The Beast Within (Book One of the Changes Series)

-Danielle’s POV-

Voices rumbled from outside my cell. Trying to fight against my instincts, I was thankful for the distraction. I quickly recognized the guard’s voice. An involuntary snarl manifested. The other female took me a little longer, but I knew her too. Yes, I knew the voice very well. It belonged to Pompey, my primary trainer. She was sweet-natured with a tiny frame, corn silk blonde hair, and crisp wintery blue eyes. Pompey didn’t seem like she would fit in with the others I had met here, but she was vicious when in her ‘true form,’ as I learned to call it.

Since I’d been here, I’d only seen her in action once, but that was all it took. Before that training day, even as nice as she seemed, I thought she was a waste of my time. The rage and anger were slightly pacified by her techniques but never gone. I shared how I felt, and that was the day she took me to the training halls. I was given something that she claimed was ‘classified,’ but she assured me I wouldn’t transform.

I watched as she morphed. I was surprised by her fur coat; it grew in her hair’s same corn silk blonde. I wasn’t sure if that was common, but it didn’t strike me like it would be the norm. She led me through the obstacle without once seeming as though her patience or human sensibilities were disengaged. I fully appreciated her control because I had so little of it. It wasn’t long before she led us into a room with two giant lions.

First, I was shocked that I hadn’t sensed their presence, but I realized it most likely had to do with the serum she had given me. I didn’t have time to ponder anything as the seemingly agitated lions were ready to attack. Luckily for me, they seemed more interested in the more significant threat in the room.

The three of them went at it. Pompey dislocated one of the lions’ jaws through pure strength while the other readied itself for another attack. She then used the injured lion as a blunt weapon against the other’s head. When everything was said and done, the front teeth of the injured one were buried in the skull of the other.

Pompey stood there, changing back into her human form. I was sickened by the view. It seemed like a waste of life, but then she shared her perspective. She told me the rage and anger we felt were eternal, but control of it was possible. I still didn’t agree with how she displayed her theory, but I got it. Pompey directed her strength where she needed it, and I could do the same with practice.

Of course, the rank you’re born into did help with how easy concentrating in your true form turned out to be. In the werewolf’s hierarchy, Pompey was a Gamma, which was high on their chain of command. So far, I knew that Alpha was the top of the heap; then there was Beta, Gamma, and somewhere on the list hit Delta and Eta, the lowest being the Corrupted.

I thought there were more stations, but even the information I had was filtered through listening in on conversations that weren’t meant for me.

Pompey’s hushed voice caught my attention once more.

“What the hell was that, Daniels? She’s not cleared for that information yet. Shit, you must either have a death wish, or you’re more stupid than I originally thought,” Pompey vehemently whispered.

“Take a Valium; it was an accident, alright? I mean, it’s not like she isn’t going to find out eventually.”

“Well, if you’re not worried about your own ass, I’m not going to worry for you. Let’s just change the subject.”

What was she doing down here? I thought I was done for the night. Even if they had more lab work to perform on me, I would always meet her there. Nothing was making any sense right now.

Even though it was strange, her making a cell visit wasn’t high on my priority list. However, the information that I shouldn’t have had might be important. What did the guard tell me I wasn’t supposed to know yet? The only breaking news was of Master Romulus. What was the connection between him and Nathan?

Okay, let’s start with what I did know. I knew they were both werewolves. Except I hadn’t heard anyone call Romulus a werewolf; it didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t be one, though. They both seemed to have a high rank in this… organization. That was about all I knew about Romulus.

I kept an ear open as Pompey and Daniels started a trivial conversation about the weather that seemed to relieve the tension in Pompey’s voice. Obviously, they were still mindful of my presence and knew I could be listening in. Their voices became gradually fainter. They had to be walking away from my cell. One thing I knew for sure, Pompey and Daniels wouldn’t be letting any more information slip anytime soon. I was sure Pompey wouldn’t have made that mistake in the first place. I was somewhat shocked that she had decided to say anything about Daniels’s slip-up anywhere near my cell. She knew my abilities better than anyone.

Pompey seemed impressed by how sharp my skills were from the very beginning. I believe it was also her job to note all my physical and mental progress; I must’ve taken every test known to man or beast. The routine was always the same in the lab. The guards switch out my restraints, and then a lab hand comes in and takes what feels like a gallon of blood for testing. Then I usually get hooked to electrodes for more testing. Until it was time for me to be escorted back to my cell to eat, sleep and repeat.

After one test, she explained that it appeared I would be able to hear a person whispering from around thirty meters away. The best case study she had ever come across was twenty-five meters. The extra five meters must be impressive from her reaction. She believed that I must tune out that skill when it wasn’t needed. Otherwise, I would go insane from the overstimulation.

My dark friend stirred. Why was that important...?

No! It couldn’t be… My eyes widened. What Daniels had said replayed in my mind.

Master Romulus will decide when you’re ready to see him.

When Daniels said him, he wasn’t talking about Nathan, at least not how I see Nathan. I’ve had the answer since that time in Nathan’s office. I didn’t hear Romulus’s voice because there wasn’t a person on the other end to hear. Daniels didn’t think of Nathan and Romulus as separate people because they weren’t.

He’d been lying to me since the beginning! Now that I was ready to see it, I couldn’t believe I had missed it in the first place. He must not have thought very highly of my abilities either, faking a call right in front of me. That also meant Nathan was the one over the P.A. when I turned and most likely gave Lu Ann the go-ahead to send Porsha and me to the grotto.

That way, he could save the day and have me forever grateful. Who was this man I was describing? I wouldn’t believe it to be my Nathan, but it was, wasn’t it?

That would put him behind everything. The kidnapping, our imprisonment, Porsha’s mauling, manipulating me into killing Lu Ann, and he felt it appropriate to force himself on me after all that.

Even if all this was true, there was a chance he was listening to someone else’s orders. That could explain why he wasn’t here. Or had he had his fun, and there was no other reason for him to stay until he found me worthy of his presence?

I kept jumping sides on my own conspiracy theory. One minute Nathan was the loving husband, bound by our ‘species code.’ The next minute he was the Anti-Christ himself.

I didn’t have enough to know precisely how all this had played out, but the weight of doubt on my shoulders was getting heavier by the second. There were a few things I did know for certain. Nathan had been lying to me for our entire relationship in one form or another. And even if he hadn’t had a choice in the matter, there were still considerable gaps in what I really knew about my husband.

Confusion and rage pulsed through me as the tremors aggressively came flooding to the surface, but I did nothing to stop the transformation this time. I welcomed the rage because it felt better than the hurt.

I morphed into my alter, and the physical pain of turning dulled my human feelings as I had hoped. I no longer felt weak or lost. It was like I had a purpose I could fulfill: to tear apart whatever came into my path.

I had changed nine times since being turned. I remembered asking Pompey when she thought I would lose count. She told me no time soon. I think the pain made me take notice of each and every time, but there was something different about this transformation.

In my sparing challenges, I felt I depended more on human logic than beastly instinct. I noticed their strength when I was put against the Corrupted, but as I learned in training, they’re dumb as bricks. I believed myself better than they were, and in many ways, I still do. There was one thing they had that I didn’t, though They were able to let their humanity go and just be.

That was what I wanted right now, and my dark friend was more than happy to give it to me. It and I were enraged.

The cell’s door was the first to experience my wrath. Hit after every forceful hit, I unleashed my anger. I turned to the wall and blindly clawed at it. My aggression was met with opposition as the wall mocked my advances. There were deep gouges in its concrete surface but no damage that would grant my escape, which made me even angrier. I stalked towards my make-shift bathroom, destroying everything in my way.

Water sprayed freely, flooding the ground. I destroyed the area just because I could. It felt better than good. I’d been doing what I was told since I’d arrived and what did that get me? Stuck in this hellhole, that’s what.

The sink was next to go flying. More water flew in the air to join the growing pool on the cell’s floor. Vaguely, I heard the guard’s screams for me to stop, but my attention was captured by a small square mirror in the space that served as my bathroom. My height kept me from seeing my monstrous face, but I didn’t need to. My furry black torso and razor claws were enough. I knew what I was, and for the most part, I’d accepted it, but knowing and seeing were two entirely different things. The squared glass shattered onto the ground in one mindless swipe of my arm. I stared at the kaleidoscope of glass shards that shared my horrific form.

Without warning, I felt a red stabbing heat that broke me to my knees. Before I could recover, I was attacked by another searing jolt. Voices came in and out, then the pain returned. I was finally able to realize what was happening. I was being electrocuted.

The recollection of the first werewolf I ever came in contact with came to mind. The smell of her charred skin after she was barbequed to death. Or maybe I smelled my own skin at the moment. I knew my grandstand was over. Either I was going to give in or die. My kids came to mind. I still had people to live for.

I felt my form shrinking as I lay down in the shallow pool of my cell floor. I looked up at the chaos that was happening above me. There were four guards, and each one held long rod-like prods. I felt a tightening around my neck as someone placed a metal cable around it, clicking it in place.

“Now, look at you. Was it worth it?” Daniels spat out.

I didn’t open my mouth to speak. They may have won another battle, and they’d won all of them so far, but I’m still here, and the war wasn’t over.

“Look at what you did to your pretty room. We don’t have another one quite as nice to put you in. What a shame,” he said with mock regret.

My eyes shot up, meeting his stare, “I’m just wondering, are all werewolves complete assholes?”

Daniel’s chuckled, “You have no idea.”

“You should find out what happened to the last bitch that messed with me,” I calmly warned.

He broke eye contact, telling the others to keep watch over me while they waited for orders. I went back to staring at the water that now slowly trickled out of the gaping hole the toilet used to be.

I heard Daniels’ voice again, but now it was outside the cell.

“She seems to be subdued for the moment.”

“That’s good news for all of us,” Pompey answered.

“Is what she insinuated true?” Daniels asked.

“What’s that?”

“An incident she had with another lycan.”

“Yeah, that. You really don’t want to know. Just keep things calm down here. Good work, Daniels.”

I listened to the echoes of her footsteps going down the hall. Daniels loitered outside the cell, seeming like he didn’t want to take his place by my side again.