Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,36

bright red. And she could see streaks of shimmering crimson in the dirt where the car had been.

She trotted to the closest tree and peered tentatively at the glimmering blob. It was a handprint. Maybe one of the Gaudins had touched it while making sure there were no Fenners around? The streaks of red on the ground were like neon tire tracks. Correction: they were tire tracks.

She didn’t know how she was seeing them. Maybe they were heat generated. If that were the case, they would disappear as they cooled. Now was the time to strike out, instead of waiting until morning.

But Dom had said they weren’t going back the way they had brought her. Which meant at some point they would split from the trail they were on. And if she was very lucky there would be a fainter set of tracks showing the other path. Decided, she headed out.

The tire tracks were still glowing. In fact, the forest itself was glowing — branches, leaves, even pebbles and earth — shimmering, shining. It was like a fairyland. Entranced, Katelyn had trouble concentrating on the path of the tire tread as she took in the luminous night. Was this how werewolves saw the world? It was so beautiful it made her gasp.

Go, she told herself, and although she had planned to carefully walk the route, she broke into a run. She could almost see her entire body shining as she raced beside the orangish streaks on the ground. Instead of being afraid, she was exhilarated, and she ran even faster. She didn’t know how she kept from tangling her feet together but she kept going. Her arms flew out to the sides and brushed silvery leaves as she flew past. Faster, and faster. She laughed and the sound echoed in her head.

Supernatural, she thought. I’m supernatural.

And it felt good. Wonderful. She had never felt so strong. Before she realized what she was doing, she vaulted over a tree trunk, did a flip, and stuck her landing. Then she started running again.

And finally there were two sets of tire tracks and she veered off to follow the fainter ones. She could barely see those but she ran as fast as she could through the dark twists and turns. And finally the glittering streaks were gone.

But as she slowed to a halt another sense took over. She could smell the faintest scent of wood smoke: it had to be a cabin, hopefully her grandfather’s. She ran toward it, and just as she began to tire, she caught sight of the cabin itself. Somehow she had gotten around behind it and she was approaching from the back.

Am I busted? she thought, and cautiously approached, spinning various stories about why she had been out in the woods after midnight. Going for a walk?

When two girls had been murdered, and a teacher was missing?

She walked up onto the back porch and tried the kitchen door. Locked, but she had a key — her grandfather had made a duplicate for her because he had rarely locked his doors until she’d arrived. She kicked off her muddy boots and almost fell through the doorway. Grabbing a glass, she went to the kitchen sink. The curtains were open and she stared out into the back yard. If there were no Fenners on duty tonight, then why not? How had the Gaudins made sure she wouldn’t be seen when she got into the BMW?

Maybe they lied to me. If Dom thought I’d be going with them, it wouldn’t have mattered.

She gulped down glass after glass of water. She was starving, too, but she didn’t want to risk waking up her grandfather and having him ask awkward questions. She went upstairs, pausing by Mordecai’s door. She didn’t hear him snoring. What if he’d done a bed check and found her gone?

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she cracked open the door. Although the room was dark, she could see into it. There was his bed.

With no one in it.

Her heart sank.

What if he’s out there looking for me?

She shut the door and went into her own room. Sweaty from her run — just how far had she traveled? — she decided to take a quick shower. She hastily shampooed her hair and put on an oversized Samohi — Santa Monica High — T-shirt and a pair of sweats. Time to sleep.

Taking her blanket and pillow, she went down the stairs into the living room. As usual, a fire was