Free Marked by the Moon by Lori Handeland Page A

Alex shot out of the undergrowth.
    All she found was a freshly killed rabbit, its blood a scarlet splotch against the pristine snow.
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    She finished dinner in less time than it had taken to “make” it. Though the “Alex” inside of her was squirming, the wolf enjoyed the meal. Nothing like fresh meat on an empty stomach.
    When she was done she looked around for another, but she wasn’t the only one that had smelled blood and death on the breeze. It appeared every small, furry creature in the vicinity had turned tail and run. She didn’t blame them.
    Alex trotted after Barlow. Miles upon miles she traveled, and the moon began to fall. She didn’t get tired, but she did get thirsty. Luckily there was plenty of snow, and in the distance she smelled water. A lot of it.
    She increased her pace; the water was close, but she could already tell it wasn’t meant for drinking. Her nose was an amazing tool.
    The trees became less dense, and she stood at their edge, gazing across the flat land that led to the sea. The glow of the moon banking across the ice floes dazzled her. A soft breeze bristled off the water, frozen and salty, making her think of margaritas. All she needed was a really big lime and an oil tanker of tequila.
    The ice lifted and lowered, crashed against other floes and made a strange rumble, the only sound in the desolate land. She skittered beneath the trees. Everything was so different here.
    The sky began to lighten, but that only served to send dancing gray shadows everywhere. She turned, planning to scurry into the densest part of the forest, and caught a flash of something huge and white. She barely managed to duck the claws that swiped for her head, then she was running.
    Being chased by a polar bear has that effect.
    How long had the thing been stalking her? She remembered the scent of “other” that she hadn’t been able to put a name to, the slight scritch of claws on snow that she’d written off as her own.
    Hell, he’d been hunting her for hours.
    Thank God in this form she was faster. He’d never catch her. Never.
    She gave in to the power within; she ran as she’d never run before. Now that she’d seen what was behind her, her fear faded. The bear was a fool for even thinking it could track and kill her. She was more than a wolf, more than a woman. She was both; she was neither. She was better.
    Alex hugged the edge of the trees just as dawn burst over the horizon, and as the sunlight touched her, she stumbled, falling head-over-paws, which became heels and feet and toes as she shifted.

Chapter 6
    Naked and vulnerable, she scrambled upright. Just as the bear came out of the woods.
    Goose bumps raced across her flesh, and not just because of the chill air across her skin. She might not die from the coming attack, but it was certainly going to hurt. And if there were pieces of her all over the place, would she really be able to heal? She just didn’t know.
    â€œBarlow!” Alex shouted.
    The bear roared right in her face. Its breath smelled like…
    Blood and hunger. With a little rotten fish on the side.
    â€œShit,” she muttered. Should she run, or shouldn’t she?
    Her wolf howled for fight not flight. Her human self knew better. Even if she could shift in the daylight, a wolf wasn’t going to win a battle against a polar bear, and while human she wasn’t going to be able to outrun this thing.
    The polar bear leaned to the left to swipe at her with its right paw; the animal was pretty damn quick for its size.
    Alex eluded the claws; she was faster, even in this form, but she would never be fast enough. Unable to stop herself, she took several steps back, and the polar bear roared again.
    Which was all Alex needed to make up her mind. She wasn’t going to stand there and let it slice her apart. She had to at least try to escape. Maybe she could get far enough ahead and make her way up a tree.
    Polar