She followed the scent for a few yards and found the source. A large pine tree had a slightly darker stain on the base of the trunk. She looked around her again, but nothing changed in the sounds, and so she knelt down and sniffed the stain. Yes, it was Damien's scent, and it was newer than the ones inside the cabin. So, he had been here since we left that night. She felt something click inside her head and she knew this was a territorial marking.Something else came over her; she had the sudden urge to pee. Without really thinking about it, she loosened the holster and her pants and she squatted over that spot and squirted two pulses of urine over his mark. Then the urge was over and she was just squatting next to the tree. She shook her head at what she had just done and pushed aside the strange feelings. She pulled her pants back up and reattached the holster to her thigh.She looked around and sniffed the air, trying to pick up another marking scent. Nothing. She tried to think ab
She made it around the trunk when a gouge of wood exploded right where her head had just been. The whine of the ricocheting bullet sang through the air. BOOOOM! She stayed on her stomach and making sure that the tree stayed between her and the rifle, she crawled down off the top of the mountain.Once she was sure that no more speeding chunks of copper and lead could find her, she got up and ran as fast as she could down the mountain. She pushed off trees and large rocks as she careened down the side of the steep grade. It didn't take her long before she was back at the cabin, she passed it and kept going until she was at her truck. She jumped in and started it, backed up and drove as fast as she could down the rough fire access road.Twenty minutes later she was at the junction point and she stopped, looking around, she couldn't see any other vehicles. Looking at the road, her tire tracks from earlier were the only ones that showed fresh on the dirt road. She put the truck into neutra
She managed to cover another twelve miles, stopping and checking the breeze every mile mark on the odometer. The scent became stronger as she traveled along the upper ridge of the valley. When it was too dark to go on safely without lights, she found a spot where she could get off the fire trail and parked.She got out and listened, but there was nothing but the breeze through the pines. She sniffed the air again and found that the scent was rather strong. She pulled out a flashlight and flipped its red lens down in place. She also pulled out the pistol and threaded the silencer onto it. She clicked on the flashlight and started walking slowly towards the scent. She carefully walked about a hundred yards when she found the tree he had marked. It was a huge pine, easily four feet across at the base. She looked around on the ground but there were no tracks, the thick layer of pine needles prevented it. She walked around the tree first, looking outwards. There was nothing that registered
She lifted her shirt up and using the flashlight, looked at the damage. There was an irregular bruise just below her left breast, if she hadn't been wearing the vest, it would have been fatal. She took off the gun belt and holster. She removed the pistol, screwed the silencer onto it and set it next to her pillow. She put the flashlight right next to it. She crawled into her bag and went to sleep.She dreamed of gunshots and blood. There were growling monsters and torn bodies. She heard a voice calling her name. She knew that voice. That deep bass of Damien was saying her name. She felt sick to her stomach and her skin itched. There that voice was again. She sat up, sweating and breathing fast. Her stomach still felt queasy and she itched everywhere."Elena."There it was, that deep bass, and it wasn't in her dreams. It was in her ears. WHAT? She reached for the pistol and the flashlight. She slid out of her sleeping bag and crouched."Elena. I am here. You called me."Now she was rea
"No, that's the change coming on, and if you are feeling that right now, you are close. The full moon is still a few days away, and you are already fighting off the urge to shift. That's not a good sign, Elena. When did these feelings start?""Well, the other day when I was really angry with someone was the first time, but I was able to fight it off with the help of my friend. I felt it again while I was dreaming just a few minutes ago, just before I woke up and heard you out here calling my name.""Yes, anger will cause you to shift if you can't calm down soon enough. What were you dreaming of?""Blood, monsters, and torn bodies.""Okay, blood and violence will cause you to shift early as well. However, I have never known dreams to cause it. It's the smell of the blood and the feel of the violence that stimulates the change. Have you been involved in anything today that had blood or violence?""Yeah, I was shot twice."He looked at her sharply and then shook his head."I see no wound
He hit her again, not quite as hard as the first time, but hard enough. She could feel the blood trickling down her chin. She could taste it in her mouth. It sent shivers through her body."You stay put. I'm going to get my Jeep and then the fun will begin. If you try to get away, the next beating will be worse, bitch. You understand me?"She nodded her head. He eyed her suspiciously. He went over to the truck and picked up a roll of duct tape. He came over to her and wrapped several loops around her, securing her to the tree. He stood back and eyed his handiwork. He nodded to himself and smiled. It was an evil smile and it chilled Elena to her bones. He laughed when he saw her shudder. He turned to walk away, then rotated his hip and kicked her in the stomach. Her breath shot out of her and she puked. The pain was terrible; her whole midsection was on fire. She choked and tried to breathe. He was laughing at her."That was for tricking me with the vest. You shouldn't have worn it. It
She tossed what was left of the bad human on the ground and went to find a place to rest. She walked slowly back to where she had woken up before her meal and looked around. There were scraps of clothing lying all over the ground. She spotted the tent, ooh, that looks good. She crawled over to it and opened the flap. There was fluffy bedding on the floor. Perfect! She slid in and curled up, wrapping her muscular arms around herself and pulling her legs up, she went to sleep.Elena opened her eyes; she could hear someone outside her tent. She panicked, and reached for the gun. It wasn't there! Then she looked at her hand and saw it was covered in blood. Oh God! What's going on? Then she looked down at herself and saw that she was naked and there was blood all over her and it had rubbed off onto her sleeping bag. She was shaking and trying hard to think about what could have happened. She couldn't remember! No wait, I woke up earlier, and I had to pee. Then nothing. Scott beating me? Oh
"Oh gods, no, Elena. I loved you. I still do. But the change in you has caused that love to change as well. I don't know how to explain it. None of the languages I know have a word for it. It's just, well, it's different.""Okay, I believe you. So, will you teach me how to do the mind stuff and control my shift?""Yes, I told you last night I would. Our time will have to be short, however. I cannot be with you for more than a couple of hours at a time, before my control is pushed to its limits. Also, there are two things that I want in return for this help""Oh? What are they, Damien?"Elena was instantly suspicious. Damien was different now and her trust in him was no longer what it once was."First, I need a promise. You have to swear a blood oath to do something for me when our time is finished.""A blood oath? Why? No one does those anymore.""It doesn't matter, you will do this or I won't help you. I hate to be so uncouth, Elena, but I have to have this blood oath.""Okay, say I
"I forgot to eat dinner last night and camping always gives me a huge appetite. I'll burn it all off before the day is over. Well, maybe. You have brought some horses but when I go camping, I'm always on foot. So I normally hike ten miles in one day when I go out.""Oh, okay. Yeah, I'd eat that much too if I was going to hike ten miles."Gab just sat there and grinned as he sipped his coffee. Marcy and Elena finished their breakfasts almost simultaneously. They washed their plates and cleaned out the skillets. Gab doused the fire while Elena and Marcy drank their coffee. She watched Gab as he saddled the horses. She was still nervous about this exercise. She didn't know if the horse they would try to get her on would stand still enough for her to do so. She went through her calming exercises in her head, trying to still her nervousness. She figured that if she didn't feel nervous, the horse would be calm as well.They finished their coffee and went over to where Gab was waiting for th
This was the truth, so she knew her voice wouldn't detract from her excuse. They both stared at her a few seconds; and then at each other, they shared a look together before they turned back to her. Marcy was the first to break the silence."I'm sorry to hear that. Again, I didn't mean to embarrass you."Gab was looking at her, and she could see that he was mulling something over in his mind; finally he shrugged and grinned."Well, I guess if you're willing to forgive our lapse in manners, then I'm willing to forget about it and just enjoy the weekend with a new friend."Elena smiled and let out a big sigh of relief."Thank you. I'm sorry too, I should have warned you, but it slipped my mind in all the excitement and rush to get out here."They all smiled their relief at the averted social faux paux. They started chatting about the next day's plans and Gab reassured Elena that she would be just fine around the horses. Eventually they all yawned, Marcy first and then the other two in s
Elena blushed again and she saw Marcy shoot a look at Gab that was a mixture of surprise and annoyance. Goob just grinned and shook his head. He had wanted to surprise his wife with his new friend, and it had worked."I surprise a lot of people, Marcy. So don't feel embarrassed about it, you should have seen Goob's face when I shot that rifle for the first time and just grinned at him like a kid at Christmas. He didn't know what to say or do for a minute there."Marcy laughed and nodded, immediately taking to Elena's easy-going personality and humor."Yeah, I've managed to do that to him a couple times myself. Let me just get the rest of the food into the cooler and then we can hit the road."Marcy went back into her kitchen and Elena waited with Goob."Okay, Elena, we're heading for a friend's ranch and the roads are almost non-existent once we get into the higher elevations. Here's a radio for you to use so we can stay in contact if we get separated. It's got a 12-mile range out on
Damn, but at least with this one I can clean the outer shell of any accidental blood stains and re-proof it with a can of repellant. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run. If I go out every month and ruin a cheaper bag, I'd be spending more than this in four months time.The next morning she was happy when she went to work. Yes, I'm leaving but Rhoda won't be there to ruin my mood anymore. Charlenne proved herself to be as smart as Elena thought she could be. She had no trouble getting her acquainted with the software, but she needed to find some inspiration with the graphics layout. That's where natural talent comes in, you are either inspired or you are not. It's an artist part of the job, and this was where Charlenne had the most difficulty."Honestly, Elena, I've never thought about art or graphics. Can I take a class or something?""Well, yeah, you can. However, this is where you need to let your imagination flow and try to feel for the client. Find out what they are looking
"It's got a custom ladder sight and the wood has been reworked and reinforced to take the recoil of that brutal cartridge, they hand rubbed five coats of Tung oil into it."She really didn't know about the wood finish, but the ladder sight was neat."Okay, sold."He smiled and nodded. He got out the paperwork for her to fill out and he called in her ID and information and the NCIC check came back clear. He put the sling kit on the rifle and slipped it into the carry case and handed it to her."I do have one more favor to ask, if you don't mind?""Miss Brandt, anything for the lady who can shoot a Rossi .454 Casull and smile."Elena laughed."I need to find somebody who can teach me how to hunt and skin the animals. I want to go hunting so I can fill my freezer with good meat. I want to be able to do that myself.""Miss. you just went up three notches on my respect scale. I would gladly teach you how to do that. My wife goes hunting with me and I know she would love to have another wom
He smiled at her confident response. Well, what the hell? Why not?"Okay, so you won't need a scope or at least a big one.""No, no scope. My eyesight is perfect.""Okay. Any preference on caliber or action?""Nope, that's where I need your expertise. I've never hunted before, but I really want to learn.""Okay, great. Well, in that case, um, have you ever shot a rifle before?""No, but I'm an expert with a H&K Tactical .45 ACP."His eyes widened again and he started laughing."Okay, I had that coming, sorry. Well, if you don't have any preference on action or caliber, I'm not sure where to start. How about I show you a couple of standard hunting rigs and you tell me if it's something you might be comfortable with, okay?""Yeah, that'd be great."He reached back on the rack behind him and pulled off a bolt-action rifle with standard iron sights. He handed it to her with the bolt open. She hefted it and put it to her shoulder. She looked at the bolt and then slid it forward and down, l
"There you go mark, all your troubles are answered. It's my resignation. I quit."Elena turned, went to her desk and gathered up her things before heading for the door. Rhoda had just heard her announcement and she was pissed. She had wanted to get Elena into trouble and here she was walking out before that could happen. She had hoped to get her fired, but by quitting, Elena still held the high ground."Elena, wait a minute. Why?""Well, mark, I have had it with that little bitch over there. I was in a perfectly happy mood when I came to work today. But when she jumped me three seconds after walking in and implied that I was trying to get her fired because I wouldn't let her finish the interview, which by the way, lasted over two hours yesterday. Then she had the gall to grab me physically, which I told her was a really bad idea and to not ever do it again. Since I was planning on it anyway, that just put the icing on the cake and instead of in two weeks, I'm out of here today.""She
"Me moving in with you, silly. I still want to keep this house. It's paid for, thanks to dad's life insurance policy. So all I have to pay for is the taxes and homeowners insurance. I will need it for the down time after my monthly trip into the woods.""Heh, the way you keep saying it like that, you make it sound like you have a bad case of the monthly cramps, not, well, you know.""See, even you can't say it out loud. It's like if we don't say it, it won't be true. Yes, Marie, once a month my PMS goes all to hell and I turn into a werewolf.""Yeah, okay. I guess maybe because I haven't seen you like that, it really hasn't sunk in.""Trust me,. Until Damien teaches me to control the shift, to become aware inside myself when I've shifted, you don't want to be anywhere near me. I killed and ate someone who was near me last time.""I'm sorry, Elena, I didn't mean to bring that up.""No, that's okay. If I keep these thoughts inside, it'll make it worse. I do know how you can make it up t
Elena nodded that she had and took it out of the fridge for her. She finished cooking her bacon and eggs. She then smothered honey-butter on her toast. Marie watched her in awe and still wondered how she could eat so much. When she wiped up the last of the egg yolk with her toast she popped it into her mouth and hummed contentedly. She sipped her coffee and felt the rush of caffeine hit her system. Marie sipped hers and smiled, Elena had been right, it was very dark and very rich but it wasn't bitter at all."Well, now that I don't have the raving urge to fill my mouth with eggs and bacon, we can talk. I saw that look, and I'll eat that for dessert, now hush. I want to run an idea past you, but I don't want you to feel pressured in any way. I'm thinking of quitting at the Acantha and trying to find something in Helena."Marie beamed and snickered."You're trying to see if I want you to move in with me, aren't you? Well, the answer is YES! I would love it if you would move in with me."