Forgotten Enemy (The Powers of Influence Book 1) Read online

  No such luck. She saw the road. In her frantic hurry she hit the gas, pushing the pedal hard all the way to the floor. She jerked the wheel solidly to the left, not accounting for the recent early wintry weather.

  The car spun out of control on a thin sheet of ice no normal person could’ve seen. Collett shrieked as it slipped over the embankment, flipping and rolling downward. Metal crunched and glass shattered, as the car made its short descent, landing on the passenger side with a hard and painful crunch.

  When the harrowing, bone-jarring movement finally stopped, she slowly lifted her bleeding head, from the passenger side. In her rush, she’d neglected to buckle her safety belt. As the car had spun off the embankment, she slammed her head into the driver’s door window with a loud, painful crack to her skull. She was thrown out of her seat when it rolled and smacked her hip against the passenger door armrest.

  She shook her head to get her bearings, causing pain to lance through her skull. She groaned slightly. Her body protested her every movement. She did not have time to assess her injuries though; fear and survival dictated it was time to move. Gritting her teeth through the pain of movement, Collett clambered to the driver’s side, unrolled the window, and worked her way out of the now side-turned vehicle.

  Kicking her feet, Collett abandoned her shoes as she climbed free, knowing she could not run at full speed over the frozen, uneven ground with the heels that Cynda had helped her choose to match her gown.

  Hearing another ominous growl, she bolted. Whatever it was making that sound, was much too close. She was not sure where she would run. She just knew she had to run hard. She was assaulted by trees and tangled bushes as she blindly attempted to escape the evil pursuing her.

  The thick, black darkness made it impossible to see very far ahead. She ran over a small hill and suddenly slipped, half sliding, half falling the short distance down the other side. She scraped up her bare feet as she slid. Seeing a tree with a large, thick base near the bottom of the hill, Collett ran toward it seeking any amount of cover she could find to collect her wits.

  I’m going to die! This one thought kept racing through her panicking mind, as she crouched down near the cold, damp earth behind a large tree. This time I’m not going to find a way out. She thought as desperate anxiety began to claim her senses.

  She kept low, aiming for protection from the tree and the tiny hill. After a short while, her leg muscles began protesting the prolonged crouching position and began to quiver. She tried to keep her breathing as still and quiet as possible, however, this was not an easy feat considering she had just run a mile or more over frosty, rutted ground through whipping trees and pointy bushes.

  Instead of smooth, quiet breathing, something she longed for at the moment, her breaths came out in shaky, shuddering pants. Not that it really mattered, her short breaths puffed out a mist into the chilly air, which she believed was the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull.

  The light, eerie fog snaked slowly across the ground like creeping fingers trying to grab hold and keep her in one spot until the monster could find her. She shivered more out of fear than cold. Now that she had a few moments to take stock of herself, she realized if the beast did not kill her, the early winter cold might.

  Collett’s once beautiful silk gown was torn and tattered from the frantic run through the woods. Taking a quick look at her aching feet, she assessed her cuts and realized, thankfully, that the cold evening air numbed them. She didn’t feel too much pain from the minor pricks and scrapes they suffered.

  Her body was another matter. She ached, as a result of the travesty with the ridiculous red car. Why couldn’t she have grabbed the keys to someone’s SUV instead of that stupid little pop can of a car?She thought to herself.

  Collett reached up with her slender fingers to probe carefully at her throbbing skull. She felt wet stickiness and realized she was bleeding. Hoping she didn’t have a serious injury, she refocused her concentration on finding her stalker.

  She could not see the growling monster lurking in the darkness. She had the impression it was toying with her because she could sense it close by. She felt it watching her. A cold sensation of evil still radiated from it like a sonar beacon, confirming it must be near. The smell of musky-wet fur, man, and chilly winter enveloped her nostrils, engaging her in the frustrating notion that she must be losing her mind. Though, considering her situation, losing her mind would be preferable to the reality of what was happening at this given moment.

  She silently argued with herself, should I move? Or should I remain hidden under the meager cover the tree offered?

  Undecided, Collett didn’t move. Terror kept her rooted in place. She took the opportunity to slow her breathing and regain what little strength remained in her already bruised and worn body. She resolved to listening and waiting. She hoped she had outrun whatever it was that was pursuing her; knowing instinctively it still lurked near her in the shadows. Breathing in and out slower and deeper now, she continued to focus; squinting as she forced herself to think clearly. Closing her eyes tightly, both to ease the ache in her head and to concentrate on separating the sounds around her, she listened intently for a sign of her stalker.

  The night felt too still, too quiet. It was if nature felt the same fear and terror that filled her slender frame. Even the wind in the trees seemed to keep silent, as if attempting to hide from the evil presence lurking about. The apprehending silence thundered in her ears, smacking her thoughts around her head. One noise, one creaking branch, is all she hoped for to give a hint at a direction for her to escape. Her pursuer was not that gracious, however.

  She couldn’t comprehend the repetition of these events. How could this pursuer, this evil keep finding her? Frustration and fear clawed at her sanity. She’d been a fool to think she could be normal. How could she be so dense as to think she could actually enjoy a party? To laugh, to let go and socialize like she fit in was a fallacy she’d been dangerously absurd to believe.

  That small and precious moment of normalcy was shattered the moment she felt it again. That hair-raising, frigid sensation she recognized right before something was about to go terribly wrong. She knew then, she had stayed too long.

  She should have left months ago. Collett silently berated herself for her stupidity. She’d stayed because for the first time in two years she’d felt a bond, a friendship with others. She’d found people who seemed to care about her. She wanted so badly to stay, to have a place to call home.

  She’d spent the past two years running. This very thing she was hiding from had been pursuing her wherever she ran. It always seemed to track her down. She’d spent all this time moving, running, and hiding from something she had never met. At least she thought they had never met. Even so, since moving here, it was months since she’d sensed the darkness close by. She had begun to believe she finally outran it. She’d been looking forward to a new life. Now, she felt this was the price she would pay for wanting to fit in. There was something too different about her. She didn’t know what; but she sensed it. She would never fit in. Her difference was her affectation; it had somehow kept her hidden and safe… until now.

  Maybe it was for the best, she thought. Maybe it was time to face this demon. She was ignorant to their interest in her; she didn’t understand why they spent so much time searching her out. A feeling of resignation washed over her, maybe if they got her this time, maybe if she was dead, no one else could be hurt in these pursuits. This time Collett felt she’d outrun her own luck. She felt an overwhelming sense that she could no longer cheat death. She wasn’t sure she had it within her to try anymore.

  The short, abrupt sound of a twig breaking woke her from her thoughts. Quickly, she snapped her eyes open, scanning the darkness for her pursuer. Her heart raced; she could hear it thundering in her ears. Despite this noise, however, she heard an ominous, raspy breathing close by. It sounded like some sort of animal. In and out it huffed; erasing any rational thought from her mind.
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  She rubbed her temples with the pads of her fingertips, attempting to clear her head. Peering into the darkness, she carefully looked around. Squinting hard and jutting out her chin, she saw it. The only thing that gave its position away was the glowing golden orbs glistening in the moonlight. They were locked intently on her. It was so close. One quick leap was all it would take to be right on top of her.

  There, between the trees, stood a massive, very fierce looking wolf. It didn’t approach her...yet. It just stood there in the black, quiet night ominously staring at her. Two deadly eyes locked on her.

  The creature’s dark, black fur blended perfectly into opaque shadows of the night. She couldn’t tell where the silhouette of the beast began and where it ended. His, well she assumed his, eyes glowed like amber gems in the moonlight, piercing through her as they held her captive within their gaze.

  As the animal stood there looking at her, she tried harder to make out its features through the darkness. It was magnificent and terrifying at the same time. It stalked forward just a few steps. It moved slowly, carefully, with the strength and confidence of a beast that had its prey right where it wanted.

  Panic began to set in once more. Collett’s breaths came more quickly; quiet pants escaped her lips. Her body shivered in anticipation and fear. She tried to pull herself up onto her shaking and wobbly legs, but they felt boneless. As her thoughts raced she tried to prepare herself to meet her death. She was sure she was staring right at it.

  Unexpectedly, the wolf stopped moving as she rose. She surmised it was taking its time for the kill; savoring the moment. Right as this thought coursed through her, the wolf let loose with a low, rumbling growl; a growl that she suspected it used to prove how many razor-sharp teeth it could eat her with.

  Its broad body was wider than any wolf she had ever seen before. Now that was a strange thought… Even in her panicky state, Collett considered it more thoroughly. To her knowledge, she had never seen a wolf. Yet she felt strongly as though she had. She was certain there was no way she had seen one like this. Had she?

  This was probably the end. The end of the recurring nightmare that had been her life these last two years and she refused to face it cowering on the ground. Bolstered by her own thoughts, she stood, feeling just a little more firm as the courage rose within her. She would not die a coward!

  Collett placed her hand upon the tree behind her, the same tree that had offered her a meager place to hide. This time, however, instead of hiding beneath it, she used it for support. She reached deep within herself for every bit of courage she could muster.

  “Why… Why me? What do you want?” She pleaded, the words coming out at barely above a whisper, as if this wolf could somehow answer her. Just as Collett attempted to voice her frustrated confusion aloud, three things seemed to happen simultaneously: First, a strong arm grabbed her from behind. With punishing strength, it wrapped around her throat, jerking her back and holding her fast. The arm was applying enough pressure to make her breath wheeze in and out, as she now strained for air. At the same time, the large wolf lunged forward, forcing her wobbly legs to give out on her. Had it not been for the arm wrapping around her throat, she would have been in a heap on the ground. And finally, every last drop of the courage she had managed to collect drained right out of her body as if the shockwave of this final terror obliterated the dam holding and collecting her bravery for her.

  With sudden revelation, she realized that tonight there was more than one thing after her, more than one monster who wanted her dead. Disheartened, Collett knew all her running, all her hiding had been futile. She closed her eyes in complete defeat and despair.

  Chills crawled over her body as a cold breath tickled her neck. A male tenor voice gleefully asked. “Can you feel it? Can you feel her power? Can you, mutt? Smell…” The man pulled in a deep long sniff of her burying his face in her neck as he did, “Smell her sweet aroma. She is afraid. Can you sense it, too? Fear always makes it sweeter.” She felt a tickle as he lifted a lock of her hair, dangling it in-between his fingers.

  Curious, Collett opened her eyes and looked directly at the wolf, wondering why this man was talking to it.

  “Have you come to savor this sweet treasure? Oh, it would be so wasted on you. You only know how to kill, but this must be enjoyed.” The monster holding her inquired of the wolf.

  The wolf took one-step forward and the man’s cruel voice admonished, “Ah, ah, ah, you know the rules. First come, first serve.” Pausing, he rubbed his ice-cold cheek against Collett’s neck. She shuddered and whimpered. Her shaky knees unlocked, cutting off her minimal air supply momentarily until she was able to support herself again.

  As if to himself this time, he pressed his lips against her ear and said softly, “I don’t think I’ll return this one. No, she is too sweet. Her scent burns through me like fire.” He breathed in deeply again, “Yes… I’ll be keeping this one. I think I’ll enjoy her and forget the bounty.” Pressing his lips to her ear he whispered, “You seem to be bounty enough for me.”

  Her captor’s voice sounded cold. It was laced with a lewd, malice, and appalling innuendo. The arm, that was in contact with her skin felt frigid. His touch on her skin seemed to transfer all the evil pouring off of him and fill her in a horribly intimate way. The sickening taint of him crawled through her, consuming her completely.

  The obtrusive contact with him was agonizing for Collett. She felt as though, somehow, he perverted and sullied her very soul. Goosebumps flared across her skin like tiny prickling pins. She felt dirty and disgusting from his tainted touch. Even her very bones felt the icy death and despair hanging around this thing in a heavy cloud.

  She could only watch as the speaker’s words riled up the black wolf in front of her even more. The wolf growled and snarled at them, his fur standing on end. His tense body vibrated with anticipation. He was alert, edgy, and ready to act. The monster before her was just waiting for the perfect opportunity, all while the monster behind her eluded her gaze.

  Collett’s body was pinned so tight against her captor that she could not even crane her head around to see the wicked man’s face. She sensed her inability to see him left her in a better position, for she knew instinctively she did not want to see in his eyes. She could only imagine how terrifying and cruel they were.

  The pressure on her neck was so tight, the grip so strong, she knew that the tiniest amount of added pressure could cut off all of her remaining oxygen. Her captor was in complete control of her life and he’d promised to drag hers out in agonizing fashion.

  Once more, he spoke to the wolf in front of her with his sickly inhuman rasp, “Can you mongrels smell the sweet scent of a life-force pumping through the body? Even better, can you hear it? I can feel the thump, thump, thump as the fear takes over speeding up the heart before death. I can hear it as it slowly comes to a stop when the last drop of blood is drained.” His excitement seemed to grow with each word. Then he asked, “Do you even bother with such things before you make a kill? I will tell you, it is fascinating and exhilarating at the same time.”

  Collett felt his free hand stroke her cheek. She shuddered as if cockroaches were crawling across her skin. His skin was icy cold like his soul. The prolonged contact with such a dark force was starting to sicken her physically. As if her body rebelled against the very nature of the evil within him. As nausea rose in her, she tasted the gagging bile at the back of her throat. Her head spun. It was a fierce struggle to hold back this overwhelming reaction. Not in all of her memory could she recall such an intense reaction. Well, then again… She couldn’t remember feeling anything so evil or foul, Collett thought as she struggled to stay balanced.

  As she fought against the nausea and bile, fought against the overwhelming dizziness, she stared straight into the eyes of the threat directly in front of her. Oddly, his presence seemed to ground her. The wolf before her was so close.

  His once amber-gold eyes now looked back to her glowing a horrifying red. They
looked as if they were on fire, like the burning glow of over-heated metal.

  He let a growling howl escape his canine lips. Then suddenly, to Collett’s horror, his body started to contort and change in front of her very eyes. He became more than just a large wolf. With sudden clarity she understood why her captor kept talking to him.

  With a sickening crack, the wolf’s hind legs shifted and grew to support his large upper body as he twisted to stand on two legs instead of four. His front legs changed into thick powerful arms. His paws became huge, monster-like hands with five razor-sharp claws as deadly as any blade. His chest seemed to grow broader than any man’s with cut, rippling muscles forming across his stomach as his ribs expanded and reformed. The wolf was now a rage-filled monster before her, and huge in comparison to her own meager five-foot-five height.

  Collett wasn’t sure if her mind played tricks on her, but it seemed even his teeth grew sharper, longer. This powerful, amazing change seemed to take forever, and yet it happened in barely an instant.

  Collett could feel the rage rolling off of him as the monstrous beast stood there staring down at her captor. He was emitting a wave of anger so strong and powerful she felt as though he would tear them both into little pieces without any difficulty.

  The deep breath she now managed to choke down acutely reminded her of her other problem as it managed to slip painfully past her constricted airway. She blinked her eyes trying to force her body to wake up and escape this worsening nightmare.

  “She’s mine!” The huge animal that now towered before her rasped through his large, deadly muzzle. The sound of his guttural voice caused Collett to involuntarily shiver once more.

  The werewolf stated it with such a calm confidence that Collett had to wonder what he had planned for her himself. She wondered which of these two monsters could inflict the most pain before they killed her. As she blinked her eyes against the horrifying wolfish thing in front of her, hoping the nightmare would go away or disappear, she heard the wolf continue to growl, “You have two choices, demon. Let her go and I might not hunt you down and tear you to shreds, or... I’ll make you let go by ripping you to shreds now. The choice is yours. You had better hurry though, I’m NOT very patient.” His words were clear enough though his voice held a growling, raspy undertone that didn’t sound quite human and grated against Collett’s eardrums.