Page 13

Vuk

I ’ve been following the female since she thought she snuck away from me.

I hadn’t planned to sleep next to her, but shortly after she drifted off, she began to shiver.

At first, I was irritated by the constant movement of her quaking body.

I huffed and tried to nudge her away, but she turned toward me, seeking my warmth and closeness.

Curling around her, I told myself I was only keeping her warm.

I never expected her to welcome my closeness, or to like having her pressed against me.

I still have the scent of her hair in my nose. Earthy. Feminine. Sweet and flowery. Like the night blooms on my home plane that only open under the silvery light of the full moon. They’ll be blooming tonight.

My kind are not ruled by the moon like werewolves and other creatures, but we aren’t completely unaffected by its silvery glow, either. If I were back in my home, I would be preparing for the pack run. A ceremony where the lycans in our village run into the forest to hunt and fuck and howl.

It’s a special time for my kind and we take advantage of the brightest night of the month. Couples pay homage to our fertile goddess and many pups will be conceived. Hunters will work together to fill the stillrooms and pantries with meat for the winter.

It will be a night of revelry for all.

And I will miss it, because I’m trapped in this strange forest, chasing after a human that is confusing my ingrained hatred for her kind.

I’ve been letting Hana move through the forest without intervening.

She’s far enough from the barrier that I’m content to let her have her space.

I need some space, too. Ever since I woke, I’ve felt…

strange. My fur is itchy, my joints are stiff, and I can’t shake a sense of impending doom that is strengthening as the day goes on.

It’s mid-day when my sensitive ears pick up a deep, bassy sound traveling through the forest. My ears flatten against the top of my head as I watch a strange machine fly low over the treetops.

The blades stir up a whirlwind of dust and leaves, sending me into the thick underbrush to watch as it slows then hovers over a nearby clearing.

A door in the side slides open and a rope is tossed out, followed a moment later by a human with a pack like my female’s, but much larger.

He rappels to the ground and as soon as his feet hit the forest floor he unhooks the rope and gives the machine a signal that sends it, and its deafening roar away.

The human is old, with gray hair and face fur, although he carries himself like a much younger man.

Where my female and her friends dress with light colors that contrast with their surroundings, the clothing he wears are meant to blend.

My nose twitches as I drag his scent through my sensitive glands, then snort at the foulness of it.

This man’s scent is all wrong. Nothing like my female’s or even her two companions.

Where she is sweet and fresh, he is dark and bitter. Sour. Putrid.

A dark aura encircles him. Tendrils of oily, evil curl and lick at the air surrounding him, giving off warnings.

Despite his outward appearance, this man…

is no longer human. Once perhaps, but no longer.

I’m not sure what happened to him, or why, but he has become…

something else . What the else is, I have no idea and no inclination to find out.

A throaty growl rumbles over my tongue, and the man spins around. His eyes scan the trees where I’m well hidden, but his black stare finds me anyway. Easily.

Slowly, his thin lips curl into a smile that makes my skin crawl.

Crouching low, I keep my eyes on him while he cocks his head to the side and looks me over. There is a sense of excitement. Anticipation. This male has something to do with my being here.

I forget that I’m trapped in this much smaller and less deadly shape. Digging my claws into the soft ground, my muscles bunch as I prepare to lunge.

“Save your energy. I’ll be back for you once the sun sets,” the man promises. His voice is deep and flat. Then he gives me a wink, and my fur stands up on end. “But first, I need to take care of your little girlfriend.”

He is completely unbothered by the fact I’m seconds away from ending his worthless life as he turns and walks away. I don’t know what a girlfriend is, but if he thinks I’ll let him get anywhere close to what is mine, he’s mistaken.

With a deep, gut rattling snarl, I lunge at him.

The humans I’m used to are slow and weak.

Inferior in all ways to the mighty lycans who rule our plane.

They are also primitive. The moment I break free of my hiding place, he turns and points a strange weapon at me.

It’s small enough to fit easily in the palm of his hand, so I don’t think anything of it.

Until it makes a deafening noise, and something hits to the side of my chest with enough force to knock me off my feet.

I let out a high-pitched whine as heat and pain flare from my shoulder. Followed by a rage that sends me lunging at the human again. This time, when he fires his weapon at me, I avoid being hit, but the movement sends screaming pain to my injured shoulder.

“Now, now,” he taunts. “Go tend to that scratch and I’ll see you when the moon rises.”

I’m limping badly but determined to get to my female before this man finds her. I must keep her safe. Gnashing my teeth, I’m forced to flee into the forest where I can tend to my wound.