The Moonlit Curse

Ch 6: Panic

Kiya jerked back and away, not caring how Hadyn might interpret the action, and avoiding his hand reaching for her shoulder. The warmth and comfort of his touch wasn't natural, though a smaller voice screamed out for it. In no way, should she want to be comforted by a man she didn't know. "E-excuse me, Hadyn," she spluttered after a moment, backing up further. "I just need some air."

Moving from the sitting room to the front hall was a blur. The shaking was so bad she barely managed to get the door open. The crisp cold air helped clear her mind for a mere second before the cramping pain overwhelmed everything else. The muscles of her arm and hand jerked involuntarily as spasms of pain rode through her.

Forcing her feet forward, Kiya stumbled down the street until her legs couldn't hold her up any longer. She collapsed in a pile of snow between two buildings.

It was worse this time. She didn't think it could have gotten any worse than the other morning. She already thought the pain was excruciating, but this... she was too hot, yet shivered from the freezing cold at the same time. She slid down the wall to lie on her side and gathered snow against her shoulder. In seconds, it melted, and then the water turned to vapor against her inflamed skin.

She heard the crunching of snow, and a pair of boots came into view taking slow and unhurried steps towards her. Hadyn lowered himself into a crouch beside her. The tips of his fingers grazed her cheek, and she was able to suck in a shaky breath. "It hurts," she gasped.

"I know," he answered gently.

Hadyn slid his hand under her and carefully pulled her up to lean her back against the brick wall. The comforting heat of his hands soothed her shivering, but it wasn't enough to take away the pain.

"Tell me what happened."

His command sank into her, opening her lungs even further and encouraging her to speak. But what would she say? The truth? What even was the truth? "It was... a bear..."

A different pain spiked through her skull, and it took everything she had not to scream.

"A bear in the middle of winter?" he chided. "Try again, Kiya. What happened?"

"It was a bear!" she cried. "It had to be, there's nothing else that could have done it!"

"You know that's not true."

"It can't be. It's just a story."

"Are you sure about that?"

She turned her eyes up to his powerful gaze. How could he be so calm? "Am I dying?" she whimpered.

"In a manner of speaking," Hadyn sighed, and a sad smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. "The old you, the one you were before that night, is dying. It is going to be a long and hard transition. You do not need to face this alone. But the people you came here with cannot follow you."

Red's face flashed in her mind's eye. Her best, oldest friend. The man she'd grown up with from small children to commanding a team at his side. For all his cool confidence, he still needed her. She needed him. She couldn't just walk away.

"No," she hissed and then cried out when the pain in her head and shoulder intensified again.

"You can't fight this," his grip on her uninjured shoulder tightened, and the command in his voice grew. "This is happening. There is no way to stop the moon's curse. In twenty-seven days, when the full moon rises again, you will turn into a-"

"No!"

Kiya acted before her mind caught up to her body. She grabbed his wrist and kicked him hard in the abdomen. Hadyn jerked back, and she used her hold and his momentum to pull herself back to her feet, just for him to react by twisting them around and shoving her against the opposite wall. Her good hand was pinned over her head, and he used the other to grip her injured shoulder. "Calm down!"