Lycanthrope Ch. 02

She could taste blood in her mouth. It was warm and metallic, succulently delicious. She wanted more.

She was on all fours now, chasing her prey in the dark. Their fear was potent, radiating off them and making so easy to follow. Not that she needed their scent. She could see them in a cloud of green vision. They were yelling and panicking.

Catalina's hands grabbed the arms of the chair, her fingernails digging into the leather and split it open. Her smiled became a leer as fresh sweat broke out over her face and neck, the veins in her neck and arms throbbing. There was a slick wetness forming between her legs, her sex excited and suddenly very much aware. She felt energized, almost giddy as adrenaline coursed through her in powerful orgasmic waves.

A guttural moan escaped her open mouth as her fingers reached for her dress, pulling at the fabric. She ripped her top and bra open with a strength she did not she had, her body on fire and glimmering with sweat as she writhed in her seat. Buttons from her lab coat flew away and clattered in the shadows. She could feel the orgasm coming quickly. It electrified her being in an angry yet oh so needful living nerve.

She ran faster.

***

The creature chasing them was so close Travis could hear it panting and snarling behind them. He had no doubt it was the thing from the roadside last night. He remembered the growls it made and the way it moved. This thing was just as quick and just as big. The snowmobile was doing thirty-five miles an hour now. Wind whipped at his face and snow stung his skin. They were almost to the bottom of the logging road.

"Faster!" Nick cried out, "Go faster Travis!"

Without thinking, Travis fumbled into his coat pocket and fished out the flare gun. The handle bar of the snowmobile jerked and fought against his one-handed grip as they sped down the road. The flare gun felt clumsy and heavy in his gloved hand as he gripped it and put his index finger through the small trigger guard and readied himself. He could almost see the end of the road. Just one more turn.

The curve ahead was tight and not made with speed in mind. Travis throttled down and tightened his grip on the gun. He knew they wouldn't make the curve. Not by a long shot.

"Everybody hang on," he shouted and steered the snowmobile towards the embankment of the road. He turned and brought the gun to bear, but he was not ready for what he saw. The werewolf was leaping at them, mouth open and jaws slavering thick ropes of saliva. It roared, the same roar that had scared the living hell out of Travis the night before. The green eyes were wide open and almost gleeful of the impending kill.

Travis aimed for one of those eyes, the right one, and fired the flare.

The shot rang out followed by a suddenly explosion of pink color and sparks. Nick and Carter ducked to their left and shielded their eyes as the flare struck the wolf dead on in the face. A high-pitched yelp pierced their ears and it was gone. It was gone as quickly as it had arrived, disappeared into the shadows. Travis saw the sparkling flare speeding off into the woods, smoking and clearly lodged in the beast's body.

He laughed and turned around. The snowmobile hit the embankment and he was airborne. The rest just blurred away to the sound of branches breaking and snow in his face.

And then all was dark.

***

Catalina sat up in her chair, her body stiff and her clothes pasted to her body with sweat. She wheezed, the taste of smoke in her mouth. And then she felt the pain in her eyes. She uttered a silent cry of agony and cupped her hands to her right eye, lips drawn back in a pained grimace. Her glasses fell to the floor and were nearly run over as her feet stomped to the floor. Air sucked into her lungs through gritted teeth as she pushed herself away from the desk.

"Oh shit," she cried. After a moment, she looked down at herself and saw what she had done to her top. Fresh bloody claw marks were torn across her chest and over the swells of her breast. As if taking a cue from the visual realization of her self-inflicted wounds, pain suddenly shot through her torso.

"Oh Jesus," she prayed, "What have I done?"

... to be continued...