You aren’t here.
Someone must stand up to them. If you will not, then step back.
Daphne stifled a cry as a sharp pain struck along the thin bones of her fingers. The bones stretched to compensate for the press of claws against her nail beds.
Down! Daphne ordered.
The beast retracted its claws, chastised enough for Daphne to rejoin the real world.
Then she heard Jordan say, “You’re just showing off because there’s someone else around.”
And Tana scoffed, “Daphne happens to agree with me.”
The beast taunted, That is all we are to them? A pawn in war for territory?
Daphne gripped the sides of her pants to stop her hands from flying into her hair, squeezing her head, and trying to block out the voice. You’re making this worse.
“Daphne has been through a lot this week,” Jordan said, a distant sound beneath the Other Daphne’s rumbling growl in her ear. “In case you didn’t know, she put a girl in the hospital.”
“Hey!” Daphne balked, and her darker self surged forward.
“You invited me here. You knew what you were getting,” she snarled. Daphne’s nose wrinkled with distaste. “I had no idea about either of… you.”
Tana’s brow knit together as she tilted her head at Daphne. She folded her arms across her pale yellow shirt.
The other Baines girl’s eyes went wide. Her shoulders, tense only a moment before, relaxed. She seemed to breathe deeper.
“Daphne, I’m so sorry.” Jordan reached out to her cousin.
Daphne wrenched away before she could be touched.
“I don’t buy it either,” Tana said with a snicker, egging on Daphne’s rage.
Jordan threw a fiery glare at her sister.
In that moment, Daphne dove for control. She grasped at her feral mind, hoping to hold it at bay long enough to calm down.
The beast anticipated her action, lashing back with a sharp crack across Daphne’s temples.