Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

response, but her wide smile reflected her excitement. I glanced at my wristlet. A little over two miles. I was making progress. We jogged to the center of the field and fell in to the group around Ms. Dawning. She held a small brown container above her head, the liquid inside sloshed as she moved.
“All right ladies, listen up! I have a few announcements.” She waited for everyone to quiet. “Tomorrow morning you will begin changing. I expect you all to be in your safe room by noon. It will last two to three days. Get a good night’s rest, eat a decent breakfast, and take a bottle of water in with you. Classes will resume on Wednesday.”
Ms. Dawning set down the bottle and pointed to a white case I hadn’t noticed before. “The fertility scientists have expressed concern over the potency of the injections you’ve been receiving. They have sent over a new, better formula to help your hunt be an experience with a positive outcome. You’ll be getting these every Friday in addition to the doses you already take on Mondays, starting today.” 
Murmurs swept through the crowd and the girls pushed closer to Ms. Dawning. One of the twins elbowed me in the back and gave me a heated glare when I turned to her. Ms. Dawning knelt, pushing up the sleeves to her grey tunic before opening the case. 
I raised my hand. “If they’re concerned about the injections they are giving us, then why are we still supposed to take them?”
“It’s not that kind of concern, Lea. They feel they might not be strong enough, so they’re giving everyone a booster.” She smiled warmly, but her eyes were full of warning.
“Okay, just asking,” I replied. I had asked Nana about the injections after my first day. She assured me it was safe and explained the Nano technology they used. The injections contained receptors that monitored hormone levels and stimulated glands to keep everything regulated. The Nano’s stored energy only lasted a week and was set with each specific week’s required hormone levels, based on the scheduled cycle of changing.
Once Nana had explained the science behind it, she assured me it was safer than putting synthetic hormones in my body and asked me to apologize to Ms. Dawning for my behavior.
“All right everyone,” Ms. Dawning said. “Let’s get this done so we’re not late to lunch. Give yourself the injection quickly and make sure you initial the sheet indicating that you have received it.” She passed out a syringe to each of us.
“I hate injections.” Rally muttered. “If you give me mine, I’ll do yours, okay?”
She handed me two syringes. I looked around for Ms. Dawning. Our eyes locked; her expression again full of warning. I smiled and held up the needle, as if toasting her. I would ask Nana more about the need for boosters tonight.
“Okay,” I agreed. I snapped the safety cap off of a syringe as Rally pushed up her sleeve. I didn’t mind needles and giving Rally’s shot was great practice for my nursing skills. I plunged the needle into her arm. She grimaced, but didn’t make a sound. I handed her mine and rolled my sleeve up. I braced myself. Rally jabbed the needle into my arm.
“Ouch!” I rubbed my arm. “You’re not going into anything medical, right?”
“No,” she laughed. “I want to work in the Children's Center.”
“My mom works there; you should come with me one afternoon. She’d be thrilled.” I tossed our capped needles in a red bin.
“Really? Thank you Lea. I would love that.” Rally jumped and squealed.
“Ladies, attention please!” Ms. Dawning clapped her hands. “Gather close ladies, the closer the better.” She opened the lid to the liquid she had shown us earlier and wafted the fragrance toward us. “This is male pheromones.” Murmurs spread across the crowd. “They are synthetic and vanilla has been added so you can smell it. The pheromones will help trigger your changings. It’s an old fashioned method, but it works.” She walked among us, leaning