Beauty's Beast - By Jenna Kernan Page 0,24

consult with her mother just as soon as she got clear of this compound. A familiar scent reached her. She paused, debating between following Alon and getting clear of this place.

The hell with him, she decided and continued, stopping again when she found his clothing, folded and stashed in the crotch of a tree. His scent now became more difficult to trace. It hovered in the air, but she could not find it on the ground. Likely he had turned to smoke. She shook her head and returned to the road. Sooner or later that would lead her to people.

She’d try to stay out of any large communities. The bigger the population the more chance she’d see ghosts. She didn’t need one of Nagi’s spies finding her before she could find her family.

* * *

Aldara had found the trail of the Beta Pack last night and reported their whereabouts to Alon before returning to them while he continued to hunt for the Gammas. The ten sets of Beta twins were old enough to understand and obey the rules their parents set out for them. His parents had left him and his sister in charge of their siblings. That meant guarding against vigilante Skinwalkers and Nagi’s ghosts. His mother long suspected that Nagi used the evil ghosts to find his kind. Samantha’s arrival required that they notify the packs not to attack her. It had taken half the night, but he and Aldara had finally located both the Deltas’ and Gammas’ trails. She’d taken the Gammas.

That left him the Delta Pack, youngest and most difficult. They still struggled with control. They had no natural enemies, so the concept of danger was as foreign to them as it was to a shark. Six twins all under two, feral and deadly as loaded weapons. The Delta Pack could not yet reason, could barely speak and were ruled by a voracious appetite that made it dangerous even for him to seek them out. He didn’t know if he could make them understand that Samantha was not here to kill them. But he had to try. Damn her for coming here. His parents had drilled into his and his sister’s heads that Skinwalkers were dangerous, especially if they traveled in packs. They’d known for years that vigilantes had been hunting the newborns. It was a miracle he didn’t kill Samantha the instant he recognized her for what she was, Skinwalker, hunter, killer of infants. Only she wasn’t like them any more than he was like Nagi’s Ghostlings.

The sooner he got her out of here the better. But he couldn’t leave the others unguarded. He needed to take the Beta, Gamma and Delta packs to the only mother they’d ever known while keeping them from killing Samantha. It seemed impossible.

The Delta Pack knew to stay away from the house and somehow recognized their parents as other than food. But would the house protect Samantha once they scented her? He didn’t know.

He had to hurry.

His mother’s information had been right. Since his parents’ departure, some ten days ago, Aldara had seen evil ghosts drifting in the woods. If they had not located any of the three packs yet, it was only a matter of time. He and Aldara were in a battle against Nagi’s lust for his children to join his cause.

Something moved behind him. He changed to his fighting form and reversed course. Was it a vigilante? Was it one of Nagi’s Ghost Children? Was this the day that Nagi’s vanguard found their hiding place?

Alon did not get far before he scented Samantha. Damn her for not staying put. He wheeled and followed her trail.

He should have explained the danger. He had not, for to do so was to reveal completely what he had been. Still was. Always would be.

He’d been too weak to let her see his true self, and now she was here. He scented the air to assure himself that the Gamma and Delta packs were not near. When he closed on her position, he shifted from his flying form, moving swiftly to one of the many caches of clothing he had about these woods. In a few moments he wore the damp gray sweater and black jeans.

Then he changed course again, running to intercept her and bring her back to the house. The fear for her safety bolted through him like a thunderstorm. He had always felt protective of his family and responsible for the actions of the others. But this was