Free Night of the Werecat by R.L. Stine Page B

the scent of the other cat. Even though the moon was low, her sharp eyes revealed everything in the yard. Insects crawled through the grass. A moth fluttered against the porch. A gopher snake hunted beneath the white rosebush. But nothing would distract her from her mission.
    To find the black werecat.
    Wendy jumped onto the back wall. She stalked from one end to the other, searching, searching.
    But there was no sign of her prey.
    Had the black cat run away? Was it afraid of her?
    Wendy puffed out in pride. She would teach the werecat a lesson. She would find it and teach it to stay away from her home.
    Wendy lifted her nose into the breeze.
    There it was. The faint, familiar scent.
    Wendy’s fur bristled. She leaped down into the alley. Crouching low to the ground, she streaked along, moving quickly, stealthily toward the scent.
    As the scent became stronger, Wendy knew she was getting closer. She noticed something strange about the scent, something different. It was definitely theblack werecat. But it somehow smelled . . . bigger? Stronger.
    How could that be? Wendy wondered. But she couldn’t think about that. All that mattered was challenging the black cat.
    Wendy continued to follow the scent. It led her down to the end of the alley.
    The scent was much stronger here. The scent of the black werecat and . . . something else.
    But what?
    Wendy held perfectly still, sniffing, listening. She picked up the sound of movement just around the corner.
    Was it the black werecat? Was it coming to find her?
    Now, Wendy’s brain screamed. The last challenge. The final showdown!
    Bracing herself for battle, Wendy whipped around the corner.
    There it stood, its back arched. The black werecat.
    Wendy gasped.
    A cry caught in her throat!
    Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what else was waiting around the corner.

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    W endy’s back went into a high arch. Her tail puffed up to twice its size.
    The black werecat was not alone. Just behind it were two other cats. One dark brown, one tawny gold. Each with a white star on its forehead.
    Two more werecats!
    They were even larger than the black werecat.
    And Wendy was their prey!
    With a scream of terror Wendy turned and streaked back up the alley.
    With answering cries, the three werecats ran after her!
    Wendy never ran so fast in her life!
    She shot like a bolt of lightning through the night.Back home. Home to safety. She leaped up onto the wall that surrounded her yard.
    The three cats were right behind her.
    Trembling, Wendy stood her ground. She paced the top of the wall. She howled out a warning. This is my territory, Go away!
    The three werecats stopped. They stared up at Wendy from the grass below.
    And then all three huge cats jumped up. They landed gracefully on top of the wall.
    Wendy leaped to the ground. She raced toward the oak tree.
    If she could only make it to her room. If she could only make it back inside!
    But the largest cat, the brown one, was too fast. It bounded between Wendy and the tree.
    Wendy stopped short. She glanced around wildly, searching desperately for a place to hide, to climb. To escape.
    The brown cat was ahead of her. Then Wendy sensed the black werecat stalking her, sidling up beside her.
    A movement behind Wendy made her whirl around. The golden cat was also moving toward her. Its fur stood out like a halo.
    Wendy was surrounded.
    It’s over, she thought in despair. It’s all over.

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    W endy puffed her fur out even more. She hissed and spat at her enemies.
    She would not give up without a fight.
    The cats came closer. Closer.
    The golden cat was only inches away.
    It opened its mouth. Its long, sharp fangs gleamed in the moonlight.
    It lunged for her neck.
    Wendy shut her eyes in terror. The gold cat was going to kill her!
    An instant later Wendy felt a strange, rough stroke on her cheek.
    Her eyes snapped open.
    She stared at the gold cat in shock. It was licking her face. Then it snuggled up to her. It