LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

thoughts were cut off instantly as the man reached out to her. He looked so tired. So lost. As he lost his balance and fell, she cursed, ran out the flat door, down the two flights of stairs and burst out of the entrance. She wasn’t fast enough though. She rounded the corner as he hit the floor. Hard. It was something she felt right through to her bones, rather than actually saw. The crack that rang out was loud enough to shake walls. Running to where he’d fallen, she skidded to an abrupt halt.

      He was nowhere to be seen. Instead, on the grass in his place was a big black and grey wolf. Shoving the brief prickle of fear that rose up her spine away, she walked over to the animal. As she reached it, she bent down and slowly reached a hand out; smooth soft fur met her fingertips.

      The wolf was out cold but breathing steadily, its chest rising and falling like the tide. By the looks of it, the animal had broken its back leg; the limb was bent at an awkward angle. There was a lot of blood on the floor which appeared to be coming from a large cut on the wolf’s side. Tam scanned the area for the fallen man. Sympathy overwhelmed her as she jogged back to where the wolf had been, though as she reached the grassed area she wasn’t entirely surprised to find the space empty. The wolf had gone. Vanished. All that was left in its place was some sorry-looking, flattened grass and a smudge of blood.

      Tam gazed around to the surrounding area. He had to be here somewhere. He couldn’t have gotten far with a broken leg. Stalking over to the pathway, she checked left, then right. Town was to the right; the hills were to the left. Her gut told her to head towards the hills. She broke into a jog and, hammering the pavement, she quickly made her way towards the far end of Folkestone, marvelling at how fast she was going. Yeah, she jogged sometimes, and yes, she’d raced at school, but Christ, she was keeping up with the few cars that were out at this time of the morning.

      Then she pushed the thought away and continued on towards the hills. She couldn’t see the wolf anywhere, but she knew she was going in the right direction. How? She had no idea, but over the years she’d learnt to trust her intuition, her instincts. They had never led her astray before and she was certain that now would be no different.

      Tam rounded the corner. She could see the roundabout at the top of the road, and knew that just beyond that was her destination. Folkestone’s rolling hills fanned out in front of her, the early morning sun peeking through the tops of them. She kept her pace up, dashing across the roundabout, and leaping over the fence separating the road and the field at the bottom of the hills in one movement. Crap. It definitely wasn’t natural to be able to jump that high and that far, was it? What on earth was happening to her?

      Right now, she didn’t care. She needed to find that wolf. She had absolutely no idea why she was chasing down an animal that would, in all likelihood, maul her, maybe even kill her but, hey, it would make front-page news if she managed to survive to find out why there was a wolf in Folkestone. What a killer story! It might even make her career as a reporter. Maybe enough to make her a full-time journalist, rather than just a junior.

      The cold winter air brushed past her as she listened intently, but the only sounds to be heard were the distant rumble of car engines on the motorway just across from where she knelt. Inhaling deeply, Tam was amazed at the different scents she picked up on, grass and moisture were the first that she noticed, but picking past these, she could smell mice, rabbit… wolf. The scent was particularly musky, almost manly, in a strange way.

      Allowing her eyes to follow her nose, she scanned the bottom of the hills in the direction the scent seemed to trail into, as her inner predator came roaring to the surface, heat soaring from her very core, warming her flesh from the inside out. It was almost as if there was a beast that lived deep inside her, a beast that was just begging to be let out. Because you’re more than human the voice inside her pointed out, the very thing she’d feared for years. She’d suspected that she was different all her life, but she’d never wanted to believe it. Why now? Why were her age-old fears coming to the forefront of her mind?

      Because your senses are getting stronger, the other half of you is getting stronger. Just as she was telling her brain to get a grip, her eyes skimmed over something that made her heart skip a beat, the very tip of a black and grey tail disappearing into the wooded area that surrounded the base of one of the many hills.

      How she had managed to spot that from this great distance, she had absolutely no idea, and honestly? She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. Instead, Tam forced her feet forwards, breaking into a flat-out run towards the small woodland. She ran lightly across the lumpy grass, finding her footing easily, not tripping or wavering. She was built for woodland, for nature, for this. Her heart told her that this was home, this natural place of beauty. Not the urban environment she’d chosen to live in.

      It took only seconds for her to reach the edge of the woods and, without thinking, she dove straight into the thick of it, launching herself into the surrounding trees, coming to an abrupt halt as she let her eyes adjust. She could barely hold in a gasp as she found herself staring straight into the grey eyes of the biggest, most beautiful wolf she’d ever set eyes upon.

      He was hunched against a tree, a deep, rippling growl reverberating out of his chest, the defensive sound thrashing against her eardrums, causing fear to rise up her spine. Oddly though, she found the sound strangely comforting. She’d heard it before, but lord only knew where.

      For a few seconds, the two of them just stood there, staring at each other, assessing the situation. With her heart in her throat, Tam drew in a shaky breath. What now? She’d chased this wolf into the woodland, not really knowing why or what she was going to do when she found him.

      And now she was almost nose-to-nose with a goddamn wild animal, she had absolutely no idea how to react.

      She was so stupid. The wolf was injured which, in theory, would give her an advantage if he tried to attack her, but you didn’t have to be an animal behaviour specialist to know that dangerous wild animals like this wolf were even more dangerous when they were injured and felt trapped or threatened.

      She could almost see the headlines now: ‘Local woman mauled by wolf’; ‘Local reporter killed after chasing a wolf into the woods alone.’ What an idiot she was.

      Out of options and ideas, Tam slowly held her hands out in front of her, doing her best to show the wolf that she meant him no harm.

      He didn’t move, didn’t react, just kept his beautiful eyes locked onto hers.

      ‘Shh, good wolf…’ she whispered, not really knowing what else to do.

      The wolf huffed, glancing at her before quickly spinning awkwardly on his back legs and hightailing it deeper into the woodland.

      Tam launched herself forward after him. Trees sped past her as she struggled to keep up with him, damn he was fast, even with what she thought was a broken leg!

      He twisted and turned, changing direction every now and again, creeping underneath bushes and going through streams. He was obviously trying to lose her, but she would be damned if she was going to let him get away from her! Breaking free of the trees, he climbed up the side of one of the hills; she followed him, gasping for breath as she hefted her way up the thing.

      She stopped in her tracks as he paused at the top of the hill looking back down at her. For a moment, a fleeting feeling of recognition slipped through her, though lord only knew why; she’d never seen a wolf up close and personal before.

      But he’s not just a wolf. Tam pushed her mind’s voice away. This was not the time for her ‘craziness’, as her school friends had put it, to be resurfacing. Her strange obsession with the supernatural had brought her nothing but grief in the past.

      A heartbeat later, he was off again, bolting down the other side of the hill. Tam didn’t pause, just got her feet moving again, detouring around the edge of the hill rather than struggling up and over. As she reached the other side, she caught a glimpse of his beautiful tail disappearing into some bushes.

      She didn’t hesitate, just dived in after him, catching her T-shirt on the branches and ripping the thin material. Her hands grazed against the rock and dirt beneath, and her kneecaps hit the

Скачать книгу