***Hello my lovelies! After diligent urging from a very talented author and friend (<3 u Jaz!), here is a foray into the world of shifter romance. Although drawn to the Were/shifter community, I'm determined to try something with a different spin. This chapter will be devoted to character and plot development, so please feel free to comment and let me know what you think. As always, your thoughts and opinions mean a lot to me, and will directly affect the continuation of this story line. A bit of a deviation from my latest series, I hope you enjoy this little walk through the shadows of my mind.***
Tendrils of mist curled lazily between the trees towering overhead, undisturbed as was the quiet morning air. A shadow passed through the underbrush; a well-muscled harbinger of destruction moved swiftly on four padded feet, his hackles rising as he caught another faint whiff of his prey's scent. Hunger gnawed at him, ripping at his insides as he forced his feet to tread lightly. He dropped into a slow stalk, every inch of his body taut as a spring as he closed the distance between himself and his next meal. Disappointment washed over him as he peered through the last bit of foliage and realized exactly what it was that he'd been tracking so diligently.
Piercing yellow eyes studied him with an intense stare as he brought himself up short, abruptly dropping back on his haunches as a small whine escaped his throat. His prey was, indeed, a rabbit as he'd thought...but it wasn't
just
a rabbit. Unfortunately, the keen human intelligence in that gaze identified this particular fuzzy treat as a Were: a shifter, a hybrid between the animal realm and the human world. Although the massive creature would feed him for a long time, he knew without hesitation that attacking it would mean the end of his own life. As hungry as he was, that wasn't a price he was willing to pay.
Rhochlan watched the wolf's motions carefully. He wasn't worried for his personal safety, but he was concerned about the beast's state of mind. He could sense the aura of desperation radiating from his stalker. Despite being heavily muscled, the wolf appeared malnourished and the way it was licking its muzzle while watching him indicated that hunger may force it into action. He was relieved to see the decision to stand down finally reflect in the animal's eyes; he wouldn't have to euthanize it to protect the other members of his colony.
Struck by inspiration, he hopped slowly toward the wolf where it was reclining with its chin on its paws. The large animal raised its head as he approached and watched him with a wary alertness, body tense and ready to flee. Rhochlan dipped his nose to the ground, nodding his head at the wolf as he turned and hopped away. He paused and inclined his head again, hoping the canine would get the message. He waited patiently as the animal finally realized he wanted to be followed, and slowly padded over behind him. The Were lead the wolf deeper into the woods, pausing every so often to make sure he was still trailing behind.
Finally making it to the copse of laurel he was looking for, he hopped to the side of the entrance and motioned for the wolf to precede him. If he could have smiled while in his animal form, he would have done so at the incredulous look he received from the other animal. While on his rounds in the early dawn, he'd run across the freshly killed carcass of a small deer that had most likely run afoul of another wolf. The dew had been heavy, making identification of the hunter difficult at best.
He'd been contemplating ideas on corpse disposal to keep the younger members from running across it. He figured that delivering it as a meal to another hunter, one who was capable of showing common sense and intelligence even in the midst of its hunger, would be a prime solution to his dilemma. The wolf bowed its head to him in silent gratitude as it walked toward the corpse, settling in for the best meal it had eaten in weeks. Satisfied that the mess would be taken care of, Rhochlan turned his back on the grisly scene and hopped back through the forest to pick up his rounds where he'd left off.
After an uneventful hour, the large Were slowed as he crept toward the most dangerous area of his route. One edge of the colony's territory fringed a local state park, and it was the one area where accidental contact with humans typically occurred. While contact with humans wasn't forbidden (after all, the Weres led human lives as well outside of the warren), such contact generally led to dire consequences so close to home. As Alpha Buck of his colony, it was his responsibility to be both judge and jury when such infringements came to light.
Rhochlan froze. A strange scent floated across the breeze, and his entire body went perfectly still except for his whiskers. Suddenly thankful for the light cloud cover that kept the sun from gleaming off of his bright white-tipped fur, he crouched low to the ground as he tried to decipher what had alarmed him. He could hear the voices of a group of children in the far distance, but he knew that wasn't what had triggered his fight or flight response. No, there was something disturbing his sense of natural balance...and that something was very close.
When a visual search didn't alleviate his tension, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his other senses. The scent was familiar, yet not; almost as if it was similar to something he'd smelled before, but just different enough to make it unique. His long, tapered ears moved independently of each other as they twisted and turned, listening for the slightest nuance of sound. His sharp hearing picked up a muffled whimper off to his side, and he held his breath as he opened his eyes to trace the sound to its source.
After gathering as much information as he could without moving, he slowly eased his rigid posture and crept towards the sound. He paused after every step, his ears constantly swiveling to vector in on the sound's location. After several such steps, a bright flash of color caught his eye, and he instinctively dropped back to the ground. Soft sounds of misery made his ears perk; as his eyes adjusted to the darkened area he'd crept into, he realized he was looking at the bowed head and hunched shoulders of a small child.
Quickly scanning the rest of the area, he was certain that they were alone. He crept closer, taking care to remain silent as he approached. He could sense the fear rolling off of the little one in waves, his small frame shaking with barely repressed sobs. One hand appeared to be clutching a plastic bag filled with plastic Easter eggs, while the other showed evidence of melted chocolate. Rhochlan paused to observe the child, taking in his disheveled appearance.
The boy was covered in mud, evidence of his tears visible in the small clean stripes cutting through the dirt on his face. The bottom of his red shirt was ripped, and there were scratches all over his tiny arms that were probably made from branches as he ran through the woods. His hair was longer than normal, brushing the collar of his shirt and feathered back from his face. Rhochlan's eyes narrowed as he noticed that his hair was dark at the roots, graduating out to light blonde at the tips...very unusual coloring for a human.
He took one step further, his whiskers twitching as he tried to catch the child's scent again. As fate would have it, his paw fell on a brittle twig and the resulting sharp crack caused the child to cry out in alarm as he darted a few steps away. As the child hesitated and looked back over his shoulder, his eyes fell on the large rabbit for the first time. He turned slowly, a tentative look of wonder creeping across his delicate features. Rhochlan was amazed at how quickly the boy moved, and as his scent washed over him, his amazement continued to grow.
The child—lost, alone, and staring down a "wild animal" that outweighed him by at least three hundred pounds—was a Were.
"Are you the Easter Bunny?" The child's tremulous voice was so quiet; he had to strain to hear it. "I snuck some chocolate away from the party while Nyrra wasn't looking...and I got lost. Can you help me find my way back? She'll be so worried."
Light blue eyes watched him expectantly as the little one began to inch toward him. Rhochlan stared at him pensively for a moment, wondering at what twist of fate had crossed their paths. His thoughts were brought up short as he remembered the starving wolf he'd run across earlier; he shuddered at what may have happened had it been the canine, and not himself, who'd stumbled upon the youth.
