Free Bad Moon Rising - Paranormal Romance by Lorraine Kennedy Page A

sounds of night creatures.
    When she heard a rustling noise in the brush near her trailer, she had a sudden flashback of what Donny had said only moments before. But then she scolded herself for even thinking about something as ridiculous as shifters. Donny had just been teasing her - he had to be. There just wasn’t any such thing as skinwalkers that could take the shape of animals, or werewolves hunting by the light of a full moon.
    Of course he was just teasing her!
    Mya didn’t doubt that the skinwalkers could be dangerous, but only because of what they believed they could do. Of course Donny had been teasing, but when Mya went inside, she was careful to lock the door behind her.
    The heat in Arizona was unbearable and could suck the energy right out of you. A combination of heat and an emotionally taxing day left Mya feeling drained. When she went to bed, she fell asleep almost immediately, but it was a troubled sleep.
    Her dreams were haunted by the ghostly howls of wolves and those eyes - those eyes that reminded her of a moonlit night sky. Those beautiful - enchanting eyes that were simultaneously serene and lethal.
    Suddenly Mya was awake. She was so alert to her surroundings that she had to wonder if she’d been asleep at all. Something had startled her - stirring her from sleep. The atmosphere in the room was so thick with tension that the air felt too heavy to breathe. Her sixth sense was screaming warnings at her. She could feel that she was in trouble, but couldn’t decipher what the danger was.
    Moving her head slowly, she looked to the side of the bed, but couldn’t see anything. That’s when she heard it - the steady rhythm of the snake’s tail rattling. The sound seemed to be coming from the foot of her bed.
    Feeling movement near her feet, Mya froze. She barely dare breathe for fear of provoking the snake. If it was rattling, it was likely coiled and ready to strike.
    She had to fight off the urge to jump from her bed and run. It would be a fatal mistake to make any sudden movements with the snake so close. Her only option was to be as still as possible and wait. As long as the snake didn’t feel threatened, it would slither away eventually. At least she hoped that’s what it would do.
    It had to have crawled into bed with her and when it felt her move, it had coiled.
    As she lay motionless, each second went by so painfully slow that in a short time Mya was ready to crawl out of her skin. There was no way for her to measuring the passing of time, so she had no idea how long she laid there before the snake finally slid off the bed. Still, she didn’t dare stir. Though it was no longer on the bed, it could still coil and strike if she moved.
    Mya continued to wait, giving the snake enough time to crawl away. Finally she moved, slowly getting into a sitting position. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the light that was attached to the wall near her bed.
    There was a click as she switched the light on. In the utter stillness of the moment, the sound was deafening. Mya held her breath, hoping that wherever the snake was, the sound would not provoke it. Though she couldn’t see it, she knew the snake had to still be in the trailer, maybe even nearby.
    Her eyes scanned the little area of the trailer that passed for her bedroom. She was watchful for any movement that would alert her to the snake’s location. After a few minutes of no sound or movement, she carefully slid from beneath the patchwork quilt. Without taking too much time to think about what she was doing, Mya leaped for the little doorway that led to the trailer’s living area.
    She made a beeline for the door, stopping only long enough to close it behind her.
    Mya caught sight of the phone that she’d left on the table and made a dash for it. Her hands were shaking so badly that it was nearly impossible to hit the right buttons on the phone. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to be calm.
    Mya had never considered herself to be