Chapter Two - Adjustment

Taylor stopped in the alley near her shop, catching her breath. She'd ran the whole way here and her lungs were burning, but her stamina was also changed, it was better than before and she was only just starting to feel the burn of exercise in her legs. She pushed her hand to the stone wall next to her, gulping in deep, greedy lungfuls of fresh air. Footsteps grabbed her attention. Panic filled her, she didn't want anyone to see her this unsettled, especially after the strange time she was having lately. She took in some more breaths, and waited in apprehension to see if these footsteps belonged to one of the men that she had been staying with.

"Taylor?" The voice was male and it made her jump, spinning on her heels to look at whoever was there. Her panic eased for a second, but she then saw the anger in his eyes. "Where the hell were you?" He snapped, and she pushed back the last of her uncertainty to deal with him.

"Rick. I'm sorry, the last few days have been a total blur. I have no idea what happened. I have your order at the shop." Taylor said, moving closer to him. He was pissed, and dangerous if his order was anything to go by, but she knew how to handle herself. She was hard to scare, and she'd been in fights with bigger guys. "Come to the shop the now and we can..." She was cut off when she pushed her into the wall behind her. Hard. It knocked her breath out of her for a moment and before she could gather her thoughts his hand was around her throat and his knife was pressed against her cheek, not quite drawing blood yet.

"What kind of shitty excuse is that? Did you get frightened girl? Fuck up my order?" He snarled at her, lifting her up just enough so that her feet were just off the ground, smirking cruelly at her when her hands grabbed his wrist. "I heard you were the best, bitch. Is this how you treat customers? I should just gut you here and now!" He dug the knife into her cheek, laughing at the thin red line of blood that he left on her otherwise flawless face.

Her heart was racing and her panic spiked again. He was unstable, which make him unpredictable. She needed to get out of this situation. Taylor closed her eyes when he cut her face, and brought her knee up between his legs with enough force that he dropped her in his surprise and pain. There wasn't time to fully catch her breath, not before he recovered, so she ducked past him, panting hard and swiping at the blood on her face. "You don't want to start this fight, Rick." Her voice was raspy and filled with anger. "I'm stronger than I look." The anger boiled through her blood and she felt an odd sensation within herself. It was like her body was changing, fighting something. Then there was agony, and she dropped to her knees with a loud thump, and screamed.

Mason growled slightly. He was angry, at himself for losing the girl and at her for running off like that. She couldn't control herself, if she was pushed to it, she would turn into a wolf and that meant that someone would die. She didn't know how to control the change, and she would have no power over her wolf instincts for a while, not until she'd spent time getting used to them and understanding them. The pack leader had sent them out to hunt for her, her scent still fresh in their minds from her staying with the for the past two nights. He had left with Aidan but there was too much ground to cover and his twin had suggested that they split up. It was a good idea but he was getting restless. Aidan hadn't called, which meant that he hadn't found Taylor, nor had anyone else. His phone was being tauntingly silent and it was pissing him off. They needed to find her, before something happened to her, or anyone else. He was heading further into town when he paused, frowning. He could faintly pick up on the smell of blood, and suddenly it hit him. Taylor's scent. That blood was faint, but it was hers and he knew that if she was bleeding then she was dangerous. She would have no control over her transformation. Cursing under his breath he ran toward the smell, hoping that he would get to her in time.

Taylor saw the fear in Rick's eyes as he watched her turn, but she didn't really take it in, her pain was overwhelming, forcing tears into her eyes. She watched in detached fascination as red fur broke the skin on her hands; she watched as her hands broke and changed in front of her, forming into a paw with wickedly sharp claws. She lost all rational thought as she became the wolf that was no a part of her, her gaze moving up the knife that was smeared in blood. Her blood. She was hungry, and pissed. Without warning she advanced Rick, charging him with fangs bared in a snarl. Nothing else mattered, all that she could focus on and think about was the sound of heart pounding in chest. He screamed, and tried to run from her, but that just encouraged her to chase him. The predator that she now was needed to chase him, the smell of blood and fear making her more aggressive. Deep down in her mind, she was vaguely aware of what she was doing, but there was an urgent need to hunt. She tackled him, her teeth sinking deep into his leg and she forced him to the ground. The taste of blood rolled over her tongue, pushing her further into her frenzied state. She pulled away, blood dripping from her mouth as she growled at the man, stalking up his body as he rolled over to look at her. She was so focused on him, on the pulse in his throat that she didn't see him remove a knife from his pocket. His attack caught her by surprise, and the pain of his blade shot through her shoulder, she yelped in pain, and turned back to him in anger.

Taylor didn't hesitate before lunging for his neck, her teeth biting down hard and tasting his blood and fear. She tore his neck open, lapping up the blood that poured out and pooled on the ground under him. Rick tried to scream but it came out as more of a gurgled whine, and he didn't have the strength to fight her, she could sense him slowing, his heart was failing him as it pumped his blood out of his torn throat. She moved back, watching him die, and her anger eased. As she calmed down she rapidly gained control of her thoughts again and she stood frozen, her eyes not able to leave Rick's throat and the wound that she had caused. She turned back into her human form, but her panic and disgust overwhelmed her, so she barely felt the pain of turning back. Taylor shivered, and for the first time noticed that she was totally naked, and that there was blood running down her arm and a sharp pain in her shoulder. A voice brought her back to reality.

"Taylor?" Her eyes met Mason's, and she saw his concern in them as he silently took in the scene in front of him. She saw his mouth move but her shock stopped her from hearing her words, her eyes going back to Rick's lifeless form. Taylor covered her mouth, tears stinging her eyes. What the hell was that? What did she do?

Mason moved closer to Taylor, very aware of how spooked she was, and that she was completely naked and smeared in blood. He'd been too late. Damnit all. This had been what he had hoped he could stop. A body was trouble, it could risk exposure but that wasn't the issue. Taylor had just killed a man, and she would have loved every moment of it. He knew how troubling that was to live through. She would be confused and scared and deeply disgusted at herself. At what she now was. "Taylor, its okay. I'm here." Mason said softly, slipping out of his jacket to drape it over her shoulders. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, kneeling down next to Taylor and pulling her into him, she was shivering but he couldn't tell if she was cold or in shock. Mason hit Aidan's number and pressed the phone to his ear, waiting for his twin to pick up.

"Mason! Thank god. Tell me that you've found her?" Aidan's voice rang out after the third ring. Mason smiled slightly at his brother's voice and looked down at the girl collapsed against him. She was still staring at the body.

"I got her, but not in time. I need a car and some clothes for her. I'll message the location." Mason said, hanging up without waiting for a reply. He quickly text Aidan the address of the street that they were off and told him it was in the alley. He'd smell the blood anyway. Mason then moved in front of Taylor, blocking her view of the body in front of her. He took her by the shoulders, saying her name but she didn't react. He lifted her chin up, meeting her tearful eyes with his own, a tightness rising in his throat. Whatever drew him to her was dying seeing her like this.

"What...?" Taylor began, but her voice was weak and she trailed off, swallowing back her tears as she stared at him. Mason pulled his jacket tighter around her, and offered her a weak smile.

"I know how you're feeling. I've been there. Please, Taylor come with me back to the manor. Let me help." Mason begged her softly, letting out a breath when she nodded her agreement. He moved slowly, helping her to her feet. Taylor leant into him, her bloody hands gripping at his shirt. Mason was acutely aware of her body against his, her heat radiating into him, and he wrapped an arm around her, trying to force his mind away from the feeling for his gorgeous naked woman against him. "Its okay to be okay, Taylor. We'll get through this."

"I killed him." Taylor mumbled, tears slipping past her defences. She clung to him, her brain regaining control of everything. Suddenly she was very aware that she was naked and that her steel arm was on show. She cowered into him further, his warmth a comfort. "And I'm naked."

Mason laughed before he could stop himself when she commented on her state of undress. He stopped when she shot him a look, and smiled at her, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. "Yeah. You are," he said softly, "Aidan is on his way with a car and clothes. We'll deal with all of this okay?" He said to her softly. She nodded and glanced over his shoulder again, and he took a silent moment to appreciate the woman in his arms. She was gorgeous, and strong. She had no doubt been through hell and back, if her arm was anything to go by, and Mason made a mental note to ask about that later on, when things were less messy.

"I want to go home." Her quiet voice pulled Mason back to reality and he moved away slightly to make eye contact with her. Finn wanted her brought back to the manor. It was the best idea, she was safe there, and they could watch her, teach her to control what she was, but there was something so desperate in her eyes that he struggled to say no to her. It took him a moment before he sighed and nodded.

"Okay, but I'm going with you. Its not safe to be on your own right now. I just want to keep you safe." He said to her, smiling slightly as she did. Seemed the thought of going home helped ease her worry a little. Mason followed her gaze back to the body. "We'll deal with it. Don't worry. The boys know what to do. This won't come back to you."

"He was a customer. Rick." Taylor muttered, sighing. She was still confused to what happened, and it was taking her too long to process that she'd killed a man. Her first kill. Sure, she'd won countless fights, leaving men like Rick – and bigger – in a bad way, but she'd never killed anyone. She needed out of there. Suddenly she couldn't stand to look at him anymore and her house was close. Taylor pulled away from Mason, grabbing her keys from her ruined clothes and moving to the end of the alley and glancing out, letting out a breath of relief when she saw the street was empty, and with one gesture to Mason, she slipped out of the alley into the street and darted across the road. Her shop was here, and her flat was above it. Quickly she unlocked the shop, waiting for Mason to follow her in before locking up again.

"This is yours?" Mason asked, looking around the shop. He didn't know what to expect, but he didn't expect that Taylor would be the owner of a hunting supplies store. It was a small store, with all the usual hunting supplies you would expect; traps and bait, fishing equipment, knifes of various styles and sizes and right at the back of the store, next to another locked door was a secure display filled with guns. "Damn." Mason heard himself mutter, and heard a small laugh next to him.

"Its mine." Taylor said, moving to a door at the back and unlocking it. She opened the door to show a set of stairs heading up, and Mason assumed that they led up to her flat. Without another word, and a last glance at the weapons, he followed her upstairs. She led him into a small one bedroom flat, the living room was the first room that they came to, and Taylor quietly told him to help himself to anything in the kitchen before she disappeared. He moved into the room that she'd gestured to, a small kitchen. It was simply decorated but there was a framed photo that caught his attention. It showed Taylor laughing, her arm around a man's neck as he grinned back at her. A wave of jealously hit him in the gut like a brick and he put the photo down. She was gorgeous, of course she had a boyfriend. Sighing, Mason hunted the cupboards for a glass and poured himself some water, removing his phone from his pocket as it rung.

"Aidan?"

"We're at the alley you told me about, where are you?" Aidan asked, and Mason sighed. He had forgotten to tell them they were moving.

"Sorry bro, we're at her flat. Next street over, above the hunting supplies shop."