We shifted at the same time.
The first part of the hunt was almost fun. We ran, taking turns letting each other choose the direction, stopping every so often to sniff out a strange scent. We signaled each other with low barks and head nods. It was kind of amazing, actually, to be so in sync with another wolf. It had never been this way with my mother.
But then Regan must’ve caught the scent she was after. Her head shot up and her eyes narrowed in concentration. She turned a complete three-sixty, sniffing the air, and then her ears pricked back and forth. She gave a short bark and took off. That was the signal.
I ran after her, bounding over thick shrubs and exposed roots. I was good at this part. My paws made no sound. My breaths were shallow and quiet. A few yards in, I caught the scent she followed and felt my muscles tense in anticipation. I steeled myself against the nerves and concentrated on the chase.
When Regan halted, so did I. We crouched behind a grove of trees. My ears flicked back and forth, trying to get a sense of what had stopped her. I couldn’t hear anything. The smell hadn’t gotten stronger. At least that I could tell.
I thought of Owen and what he’d said about my extra senses. I closed my eyes. Seconds ticked by. Regan was still beside me. I knew she wasn’t looking at me but over the hedge of brush that concealed us. Watching, waiting. Gradually, a sense of something reached me. Air shifted around me. So slight it was almost imperceptible, but there it was.
I opened my eyes again. Regan’s lip curled up in a silent growl. Her eyes flickered to me and then back to our prey. I peeked through a hole in the hedge. Just ahead, a pair of deer wandered this way.
Their black, beady eyes darted here and there, in tandem with their ears. They were on edge, watching for hidden danger. The male was broad chested with a large rack of antlers. Full grown and strong. He walked a step ahead of the female, protective and alert.
The female stopped to nibble on a leafy branch that overhung their pathway. She stood slightly away from the buck, and I got a clear look at her. She was spotted white with flecks of gray in the center. She shifted again, moving on from her snack, wandering closer to where Regan and I lay in wait. Her scent intensified. My heart beat faster. I remembered what Regan had said, about giving into my animal side; that it would make this easier.
She took another two steps—a little closer.
I dug deep, not even sure what I was looking for. The deer shifted, exposing her throat. For a split second, the human in me fell away, and there was only my wolf; a wild, instinctual beast. And, in front of me, the perfect prey.
Hunger rose in the back of my throat, making a trail to my belly. Something twisted there. Desire. Anticipation. I fell into a crouch, my muscles coiling. Beside me, Regan was stiff. Any second now…
Go!
I could feel the command so deep in my bones, she might as well have yelled it. Regan sprang from our hiding place a split second before I did. She leapt at the buck, her teeth catching his lower throat. Her snarl echoed in my ears, followed by the sound of flesh ripping apart.
I faltered. The animal instinct faded, and I was myself again. Charlie, a seventeen-year-old high school senior who was sometimes a wolf. A girl who had never killed anything except house spiders.
The buck fell underneath Regan’s locked jaws, writhing and braying. The female froze.
At the last second, I altered course and lowered my head, plowing into her like a linebacker. I landed on top of her, pinning her with my paws. She writhed and stretched, frantically trying to free herself.
Beside me came the sound of gnashing teeth and bone grinding. Regan ripped and tore at the buck. He jerked twice and let out a strangled cry, and then he was still. I squeezed my eyes shut. The female twisted unexpectedly. I felt my paw give, scratching deeply into her shoulder before losing purchase and falling away. She slipped out, twisting to her feet, and bolted before I could regain my balance.
Regan growled at me with wild eyes and a red-stained jaw. I cringed away from the sight of her—and the carnage behind her. She shook her head and bolted after the female.
The leaves shook in her wake, and then everything was still.