Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild) - By Kate Douglas Page 0,8
Lily called on her wolf and felt the change sweep over her body. She paused as all her senses synced with the night around her. Within seconds she’d slipped through fog and shadows without making a sound. The soft gasps and moans faded as she silently left the couple behind.
The fog grew thicker as she ran, muting the ever-present sounds of civilization as well as the soft pads of her paws against the trail. With mouth open and tongue lolling, Lily drew great draughts of air into her lungs. Her wolven brain easily categorized the scents—alder and pine, pungent eucalyptus, and freshly mowed grass. A hint of cigar smoke and the familiar odor of marijuana. The acrid smells of many who had passed through the park earlier, scents of dogs and children, of perfumes and colognes.
Familiar smells, but not the ones she wanted. Not tonight. She missed the smells of home, the sharp tang of cedar and the clean scent of damp earth. The sounds here were lacking as well. Owls hooting in the night, the squeak of bats overhead. There were some small rustlings of mice in the weeds and the occasional slither of a snake or the crackle of voles in the leaves, but no rustle of deer in the brush, no bugling elk.
No pack members to run beside her.
No male who wanted her as his mate.
And that was the crux of it all, wasn’t it? She was damned tired of living alone, though she’d never admit that to her parents. They wanted her to find love and had always hoped it would be with Alex Aragat.
Even Alex found that idea insane. They’d slept in the same crib, and played together as toddlers and beyond, until they each went off to college. Through all their years together, Lily had been the big sister, the one in charge.
She still was. That dynamic would never change.
She loved Alex, and sex with him was amazing, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. He didn’t challenge her, and she would always intimidate the hell out of him. They laughed about it, pretended to go along with the wishes of their parents, but both of them accepted their relationship would never go beyond what they had now: packmates—special friends with benefits.
Lily realized she was growling as she ran. Time to stop thinking about Alex and her lack of male companionship. This run was supposed to relax her, not leave her frustrated and angry.
She put in a fresh burst of speed and raced through the park. Normally she preferred to run in the Marin Headlands or through the tangled grounds of the Presidio, but her time tonight was limited and she needed this run.
Desperately.
She raced past the golf course and circled the soccer fields, keeping to the shadows, out of plain sight. Circling back, she found herself drawn toward the small garden her mother had designed over thirty years ago. Keisha Rialto had been a young landscape architect when her life was turned upside down by a horrible assault and an unexpected shift from woman to wolf.
In spite of everything, her design had won a contest that resulted in the beautiful memorial to Tibetan Sherpas who had lost their lives guiding climbers into the Himalayas. Her simple yet elegant design had changed so many lives—including her own.
Somehow, the woman who would one day give birth to Lily had included specific plants native to the Tibetan Steppe—plants containing nutrients Chanku shapeshifters needed to shift.
Instinct? The hand of the goddess? Whatever force had lead Keisha to those plants had also led Lily’s father to search for her mother.
If not for that garden, Lily might never have been born, her parents might not have found one another, and the Chanku species could have disappeared forever.
She’d always loved the garden and felt a special connection to the peaceful memorial near Stow Lake. Now, though, as she drew closer, Lily sensed something different.
A darkness that hadn’t existed before. A sense of evil so powerful that the entire area felt tarnished.
How could she have forgotten so soon? A woman had died here just a few hours ago.
Raped by a man, her throat torn out by a wolf.
Lily eased up on her ground-eating lope and slowed to a trot, moving silently among the large stones and softly clumped grasses. The scent of blood hung thick in the foggy night despite the best efforts of the cleaning crews to remove all signs of the assault and murder.