The Witch’s Poisonous Bite

The beast bit into my flesh, and the wet, sucking sound of his sharp teeth tearing into skin, blood, muscle, and tendons made me nauseous.

I lifted a hand and plunged it into its ink-black fur, mumbling one of the few spells I’d learned by heart. A cold chill rose as the words left my lips, and the magic struck the beast. It recoiled, staggering back. But it recovered too soon, and amber eyes locked onto mine before I could even release the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The beast drew back a few steps, baring its teeth and hissing.

I whimpered and tried to crawl away, but the pain stopped me. It was searing, like flames pulsing through my body. My legs trembled, my vision blurred, and the world tilted.

“Stop!” I scolded, as if it were a disobedient child, but it didn’t relent. The hunger in its eyes told me it would keep coming.

With every second that passed, the last fragments of my hope faded.

The beast crept closer then, circling me. Cold dirt crusted under my nails as I fought to get away, but I was too weak. The wound burned, blood oozing steadily from my thigh.

The only chance I had was if the poison in my blood killed it before it killed me.

I had been walking home through the forest when it attacked. Werewolves were nearly extinct, and to stumble upon one was almost impossible. I wasn’t prepared. My magic wasn’t nearly strong enough.

But I had one advantage. Witch blood was poisonous to werewolves. If I let it take effect, it would die a slow, agonizing death. I could stop it from happening, though.

If I let it work it could die. If I tried to save it, I might die instead, but maybe, by doing so, I could break its curse. No one I knew had ever seen a werewolf. Maybe it was a myth… a trap. Yet doing nothing meant letting an innocent die when I could do something. The being behind the beast had no control over its actions.

It roared and lunged then. I screamed and raised my arms to protect myself, but I stood no chance. It was bigger, stronger, and far more dangerous.

It jumped and slammed me to the ground, pinning me in place. Pain erupted, and I pressed a hand on the wound as warm blood leaked. I groaned.

But then, it slumped on top of me, and the weight became almost unbearable. The air was ripped from my lungs, and the breaths I took were shaky.

When I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, its fur turned to skin, claws to nails, and paws to hands and feet.

A dark-haired man with chestnut-toned skin and no clothes rested against me. I could breathe easier, but his weight still held me down. He raised his head then, and when a pair of chocolate brown eyes met mine, my heart skipped a beat.

It was him. The one I’d secretly loved since we were children, even though we weren’t supposed to.

I reached for his cheek. “Arren.”

He was drenched in sweat, his chest rising violently, and his breaths came in uneven gasps.

“Cindy,” he whispered, the word weak and husky, as if he had to force it out.

I held on to him as if my life depended on it, and kissed him lightly on the temple. But then I felt something wet tainting one of my blond strands. I knew I didn’t have much time.

His eyelids fell closed, and my eyes traveled over his features, taking in the blood coming from his ears, mouth, and nose.

He was dying.

I knew what I had to do. There was no choice. Arren would die if I did nothing. And yet… I didn’t move for several seconds. I just stared at my hands, before I decided to do everything I could to save him.

Taking a witch’s blood was poisonous, but if I gave it willingly... it was said to break the werewolf’s curse.

I reached for a stone nearby, but my muscles trembled and my body felt heavy and unsteady. I was barely keeping it together. But without thinking, I cut my wrist, and my body jerked as I shrieked in pain.

His eyes were still closed, but I heard him.

“No… I won’t do… it….”

I didn’t think. I pressed the bleeding arm to his lips. Maybe he wouldn’t drink, but the beast would.

“…Please,” his voice barely a whisper.

It took a moment, but then he lunged, and his teeth burrowed into my skin. It was just like before, only this time I accepted the pain. It was for him.

If I died, he would have to find it in his heart to forgive me, and if I lived… I would have to do everything I could to convince him to forgive me.

The pain surged then, stronger than ever, and I swallowed down the tears that rushed to the surface. It became silent around us, as if the forest had stopped breathing. Holding its breath in waiting.

Darkness crept closer with each passing second. Then night swallowed me and I lowered my eyes.

Maybe for the last time…