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But one of the men turned toward the wolf, then became one himself.
Lori blinked. That wasn’t right. She hadn’t just seen that. She glanced down at her fitness tracker, wondering if she’d overdone it and was now hallucinating. Leaning against the nearest tree for balance, Lori looked back down the hill. The man who’d been there a moment ago was gone, just as she thought, and now there were two wolves. They weren’t sneaking up on the people, though. They were right there in the midst of them.
It couldn’t be right, but the rest began to transform. Their faces stretched into long muzzles as their heads writhed on their shoulders. They fell forward onto all fours as thick gray fur sprouted on their bodies. Her gut twisted, but she couldn’t look away. She caught glimpses of them between various forms of human and beast.
A scream ripped through the air. When the wolves all looked in her direction, she knew it was coming from her.
Lori froze, watching in horror as the pack of wolves raced up the hill. Their claws dug into the soft earth as they bounded for her, a stream of fur that moved and ran around each other without the least bit of trouble. They were gaining on her, and quickly.
“Holy shit!” Sucking in a breath, Lori scrambled back down the hill. It was steeper than she remembered it being on the way up. Her shins screamed at her to slow down. She wasn’t used to all this exercise. But her brain sent an extra flood of adrenaline through her system, and she would deal with the aches and pains later.
Lori flung herself down the hill, then hit flatter land and barreled back toward the trail. She only had to get there, then someone would come along. Someone would’ve heard her screams and was probably on their way. Right?
She could hear the wolves, their panting breaths becoming louder by the second. She knew they had to be gaining on her, and her spine tingled in terrible anticipation. But she had to keep going. She wasn’t going to give up.
Her toe caught on a root, and she pitched forward. The raven called once more as the world went black.
Lori slowly opened her eyes.She felt as though she’d been swimming in a deep black void for hours, and it hurt to let even the slightest bit of light in. Squinting against the painful light, Lori tried to turn her head to the side, but it hurt too much.
“Hey, there. Are you with us?” a deep voice asked. It was rough but kind, and it sounded like it was coming from the other end of a tunnel.
She moved her mouth, trying to answer, but she didn’t know how. Her mind groped around for thoughts and found none. “What… what happened?” she croaked.
“You hit your head, but you’re all right now. Just take it easy.” It was that same voice again, but this time it was closer.
She opened her eyes and looked up to see a rugged, handsome face. Piercing blue eyes stared down into hers, his brows wrinkled in concern. She didn’t recognize him, but something within her told her she knew him.
“There you are,” he said gently as she started to come to a little more. “You’ll be fine.”
Lori wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with him.
