Free Bite Me by Lana Amore Page A

going to rape me and kill me and
...
    That was her last thought
before an unearthly howl shook the very air around them. A huge
dark blur knocked one of her attackers off of her, sending him head
over heels, his face scraped raw across the rocky pavement. A
shrill human scream followed and Mariah found herself dropped to
the hard cement as the second man let her go, obviously in
shock..
    What followed was a
nightmarish scene, straight out of a horror movie but without the
comfort of knowing that it wasn’t really happening. Mariah watched
the huge, hairy figure bend over the first attacker, its intent
clear. It opened its long mouth, showing rows of knife-like fangs
before snapping shut around the man's neck, filling the air with a
dark spray of blood.
    Mariah stared in terror as
the other man tried to run away but the wolf-like creature was
already on top of him and a second later, Mariah heard a sickening
crack of bone before he fell dead to the ground, his neck snapped
in half.
    The monster then turned
toward Mariah and she could see it clearly for the first time. Over
eight feet tall, its inhuman body stood easily on two hind legs,
not quite wolf but certainly not human. It overshadowed her,
blocking out the dim moonlight and she could see its fur, dripping
with the blood of its victims. Its canine teeth gleamed white and
its long tongue slid over them, hungrily licking away the last bits
of gore from its mouth. It stared back at her as she sat on the
parking lot ground, frozen to the spot.
    With a roll of its powerful
shoulders, the wolf raised its head to the moon above and shattered
the silence with a horrific howl.
    Mariah scooted back a few
inches in fear unable to get up on legs that felt like rubber
bands. Inside she was screaming, run, run, run, but it was too
late. She was going to die and no one would ever know how. No one
would ever believe this!
    She shrieked when a
powerful hirsute arm effortlessly scooped her up, hoisting her onto
its shoulder and took off at furious pace. In a few loping strides,
they were across the parking lot and with one leap, over the fence
and running off into the woods.
    Mariah somehow found her
courage then, struggling as it carried her on a breathtaking run
through the woods. Branches scratched at her face and arms as the
creature leapt and whirled around obstacles without effort. A full
moon shone through the trees creating eerie shadows adding a sense
of surrealness to their journey. The seconds passed in slow motion,
turning minutes into hours and Mariah wept as the endless horror
enveloped her.
    As suddenly as it started,
the creature halted and the world ground to a dizzying stop. With
surprising gentleness, it put Mariah down and she crumpled to the
ground atop a soft pile of leaves trying to catch what was left of
her breath. When she dared to look up, she could see the beast in
the moonlight, staring back at her with bright, yellow eyes. She
shivered and backed away but there was nowhere to go and trying to
run would be pointless. She was trapped and at its mercy, there was
nothing to do but wait.
    It was panting from
exertion, its heavy fur glistening. It no longer seemed angry, in
fact, Mariah might have been imagining things, but this terrifying
monstrosity seemed to be examining her with a kind of concern. One
paw graced with spiky claws reached out and tenderly brushed aside
a lock of windswept hair out of her eyes.
    "Go away," she begged,
praying it might be able to understand her. "Please, leave me
alone. I didn't do anything. Please!"
    The monster shook its head,
as if trying to clear its thoughts. Its muscles rippled and
stretched and slowly the creature began to transform into something
else entirely. Mariah's mouth fell open as the form in front of her
shimmered and shrunk, its fur shortening until it turned into hair,
claws retreating until the paws resembled human hands. Teeth and
jaws retracted, leaving in front of her a rather ordinary, if
handsome human