Chapter 44

The human part of me shrank away from fresh kills, but the beast…The beast was starving. Eventually, I’d have to eat more than worms and roots. The rodents made my stomach turn, but soon I knew I’d be too famished to care.

When I had awakened—whenever that was, I had looked down and seen little hands—humanhands. And then, in the blink of an eye, my hands had become huge white paws with sharp claws. I’d turned into a kind of cat-like creature, and I had no memory of how I’d gotten here. Wherewas I? Why had I been abandoned?

I continued to paw at the ground as I went along, hoping to find…something. Anything.I whimpered and mewled, stomach rumbling as I prowled deeper into the dense growth. I shifted back and forth between human boy and…creature. What was I?

And then suddenly, I smelled a human presence, and smoke. The human was cooking meat! I growled, a sound weak to my own sensitive hearing. Heading in the direction of the scent, I hoped for the chance of a decent meal.