Halloween costumes. The black
leather pants had fit like a second skin, which Rachel said was how
they were supposed to fit, and her stiletto boots made me a good
six inches taller. I had borrowed a tight, super low-cut, black
shirt, let Rachel do my hair and make-up, put on my cat ear
headband and tail, and painted on some whiskers. My cat costume was
complete and I thought it actually looked good, especially for
seven dollars.

Rachel on the other hand looked amazing. She’d found
a black and silver sequined tank top to wear with her sliver tutu,
some black leggings for underneath, and her pair of black ankle
boots with a six-inch heel. She’d transformed her hair into tiny
ringlets, done her make-up like a movie star, and slathered some
old body glitter from middle school all over her exposed skin
before putting on her black angel wings.

“
We look hot!” Rachel beamed, while
we gazed at ourselves.

“
We do look pretty good,” I agreed.
“What time is Kyle supposed to be here?”

“
Not until eight. What time is
it?”

I grabbed my pants up off the floor and got my cell.
“It’s only 6:02.” I frowned.

“
Well, we could eat something. I
think there’s some pizza rolls in the freezer.”

After eating, we reapplied our make-up and waited in
the living room for Kyle to arrive. He got there at 8:20 dressed as
a zombie. It was a stellar costume, complete with loose flesh
hanging from his face and a slow dragging-leg walk he’d
perfected.

“
Are we ready to party?” he asked
in his best zombie voice, and Rachel and I laughed.

“
Yeah.” She grinned. “Let me just
grab some things and lock up.”

“
Good, because everyone is supposed
to get their around nine and I still have to get gas,” Kyle
said.

Ten minutes later we were all climbing into Kyle’s
little black, two-door Honda Civic, party bound.

When we finally reached Katie Taylor’s house it was
9:04 and I realized I’d forgotten how far out Katie’s house was. It
was in the middle of nowhere, eerily secluded. I scooped up my cell
from the backseat, hoping to send Jace one last pleading text for
him to come, but I had no cell service. I tossed it back onto the
seat and twisted around to watch Kyle parallel park near the end of
the driveway.

From where we’d parked, you could hear the party was
already in full swing up ahead. Rachel and I locked arms as we
started up the driveway.

“
It’s so cold,” Rachel
complained.

“
I know it; let’s hurry up,” I
said.

“
It’s not that bad out here,” Kyle
insisted, dragging his foot behind him, doing another zombie
impression.

Fake spiderwebs covered the door and little
skeletons hung in the windows. The Monster Mash played loudly from
inside. I gripped the handle and opened the door. Katie had
transformed her living room into a Halloween rave. Black lights had
replaced every light bulb, fake spiderwebs draped from the ceiling,
along with black and orange crepe paper, and a fog machine worked
full blast in a corner.

“
This is amazing!” Rachel
shouted.

“
Arr, welcome to ye house of doom,”
Katie said from a chair near the door, holding up a red plastic
cup. She was dressed in a cute pirate costume. “Grab ye selves a
cup of me Halloween brew.” She giggled, and I wondered how many
cups of Halloween brew she’d already drank.

Rachel and I exchanged a glance before weaving our
way through the crowded living room to a table near the back wall
with stacks of red plastic cups on either side of a large punch
bowl. Kyle followed.

“
Who’s the D.D. for the night?” I
asked, my eyes bouncing between the two of them.

“
Not it!” Rachel shouted as fast as
she could.

“
Aw, come on! I had to be D.D. last
time,” Kyle whined.

“
Sorry, but I called it first,”
Rachel insisted, grabbing up a cup and sloshing in some of the
green-colored punch.

Kyle glanced at me, but I just shrugged and took a
sip of Katie’s concoction. I expected it to taste like something
lime flavored due to the color, but instead was surprised to taste
sherbet.

“
Mmm, this is good,” I
muttered.

“
Right?” Rachel agreed.

The three of us stood around commenting on
everyone’s outrageous costumes while Rachel and I continued to sip
on our Halloween brew. I was nearly finished with my first cupful
when I spotted Sam, dressed in his champion boxer costume, and
Darcy as a slutty French maid.

Rachel followed my stare. “Hmm, looks like Jace did
him a favor, helping to contribute to his costume and all.”

“
You could say that,” I said,
tipping my cup back.

Over the next hour and a half I drank two more
cupfuls of the sherbet-flavored drink and danced with Rachel, Kyle,
and some guy dressed as Batman who insisted that I was Cat Woman
and
had
to dance with him at least once. Jace remained in
the back of my mind the entire night, but I was bound and
determined to have a little fun.

I stumbled to the bathroom, deciding if I didn’t
pause my dancing right then, I’d probably pee on myself. When I
came back to the living room, Rachel and Kyle were dirty dancing
together. I flopped down into the nearest chair and hung my head,
suddenly feeling overheated. The room began to spin a little and I
closed my eyes.

“
You okay?” Rachel asked, her hand
rubbing my back slowly.

I nodded. “Yeah, I just think I need some air. It’s
hot in here.” I stood and stumbled slightly, wondering what was in
that Halloween brew.

“
Want me to go outside with you?”
Rachel asked as Kyle came up from behind her and wrapped his arms
around her waist.

“
No, I’ll be fine,” I
insisted.

I moved my way through the clusters of people,
headed straight for the door. As the cool, damp air of an October
night touched my warm skin, I began to feel slightly better. I
closed the door behind me and moved forward toward the wooden rail.
Leaning against it for support, I looked up to the full moon and
drew in a deep breath. The door opened behind me and out walked a
vampire couple.

“
Hey, Tessa,” the girl vampire
said. I stared at her, trying to figure out who was beneath all the
white face paint—Shelly Carmon, from my chemistry class. “So,
where’s that new boyfriend of yours?”

“
He couldn’t make it,” I said, not
liking the little smirk that played on her lips when she
talked.

“
I see Sam dressed ready for a
rematch. We were hoping to see one,” the guy beside her said while
he took a puff off his cigarette.

“
Not gonna happen,” I muttered,
turning back to gaze at the night sky.

Shelly giggled and then I heard whispering along
with kissing noises. When the two vampire lovebirds stepped back
inside, I sat on the second step to the porch and leaned my head
against the rail. Now that the spinning had stopped and I’d managed
to cool off, exhaustion was sinking in. I closed my eyes and
relaxed against the cool of the night.

My eyes snapped open at the sound of a twig breaking
in the woods nearby. The sound of rustling leaves to the left of me
made me jump and I instantly became fully awake.

As I slowly stood, my eyes began to search the patch
of woods closest to me and that was when I saw it—a golden-colored
wolf staring directly at me. Panic slammed my heart against my ribs
while every nerve in my body urged me to run. I spun around and
darted up the stairs too quickly, losing my footing and slipping
down the five steps.

Glancing over my shoulder, I scrambled to stand
while attempting to keep an eye on the wolf. In one swift movement
it lunged forward, sinking its sharp teeth into my right leg. An
agonizing scream burst from my lungs as I felt its powerful jaws
bite down hard and then release. Instinctively I folded myself into
the fetal position at the base of the stairs and clamped my hands
over the area where I was bitten, then braced myself for the next
vicious, bone-shattering bite.

But it never came.

I watched mystified as the wolf lowered itself
beside me, its face inches from mine. As I stared into its
honey-brown eyes, a searing pain began to radiate from the bite
mark, making my skin feel like it was burning from the inside out.
A bloodcurdling scream escaped me as the pain intensified, shooting
up my leg and spreading throughout my body like poison in my veins.
The wolf’s eyes never moved from mine and in my frightened state of
mind, I thought they almost seemed sad.

Breaking out into a cold sweat, the pain became
unbearable and spots began to dot my vision. The searing pain
spread throughout my entire body like a raging wildfire, consuming
me whole in mere seconds.

My eyes focused on the sad, amber-colored eyes of my
attacker and I vaguely remembered seeing them on
someone—
Jace
—just before I blacked out.

Someone tugging at me and lifting me into their warm
arms woke me slightly.

“
She was only out here for a few
minutes… what the hell was that? A wolf?” Rachel’s frantic voice
filled my ears.

The fire raging through my veins was too strong and
I couldn’t stay conscious as the numbing darkness of sleep
swallowed me once more.

My eyes snapped open, confusion and disorientation
clouded my mind as I glanced around the tiny room I found myself
in, a room with marbled-colored wallpaper resembling the color of
puke and white-tiled flooring. A TV hung on the far wall that was
turned on, but the volume was muted.

Realization dawned on me—I was in a hospital.

Sitting up quickly with my heartbeat pulsing
throughout my body, images of the wolf and its sharp teeth sinking
into my leg spun through my head. I slung the heavy, green-knitted
blanket and white sheet off me and twisted my leg to see a large
bandage covering my calf. Panic trickled through my veins. It
hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been real.

The door to my room slowly creaked open, startling
me even more.

“
Oh—sweetheart, you’re awake!” mom
gasped.

She walked into the room holding a paper cup of
coffee between her shaking hands. Her hair was a tangled mess and
her eyes had the darkest circles imaginable underneath them. This
was the worst I’d ever seen her look.

“
How are you feeling, honey? We
were so worried about you,” she said, setting her coffee down on
the side table and rubbing my arm.

“
I’m not sure—sore and confused,” I
answered truthfully. “How did I get here?”

“
Rachel and Kyle brought you in;
they said you’d been bitten by some kind of a dog. Well, actually
Rachel said it was a wolf, but Kyle swears it was a dog—a husky
maybe. Do you remember what happened at all?”

Images of the golden wolf and its warm,
honey-colored eyes flashed through my mind. “I don’t know. I
stepped outside to get some fresh air and this golden-colored wolf
or dog or whatever it was bit me. Do we even have wolves in North
Carolina?”

My mother laughed a nervous laugh. “I’m not sure,
but the doctors are pretty set on it being a dog bite.” I sensed
something odd in her tone—hope, maybe?

“
Great, does this mean I need a
rabies shot or something?” I asked, sitting up in the bed a little
straighter.

“
I don’t think so, honey. Kyle and
Rachel were both pretty sure whatever it was, was not foaming from
the mouth. In fact, it was the only thing they could agree
on.”

“
That’s a relief.”

“
I should go get your dad. I left
him eating lunch in the cafeteria; he’ll want to know you’re
awake.” Mom smiled. She left the room, closing the door behind
her.

I lay back, allowing my head to sink into the
pillow, and focused on taking in deep, measured breaths. I’d been
bitten by an animal, unbelievable.

Before I was able to fully relax, the door to my
room opened again and this time in walked an older man dressed in a
long white coat.

“
Good afternoon, Tessa. I’m Dr.
Lenmark,” he introduced himself with a slight smile.

“
Hi,” I answered, feeling my palms
instantly begin to sweat. Doctors always made me
nervous.

Dr. Lenmark glanced at his clipboard and grabbed his
pen from in his coat pocket. “And how are you feeling? Are you in
any pain?” he asked, his eyes never leaving his clipboard.