Broken Moon: Part 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

snowflakes, and a moment
later he caught sight of the hare's pointed ears poking up from
behind a white-tipped tangle of branches.
    He eased forward, his
powerful muscles rolling smoothly with oiled precision as he
stalked the critter, catching its dull scent on the wind and
latching on to the smell. He bared his teeth, anticipation building
in his chest as he closed the distance between him and his quarry.
He fancied he could almost hear its heartbeat pounding in his ears,
taste the fresh blood on his tongue already.
    The human voice in the
back of his head was gone now. This was his moment, all of his
previous doubts and concerns swept away by the thrill of the
hunt.
    The hunt. The pursuit.
The chase.
    But there was only one
part of it that truly mattered: the victory.
    That was his instinct.
The desire to dominate, control, and claim. It had been the perfect
instinct to make him alpha of his own pack so long ago, and the
perfect instinct to drive him to the terrible things that had
branded him the outcast he was now.
    It was also his
instinct that had kept him alive in the wilderness well past the
point at which most others would have given up and died.
    The hare's ears flicked
away from him, and he took his chance, coiling his body for the
pounce, rising up over the fallen branches with his teeth bared,
amber eyes fixed on his prey as he approached from its blind
spot.
    A dull growl rumbled in
the back of his throat, and at the last moment the white snowshoe
flicked its head around to see the black wolf looming out of the
snow.
    Cyan lunged, his teeth
flashed, and it was over in an instant. The hare's hot blood filled
his mouth, the taste of it bathing his tongue and flooding his
muzzle as the creature twitched one last time, the savage pleasure
of the successful hunt pumping through his veins stronger than any
rush of adrenaline.
    He dropped the hare on
the crimson-spattered snow, raising his head to the sky as a savage
howl of elation rose in the back of his throat.
    His world shrunk down
to a pinpoint of a moment. There was only him, his prey, and the
coppery taste of blood, hot and fresh on his breath.
    For a few seconds
nothing else mattered. He couldn't remember April, or the Highland
Pack, or all of the things that had come before. For once his wolf
was satisfied, and the primal feeling of victory that gripped him
was more satisfying than the sweetest kiss of any lover.
    But it was over far too
quickly. One hare was no great conquest, and the wolf was thirsty
for more.
    He licked the blood
from his muzzle, keen eyes flicking back and forth across his
snowswept surroundings with renewed energy. The human voice in the
back of his head returned, a nuisance that threatened to remind him
of all the things he'd been able to forget for a few blissful
moments, but he pushed it away, sniffing the air for the scent of
fresh prey.
    Even his dull sense of
smell felt crisp and keen in the aftermath of the first kill, and
after kicking a drift of snow over the dead hare and making a
mental note of where it lay he set off into the trees again,
prowling on silent paws with his ears pricked and muscles
tensed.
     
    * * * * *
     
    April clutched her
jacket tight to her body, the chill of the wind cutting far more
keenly than it had before.
    "We should go back,"
she called to Harper through the blizzard. He was striding ahead,
almost leaving her behind in his hurry. This wasn't how she'd
planned on spending time with him, but something had caught the
attention of his inner wolf. Like a phantom scent, he was pursuing
it with dogged determination, all but forgetting about her as he
strode through the ankle-deep snow.
    "Harper!" she called
again, and he glanced over his shoulder, frowning.
    "What?"
    "You're not even
listening to me up there. What are we looking for?"
    "I thought I saw tracks
a while back."
    "In this snow?" She
raised her eyebrows. "They could've been anyone's."
    He shook his head. "I
want to check, just to be sure. Come