Dani Harper: First Bite

At least she’d picked a scenic place for her last night.

Geneva Rayne Ross— Neva —hugged herself tightly against the night wind as the waxing moon rose like a frosted pearl overhead. It silvered the wide river far below, lighting its serpentine path along the feet of the Blue Mountains. Frozen sparks of light glittered in the blue-black sky. Was it Van Gogh who said the sight of stars made him dream?

She used to have dreams, too, for herself, for her life…But as Neva gazed at the sky, she felt a tug within her, a deep longing and an excited recognition by something inside her, something that was wild and alien and other . It scared the hell out of her. That’s what had brought her to this beautiful place, driven her to her lonely purpose.

Only a few more nights till the moon is full… And she wouldn’t see it. Not here, not anywhere. The enormity of that fact chilled her much more than the wind, and she shivered. How was she supposed to do this?

I don’t want to die.

Well, duh, that was a given. But she couldn’t live with what she’d become, either. She had to protect her family, her friends, all the people whom she loved. All the people who wouldn’t understand what was happening to her.

And why she was killing them.

She sat on a large square boulder, one of many that jutted from the grassy hillside. These mountains were filled with memories for her—clambering on the rocks as a child, sunning on them with a book as a teenager. She’d grieved her first broken heart right here, where the breeze in the tall pines breathed peace. The hilltop was considered sacred by the local natives, and she could see why. But Neva had always thought of it as her own special place. And it was the first place she thought of when she made the most difficult decision of her life.

She stared determinedly at the edge of the cliff, at the path she intended to take. They’ll just think I slipped. That wouldn’t be hard for anyone to imagine. Neva had always been, well, a little on the awkward side. Earlier this year she’d managed to trip on a sidewalk crack and ended up with a cast on her wrist. Of course, that was before . Lately she couldn’t help but notice a new agility, an almost feline grace to her step. She hadn’t needed so much as a Band-Aid for weeks. There could be real advantages to—

No. She wouldn’t be swayed. Neva didn’t think of herself as a particularly brave person, but she had to find some shred of courage in her, something that would allow her to do what she had come here to do. And she should do it now, she really should. She’d never be able to make herself climb the steep, rocky trail to this isolated spot again, knowing what she was coming here for.

Neva stood on shaky legs, her focus on the cliff’s edge. It was maybe a couple dozen steps if she ran, and she was going to have to run if she wanted to clear the chalky sandstone side of the hill. She blanked out that dreadful image and took a step forward.

Two steps. Three.

Her heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it throbbing in her ears, feel it in her throat. There were tears streaming down her face now, but she took another step. And another. Her knees were jelly, and if she didn’t hurry, her legs might give way—

Suddenly, that something deep within her stirred again. She heard it call out to her as she took another wobbly step, but she dared not listen, she dared not heed.

Six steps. Seven.

He didn’t know why his lupine persona had brought him here. Travis Williamson had wanted, no, needed to go for a run, and he’d simply given his inner wolf its head.

You damn well better know the way back . His alter ego ignored him, too busy enjoying its freedom to respond. Boxy boulders erupted through the steep, grassy hillsides like a giant’s molars, and pine trees punctuated the slopes, their roots clinging to the sharp incline. As he trotted along the ridgeline, he felt himself relax. The air was clear and cool, the pale moon’s light throwing every plant, every rock, and every tree into sharp relief. It was a perfect night to be a wolf, and Travis couldn’t help but enjoy the view—until he saw a human figure emerge from the trees on a narrow plateau far ahead of him.

Even with the moon’s help and the night vision common to his kind, the distance made it difficult to see much detail. He could tell that the person was pacing as if agitated. But there was something more, something about the way they moved—

A woman? What the hell’s a woman doing all the way out here, alone? And in the dark, no less. Curious, he headed in her direction.

As he got closer, she stopped pacing and faced the valley, hugging herself with her arms as if she was cold. Or maybe comforting herself, although Travis wasn’t sure why he thought that. Was she nervous because of the height? The plateau topped a section of hill that was steeper than the rest and jutted like a stone chin over the forested valley. The vantage point would be a photographer’s dream, but as the stranger suddenly took a shaky step in the direction of the edge, his gut said she wasn’t there for the view. Her body language spoke of fear and terrible resolve as she took a second step. A third.

And he wasn’t nearly close enough to stop her.

He wasn’t waiting around for his human brain to come up with an idea, however. He was already running flat out with all the speed his kind was capable of. If only he could distract the woman, Travis thought, make her stop, give him time , goddammit. In this form he couldn’t yell at her, but he let loose with a flurry of yips and barks as if he was an excited yearling on a pack hunt.

The woman froze, and her shoulder-length hair whipped around as she scanned the hillside for the source of the lupine sound. It was unlikely she’d see him at this distance—his tawny-gold coat blended with the dry grass, day or night. Yet she did. She stared directly at him, and he was close enough to see her dark eyes widen with terror. Then she ran—

“ No ,” he yelled as she vaulted from the edge. But all that came from his throat was an agonized howl as he skidded to a stop a scant few feet from where she had disappeared. Unbidden, the wolf howled, too, long and loud until it echoed over the valley and drew answering cries from the natural wolves that roamed there.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He’d known he couldn’t save her. He’d known he was too far away. Knowing didn’t prevent the bare-knuckled punch to his heart, though. A drop like that was guaranteed fatal to a fragile human. All that was left was to walk away…But at that, a snarl broke from his lips, a clear message from his ever-rebellious animal side. Forget it , Travis argued with his lupine self. There’s nothing more I can do here.