It Begins With a Rogue's Bite (4 page)

His sixth sense had been warning him for hours now that there was a reason he and Thomas had a vision about it. He prayed it was only to save her. Nothing else. There couldn’t be more. No, he’d never let her slip past his defenses, no matter how breathtaking she was. But he also knew that in the scheme of life, if fate pulled the strings, then he could do little more than be its puppet. Taking a breath, he tried to tear his mind away from the profoundness of his thoughts and focused on the road ahead.

The miserable view around them and the rain hammering on the roof of the car and windshield reminded him of a scene in a Hitchcock movie. All they needed was a psychopath to add suspense and mystery to the mix.

Wait a minute. They did have one, the Rogue werewolf. Well, there they had it, the perfect murder mystery playing before their eyes, and like it or not, they were the movie’s heroes.

He certainly didn’t feel like a hero, more like a bumbling idiot searching for a needle in a mile-high hay stack. Wallowing in his uncertainty weighed on his shoulders.

Thomas broke the brief silence then. “Have you ever wondered why Rogue werewolves have been on the rise lately, Shane?”

“Huh, what?” Shane’s mind stalled.

Thomas looked serious as he stared ahead. “I’ve been thinking. Before, we rarely heard of Rogue attacks on humans. Now, in the past months, they’ve been on the increase. It seems like their attention shifted from attacking the Voyeurs to attacking humans. Why?”

Thomas sighed and added, “And why did the Voyeurs decide to name werewolves who attacked other Voyeurs or humans Rogues to begin with?”

“How should I know?” Shane asked. “That’s something you should ask the Council, not me. Even though we were accepted into the Voyeur society years ago, we can hardly call ourselves Voyeurs. Other than the occasional vision, we’re really only architects.”

Confusion enshrouded his mind until an idea seeped into his brain. Taking a deep breath to spur his voice on, he said, “Their actions before were random acts of violence, but now they seem more centered, focused. It’s as if all the Rogues are uniting and are heading for something.”

“Something? What, like a revolution?”

“Maybe.”

Thomas snapped his fingers on his right hand before returning to rest it on the wheel. “That’s it. Yeah, it makes sense. Why else would the Council have been having a meeting now? Even Sinor said the rivalry of the Rogue werewolf attacks on humans is on the rise.”

“Great fucking shit. So you’re telling me we’ve just stuck ourselves in some type of war?” Shane threw his hands in the air as his mood shifted lower.

Before Thomas could respond, Shane saw dim lights to the far left-hand side of the windshield. As the car progressed, the lights became brighter and clearer. Realizing a vehicle had driven into the ditch, he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder and pointed with his index finger. “Hey, look over there.”

Thomas followed his gesture. “Holy shit!” He swerved their car to the right side of the road. When the car came to a full stop, he placed it in park and they stared at the navy-blue vehicle while the radio played Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”

A chill crawled up Shane’s spine. Could it be an omen?

Shane cursed as he stepped out first. The pouring rain beat on him the moment he slid out. His windbreaker blocked the dampness from seeping in, but the coldness of the weather sunk into his bones. That chill going up his spine turned ten times colder, and he shuddered while whipping his head side to side to ward off the iciness.

He strode over to the car, glancing inside. It lay empty, except for a purse on the front passenger side. “Seems like she left in a hurry.”

Thomas moved away a few feet and gazed at the entire car. “Does it look like the car of your vision?”

Shane didn’t need to stand back to answer that. “Yeah, exactly.” He looked farther ahead up the road and with his keen werewolf vision saw the truck parked to the side. “That’s the same, too.”

He opened the unlocked driver’s door, and the whiff of an enticing, sweet scent seeped into his nostrils. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, savoring her scent. His manly urges surged as he imagined her beautiful body sitting in the seat where he hovered now. It intoxicated him, and he almost forgot how urgent their situation had turned.

Opening his eyes again, reality hit him hard and fast. He moved away quickly, headed to the front of the car, and placed his hand on the hood. It still radiated heat from the engine. Whatever happened wasn’t that long ago.

While he did this, Thomas dipped his head into the car, obviously inhaling her scent, too. If they needed to track her, knowing her scent would lead the way.

A few moments later, he walked up to him and took a deep inhalation of the chilly air around them and asked, “You smell her?”

Shane shook his head. “No. The car’s hood is still warm, though. So we may not be too late.”

“Yeah, but where do we head?” Thomas looked around.

“I don’t know.” He scratched his head. The forest in front of them looked densely uniform. Nothing different, no recognizable landmark that would tell him this was the route she took.

His heart pounded in his chest with panic as his breathing became shallow and quick. Time still raced forward, and his mind jittered ideas from one side of his head to the other as he tried to find the best answer of what to do next. Thankfully, the right solution came straight and quickly.

“Let’s check out the Rogue’s truck. His scent will be stronger and maybe we’ll have an easier time picking it up.” Shane darted to the truck as Thomas tailed him to their destination.

Just like the female’s car door, this one was unlocked. He opened it and inhaled deeply. A few seconds later, he moved aside to let Thomas register the smell at the same time. He cringed when the foul smell hit him full force. Normally, a male werewolf’s scent was musky. It smelled animalistic, similar to the scent of a wolf. But the scent of a werewolf high on adrenaline who was ready to attack and kill smelled of acid.

Its strength was so potent it seared the hairs in Shane’s nose for the briefest of moments. He lifted his head as he stood straight outside the truck and sniffed. He traced it in the moist, cold air.
Yes, no doubt about which way the Rogue werewolf went.

“This way. Have you picked up his scent yet?” he shouted while darting into the woods.

Transmitting a signal from his brain to his body, instinctively he changed. Being born a werewolf allowed him to transform into the controlled beast much more easily and quicker than a turned werewolf could. His limbs extended, widened, toughened, while the hairs on his skin got thicker, longer, and denser. His jaw slid forward, widening and strengthening, and his teeth lengthened into those of a big canine’s.

The Rogue’s scent intensified as his nose altered into that of a wolf’s. Within seconds, he had completely transformed into the beast, sprinting forward with his brother not that far behind. Shane’s sharpened senses turned the opaque scenery bright and clear. Yes, yes, he could finally make out her sweet scent now, too. She was still alive, thank God. But for how long, who knew?

They needed to get to her fast before the Rogue could kill her. An overwhelming sense of wanting to protect her came over him, and it frightened him. Why did he feel like this? He hadn’t even seen her or talked to her. She was a complete stranger.

Obviously, the vision had connected them in some way, but why did it connect them? Something told him he wouldn’t find out the reason for it until fate decided to open that door for them. Could they wait that long?

Yeah, fate had drawn him and Thomas into this battle to save the female, and he knew there was little he could do to change its plans. He needed to focus on the here and now.

He howled loudly to warn the Rogue werewolf that he had company of
his
kind not far behind his tail and that soon they’d meet in combat. Once the battle ended, one of them would be dead.

Chapter Four

Even though she had kicked off her shoes minutes ago, her feet didn’t move fast enough. No matter how hard she pushed herself, she couldn’t lose the monster. The heavy rains had made the ground under her feet muddy and slippery.

Her chest hurt from her heavy breathing. Branches from the trees in her way scratched and scraped her arms, face, and legs as she ran frantically.

As much as her body reacted in panic, her mind wasn’t that far behind. It continued to replay scenes of her life before her. Didn’t that happen to people right before they died? Was she on the brink of death?

All she could do was let the movie play in her head while her body reacted in defense to escape her stalking beast. Images of her childhood scrolled at the back of her eyes. Yes, there was Mother standing behind her while she blew her eight candles on her birthday party cake. She was there at her graduation, cheering her on while she accepted her diploma.

The scene changed to college and her first love, Eric. They thought their love would last forever. A second later, it jumped to her living in her first apartment with Martha and then on to meeting Gary.

Weren’t only the good memories supposed to come to her and the bad ones forgotten at this time? Even that couldn’t go right for her tonight.

What on earth was happening to her now? Why the hell did a beast chase her? Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. With the heavy rain and meager lighting, she must have imagined the man turned into a beast. She was about to turn around to see if he followed her when she heard a growl. Oh, my God. Was that the beast or a wolf? Were their wolves in this forest?

Heaven help her, but she didn’t know which way to turn. When the growl became louder, she realized that it was coming from behind. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw the beast about twenty yards away. No, her eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on her on the road. The man had transformed into the beast that chased her now. From the animal sounds he made, she knew he had gotten much closer than a few moments ago.

All she could do was run as fast as she could and hope she would find somewhere to hide. She stared up ahead and, with the aid of the moonlight’s illumination, thought she could see a clearing. Maybe a cabin lay there.

Just as she pushed her fatigued body to run faster, she heard a wolf’s howl. It sounded farther away, and she realized she was in greater danger than she originally thought.

The wolf beast behind her wasn’t alone. Wolves hunted in packs, didn’t they? Soon other wolves would join it in its chase. She didn’t have an ounce of a chance of escaping now unless God decided to bless her with a miracle. All the good and kind deeds she had performed throughout her life must mean something. Didn’t she deserve a miracle once in her life? Like right now?

As she passed the last of the evergreens, she came upon the clearing she had seen from afar. Unfortunately, no cabin in sight. Damn!

She ran across the clearing and jumped into the other side of the woods again. Just as she re-entered the forest on that side, clouds covered the moon’s light and she could barely see anything in front of her. Good, if she couldn’t see much, then the beast couldn’t either. She could find someplace to hide here before the cloud covering the moon moved away.

But as she ran forward, her left foot hit a patch of muddy ground. She lost her balance, and her ankle twisted into a painful position. She heard a cracking sound and searing pain traveled through her foot and leg. Crying out loud, she fell forward, her head hitting the soft muddy ground.

She pushed herself up and tried to stand, but the moment she put her foot on the ground, sharp, agonizing pain shot up her foot and leg. She fell on her butt as she heard the beast’s steps getting closer. She turned to see red, evil eyes appear and the huge deformed body of a creature she couldn’t have even imagined before. It made the werewolf in the new
The Wolfman
movie look like a pup.

It jumped into the air, opening its jaws wide, its sharp fangs extending ready to sink into her. He landed behind her, and his jaw clamped on to her shoulder. Pain and heat burned where he bit her. Before she could register anything else beyond the unbearable pain, she heard a loud growl, and two dark shadows jumped on the beast.