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CHAPTER1
Rania rushed through the forest, her eyes searching for an escape from what hunted her. Her worst nightmare was coming true. She didn’t know what it was, but it was huge with teeth. That was all she needed to know to keep her legs pumping. Her high school days of track were coming in handy, and yet she knew she was being toyed with. Whatever was behind her could easily pounce at any time, which made her situation even more terrifying, but Rania's stubbornness and will to live kept her moving.
Feeling her chest tighten to the point she couldn’t breathe, she knew she needed a minute before she passed out. Sliding down a small, muddied slope, she crawled toward a fallen log. Scrambling she concealed herself. As quietly as possible, she dragged in much-needed oxygen into her lungs. Cocking her head, she listened for the sounds of her nightmare.
When her car broke down, it had been close to dusk, which made the thick wooded forest dark as night. Pushing her hair from her eyes, she noticed blood on her fingers and cursed silently. Fear that whatever was chasing her would pick up on the scent, she frantically tried to wipe it away, but she didn’t know where she was bleeding from.
The cracking of a stick nearby had her freeze to the spot. Holding her breath as her eyes searched the darkness. Out of all the ways she thought she would die, this was definitely not on her list of ways to meet her maker.
A squeal escaped her throat as her phone rang and vibrated in her back pocket. Clumsily, she grabbed it just as she heard the beast pounding through the thicket toward her hiding place. Jumping up, she took off again as she miraculously answered her phone.
“Please help me!” She wheezed into the phone just as a large branch whacked her in the face, knocking the phone out of her hand. Fighting her way through the thick trees, she knew she was losing the battle. The pounding behind her was getting closer and closer.
Knowing this was her end, she decided that her death would be faced head-on with courage. Swallowing the debilitating fear that almost paralyzed her, she stopped and then turned with such force she stumbled sideways before righting herself.
“Alright, you…you…whatever you are,” Raina screamed in anger, her arms outstretched. “Here I am.” Thoughts of what she still hadn’t accomplished in her twenty-five years flashed through her mind as she waited for her killer to make an appearance. Knowing that she would never have the family…the kids that she had always dreamed of having sent tears of regret rolling down her cheeks, which made her more angry than afraid.
When nothing happened, her eyes scanned the darkness, only seeing the lightning bugs busily flickering through the trees. Everything was silent other than her shuttered breathing. One thing Raina was not was patient. She hated waiting. If it was going to happen, then dammit, let it happen now and get it over with. Despair, fear, and rage overtook her as she began to shake.
Grabbing a stick, she threw it toward the darkness. “Come on, you mangy nasty hunk of fur…butt-licker!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “You think I’m scared of you? If you’re going to eat me, then fucking do it, and then choke asshole!”
“I’m not that hungry.” A voice to her right had her screaming and jumping away.
“Bruce!” Raina’s eyes popped open wide.
“Raina!” Bruce’s eyes did the same. “What are you doing in the woods, and who are you calling a butt-licker?”
Never had Raina been happier to see anyone in her life. “Something is chasing me.” She said quickly, looking back in that direction but still seeing nothing. “What are you doing in the woods?”
“Hunting,” Bruce replied, looking up at her, and it still amazed Raina that having a conversation with a cat was now normal to her. “But don’t worry, you’re safe. I don’t eat humans; they leave an aftertaste. No offense.”
“None taken,” Raina replied, looking back toward the darkness hearing movement. She had hoped that maybe Bruce scared the thing off, but then, glancing at Bruce, she realized that he wasn’t the type to put fear into anyone. “But I think we need to get the hell out of here.”
“Seriously, why in the hell didn’t you drive? I know Wicked didn’t give you directions to the house that goes through the damn woods.” Bruce also looked in the same direction cocking his furry head.
“Car broke down,” Raina whispered, squinting at movement she thought she saw in the shadows.
“There’s this device called a phone.” Bruce snorted, taking another step, still searching the darkness.
“Yeah, but without a signal, it’s worthless.” Raina snorted back in a whisper, wondering why they were still standing there waiting to be attacked by whatever in the hell was out there. “Why Wicked decided to move from the city to this desolate place, I will never understand.”
A low rumble sounded through the darkness, making both Bruce and Raina take a step back.
“Did you hear that?” Bruce sidestepped closer to Raina.
“Just keep backing up slowly,” Raina said, not really knowing what to do. The last time she ran, it chased her. “Whatever it is, it likes the hunt.”
“Two or four legs?” Bruce asked, peeking up at her. When she gave him a sideways glance, he rolled his eyes. “What the fuck is it?”
“Four legs like a dog.” Raina frowned down at him.
“A dog?” Bruce shook his head. “We are frozen in fear because of a damn dog. I’ll kick its ass. I’ll claw its eyes out and slice its balls off. I’ve rumbled with more than one dog in my day, and let me tell you, word gets around about my badassness.”
“It’s bigger than a dog. I was just explaining what it looked like.” Raina’s hair on the back of her neck prickled, and she knew they were being watched.
“Listen, city girl.” Bruce snickered with a catlike smirk. “We don’t raise no little pussy ass ankle biters around here. The ones I’ve tangled with would make your blood run cold.”
“Then why don’t you waddle your badassness into those trees to see if whatever was chasing me is gone?” Raina tossed out, pointing toward the trees.
