Book of the Hidden Read Online Free PDF Page B

sitting straight up in her bed, breathing deeply. What had awakened her? A bad dream possibly? She looked around her room. Nothing seemed out of place nor out of the ordinary. Her curtains waved in the wind that crept its way through the gap in the window, the grime unstirred on her nightstand and dresser. Both doors, one to the bathroom and one to the hallway remained tightly shut and no forms lurked in the shadows of her room.
          She lied back down until deep screaming pierced her ears. She swung her feet onto the floor, and ran out of her room following the screams to next door where Seth was. It was no longer screams rather that of roars and growls. It all sounded so painful. She pressed her ear against the door afraid that maybe it was just a nightmare, but he seemed to be very awake.
          "What is all the noise?!" Jean had rushed out of her room too.
          "I don't know...." Vivian pulled her ear away from the door. She didn't knock, but swiftly opened the door knowing she wasn't ready for the sight that was about to meet her. Seth lied beside his bed on the floor partially dressed and tangled in a blanket. He was curled up with his knees to his chest; his hands clawing at his stomach.
          Vivian knelt next to him pulling the blankets away from him trying to pry his hands away from his stomach. "Seth! Are you okay?" She knew very well that he wasn't but she had no idea of the pain a werewolf faced. By his grimacing facial expressions she suspected it was worse than any pain she had ever felt.
          She was answered with a growl. Shortly after, "It hurts! It hurts so much. I hate this, I hate being this monster!"
          Jean flinched from his words, but made no move to correct or scold him. It was only the pain talking. If he had said it coherently he may have once again felt the sting of her words.
          "It's natural to hurt. Your body is changing; transforming," she tried to comfort him with understanding.
          Seth rolled onto his stomach reaching out with a claw and digging it into the wood beneath his hand. He scratched downward leaving deep claw marks into it.
          "It hurts.... It really hurts. Make it stop, Vivian! Make it stop!" he cried in short grunts as fur sprouted onto his arms and hands. "Vivian, please...."
          "I can't do anything, I'm sorry," Vivian looked over to Jean, but she was staring at him shaking her head sadly.
          "Painkillers - anything.... Something to stop this."
          "There is nothing," Jean said shortly.
          "No, there has to be." Vivian pleaded.
          "I’m sorry, there isn't."
          Seth was unable to say anything more, as his mouth took the shape of a werewolf’s snout. He growled and transmuted more, right before their eyes.
          Vivian could not help herself, she placed a hand on his hairy shoulder. Maybe she could decrease the pain, just a little. She concentrated. Take the pain away, take it away, cast it aside. He stopped moving but continued to shake as though he was chilled. She thought it may have worked when suddenly he howled jumping up on four paws throwing Vivian onto her back.
          A hand braced her arm pulling her to her feet. Jean was still shaking her head. "You tried Viv, that's all you could do. He's going to have to learn how to deal with this."
          "He didn't ask for this...." She watched as Seth laid back onto the floor burying his nose between his paws.
          "Did we?"
          Vivian wrenched her arm back, and sat down next to the whimpering wolf. She slid her hand down his back moving up to scratch his ears. Soon he fell back asleep there on the floor. He would change back when the sun rose and to keep him warm, Vivian covered him tightly in the blanket. It would be a difficult transformation, but maybe he would learn to live with it and love all the magic with this new world.... Like they all did.... Or maybe he was too