[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

The beast felt anger roar up hot and fierce from within itself, an uncontrollable desire to
kill anything that impeded its hunt. The rage fueled its hunger, its natural instinct to
kill. Maybe tonight there would be more than one prey destroyed.
It stood in the moonlight, scanning the landscape for intruders but nothing seemed
out of place. One last glance around and it took off with incredible speed, racing toward
its first kill of the night.
* * * * *
Night Seekers were everywhere, homing in on their assigned sectors. Everyone was
aware that tonight held a special urgency and all senses were on high alert. Leon Torres
had bullied and threatened but had finally managed to get the most at risk residents
into Zapata at least for the night. But lights were left burning to give the appearance of
occupation. No one knew exactly what attracted the devil beast but they were all
determined that everything look as normal as possible.
Chloe and Mark ran together. He wasn t about to take a chance on leaving her
alone. She didn t have the skills to defend herself that the others had acquired and he
worried what would happen if she came on the devil beast by herself. But everyone else
was roaming the night, backed up by sheriff s deputies in patrol cars and Dante
crisscrossing the county.
Mark chuckled to himself, wondering if the deputies spotted any of the wolves and
what they would think. He d cautioned everyone to be careful and be prepared to
conceal themselves whenever necessary.
They were an hour into the hunt when the radio around Mark s neck emitted a
signal. He dashed for the covering of nearby trees, Chloe on his heels, and shifted.
 What? he barked into the tiny instrument.
 Sam has something, came back Dante s voice.  He s only two miles from you and
he needs help. I m calling everyone in.
 Just make sure it s not a false alarm, Mark warned.
 You know Sam would be sure of what he saw. Get going. I m headed in that
direction. About five minutes behind him. Should I call the sheriff?
150
Lust by Moonlight
Mark took only a second to decide.  Yeah. If he sees us we ll just make ourselves
scarce and tomorrow pretend he doesn t know what the hell he s talking about. Okay.
On our way. Oh, and Dante?
 Yeah?
 Remember, we think this creature can shift, so if you get a shot, take it.
He quickly shifted back again and he and Chloe were off. At the speed at which
they raced, only a few minutes passed before they saw Sam, now joined by two of the
other wolves, growling at the creature on the back porch of Hank and Enid Samuels
house, bathed in moonlight.
Don t shift, don t shift, don t shift. Mark was sending silent signals to the devil beast.
It truly was the most frightening creature he d ever seen, with its two sharp fangs, red
eyes, and a body that looked like a cross between coyote and an alligator. It was
standing upright, its red eyes glaring at the wolves around it.
Come on, Dante. We need you now.
He and Chloe pulled up with the other three wolves and stood there, menacing,
teeth bared, growls rolling from their throats. And finally, at last, came Dante. The SUV
stopped in the driveway and he saw Dante running low to the ground gripping one of
the special rifles they used.
Now. Shoot now.
The beast stood up slightly straighter, preparing to gather the air around it like it
had the other night, when the crack! of the rifle split the air. The beast spun slightly and
the red in its eyes seemed to light up the night and a terrifying sound screeched from its
throat. Three more shots and it dropped to the porch. Headlights split the night as more
cars arrived, deputies, answering Dante s call.
Mark looked at the other wolves around him.
We need to get the hell out of here. Right now.
They ran low to the ground, finding shadows to conceal themselves as more
deputies filled the yard. And then they were into the stand of trees and shrubs, then
back out in the open landscape.
We need to shift and get back here as soon as we can.
Mark sent out the message, then nudged Chloe to follow him home.
* * * * *
Chloe and Mark arrived in his truck almost simultaneously with Sam, Chelsea and
Logan in their vehicle. Portable floodlights had been set up in the Samuels yard and
what looked like the entire sheriff s staff was milling around. As soon as Mark stopped
out of his truck, Leon Torres hurried over to him.
 It s a good thing we made Hank and Enid go stay with their daughter tonight. It
looks like they were going to be the creature s next meal.
151
Desiree Holt
 We were afraid it would try for a double this time, Mark told him.
Torres shoved his hands in his pockets, clearly uncomfortable.  Listen. We don t
know exactly what to do with this thing. I could send it to the state lab in Austin but I m
sure there s no one there equipped to do a proper autopsy and even know what to look
for.
 Not a problem. Dante had come up to where they were standing, the other Night
Seekers with him. He looked at Mark.  I called Ric and he got hold of Craig. He s
sending the helicopter with some folks from the lab. They should be here in about half
an hour.
Mark cleared his throat.  Leon, how about if you have your people take all the
pictures you need, gather whatever you think is important, then leave the body and the
scene to us.
Sam, Logan and Chelsea were already moving toward the porch to guard the
creature s body.
Relief washed over Torres face.  I was hoping you d say this. I m way in over my
head here, and my staff knows it. Thanks, Mark. And to your friends, too.
 No sweat.
The sheriff started to walk away then turned back, a puzzled look on his face.  Say,
I know this will sound crazy, but did any of you happen to see any wolves while you
were out searching tonight?
Mark kept his face totally expressionless.  Wolves? I thought they were extinct in
Texas. Hadn t yet been reintroduced to the animal population.
 Yeah, me too. He lifted his hat, scratched his head, set the hat back in place.  But [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]