The sound that follows is a sickening crunch that twists my stomach with nausea and leaves my eyes wide open in horror.
I scramble back on the dry earth, hands scraping on stones, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene.
Dave's scream roots in my head, a wet gargling noise of someone choking on his blood as his neck lay slashed open. The wolf's massive jaws clamps down on his head and I look away before the sickening thud of something heavy lands on the ground and rolls to my feet.
Then, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. The woods burst open as the rest of the Garrens flood out, all except Diana.
Liam is shouting, his voice thick with panic.
"Casper! Stop!!"
Casper?
The name echoes in my shattered mind.
Casper?
It can't be.
My gaze finds the black wolf. It looks too large to be a normal wolf, too abnormal. Sensing my gaze, it cranes its head back at me, large chest heaving and licking blood off its fangs.
In the second before it looks away, I see the red glow fade from its eyes, revealing cold gray eyes, terrifyingly familiar, glaring out of the beast's face.
I finally scream. And I do not stop.
It takes Violet kneeling in front of me, clutching my face and telling me to take deep breaths for long stretches of time before I begin to quiet down. I keep my gaze at her soft green eyes, nodding along with her as I breathe.
"It's okay, Arielle."
Her calm voice dispels the danger for the moment and she breathes with me.
One.
Two.
Three.
"You're fine."
One.
Two.
Three.
And for a second I believe her.
She doesn't drop my face until she's sure I've calmed enough to not freak the hell out. When my gaze travels to the mangled heap that is Dave Violet gently turns my face away.
"Don't look at that."
I watch Jean and Kyle approach the black wolf—Casper—with matching infuriating scowls.
"What the actual fuck, Cas?" Kyle hisses, his eyes bouncing frantically between Dave and him.
"Cas, you fucking idiot! You didn't have to kill him!" Jean moves to grab a fistful of the black fur when Liam stops him with a sharp gesture.
"Don't provoke your brother," he says quietly. "Cas, shift back and explain this mess. Kyle take Arielle inside. Vi, can you do something about the body?" His voice is calm and steady, holding the chaos together, leaving no room for argument.
Kyle moves toward me while Violet gives me an encouraging squeeze and stands.
The wolf doesn't move. It just stands there, like a dark shadow from hell, glaring at everyone, its huge body shaking with unspent rage.
"Son, shift back. Now. That's an order." Liam glares and I feel a subtle shift in the air, something heavy and oppressive filling the night.
"She saw," a deep, guttural sound that wasn't quite a voice rumbles from its throat.
"I know and we'll deal with it," Liam replies, glancing back at me with eyes void of his usual warmth.
My breathing comes in shallow, hitched gasps and I almost reach for Violet squatting over the body.
Kyle's face pushes into view and blocks them, his soft features now warped with a protective fury that almost sends me scurrying back. But I don't get the chance as he scoops me up in his arms like I weigh nothing and carries me away from the nightmarish scene without a word.
By the time we reach the back deck, I'm hyperventilating.
He sets me down on the steps and takes my hands, staring at me with worry. Somewhere between the woods and the house, his fury has melted away.
"Hey, hey, Little Mermaid. Look at me. You're safe now. It's okay." His voice was low and soothing, a stark contrast to the animalistic rage I'd just witnessed.
"But…"
"I know. I know. Cas is a complete fucker for letting you see that." The way he says it like it's normal to watch the man that was singing happy birthday to me become a beast and tear another man apart right in front of me.
Jasmine's warning hits me like a gut punch.
My stomach lurches. I pull away from Kyle's warm, steadying hands shove myself against the railing and violently puke into the grass.
I heave and heave while Kyle silently rubs my back in soothing circles.
When I finish, I wipe my mouth and collapse into him, too tired to fight the terror waves surging through me. He switches to stroking my hair as I catch my breath.
For a quiet moment, neither of us speak.
"Who are you people?" The question was a weak croak, but it was enough to scatter the moment.
"That is a conversation for later... We need to go inside."
I push away from him. "No."
"Arielle please…"
With sudden clarity, I see the truth. The bizarre I didn't want to acknowledge finally made sense. Every stupid thing I justified because I couldn't comprehend anything else all leads to one open truth. "You're all monsters."
Kyle flinches as if I'd struck him, his mocha eyes, usually filled with mischievous light, grow dim and narrow. Before he can respond, a low growl comes from the fields.
We look out and find a completely naked Casper, hidden by the shadows, glistening with dark blood. He stares at us, his face a mask of cold fury. Liam appears beside him, mirroring the same cold fury and my chest tightens.
The father-son duo a terrifying sight in the darkness.
"Get her inside, Kyle. Now." Liam's deep voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding. "Before the scent of blood draws more of them."
Kyle snaps to attention and picks me up again without a word. I fight against him but it's like hitting a solid wall of muscle. He doesn't budge.
"Let go of me."
He ignores me, walking carefully through the empty kitchen and the lifeless decorations and abandoned half cut cake. It seems everyone left in a hurry from the scattered cups and dishes and the vanished festive air.
My heart sinks and my body goes limp as all the fight leaves me. My birthday party. The first one I've ever gotten now definitely the last.
We reach my room.
"Put me down, I can walk," I say but Kyle keeps his gaze ahead and opens the door. He drops me on the bed gently, his hands lingering on my shoulders adjusting the sleeves of my shirt before he steps back and leaves.
I'm still on the bed, trying to process what I've seen without inducing a heart attack when he returns with bottles of water, a slice of cake and my phone I didn't even realize had fallen out of my pocket.
He sets everything down on the table and turns to me with apologetic eyes that almost makes me see him as human.
"I'm sorry, Arielle. You were never meant to see that. But you're safe here. I promise." With that he leaves, shutting the door with a final click. But I'll be damned if I believe the words coming out of his mouth.
Safe?
When I just witnessed a murder? By my foster brother, Casper, who happens to be some sort of wolf beast?
A literal, terrifying, muscle-bound predator that tore a man apart?
Fuck that shit.
I grab my phone, and follow.