Free Lust Unleashed (Night Seekers, Book One) by Desiree Holt

sure the deer are fed. We have other feeders for the turkeys.”
    “But not the other animals.”
    “Neil snorted. “They can take care of themselves. We’ve got javelinas, feral hogs, bobcats, coyotes. That’s why I have such a hard time believing some mythical animal got in here and did the killing. Any of the animals I just named could have been the culprit.”
    As they crossed the hunting preserve whitetail deer often leaped from behind trees or shrubs, squirrels skittered along the ground and coveys of quail waddled and fluttered. Once a feral hog darted close to them, snorting, its red eyes reflecting the sun. Neil lifted the handgun he had lying next to him on the seat, ready to use it if necessary, but the animal apparently wasn’t after human prey today.
    They reached an area with sparsely scattered trees and tall shrubs where a large rectangle had been marked off by orange tape, and Neil stopped the mule.
    “Well, here it is.” He climbed out “Although I don’t know what you think you’ll see after all this time.”
    Jonah fished a small camera from his pocket and turned it on. “I asked Dakota why one hunter wouldn’t have shot whatever animal it was while his friend was being attacked.”
    “Sometimes you just don’t react. Fear paralyzes people. A bobcat attacks swiftly and finishes off his victims almost before they know what hits them.” He shook his head. “Of course, these guys were sitting in a blind. Whatever attacked them may have pulled it down around them.” He wheeled around a copse of trees and pulled to a stop. “Well, here we are.”
    There was no distinctive smell clinging to the area. Jonah would have given his left nut to be able to shift right then. To get low to the ground and see if he could find a lingering scent. But even in human form he had the same feeling that had permeated the other night when he raced through here as wolf. Evil. Soul-searing, heart-stopping evil. The aura left here hadn’t come from any normal animal, no matter what Neil Washington tried to tell him.
    “Wouldn’t a bobcat or feral hog have eaten its fill of its prey and left just the remains?” he asked.
    “Usually. But something might have spooked it.” Neil scratched his head. “Maybe another wild animal.”
    “It happened in the early morning, right?” Jonah walked around the area, careful not to move under the tape and disturb anything although he wasn’t even sure what he was looking for.
    “Yeah. That’s what we figured. While it was still dark. These guys go out about four thirty, long before sunup, to set their blinds. We give them about three hours to get set before I send one of the guys out on the first run. Don’t want to scare off the game, you know. Danny was the one making the first run that day, and he found them.” Neil shook his head. “Poor guy still has nightmares.”
    “Did you come out and take a look yourself?”
    “Damn right.” Neil grimaced. “It was a damn mess, I’ll tell you. I still see it in my mind.” He shook his head. “But I’m telling you, it could have been any of the wild creatures around here. So don’t read more into it than there is. Write your story, but I’m telling you, it’s all a bunch of hogwash. People go crazy over that story. Lose their minds.”
    “I spoke to the sheriff. He was trying to find out if the two hunters had enemies that could have done this.”
    “Listen.” Neil’s eyes were piercing as they looked at him. “No human being did that, I can promise you.”
    “Did you have the game warden out here?”
    “Absolutely. But there was nothing for him to do. He couldn’t identify what kind of animal made the kill and you can’t just go around shooting animals indiscriminately because you think they did something.”
    Jonah knew that perhaps more than either Neil Washington or Dakota Furcal. His own pack had been decimated because of just such insanity. Biting back a comment, he pressed a button to turn on his