She came immediately.
A twinge of pain coursed through my body, but I barely felt it. For me, that pain had always bordered on exquisite pleasure, as my body embraced its true form, as I left the human world behind and entered nature.
My bones shifted, moving swiftly from bipedal to all fours. My body flowed with the change, moving naturally from one state to the next, gliding so seamlessly that it felt like magic. One moment I was a girl, then next I was a magnificent wolf with thick russet fur. I grinned and gazed up at the moon, then leapt forward and broke into a run.
There were no rules to the run. Students were told only to stick to campus property, which was easy as there was a rather impressive privacy fence around its entire perimeter. Added to that simple measure of security were night vision cameras, proximity sensors, and guards placed at regular intervals who made sure the students were safe during their monthly runs. From what I’d read in the security brochure, the space above the campus was also a no-fly zone, which was strictly enforced and patrolled by campus drones. Although it hadn’t said specifically, I assumed government contracts protected their location from satellite recordings, as well. Not that I’d spent much time thinking about such things.
I darted into the forest, glad to be away from the throng of students, most of whom didn’t seem to be in the same rush as me to run free. It was a perfect night, warm with a soft breeze that still smelled of ripe blackberries and overgrown foliage. Soon the air would carry a crispness that would mean sweaters, hot cocoa, and boots. I loved autumn and couldn’t wait to run over crackling leaves.
I raced through the undergrowth, leaping over fallen logs and splashing through the small streams that ran through the property. The academy owned over a thousand acres of land and kept it as clean and healthy as possible, which meant there was plenty of room to run and play. I almost felt as if I weren’t caged in out here, a feeling I’d been overwhelmed with since I’d stepped foot on campus.
Back home I’d had endless forests and bogs to run through. Newfoundland was a huge island with a small population and the west coast, where I’d been raised, boasted amazing views of mountains and ocean. Since wolves were supposed to be extinct in the province, my people had to be careful about being seen, but that was easy enough with our heightened senses and ability to shift back to human form. I’d had clothes stashed all over the woods, just in case.
I’d also had friends and family to run with at home, I thought, feeling the loss of them as a weight on my soul. I slowed down as I approached a larger body of water and dipped my head for a drink. My reflection in the still water, alone under the full moon, broke my heart.
A slight movement in the pool of water caught my attention. I saw another wolf, a male, I thought, watching me from a small hill to my left. I turned toward him and lifted my head to take in his scent.
Bash.
My heart skipped a beat then sped up, thundering in my chest. I watched him move through the night, taking in his gorgeous black fur and piercing green eyes, and felt my stomach twist with desire.
After I’d stood my ground against Seraphina and Daniella, I’d barely seen him. I had assumed he was ignoring me after I’d snapped at him, but he wasn’t ignoring me now. And, if the pheromones seeping from his pores was proof, he still wanted me. I pictured Daniella’s face when she’d warned me to stay away from her brother and wondered if he was worth all the trouble.
Bash leaped down from the rock ledge, landing with gentle grace no more than ten feet away from me and stalked closer, his gaze never leaving mine. I shivered despite the warmth of the night as he slid past me, pressing his thick fur against mine, lighting my nerves on fire.
Old Ones, yes, I moaned inside my head, he was worth the trouble.
Bash walked around me, moving slowly, pressing against my fur until I practically panted for him. When his tongue licked out to taste me, I nipped at him and darted away.
There would be hundreds of other students and professors running this land tonight. So, as much as I wanted him, as much as I craved his touch and taste, as much as I would give anything to shift back to my human body so I could touch, lick, and bite him until he was branded with my scent, I couldn’t give in tonight. Not out here, anyway.
So, instead, I ran.
I put every ounce of speed into the race and grinned as I heard Bash following on my heels. I was quick, faster than almost every wolf I’d ever known, but Bash was proving to be a formidable opponent. He moved like the night, skirting obstacles I didn’t know were there until the last moment. Pure joy flowed through my veins as my legs pumped harder and edged me further ahead.
I ran an entire minute before realizing that Bash was no longer tailing me. I glanced sideways, searching for him in the shadows, and saw nothing but the trees and foliage. My ears strained to hear him, but the sounds of the night and our fellow students in the distance were the only things to reach my ears. My gait faltered and I slowed.
Bash surged back onto the almost non-existent path a foot ahead of me, grinning like the wolf he was, and cast a glance over his shoulder before taking off. I snapped at him and darted forward on his heels, impressed by his tactics.
He was fast, and cunning, but I was faster. I leaped forward on strong hind legs and tackled him, hitting him hard. We rolled to the ground and off the path, careening down a slight grassy slope that came to a stop near a stream that gurgled with a joy that echoed my own.
When we stopped rolling, Bash was on top, his larger muscled body hovering above me. His face would have disappeared in the darkness of the night, I mused, if the moon hadn’t illuminated him from behind.
He was gorgeous. There was no denying the fact that he was, or the fact that one look from his emerald eyes made my stomach flutter with excitement. I leaned up and nuzzled his neck.
Bash stared down at me unblinking, his gaze so intense I wondered if he could see into my soul. I was about to lean up again when the scent of decay and rot caught my nose. I grimaced and darted my gaze to the side, looking for the source of the stench.
It seemed to glow, I thought, as surprise and shock dulled my logic for a moment. Then the details began to sink in and I saw what I hadn’t before. The pale flesh sticking out of the rushing water, reflecting the light of the moon I had stared longingly at just a short time ago. There was no life in this hand anymore, no life in the body attached to it.
I scrambled to my feet next to Bash, joined my voice to his, and howled.
Chapter 5
I ducked my head, letting my hair fall over my face a little, and walked faster to get away from the stares and whispers of my fellow students.
I’d been hearing my name on lips that had never uttered my name before all morning and wished I could spend the day in my dorm room but my growling stomach wouldn’t allow that to happen. Since I hadn’t been able to feed any of my other rising appetites last night, I wouldn’t deny my actual appetite a moment longer. Besides, they had a right to be curious, Old Ones knew I was.
As far as I knew, though, the body Bash and I had stumbled across at the most inopportune moment of my life hadn’t been identified. Or, that was the rumor anyway. It wasn’t as if I were Donahue’s confidant. I was just as in the dark as everyone else on campus, despite what they believed.
It was a mystery, one that had piqued the interest of almost everyone on campus, especially since the email had gone out. I’d heard the special ding of an Academy email and had opened it immediately, expecting some kind of announcement about the body. It had been an announcement, I’d gotten that part right, but it had been to tell the school body about a curfew that was being instituted immediately for the “protection of all students while the investigation continues.” That was what had really gotten everyone interested in talking to me.