Chapter 1 #2
Ana nodded. She was way beyond water. Way beyond trying to talk. Shit! This isn’t happening. It isn’t! The room was hot … that’s why she felt flushed. That’s why she couldn’t breathe. Damn! Dammit all to hell!
Brett hurriedly poured water, some of it sloshed over the rim of the glass, his eyes were filled with concern. “You’re sweating.”
Gee, I hadn’t noticed.
She grabbed the glass and tried to drink some but it gushed over her lips and down her neck. Cold! Ana swallowed the little bit she could. It felt like a rock trying to go down a straw. Her throat was officially closed. The room was both spinning and crystal clear, all at the same time.
Around them, waiters carried beautifully prepared meals and expensive bottles of wine. Diners chatted, drank and ate their meals, oblivious to the turmoil in the far corner of the room.
“What can I do?” Brett was out of his seat. “Are you having an allergic reaction? Do you have medication in your purse?” He lifted her purse from the chair next to her. “Is it in here? Try to breathe slower.”
Gee, why hadn’t I thought of that?
Ana realized that she was being a bitch but couldn’t help it.
She needed to get the hell out of there.
She pushed her chair back, eliciting a hard scraping noise on the gleaming wooden floor.
Oh shit! Now the people from the table next to them were gaping at her and one of the servers was making her way over, eyes wide.
Out!
Now!
She had to leave. If she made it outside and to the safety of her car she would be okay.
It was a pity, but she didn’t feel like that was going to happen.
She was beginning to feel light-headed. Her stomach seemed to clamp and unclamp.
Stars were beginning to flicker in and out of her vision.
She felt dizzy … no, she felt … ill. Her legs might not work anymore but she needed to try.
“Out,” she managed to somehow moan the word. She planted her hands on the table and used it to leverage herself up into a standing position. Well sort of. She was hunched over the table. Her glass of water tipped over, clanging as it hit, water soaked into the beautifully crisp white tablecloth.
“Ana,” Brett kept calling her name. He clasped her elbow tightly. “Sit. You shouldn’t be—”
Ana twisted around, trying to push past him …
trying hard not to … her stomach gave a heave and out it came.
The apple she’d munched on before coming here and the wine, her vomit was sour …
it was disgusting and it was all over Brett’s shoes, all over his left leg.
He let go of her, taking a frantic step back.
Then everything went black as she passed out.
Chapter 2
Ash put his nose into the air and sniffed deeply.
His already pointed snout elongated even more.
His nostrils widened. He sniffed again, lumbering from one side of the clearing to the other, eyes shifting from left to right.
His heavy fur bristled. The big male rose onto his muscular hind legs and gave another exaggerated sniff.
The sound of his snuffling filled the clearing.
The rest of the sounds of the forest seemed to become drowned out.
Winston could see that the male was agitated.
He growled, landing heavily onto all fours before walking back to the spot he had just vacated.
Winston sniffed the air as well and got …
the edge of something … maybe … he ultimately got nothing.
Crisp air, the scent of the nearby river.
He could smell the earth, a squirrel that had recently run across this particular patch of earth.
He could scent the daisies growing on a patch of moss nearby.
He could scent many other things as well that were of little importance. What had gotten his friend so rattled? He watched as Ash ripped up the earth with his heavily clawed paws, frequently stopping to sniff some more. Then there was the familiar sound of bones cracking, of tendons reshaping.
Ash’s low bear growl became less animal and more human … straddling the line between the two. He crouched down, fingers sinking into the earth. His body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Ash looked his way and gave a quick lift of the chin.
It seemed his buddy wanted to have a little chat.
Winston pictured his human form, feeling his wolf retract, starting with his fur.
It pulled into his skin, his limbs folding in on themselves.
It hurt but it was a good kind of pain. “What is it?” he said, as soon as he was shifted enough to talk.
His voice still held a guttural edge, his vocal cords still remembering those of his wolf.
“Not sure.” Ash was still agitated. “Something … and yet, I can’t put my claw on what exactly.”
Winston chuckled. “It’s a known fact that wolves have a better sense of smell than bears. I didn’t pick up a thing.”
Ash sniffed again, even though there was no way he would pick anything up in his human form, despite the fact that his sense of smell was far superior to any mere human.
Winston chuckled at the male. Ash was his best friend. Even though they were different kinds of shifters. Even though Ash was older and an alpha. It didn’t matter in the least. They had still become fast friends from the word go. “Let’s change back and head home,” he suggested.
Human skin or not, Ash bristled, the male still on high-alert. “Call it a gut feeling … something isn’t right.”
Winston paced to where Ash was standing.
The male seemed to be listening for something, his brow heavily furrowed. “I wish I knew what the fuck was going on.”
“Something is definitely up. Herds of game don’t disappear into thin air. At this point though you’re just hungry. We’re all hungry … for meat.”
Ash’s nostrils flared, his eyes were focused on the canopy up ahead. “I’m hungry but that’s not it. Something spooked the game. I sensed something out here. Something’s wrong!”
Winston shook his head. “If there was something in these woods, we’d know about it.”
“Make no mistake,” Ash paused. “There is something in these woods. With the thousands of square miles, it would be easy for them to hide.”
“From us? We’re shifters for fuck’s sake. They can’t hide from us.” Winston shook his head. “Now that’s crazy talk.”
Ash shrugged. “You’re probably right but I’d still be willing to bet my right nut on it.”
Winston laughed. “You’re on. I’m sure it’s a simple case of the herds migrating though. Something to do with the solar system and the way the planets are aligned. Or maybe global warming. It’s fucking with nature in the worst of ways.”
The big male shrugged, his agitation from earlier all but gone. “What happened to you on Saturday?”
“What do you mean, what happened to me?” Winston folded his arms. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re right, nothing happened,” Ash chuckled.
Winston fought an eye roll and lost. Here we go again.
“You took a female back to your hotel room but didn’t touch her.” Ash grinned. “My sources tell me she was not too thrilled when she left. Made a ton of noise and called you a limp dick.” Ash choked out a laugh. “Limp dick,” he muttered to himself, still laughing.
Winston rolled his eyes a second time. “Yeah, yeah, it’s ‘Pick on Winston’ week. Why can’t a male just change his mind? Why was it that my dick immediately got a bad rep? Why can’t a male walk away from sex without being ridiculed?”
“There was nothing wrong with that female.” Ash shook his head. “Trent told me it was the blonde with the hair all the way to her ass. She’s a little noisy, but—”
“My point exactly.” Winston blew out a breath.
“Are you still banging on about how you’ve had it with fucking around?”
“You have no idea.” Winston narrowed his eyes. “You’ve only been at it for a couple of years.”
Ash’s eyes darkened, pain caused his features to pinch.
“Hey, bro …” Winston kept his voice soft. “I’m sorry. That was out of line.” What the fuck is wrong with me?
Ash shook his head. “Nah!” He rolled his shoulders. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Winston could see that he wasn’t. What male would be?
“So, no more Shifter Night for you then? No more going to the ‘Dark Horse’? No more females? No more fun … fuck! I’m glad I’m not you.”
“Who says I can’t still go to Shifter Night? Who says I can’t spend time with the females? Who says that sex equates to the only form of fun to be had?”
Ash barked out a laugh. It was deep and throaty. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. You still plan on hitting town?”
“Sure,” Winston shrugged, “why not? I don’t plan on fucking around but I can still go and enjoy myself.”
“We’re meat to those human females, plain and simple. Meat. They don’t want us for anything other than our dicks,” Ash palmed his cock as he said it.
“You’re wrong. Humans want nothing more than to spend more time with us. I’ve had numerous females beg me to meet with them again, or to take them back with me. They wanted a relationship with me. Begged me for a chance.”
“They wanted more cock. It’s always about the sex, trust me. They don’t want to take you home to meet daddy. They don’t want you to take them out to dinner or to go dancing. They want you because they know you have a big dick and you know how to use it. That’s it, end of story.”