Wild Read Free Page A

that lucky. He got angrier and angrier.
    “You little bitch!”
    Suddenly he pulled out a knife.
    “Somebody, help me!”
    I remembered the self-defense class I had taken in my freshman year at college and frantically tried to remember any of the moves they had taught us. I wore trainers so the defensive move I remembered about stepping firmly onto the top of his foot would have had no impact – high heels would have hurt him, not trainers. Wasn’t there anything else I could remember?
    Kick him in the balls!
    I jerked my leg up to kick my knee into his groin, but too late noticed his hand holding the knife. It interfered and cut my motion short of reaching its intended goal. The knife drove deep into my thigh.
    I had never felt a more intense kind of pain before. My stomach turned and my body twisted in pain as I found my voice again and screamed in agony. He pulled his knife out of my leg, twisting it as he did so and lunged at me again. In mid-movement he abruptly pulled back.
    He stared at me in shock, and then I saw them: the claws which had seized him from behind. Before I fell, I saw a set of amber colored eyes behind my assailant. As I tried to hold the gaze of those eyes I felt a strange familiarity.
    Take me home .
    Suddenly I knew I would be safe.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    2. Vince’s Dilemma
     
    The girl stared right at me. As her eyes locked with mine I discovered no fear in them. I barely felt her attacker struggle in my grip. I was too fascinated with her, unable to understand why she did not erupt in fear when she had clearly seen my amber eyes and observed my claws around the man.
    She was undoubtedly going into shock. Then, as if in slow motion, I noticed her knees buckle. With one swift move I flung the man into the wall and heard several of his ribs crack. While he tumbled to the floor I leapt toward the girl and caught her in my arms before she hit the sidewalk.
    Glancing at the man on the ground I verified that he was knocked out cold for a while before turning my attention to the girl in my arms. She was unconscious, her thigh bleeding profusely. I looked at her angelic face.
    What I did then was contrary to all the rules I had put in place for myself. Even later I could not explain why I did it. Maybe it was because she had seen my eyes and not shown any fear. Maybe it was just fate. Whatever the reason, I would perhaps never know for sure, I knew that I didn’t want to leave her there. The right thing would have been to bring her to the main road, call 9-1-1 and make sure she was picked up by an ambulance. Even though she was injured, my experience as a physician told me she would make it if she got taken care of within the next hour.
    It was irresponsible of me to not follow my modus operandi. I had saved many women from their attackers and always made sure the police or an ambulance would take care of them. I had always been cautious so they couldn’t see my face and would never know what had saved them.
    It was different with this girl. Had I reacted as usual she would not even have seen me nor had a chance to stare into my eyes, but as soon as I had gotten a glimpse of her, something had made me hesitate for a fraction of a second. In that fraction her eyes had locked with mine and I had felt unable to tear myself away. All I had been able to think of was to take her home. It was in my head: Take me home.
    I looked down at her wound again and knew I had to make a decision. So I ran. In the storefronts I passed I saw my reflection. While my torso had remained that of a man, my hands had turned into sharp claws, my shoulders and neck had bulked up to give me more strength and my jaw had widened to accommodate the large razor-sharp teeth of a wild animal. My eyes glowed amber, a sign that the beast within me was in control. I was a frightening sight to behold.
    I kept her as still in my arms as I could as we crossed Market Street and entered the Financial District. Only minutes later we arrived