a sound on the forest floor as if he was made of the shadows that followed and gathered around him. Now that he was aware of it, he sent a part of his being into the woods and was able to feel the dark pulse of some malignant power awakening… feeding. Feeding in his woods!
His lips downturned into a fierce snarl. He was the king of the silvani, highest king of the kings of the woods, lord of the Eternal Forest. Whatever this creature was, it would not succeed against him. Not in his forest where he was king!
With a guttural growl, he quickened his pace. The trees blurred by him. He could feel them as part of himself, extending into the world around him. The animals called to him. His breath came in eager pants, the smell of growing things and decay filling his body with every indrawn breath.
With it came something else. At first, he scented the disgusting smell of something undeniably from the human world. The smell was revolting—hot and metallic, mixing with the earthy scent of mud.
Intruders were in his forest!
An enraged snarl bubbled out of him. The presence of humans was expected in the outer woods, but not in the Eternal Forest! None entered without his invitation. He would deal with them first. His nostrils flared, catching the scent as he altered his path to track it. It mixed with the scent of blood that made his body tremble with need. Fear, death, and sex were so intimately a part of his nature that his desire for the taste of it fueled his rage. That torment did not belong in his sanctuary! Just beneath the stench, he detected the sweetest perfume. It invaded and pulled at him, and he was lost to it. His cock pulsed, and his body quivered with need. With a snarl, he raced toward the strange mingling of scents, determined to find those who dared enter his domain and the feminine scent that lured him.
The very trees shook and moaned around him when he roared, broadcasting his pent-up desires. He was close enough that it took little time to close the distance between them. He caught a glimmer of gold hair, and a fresh wave of her scent that filled him like a sweet wine and made him drunk. With a triumphant bellow, he leaped out from the trees, arms outstretched to snag his prize into his embrace.
It was a human, and she was his!
For whatever reason, the human had enticed his instincts. Never before had such a thing happened, but he did not question it. She dared to lure him and now he was claiming her. No other would touch her or have any possession of the female until his passions for her were spent.
Chapter 4
The smell of oil and gas was strong, as if someone had punctured and drained the fluids from a vehicle out in the woods. Diana wrinkled her nose and coughed. Still, she hurried toward it, trepidation filling the pit of her stomach. She knew what she would find before she even arrived.
Turned on its side, the yellow jeep dripped gas from the broken tank. It looked mauled, the metal twisted and torn as if enormous claws had ripped at the metal sides. There was no doubt any longer as to the fate of the men. She could smell the metallic tang of blood. Worse, she could see the vivid sprays of it upon the jeep’s sides and pooling on the grass beneath where it dripped from the seats. There were no bodies, just the ruin of the jeep, and blood.
Stepping through the strewn metal, Diana made her way around the vehicle, curious to see if there were any footprints from someone who might have escaped. There were stray trails that made her hopeful that, just maybe, a couple of the men got out alive. Her stomach flipped, however, when she saw ragged chunks of torn flesh sticking to the seats, some coated with blood that slipped down to where a small collection of fatty tissue was gathering at the opposite side of the vehicle.
Diana gagged and turned away from the gruesome sight. Her muscles seized as she tried to resist the urge to vomit. Leaning over, she rested her palms on her thighs and took deep, shuddering breaths. She nearly had it under control when a roar ripped through the trees, making her heart surge with terror. She didn’t know if it was the same