Species Unknown [Book 3: Canis]

PROLOGUE

-Unknown POV-

SILENTLY, I PROWLED through the forest, crushing grass and twigs alike beneath my unsteady stride. My unseeing eyes flicked across the trees that passed in a blurry mix of greens and browns, searching mindlessly for my next victim.

The evening sun had already started to set, casting the quiet forest in a haze of blood red hues.

The forest was dead silent. My heavy steps were enough warning to send its usual inhabitants scurrying away to their hiding places. Even birds dared not to frequent the sky above my path, well aware of what consequences would await them. Instead, the forest remained hushed, as if every living thing was watching with bated breath as I trudged a path through the rich amber oak trees that shifted lightly in the crisp evening breeze.

The nights were growing colder with the coming winter season, a sensation I welcomed fully as it numbed the soreness of my aching limbs.

Though I refused to look, I knew that bruises already painted the majority of my wretched flesh. Most of the pain had faded to haunting memories, however, my most recent mark still burned. With each step, I felt the skin of my neck pinch with the sharp tang of a recently scabbed-over injury. It was a sullen reminder. A reminder that I had lost once again.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I kept on my path. I had lost, and as much as I wished it, there would be nothing stopping me now. One leg moved after the other in a steady rhythm, regardless of whether or not I wanted to keep walking. With each step I took, the forest around me seemed to grow further and further away. What little control I had left was slowly removed as the serum flowed through my bloodstream, igniting the beast.

As the night grew on, and the sun fell completely behind the tree line, I could no longer feel the ground beneath my own feet while I mindlessly marched on.

I was lost, an observer of my own body. There was nothing I could do now but watch the creature inside of me surface, taking full control to do it's bidding.

Suddenly, I heard something.

A light, airy laugh rang out throughout the clearing. It was a jarring sound, bright, beautiful, and full of life, unlike anything I had ever heard. Momentarily, I could feel myself surface, gaining control to savor the enchanting sound. However, the moment came and passed in a breath and the beast came forward, regaining control of my body and forcing me back to become a prisoner in my mind once more.

Instantly, my ears flicked forward, listening to discern the direction of the sound. That sound, it had come from somewhere between the endless expanse of trees just up ahead.

It was close, too close.

Dread washed over my body before instantly being replaced with the primal instincts of a beast much more powerful than my own. A deep growl rumbled in my chest as my breaths grew heavy with blood lust and an insatiable hunger for death. Involuntarily, my tongue jutted out, swiping over my sharp teeth as I heard the command in my mind.

Kill.

Growling, I dug my claws into the ground, lunging myself forward towards the sound. My feet pounded against the wet forest earth as I ran, sending my heart racing with the pure adrenaline of the ensuing hunt.

As I neared the source of the sound, my pace slowed to a prowl. Soundlessly, I weaved through the forest with the beast guiding my every move with deadly precision. Just ahead, I could hear the steady breaths of my unfortunate prey.

Rounding the last tree, I crouched low, hiding behind a few short rocks covered in damp green moss as I observed my next kill. Standing by the edge of a creek was a young woman with long brown hair that curled down her back. In her hands was a weaved basket of some kind, filled with foraged goods.