Free Hunter of the Dark by J A Graham

harmony. This was perfect.
    The song ended way too quickly, also signifying the end of the ball. Tanitha turned to Cameron.
    “Are you ready to go, gorgeous?” He questioned with what Tanitha knew was a note of jealousy. She nodded giddily.
    “ Just one second.”
    She turned around to bid Christian goodbye but it was too late. He was gone.
     

Chapter Sixteen
     
    The night was for killing. During their blissful slumber, more people demised than during the safe ever glow of the warm day. And now it was on the prowl again, plucking off lives like petals on an unfortunate daisy. And something dangerous, something more sinister lurked in the concealed blanket of darkness. The Canine was on the prowl and woe betide all that meet him on his path of destruction.
    The warm taste of feline lay deep in his senses but still his hunger refused to be fully sated. He whimpered softly, licking the remains of the few puffs of her, remains of a once loved house tabby. He needed to taste the thickness and salty warmth of more humane sources. Felis catus just didn’t have the same savoury flavour.
    A loud snapping made his ears, his entire plebeian head snap around. He realised that it was a heavy oaken door opening and then being carefully closed again, as if the animal responsible didn’t want anyone hearing. He heard. His hearing sharply developed and in tune, more so than the average canine, picked up the small sound like the blast of a shotgun. He heard and he moved fluently, chillingly silent.
    “Kitty?” The Canine didn’t understand the word but heard the timid taint of youth behind the breath shaking. His green eyes focused, closed in and locked on a tiny child.
    “ Kitty?” She breathed, her eyes flickering nervously, scared of the dark. The Canine smiled, musing on his stroke of luck. He had come across one of this age before, and had remembered the tenderness of the meat, like veal. This one looked younger as she stumbled out onto the porch. He sneaked into the shadow of a nearby bush, one small step making a barely inaudible noise but audible enough so that the child’s head whipped around, her bright blue eyes widening with fright and her lower lip trembling. He had a clear view of her now. Her tight blonde ringlets framed an innocent face, cherubic with rosy cheeks. She was plainly scared, frightened. Of it. Even though she didn’t know who, or what, it was. This fact was like an adrenaline rush to the Canine. A loud howl burst forth, piercing the night air. Then a thump, as something crashed into the side of the wall. Then the wailing continued. A light went on, and a worried voice met the Canine’s keen hearing. He didn’t have much time left, if he wanted to do what needs to be done.
    He crouched down lower, ready to pounce, when…
    “Saraya, what are you doing out here?” A harsh voice reprimanded. As the porch light flicked on, the Canine crouched lower with a growl bubbling in his throat. The light bathed the once eerie landscape with a protective glow.
    “ Kitty gone.”
    There was the tremble of the lip, the water in the eyes. The Canine hated crying. It touched him and he hated to be touched. He much preferred screaming then silent sobbing.
    The guy moved into the light, into view, and the Canine’s growl rose in pitch. He recognised this person. Had he not seen him the night he nearly killed the girl? At the place where pounding music echoed from a lively abode? Yes, he recognised the sight and scent of this teenage boy. He almost smirked then, human intelligence pulsing through his veins. He quickly coveted to his eating spot of before, gripping the left-side pelt that remained of the cat, and slunk to the front door. He crouched low, quivering, playing the part of a scared looking dog, in front of the male and the little girl. He whimpered, attracting their attention. The howling from the upstairs bedroom continued, growing more and more wild, and desperate. The guy looked, eyes horrified, before