Ch. 9 The Monster I'm Becoming

My mother continued to inch to the door, her voice calm and even. I felt my awareness going in and out, struggling to hold onto myself. I took a step towards my mother, wanting her to hold me. I wanted my mother to hold me like a child and comfort me, tell me it was going to be alright. I was so tired. So angry. So confused. My head hurt, my teeth hurt, my eyes ached. My vision became dark and blurry around the edges. "Mom?" I called out to her, reaching for her. I heard the door open and she ran out, impossibly fast. I tried going after her, but my feet couldn't hold my weight and I toppled over. Excruciating pain rippled through my body. I felt like I was on fire- the flames spreading out from my chest, consuming my flesh until I let out a scream. My vision had gone completely black and I couldn't do anything but claw at the floor and scream.

"Valkyrie. It's the change coming on. You are strong, you can make it through this." My mom's voice echoed somewhere in the distance, followed by a deep male voice. "Little Red, I'm going to lift you. You have a fever, we need to cool you off." I must have passed out, because the next thing I remember was a jolt of icy water surrounding my body. Eirik was holding me in his arms, bridal style, and had walked into a frigid lake. I felt his chest against my body and his arms around me, but I still had not regained my vision. The water was uncomfortably cold, but it was numbing the feeling of the flames on my skin. "Come on, Little Red. Talk to me. Can you hear me?" Erik's voice was deep, heavy, full of worry. I tried to talk, but was trapped inside my head. I managed to nod my head slightly. "Good. Can you see me?" I shook my head 'no.' and hear his breath catch. "It's okay, your eyesight should come back once we get your fever down." He was so gentle and sarcastic it almost made me forget the events of the past two days.

After about ten minutes, my body had cooled and I had begun to violently shiver. Eirik walked out of the lake and into the cabin, stripping off his wet clothes while my mother wrapped me in a towel. "Her wet clothes need to come off. Fever is down but hypothermia is bound to set in. I'm guessing here.... I've never seen a transformation like hers before. But She needs to be warmed to npormal body temperature." My mother helped Eirik peel off my wet clothes, all the while I couldn't protest or move. My body shook and I could feel my feet and fingers tingling. My lips trembled, which was the closest thing to speaking I could do. "Val, listen to Eirik. He's only helping. I think we've established he isn't going to hurt you. Be a good girl, let him do what needs to be done now." I hadn't been able to see, but while my mother was begging me to behave and let Eirik help, he was preparing the bed with layers of furs and a thick quilt.

"We need to get her in, quick. I'll lay with her to regulate her body temperature. I just fed, so I'm still warm. You get the wood to get a fire going. It has to be warmer in here." I felt Eirik lift my naked body into his arms, my skin touching his bare chest. As I heard the door close behind my mother, Eirik slid us under the blankets and pulled me close to his body. I managed enough strength to try to wiggle away, quickly realizing I wasn't the only naked one under the covers.

"You keep wiggling, Little Red, I won't be able to control myself. Lay still. I'm just getting your body temperature to level out." He tucked me close to himself, resting his chin on the top of my head. He lazily drew circles on my shoulder with his fingers, acting as if this was the most normal thing in the world. I fought the drowsiness that suddenly weighed my limbs down. "E-Eirik?" I tried asking him to explain what was happening to me, but sleep took me before I could finish.

I slept soundly, a deep dreamless sleep. When I finally opened my eyes, I was blinded by the morning sun filtering in through the window. My neck felt stiff and my body ached, but I was overjoyed that my vision had returned. Turning my head, I caught a full glimpse of a very naked Eirik- still holding onto me. My eyes landed on his strong jaw, his muscular shoulders, his bare chest. My face burned with the realization that I had slept naked in bed with him. I sat up, in an effort to get out of bed, but his arms tightened around me, pulling me back to his chest. I saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a sly smile. "Okay, I survived the night. You can let go." I pushed at his chest, but he kept me firmly against his body. My face flushed out of embarrassment. "Don't pretend you are still asleep, you jerk. Let me get up and get dressed!" This time, he let me go when I shoved away from him. Unfortunately, the blankets stayed wrapped around him, as I stumbled, naked, off the bed.

"Valkyrie.... how improper! If you wanted to show off your body to me, you could have done so in private. Your mom could walk in at any moment!" Eirik said, feigning embarrassment. I squeaked and crouched down, trying to hide my body from his eyesight. Laughing, he stood up and sauntered over to me, giving me a full view of his chiseled chest, rock hard abs and ... the rest of his manly build. I caught myself staring, frozen in a mix of embarrassment and attraction. I felt my cheeks flush again, and finally averted my eyes as he approached me. "Don't think I missed that, Little Red." He pulled me to me feet; pressing me against his chest and wrapping a blanket around the two of us just before my mother came in carrying more wood for the fire.