Trusting the Beast

By Melissa Stern

Real Love; Two words I never understood. Where was its place in the world and how could it be found? And fate; that is something I understood even less. Could you change it or did we just blindly follow it?

Harmony witnesses the brutal murder of her entire family as a young child. She often wonders why she survived and what her purpose is in life. On her 16th birthday she transforms into a "Monster". She hides herself from the world but can no longer hide once she meets Derek. He is a "monster" like her and Alpha born. Soon she will discover why she is drawn to him. Jealousy and anger are coming from a few in the pack and soon Harmony and Derek will realize that both of their lives are in danger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melissa Stern
• Release date: Jun 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310115882

Melissa Stern

Melissa Stern is a self published author who also works in healthcare as an Occupational Therapy Practitioner. A healthcare professional by day and writer by night, she also finds time to read in between. She fell in love with writing in eleventh grade and has done it obsessively ever since. You can find her books at any ebook store and is looking forward to printed versions being sold on Amazon in the near future. You can follow news and updates about Melissa on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and on her Blog.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Small children dream of being princesses and princes, of storming castles and slaying dragons. I use to have dream like that. I would dream that I was the most beautiful princess in the world and I was locked up in a high tower waiting for my prince to come and rescue me. My prince came for me and we got married and had a family and lived happily ever after.

My dreams turned to nightmares after my family was killed. I still dreamed of the night my parents died. Even though it was ten years ago it still seemed like yesterday. It was so vivid and life like. I could still feel the fear and smell the blood.

It was a night like any other. My father had just finished telling my sister and me a bed time story. We opted for Beauty and the Beast. It was our favorite and it seemed like it got better every time he told it. He would even do the different voices for all the different characters and we would cheer him on.

Dad was busy tucking us in to our cushy pillow top queen bed that we shared when there was a high pitched howl outside. It was a chilling sound that I will never forget. Our father turned to us with fear clearly visible in his eyes and told us to hide until he came to get us.

Don’t let your little sister out of your site Kala. Do you understand me? Do not leave each other’s side. My big sister Kala nodded in understanding and took my hand.

We hid in the bathroom which was down the hall and had the only door that locked in the whole house. I was scared and cried out for my mommy and daddy but Kala hushed me and told me I needed to be a big girl. I didn’t want to be a big girl, I wanted my mommy and daddy but I did as I was told.

We could hear horrifying noises and screams coming from outside the door. Kala wanted to see what was going on. I begged my sister to stay with me but she didn’t listen. She never listened to me. I was the baby and she didn’t listen to babies. She cracked the door to get a look. I wish I had done something more to stop her but what could I do? I was only four years old. We could see giant hairy animals attacking our house. They were attacking our mother and father. Blood was everywhere. I don’t remember making a single noise but somehow they heard us. Once they saw us, they came for us. My sister shoved me into the bathroom cabinet under the sink and told me not to come out no matter what. She wrapped a bath towel around me and kissed me on the check. She then ran out of the bathroom closing the door behind her. That was the last time I saw her.

After a few moments the noise died down outside the door. I didn’t know if the monsters had left or if my sister was coming back for me. I wanted my mommy and daddy but I was too scared to leave my safe haven. I sat there and cried myself to sleep in the cabinet under the sink.

I woke up the next morning or what I assumed was the next morning, and I crawled out of the cabinet. What I saw with my four year old eyes was a scene from a horror movie. There was blood everywhere I looked. The house was ruined, torn apart by beasts with claws. The first thought that came to my mind was that mommy was going to be really angry about the mess that she was going to have to clean up. That is when I spotted them, all lying along the floor. Mommy was lying in the corner next to the kitchen table. Daddy was sprawled out in the middle of the living room floor and Kala was balled up against the back door. I ran to my mother first and shook her. There was no response. Then I ran to my father. Again there was no response. Lastly I ran to my sister. By this time I had tears in my eyes and I was beyond gently shaking her body. I sat there screaming Kala’s name and hitting her as hard as my little fists could. She had to wake up and when she did she would yell at me for hitting her but I didn’t care. Soon I came to realize that they were all dead, torn apart just like the house.

I crawled outside covered in sticky red/blackish blood and sobbing. I wandered the street for an hour or so before a state trooper stopped me. The trooper came towards me slowly and wrapped me up in a blanket, put me in the back seat and took me to the station. He asked me questions that I had no answers for.

I just kept repeating myself. I want my mommy and daddy.

Where is mommy and daddy. He asked in a kind voice.

The monsters killed them.

His eyes widened and he got down on his knees in front of me and spoke slowly. Do you know you’re address so I can send people to help mommy and daddy?

I thought for a second trying to remember my address, but I was only four and my little brain had not retained that information yet. I shook my head no and the troop sighed and rubbed his face with one of his large hands.

I can tell you where I live. It’s the second road on the left after you pass the diner.

The trooper looked up at me. What color is your house?

I thought for a moment. It’s brown but the roof is green because daddy got the wrong stuff and mommy doesn’t like it.

The trooper actually smiled at me and stood up.

He reached for his radio and rambled off a bunch of words that I didn’t know and didn’t understand. After he finished talking on the radio he asked me if I was hungry and I shook my head yes. I was starting to feel better. The police officer was going to help my family and I couldn’t wait. I kept picturing that at any moment my daddy would come walking through the door to pick me up. He would be ok and mommy and Kala would be ok and I could go home. The trooper came back with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some milk. I was almost done with my sandwich when a call came over the radio. The trooper didn’t look happy. He rubbed his face with his large hand again and looked at me for a long moment. He then got on the phone and called a lady named Pam. Pam showed up not long after and the trooper and her whispered to each other for a long time. The lady kept looking at me and I was starting to get worried.

When is my daddy coming to get me?

The lady came and sat next to me. What’s your name sweetie?

Harmony.

Oh that is a pretty name Harmony. Can you tell me what happened to your mommy and daddy?

I shook my head. Monsters killed them but it’s ok because he sent help for them and my daddy will be coming to get me soon. I pointed at the trooper whose head dropped as I spoke.

Pam looked at him and then back to me. Harmony your mommy, daddy and sister where hurt really badly. Babe they won’t be coming back.

I didn’t believe her. I knew deep down inside that she was telling me the truth but I didn’t want to believe her. I just sat there and stared at my milk. I learned a lesson that most four year olds don’t learn for years. Once you are dead you don’t come back no matter how many people they send to help you. Once you died it was forever.

After a while Pam filled out some paperwork and took me to a home for orphans. I got to see a doctor who asked more of the same questions but I refused to talk to anyone. There were whispers that they thought I couldn’t hear. They whispered about my parents and how they died. They said that it was an animal attack, rabbet wolves.

When the kids asked me what happened I told them that big hairy monsters killed my family. They all thought I was lying. I learned another lesson that no four year old should have to learn so early. Kids are cruel. They made fun of me and told me that no one would want to adopt a crazy child. I learned fast to keep my mouth shut. Most nights I cried myself to sleep. I would pray to God for my family to come back. I promised to never borrow any of my big sisters things without asking ever again. I even promised to eat all my veggies without putting up a fight. I guess that is when I stopped praying.

The years went by in the orphanage. I did what I was told and stayed out of trouble in school but still no one wanted to adopt me. No one wanted an older child they wanted the babies. Soon I was 16. Pam had told me that turning 16 was a girl’s rite of passage. She knew that I didn’t have friends but not because I couldn’t make them. I didn’t want them. She came to visit me and brought me a small blue and green vanilla cake with yellow and pink sprinkles on it. She even lit the candles and let me blow them out. It was the best birthday I had ever had in the orphanage. That night though was not so great. I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach and it soon spread throughout my body. I had had cramps before but this was much worse. I had my own room at the moment since my roommate had just been adopted a few days ago. I ran into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face but it didn’t help. I could feel every bone in my body moving. It felt like they were all being dislocated at once. Fur sprung out from under my skin and my nose grew out into a mussel. I was turning into something horrid. Something I couldn’t control. I knew within an instant I had become the same monster that killed my family. As I laid there on the bathroom floor in pain I vowed to myself that I would not get close to anyone. I would not allow anyone to adopt me. I did not want what happened to my family to happen to them. After a few months I learned how to suppress the beast. I refused to let it take control.

Pam came to see me one day. She told me that a man had come to speak to her. He said that he was a friend of the family and that my father had told him to take care of me if anything where to happen to him. Unfortunately he didn’t have the proper paper work and they couldn’t just let me go off with just anyone. He did however; give her the deed to my parent’s land which stated that I owned it as well as the house that sat on it.

Now I understand if you don’t want it. You have a lot of memories there and it is secluded. If you want we can sell it and I will put the money in an account for you for when you are no longer a ward of the state. If you want to keep it though I can have it fixed up for you. You don’t have to decide right now you still have a couple years to go. Your mother and father also left you a small bank account. It has enough money for you to live on for a good while.

I couldn’t believe that I now owned a house. Pam was right the house did hold a lot of memories for me but it was secluded and it would be perfect for me. I wouldn’t be close to anyone so I couldn’t hurt them. I could get a job at the diner. It’s not like I was super smart and was doing a lot with my life.

I want to keep it.

Pam stopped mid sentence and looked up at me. Are you sure?

Yes I want to keep the land and house.

Ok. I will go by there this week and see what all needs to be fixed and I will hire people to inspect the electric and plumbing. She folded up her file folder and stood up.

Thanks Pam.

She smiled down at me. For what, Honey?

For everything.

She smiled again and gave me a big hug. My pleasure, Sweetie.

After Pam left I sat there thinking about everything. I could only gain access to the account and the land when I turned 18. I only had to wait for two more years then I would be free.

Chapter 2

I spent the four and a half hour bus trip looking back on the memories of my life. The bus smelled musty and the large guy sitting across the aisle from me smelt as if he hadn’t had a shower in quite a few days. Pam had offered to drive me but I told her that the ride would give me time to think. After thirty minutes of arguing I finally convinced her that this was something I needed to do on my own.

Last stop, Fishlake. The driver shouted back to the only two passengers on the bus.

The smelly guy next to me just continued snoring. I got up and grabbed my bag and headed off the bus. The driver tipped his hat and bid me fare well as I stepped off the bus. Once off the bus drove away kicking up dust and dirt. I looked around to see exactly where I was left off at. It only took me a moment to get my bearings. I started walking along the dirt road to my parent’s house, my house.

I was back in Fishlake, Utah. Population 7,558 and that’s during tourist season. Right now it was off season so it almost looked like a ghost town. The Fishlake National forest is literally right on the door step of my house. All around you there are majestic stands of aspen encircling open mountain meadows that are lush with a diverse community of forbs and grasses. All sorts of wild animals live here and it is out in the middle of nowhere. That is why I chose to come back. I would be safe here and more importantly people would be safe from me. As I walked down the dirt road of this small community I passed lodges and cabin rentals. This was a tourist trap for the extreme outdoors man. There was also a small diner along the way. It looked run down but that didn’t seem to stop business. Appearance must not have an effect on the few travelers that stayed behind, especially when you’re the only diner out in the middle of nowhere. I continued walking up the road for a mile or so before I broke off the main road and headed down the familiar side road to my old house. As I got closer I could see that the outside had been recently redone. I would have to remember to thank Pam for that. She always insisted on making sure everything was perfect.

When I reached the front porch I stopped. Memories of me and my sister playing hide and go seek while mom baked the best homemade chocolate chip cookies flooded my mind but I pushed them away. I knew that this was the only place I had to call home and I would have to overcome my fears if I wanted to stay here. I reached for the front door and unlocked it. When I stepped inside I could see that not much was done to remodel the living area. Of course there was no blood on the floor but the claw marks where still there, just looking at marks on the floor sent shivers down my spine. Of course Pam attempted to cover them up with a pretty maroon and black floor rug but I could still tell they were there. New furniture had been purchased and placed inside. Pam had good taste. She had purchased a large black leather sectional, which I was pretty sure the leather was fake, a couple maroon throw pillows, two black end tables and center coffee table, and some pretty heavy looking rot iron lamps with maroon shades. How many people did she think was going to live here?

I slowly walked back to my parent’s bedroom and found it completely empty. My sister and I’s room was also empty except for a new bed with, surprise, surprise a maroon comforter, a wooden dresser, and all my suitcases that again Pam had sent ahead for me. That woman really had a thing for maroon and black combinations. Don’t get me wrong I loved the look but the color spectrum is larger than just two colors. I was thankful though. I don’t know what I would have done if it had looked the same as when I left.

The house was dusty and musky form being closed up for so long so I decided to open up all the blinds and windows to let in the fresh country air while I unpacked. I busied myself for hours unpacking and exploring the house. I made sure that the first thing I set up was the only picture of my family I had on the nightstand next to my bed. It looked like Pam had thought of everything. She was such a kind woman and I had to remember to thank her. She had made sure that there were dishes in the cupboards and food in the fridge, soap and shampoo in the bathroom and even an alarm system installed. I didn’t know exactly what an alarm system would do for me way out in B.F.E. but, I was thankful for it. I wasn’t even sure if this town had a fire department. By the time I had finished unpacking, rearranging my room and sat to have dinner it was beginning to get late. While I was eating my microwave dinner, thank God for small miracles since I can’t exactly cook, I made a list of things that had to be done. It read:

Things To Do

Make sure mailing address is correct with post office.

See if the diner is hiring.

Hire someone to build a privacy fence around the property.

Once the list was done I cleaned up my dinner and went around the house to make sure all the windows and blinds were shut and the doors were locked. It took me a good ten minutes but I set the alarm via the written instructions left by Pam and crawled into bed. It was weird to be sleeping in a new bed in my old house but oddly comforting at the same time.

This was the start of my new life. It wouldn’t be anything extravagant but it would be mine. I drifted into sleep praying that the nightmares did not return and for the first time in fourteen years I was obliged.

Chapter 3

I awoke early to the birds singing right outside my window. It gets cool outside at night which makes it cool inside. I hadn’t turned on the heat because well I just didn’t think about it. I wanted to stay in my nice warm bed but I knew I had things I had to do. I drug myself out of bed, walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After showering and getting dressed I headed into the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I looked over my list one more time and grabbed my wallet. There was a lot to do today and not enough time to get it all done in.

I headed down the road towards the general store where the post office was located. It wasn’t that far of a walk but it was getting hotter out which made it feel longer than it actually was. That was Fishlake, Utah for you, bloody hot during the day and damn cold at night. The main street that ran through the center of the community was actually paved which shocked me. I didn’t remember a paved road out here. I guessed that it must have been paved recently from the look of it. Then again it could have been paved for years and still looked new from the lack of traffic it saw.

There wasn’t much in the small community. There was a general store which was kind of an everything included store. They had groceries, clothing, a post office and anything else you could think of inside. There was also a small hardware store next to it. There were two schools. One held grades one through eight and the other served as the high school. They weren’t very big since there were not a lot of kids that lived here. There was also an old Ma and Pop drug store which looked as if it was on its last leg. Kind of like everything else around here. Ma and Pop also owned the only gas station for