Page 72 of The Tracker's Secret

I dried my face and found that the urge to cry was suddenly gone. “It’s not your fault. You were just telling me the truth.”

“The truth thatIunderstand, anyway. I don’t really know Jake Knight. We’ve been introduced, but that’s it. For all I know, he doesn’t care about the same things that his grandfather does, so just ignore me. At any rate, you’re not here for that kind of advice. You’re here for this.”

He held out the metal bracelet. Up close, I could see the fine points of each spike inside of it. They looked very sharp as they gleamed under the overhead lights. Part of me wanted to shrink away from the terrible contraption, but Red felt quite different.

“Let’s do it,” I shot back.

Eric raised his eyebrows, surprised, then he nodded and undid the band’s clasp. A small hinge kept the two halves together as he opened the circlet. Fearing I would lose my courage, I thrust my wrist forward and turned my face away, like I did whenever they drew blood on my yearly check-ups.

But he gave me no time to think about it twice and quickly snapped the bracelet around my wrist, sending its many spikes cutting through my skin. I howled in pain as the needles embedded themselves deeply. The scent of blood filled the air.

Jerking back my arm, I desperately tried to undo the clasp. Blood made my fingers slick and obstructed my view.

Eric slapped my hand away. “No! Feel the pain.”

“I do. I fucking do. Now, take it off.”

He shook his head and smiled crookedly. “No.”

Instead, he snatched my wrist, wrapped his hand around the bracelet, and squeezed it tightly, causing the spikes to dig deeper. A growl of pain rose up my throat, and I tried to yank my hand away, but Eric held me in place, the struggle only making the pain worse.

“Shift,” he ordered.

I shook my head. “I can’t. It hurts too much.”

Pain kept me human, grounded. I could think of nothing else but the terrible agony of those needles embedded in my flesh, and the streams of blood running down my fingers. What if I bled to death? The needles had cut into my veins, piercing right through them.

“Take it off, please,” I begged.

“Fight through the pain. Focus on changing, on the power that stirs in your chest. Can’t you feel it?”

I couldn’t feel anything but the agony at my wrist, and the only thing I could focus on was taking the bracelet off.

“Let me go,” I growled through clenched teeth.

“No!”

Still holding my wrist, Eric jerked me toward him, causing the bracelet to shift. The pointed spikes cut across my flesh. More blood poured out.

Another cry of agony tore through my throat, but as it reached its peak, it turned into a roar. Eric finally let me go and, grabbing my shoulders, forced me to face the mirrored wall.

“Look at yourself,” he said, pushing me closer.

I did, and my entire body shuddered in shock. What I saw in the mirror was not me.