heart pounded, and her eyes bulged as her body
reacted. Snatching up her bag, clothes and all, she
raced out of the room.
“Ozzie, let’s go! She won’t wait. And when we
get there and all is well, I need you to explain to me
what you are talking about.”
“I am right behind you. You get in the car, I will
grab the keys.”
Colors blurred in her peripheral vision as she
raced through her house and out the front door. Her
arms were full of unpacked clothes and her
overnight bag as she twisted her hands and fiddled
with the door handle. Her feet raced gracefully
down the steps to the 2012 black Dodge Challenger.
She wrapped her finger around the cold metal
handle and pulled the door open.
“You need some help?”
“Nope, got it. Get in and let’s go.”
Their butts dropped into the seats, their doors
slammed shut, and the engine roared as the car sped
away. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves
and calmed her heart rate.
She will be OK, breathe. No danger.
“ Paige, can you tell me why you are freaking out
so badly? I understand the urgency because she
won’t wait, but she is only in danger if there is a
threat in her house. Who else knows she is doing
this?”
“Just us. You’re right. I’m sorry, it’s just she’s
my best friend. I’m sure she’s fine. There’s only a
danger if her enemies are around.”
“Well, why is that? It is not like she is going to
announce it.”
“She doesn’t have to. If there are any with
supernatural power around, they will feel it.”
“OK, explain that. I have been hunting the
supernatural for most of my life, I have never heard
of such a thing.”
“It’s like a link. Every supernatural being leaves
its own mark, like an essence of sorts. Each is
different, while at the same time they are part of the
same thing. You feel the aura of the supernatural,
and once you meet a species, you can then
recognize the basic differences of each.”
“Such as?”
“Each supernatural species has its own tell-tale
signs. Most vamps carry the scent of blood and
death, but some, like Anna, smell like their food.
For example, Sebastian, her maker, smells of blood
and sex because he feeds off both. Were-animals
smell of their deep origins, such as the woods,
plains, sewers and some smell like fresh rain and
tropical flowers.”
“My brain kind of understands that. The theory
of it makes sense, but in reality…I’m having a hard
time wrapping my mind around it. It is not
something a human can sense, is it?’
“Some can, to a degree. It comes in…a feeling I
guess you could say.”
“OK, I got it. I can sometimes sense when I am
close to whatever it is I’m hunting. Werewolves are
the easiest, to me they smell like—”
As if a small ball, her head bounced against the
seat as the car sped up and raced faster down the
highway. Her body was pinned to the seat by the
force of acceleration. She felt like she had become
one with the seat.
“Ozzie, why are you going almost a hundred
miles an hour?”
“Wolves are mortal enemies of vamps right?”
“Sometimes, yes. Why?”
“How well do Anna and Mr. Perry get along?”
“She hates him. She can’t put her finger on it,
but she says he gives off bad vibes when he is close.
Why?”
“I have been keeping tabs on him since I found
out he is a werewolf. I think he is the one behind the
slaughter of those teenagers.”
“Wait, are you talking about the kids at the
cliffs?”
“Yes.”
“The news said they died because they had been
drinking and fell off into the ravine. They said they
died instantly from broken necks.”
“That’s what I told them to say. Well, that’s what
I told the cops to tell media. There were ten kids,
and all of them decided, in their drunken stupors, to
swan dive to their deaths? No. My team and I
repelled down that cliff so we could wrap the bodies
and prepare them for transport. Every one of them
had deep teeth and claw marks all over their bodies.
The wolves toyed