Dani Harper - First Bite

“Unfortunately, I can’t. She never turned me. I don’t know why.”

Zarita lapsed into silence, and Baker was glad for the respite. He didn’t know what to say to that last little revelation. The bitch queen seemed to want to convert the whole fucking world to werewolfism, so why would she draw the line at turning Zarita? He gave up thinking about it and focused on Riley. The big wolf’s gait was stiff and halting, and from time to time he’d lean against his friend’s leg for support, but he kept moving. Can you Change back to a human, bud? Neva said it helps with healing.

Meredith controls everyone around the mansion—none of them can shift their form without her royal high-and-mighty’s permission.

Maybe it’ll wear off with distance. Kind of like mindspeak, you know? The farther away you are, the harder it is to hear anything.

A door came into sight. “There shouldn’t be any guards, but I will go out first and make sure,” said Zarita.

Baker wasn’t about to trust her that far, no matter how good she’d been to Riley. “We all go out together. If somebody’s there, just tell them we’re taking this injured werewolf out for exercise and fresh air.”

“Okay.”

The absence of argument made him feel like shit, but he still wasn’t taking chances.

They emerged into a rocky ravine, with rough-hewn steps leading down the side of it. Baker’s sense of scale, however, was thrown off by the ginormous trees. They towered overhead like skyscrapers, making it hard to tell the depth of the ravine. Finally he cupped his hands around his eyes to block out the forest and studied the terrain below. The remains of a fire could be seen smoldering in a stone basin maybe twenty feet down, but the thick stench it gave off was like no campfire he’d ever encountered. There was an oily sweetness to it, mixed with the scent of badly charred meat. The stink seemed to crawl into the pit of his stomach, nauseating him. “Fuck, is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“This is where they burn the dead. That’s why I was fairly certain no guards would be here. No one will come near here for days until it’s time to collect the ashes for Meredith.”

The bitch keeps the ashes? Riley sounded appalled.

“What the hell does she want with them?” demanded Baker.

“Dark magic requires such ingredients. Blood, bone, hair, ashes. And lives, especially lives. Several guards have disappeared lately. The staff believes that she’s killed them to enhance her spells.”

“And then she cremates them and uses their ashes for even more spells. Nice. A murderer who recycles. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Her face was grim. “I don’t like this place, either. If we follow the ravine south, it’s only a few miles to Redwood National Park. If Riley is able to Change by then, maybe someone there will give us a ride.”

Don’t worry , Baker said to Riley. I’m fucking stealing a car for us if I have to. He wanted to put as many miles between him and Meredith’s creep show as he could before nightfall.

In order to try and use the dark pendant, Neva figured she needed her human form. According to Travis, however, they needed a defensible spot. That sounded ominous. She couldn’t imagine trying to fight so many wolves. They would be dragged back to Meredith for certain.

This way.

He led her down yet another steep slope, and she could feel her strength ebbing as she strained to keep from sliding. It wasn’t long before the big tawny wolf was almost twenty feet in front of her—and her Changeling senses could hear her twin’s hordes not far behind her. Previously such sounds had spurred a burst of adrenaline, but not this time.

Christ, it’s about time! Neva, come this way.

In her mind she was hurrying, but her pace remained the same. Finally she caught up to Travis and looked over his shoulder. There was a groomed path, and he nosed her hard toward it. Come on, it’ll be easier for you.

It’ll be easier for what’s chasing us, too.

There’s no choice. We have to get to a spot where you have time to Change and work with the stone. It’ll be a race, but this’ll help you.

She loped beside him, her nose to his hip. It was comforting somehow, and he adjusted his pace accordingly. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d read the sign beyond the path, however: Damnation Creek Trail.

The terrain was a welcome relief at first. The giant redwoods began to thin out and get smaller. Giant groves of huckleberry trees and rhododendrons gave way to spruce-covered hillsides. The trail would be a challenging one for a human, but on four legs, it wasn’t bad at all. They crossed a small wooden bridge with a strange triangular frame. She assumed the water below it was Damnation Creek itself. Farther on, a similar bridge recrossed the creek. Then the trail narrowed and began to climb once more. Her muscles felt like wet ropes.

Neva looked back and saw a handful of their pursuers crossing the first bridge. Ahead of her, Travis galloped up to the trail’s summit.

Shit. Shit! Goddammit—who builds a fucking trail that doesn’t go anywhere?

She climbed up alongside him and looked down at a small rocky cove. There were steps carved into the rock face leading down to it—but the tide was in and the stairs led only to water. Well, at least they can’t get behind us.

I’m so sorry, Neva. I thought this would connect with one of the coastal trails.

S’okay, I needed a break anyway. Give me the stone, and stand back so I can Change.

He deposited the pendant on the rocky ground. But he didn’t stand back. Instead, he took up a position on the narrow path in front of her, facing the trail they’d just ascended. His voice in her head was quiet and sure. Take your time, Neva. I swear they won’t get to you as long as I’m alive.

No words seemed appropriate. She sent him a burst of emotion instead, hoping it would come across as the virtual hug she intended and not a jumble of tangled thoughts and feelings.

Now she had to persuade her animal persona to let her return to her human form. All of its instincts were poised to protect her with tooth and claw. The best she could do was promise her wolf that it could come out and fight if any of the enemy got past Travis. Reluctantly, it stopped arguing with her—

And she stood on two feet. She wobbled for a moment, a little dizzied from the height, and less stable on the rocky terrain without four legs. Neva had never really thought how much the human form relied on constant balance. She picked up the black opal and nearly dropped it again as it seemed to pulse in her hand. Did that mean it recognized her, or was that an example of the vibes Travis had spoken of? She looped the heavy white-gold chain around her neck—wet from wolf drool, of course—and held the black stone with its hidden fires firmly in her fist.

That was when she felt the magic.

Cold fingers of power wriggled over her skin like tiny slugs. Neva wanted to throw the pendant away from her, toss it into the ocean behind her, but instead she held it tighter and clutched it against her chest. Her twin wouldn’t fear the stone and neither would she. Much.

Wolves were approaching, gathering at the base of the rise. Travis snarled at them and warned them off, head lowered, muscled shoulders hunched, showing all of his formidable teeth. She stopped looking. She had to let him take care of that, had to trust him to hold them off. Her job was to make this last Hail Mary effort, to take control of a magic that wasn’t hers.