She climbed into bed and went to turn out the light. It wasn’t on. She looked around the room. She could see as well now in the dark as she used to with the lights on. Another part of the curse that was just a tiny bit like a gift. What a mess. She closed her eyes fell back on the pillows.
Running. Running with soft pine needles beneath her feet. Wind in the air brought scents of the forest, and him. She grinned and raced past another tree, chasing her prey and gaining ground. The breeze tickled her sides and feathered through her hair. She laughed aloud and dug her bare toes deeper into the pine needles, pushing herself faster and faster as the chase was nearly over.
Then she was on him. She knocked him to the ground with a grunt and fell with him into a pile of dried leaves. They crunched beneath them as he twisted and flipped her and she reveled in the way his scent mixed with hers and the sharp scent of pine needles, the moldy smell of dried leaves. Sex in the woods like this with David was the best. First the chase, then the rough sex that pleased the beast inside her. They’d go for finesse later. She caught hold of his shoulder bit him hard, drawing blood. The taste was heaven—sharp and powerful and invigorating. But he shouted and she jumped away from him in shock.
His eyes were wild. David. She smelled fear and growled, the sound low and deep. Was he afraid of her? Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach.
But his gaze had shifted to the woods around them. He wasn’t looking at her at all and while relief was sweet, she turned to stare at the woods that suddenly seemed dark.
The shadows moved.
“Run!”
Helen threw off the covers and jumped to her feet. The urge to run brought panting gasps from her lungs. She shivered and ripples of sensation—goose bumps, each individual hair rising—raced over her skin. She glanced at her bed and found the sheets shredded. There was no more time. She needed to go now, not next week.
The change was coming.
Chapter 6
Thank God for GPS. For the last two hours the road had become a narrow, twisting, single lane path amid a dense forest of trees. Not a house to be seen, let alone a convenience store or gas station. Good thing she was fully provisioned. Yesterday, when she’d put in for her leave, it was immediately approved. That never happened. She must’ve scared her boss more than she’d thought. How much of the change had he seen? Would she even have a job to go back to? She had the next two months—the entire eight weeks that she’d built up over the last two years by never taking a day off. The vacation time had grown without her noticing. Her life centered on work and nothing else—perfectly boring.
But she had plenty of excitement now, didn’t she? The irony of it brought a half laugh to her lips.
Finally, she spotted the even smaller turn off, or at least she hoped this was it. The lane wasn’t paved, basically just a graveled path in the woods. She’d driven for most of the day and it was getting darker now. Of course, the twilight meant little to her. Twenty minutes later, the gravel ran out and the path was nothing but two ruts in the ground. She bit her lip. If she couldn’t find the place, she’d end up spending the night in her vehicle. The idea was unsettling, although she really didn’t have a lot to fear these days. People maybe, discovery, but not much else. If anyone found out what she’d become, she’d end up a dissection project in some mad scientist’s laboratory.
The urge to turn around and find a way back to civilization was becoming insistent when she spotted a building in the shadows. This was it, and it was pretty much as she’d expected. Old, rarely used and nearly abandoned. Nearly, because she knew David had been here a few months earlier. Gray cedar siding and a sagging porch with a roof, small windows and a good-sized chimney that made her long for a crackling fire. If David hadn’t provided the coordinates of his father’s old hunting camp in his proposal, she would’ve never found this spot.
She parked to one side of the cabin and sat in the SUV, staring out into the shadows. She would have to stay here for the next week and a half. Long enough to keep her secret, and prevent anyone from getting hurt, including her. Hopefully, there’d be a decent bed, although she’d picked up a sleeping bag and some basics at the camping goods outlet, just in case.
Well, nothing for it but to get out and unpack, move in no matter what conditions she found inside. The grass had grown tall around the old place. Luckily, she’d put on a pair of jeans for the trip and a T-shirt. She pulled on her light jacket—no point in getting bitten up by mosquitoes and ticks—popped the trunk, and got out. With the car off the radio fell silent. The shadows had grown longer and she was struck by how very alone she was in this place. Alone was good. Alone was safe.
But it was still alone.
Two trips and she had all her supplies on the porch, which was more stable than it had looked. The screen door was boarded shut and padlocked, but a few sharp yanks took care of that and the lock gave way in her grip. She’d never considered herself very strong, but there was something satisfying in the way the metal folded under her fingers. Of course, that brought back thoughts of David and that damn fork.
What did he think of her? What would he imagine when he realized she was gone again? Would he tell anyone? Go to her boss and complain and mention the weird things he’d seen? No one would believe him. Except…she’d frightened Mr. Winfield. Still, people believed what they wanted to believe and Winfield was a pragmatic man, from her experience. She brought the company money, which should hold things in check for a little while.
The inner door wasn’t locked and opened with only a light creak. Inside was dark even to her, so she pulled a flashlight from her pack and flicked it on.
At least here was a pleasant surprise. She hummed in pleasure. The cabin was fully furnished and had a beautiful fireplace. From the smell, someone—David—had lit a fire here not too many months ago. And although the place was a bit musty, nothing had rotted and no animals had gotten in. Her sense of smell could tell her a lot of things. David had been the only person here for some time.
She brought her things in, shut the door, and explored. Using the bedroom didn’t feel right; sleeping in someone’s bed was like she was taking too much of an advantage. The couch would do nicely and was near the fire so she’d be warm, although that wasn’t much of an issue for her this time of the month. But at least the illusion of safety and hominess would be there for her. There was no power of course, but she had her solar charger for her lantern and phone, and a small cook stove and a cooler. It would keep things fresh enough until she didn’t need to… She grimaced at the thought.
Sometimes she didn’t need to worry about eating human food. Or at least nothing that had to be cooked. Or gutted. Or even deboned.
She pressed her lips tightly together and got busy putting things away neatly. David might intend on leveling this place, but someone had loved it once. There were signs everywhere, including the handmade rock fireplace and the family photos on the mantle above it. She lit a small fire—there was plenty of wood stacked to one side of the fireplace, and she’d discovered a small room at the back that contained at least a cord of dry wood.
One of the photos on the mantle was of David and an older man with similar features. It had to be his father. David was a young man, maybe twenty, and they were laughing. His father had an arm wrapped around David’s shoulders.
She had no similar photo with her father. He’d never been the hugging kind, or the laughing kind, that she could remember. She turned away. Clearly, she was getting overtired. Sentimentality was a complete waste of time. She unrolled her sleeping bag, plopped down her pillow on the end of the couch and tugged a book out of her kit. With nothing else to do, at least she’d be cutting down her ‘to be read’ pile.
She’d done it again. She was gone and no one had a clue where she’d gone. Eight fucking weeks? She’d booked eight weeks off and disappeared. What the hell?
David paced his office. Goddammit. This was his fault. He’d told her business could wait until she was ready to tell
him the truth. Clearly she wasn’t and his trying to force her had pushed her to leave, maybe earlier than she’d planned. But he still had no idea where she was or why she kept taking off. And what about their deal?
He paced back to his desk and dropped into the chair. Maybe this was a sign. He should just back off and find another developer. There were other companies he could work with. Multoma had been his first choice and it could have taken him to a whole new level, made his small company a much stronger one. The project would have to wait. And the spa retreat? He’d leave that off the drawing board. He never should have told her anything about it.
His stomach burned. It was hard to say who he was angrier with—her for leaving, or him, for telling her too much. Sharing his idea when he hadn’t even bought all the surrounding land. Yes, he had a good bit of the property secured on the mountain, but not all of it. She’d been so interested. Wanted all the details.
He sat up straight. What had she said? She’d asked a lot of questions about the land, specifically his father’s old cabin. And before, she’d tried to claim that she’d been investigating land for development when she’d taken off. Could that part have been true? He’d been sure she was lying, but maybe not entirely. What if she’d gone there, to the cabin to check out the mountain while she did whatever she did when she escaped work and the city?
It was a conclusion that didn’t have a lot of chance to be accurate, but it was the only one he could think of. She wasn’t the type to steal his development; he was a good enough judge of character to believe that. But what if she bought the land around it? That was possible. Then she’d be part owner, or Multoma would be, depending on whose behalf she was really acting.
He leaned back in his chair. Something didn’t really fit. He’d already decided she wasn’t crooked; she worked for her company and herself but wasn’t likely to cheat him out of anything. He trusted his instincts; they’d never steered him wrong. His instincts said she was in trouble.
He called her secretary. They’d left on much better terms than they’d begun, when he’d barged into Helen’s office. “Hello, Sherry. I know you said Helen wasn’t in, but I’m wondering if she did or said anything yesterday that might give you any clue as to where she’s gone?
“No, I’m sorry, Mr. Sherman. She put in for her leave, wrapped up a few things, and left.”
There had been a slight hesitation before Sherry had said Helen left. She knew something but did she trust David with it? “I’m worried about her, Sherry. I think you’re worried too. There must have been something.”
The hesitation was longer this time. “Well, she did make arrangements to take a cab to Cabela’s, that big hunting and camping superstore. That was unusual.”
“Thanks, Sherry.”
“But, Mr. Sherman, please, she’s always been wonderful to work for. It’s only been in the last little bit that things have been off, and she looks so stressed, so tired. If you aren’t going to help her, don’t get involved.”
“I’m going to help. Thank you.” He hung up. He was already involved, his interest piqued, and something inside him told him she could be something very special. How could he not try to help her?
Cabela’s. That wasn’t far from the outskirts of the city. He could be there in twenty minutes with the light traffic at this time of day. And if she were after the kind of camping gear that he suspected, then his idea about where she could be headed might be true. A few minutes with the salespeople who had been on duty the day before would be enough to let him know. Who would be able to forget a perfectly dressed business woman, a beautiful one, coming in for camping gear and probably asking all sorts of questions?
He’d go home, pack his own gear, and then head over to the store. If he was right, he’d head for the hunting cabin and catch up with her there and find out what was wrong. But, if he wasn’t right and she wasn’t there, well, it had been a while since he’d seen the old cabin or taken a vacation.
Considering the crazy ideas he’d been having about what could be going on with Helen, maybe he needed one.
Helen stuck her bookmark in her novel and dropped the book with a sigh. Last night had been cozy in the cabin and she’d slept well enough on the couch. In the morning she’d spent a good bit of time figuring out the camp stove and making a light brunch, but after a day with nothing but her books, the boredom might soon kill her. Time to go out. She’d had no signs of the change since she’d arrived; obviously she was free of the stress that had been bringing them on early. The stress from one particular man and all his questions.
She stood and paced. There were only a few days left until the change would become too strong to resist. She stopped and stared out the window at the forest. She could bring the change on now by going into the woods and simply let it happen. She’d never done that before. Never consciously brought it on or tried to control it, only tried to stop it. It was in the back of her mind, always, nagging at her to let go and let it happen.
There was new growth out there in the woods near the cabin, mixed with old, old trees. Enough leaf cover above that the brush was thin underneath the canopy only a few yards past the first trees. She could walk out there, strip off her clothes and feel the breeze on her skin. It wasn’t cold, not really, and never to her. She wouldn’t be naked for long but for a few minutes she’d be exposed. She shivered. There was a little something exciting about the idea, although she’d never considered the change to be sensual at all. That part hurt a bit, though not as much as she’d imagined from watching movies. Blood and bone changing shape, senses sharpening, the power of sudden strength…these things should have been accompanied by agony. But the pain was more like an awakening.
Would bringing the change on be like giving into it? Would it make things harder next time when she wanted to stop it? Would she lose control? Lose herself to the other? She bit her lip and paced the room again. This was the argument that she’d had several times with herself already today.
Maybe changing early would make it easier to stop later. This was the flip side of the debate. Maybe if she got to know this thing better, understand herself after the change, she could control it longer, and change only when she wanted. Like she’d ever want to. But maybe with the curse she had to do it so often, and until she dealt with the Rom and made them un-curse her, she’d have to deal with it.
“Control is power, Helen. Get used to that.” Her father never let go of his control. Not up until the day he died, although if he had, they might have realized his little headaches were a sign of something far worse. So, yeah, he hadn’t always been right. Was he right now? If she had control over the change, would she be more powerful?
She’d have to be.
She took a deep breath and headed for the door. She hesitated for a second then slipped outside, leaving the inner door open and the just the screen door shut to let in some air. At times during the night, the faint scent of David had been enough to wake her from dreams that seemed too impossible, yet were also real.
The tall grass brushed at her knees as she walked across the overgrown yard to the woods. She breathed deeply. The smells here were fantastic, so fresh and alive. The grass, new and old. The loamy ground beneath it. The trees ahead, most with big green leaves and some with dark needles, none of which she could name but she definitely could smell. And the exciting scents of little animals—mice, squirrels, rabbits? She licked her lips.
Now that she had made up her mind she was going to do this, it seemed so easy. Her nails were already hardening, growing longer and darker. She cocked her head at a small sound, but it was only a few birds, crows maybe, gathering to perch in the trees nearby. Were they watching her? She had to laugh at herself. They were only birds.
She grabbed the edge of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. The breeze tickled her skin just as she’d imagined. She quickly folded her shirt and laid it on a flat rock. She looked back. She could still see the house. It was so simple to step out of her shoes. To pull off her s
ocks and pull down her jeans. She folded them and laid them beside the shirt. Her bra and underwear were a little harder. She bit her lip as the breeze tickled her everywhere, as attentive as any lover.
She could feel the change hovering, just off the point of actualization. Sometimes it seemed as if it had always been there, waiting to pounce, to bring her into a world so different from her day-to-day life.
One deep breath, a moment of relaxation, and it was on her. She shifted in moments, her skin and bones forming a new shape, one filled with power and strength. The pain was there, unsurprising and yet somehow less than usual. Was this because she wasn’t fighting it? Because she’d let it happen? If that was the case the experiment was so far bringing positive results.
Her senses opened; the sights and sounds and smells became so much stronger. The vegetation beneath her feet was too hard to resist and she rolled in it, stretching and scratching her new body. Then she was up, and off, running. Even when she’d fought the change there was nothing better than those first hours, when she ran and ran, stretching like she’d been cramped in her office for years.
Which, she had.
Twilight had settled in and the forest was open to her. She’d been right—there was little scrub under the largest part of the canopy and the speed she brought on made her giggle. God only knew what that sounded like. She let her tongue loll out and tasted the air. There was so much life around her, so much freedom before her.
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