Animal Heat: A Paranormal Romance (The Animal Sagas)

By Susan Charles

©2013 Susan Charles

Preface

The one thing humans and animals have in common is a never ending search for love, companionship and family as well as a place to feel a part of something. So this book is dedicated to each and every one of us, the world over, and to the many animals, 2 legged, or 4 legged, that constantly yearn for this most universal of emotions – love!

©2013 by Susan G. Charles

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Chapter 1

An unsuspected knock came to the door of their cabin. It wasn’t an outrageous “beat-your-door-down” knock, but it was loud enough to startle the sisters from the relaxing comfort of a peaceful breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, and tall glasses of milk, all from their livestock. Curiously enough, the meal came from their livestock that had also been mysteriously vanishing throughout the month, slowly but surely, without a trace.

The sisters’ eyes bulged as they gazed at one another in unison. Since when has it been that they’d received a visitor in the beginning hours of the day? The roosters had just first crowed not long ago. Who could it be at this hour of the morning and what could this person on the other side of that door possibly want? Maybe it was their farm animals’ predator, or a wanderer that was lost in the woods that crossed their path by chance and perhaps might be injured and needing assistance.

Linda tapped her slimming index finger on her lips three times before whispering, “Not yet,” to her sister and focused on Sonya’s sparkling, blue eyes. The young ladies then broke their intense three second eye contact and separated about the room. Linda sprung from her seat with a twist toward the bedroom and tiptoed through the dining area, over the hardwood as if it were on fire, en route to the door.

Sonya’s blond hair repetitively swayed from felt to right, the blues of her sightseers rummaging about the two-level bungalow out of control and she quietly moved about the room. She cautiously looked out all of the windows, the two in the living room the one behind her, and the one at the end of the hallway, trying not to be seen by the mysterious stranger on the other side of the front door. She looked to the ones upstairs as if the visitor was not alone and wishing to do them harm.

What was it that she’d searched for? Nothing, only her thoughts rambling, searching for the right words to utter, or what words their guest might speak once the door is finally opened. Sonya franticly moved back to her usual seat at the table. No, she didn’t sit down, not entirely. She only made it half way there before she heard another knock to the door. This time the knock was louder and much stronger.

This time it sounded more like maybe a serious ‘Police’ I’m-going-to-take-you-to-jail kind of knock. In fact, to her it sounded almost like a shotgun blast – not the bomb of the shot itself, but the thud of the impact when the ammunition hits the target. She crouched as low as she could possibly go to the hard>

Chapter 2

It was the beginning of a new day. Both sisters stood over the pieces of glass just outside Lynda’s room window, her trusty pistol-grip pump laid up against the cabin logs.

“Why couldn’t you just go out the front door before you took the shot?” Sonya asked her sibling.

“What… and take the chances of him getting away?”

“He still got away didn’t he?”

Lynda shook her head and began carefully picking up the shards of glass.

“So how do you know it was a he?” Sonya asked.

“What do you mean? It was a hunter. I had to stop him before he got to the chicks. What are we gonna do without food?”

Sonya said, “I didn’t mean it like that… but what about the window?”

“The window is replaceable,” Lynda growled at her younger sister, still aggravated by the events of the previous night.

Sonya gazed off into the woods surrounding their cabin. She scanned through the trees and all about where the eye could see. Unlike her sister, she was frightened, and always had been. It was Jonathan that made her the way she was. He was a wanderer who appeared out of the blue, years ago. He had fancied her as if she was the only woman that existed in their region, and he craved her forever beauty. Her scent was his desire. But his hunger was not shared in the same likes. Her thoughts and wonders took her eyes south, and that’s when she’s seen them. That’s when she’d gasped.

“What is it?” Sonya asked, not surprised at her sisters aggravation.

“Prints,” she answered. “I told you.”

The sounds of leaves crackling emerged from the east. Lynda grabbed her shotgun, rose to her feet, and both girls stared in the direction the sound originated.

“Don’t be alarmed ladies,” came a charming voice from the shadows. “Please don’t shoot.”

“Show yourselves… Who are you?” Lynda asked.

“My name is Ben… Ben Wilder,” the voice called out before the man stepped out of the dark and into the sun’s light out in the em;
text-align: hag siopen grove, “and I am on the hunt for a wild animal known to be stealing livestock from properties all through these lands. I was hoping you might be able to assist me and my men ―”

“He was here just last night!” Lynda excited and lowered her firearm. “I almost got him. He’s been stealing our food for close to a month now. Our stock is getting low and we’re quite tired of it.”

“There are tracks over there!” Sonya pointed.

Ben made his move toward the tracks and followed the trail to the edge of the woods. He turned back and said to them, “If you ladies would like, I can send some of my men here to watch over you in the chance this feral beast returns.”

“No thanks… we’d just appreciate it if we never see the wretched creature again,” Lynda growled.

“I will do what I can to accommodate you. If we do not capture him tonight, then you will soon see me again, fair ladies. Farewell.” he said, and then took his first step into the mystery of nature.

Damn. It all took place so fast the girls never thought to ask of the man’s order, if he had any. He seemed to be a hunter too but his likes have never been seen before anywhere near or on their land for that matter. Who was this mysterious hunter and from where did he hail? Who were these men of his that he spoke of, and how did he find the sisters lair?

“Wilder!” Lynda called out, as she took a step away from the house. “Wilder!” she called again, and then three more times before she had given up.

“He’s gone,” the younger sister said. “If he doesn’t catch the animal I’m sure he’ll return later.”

Lynda had sat up through the night. With her firearm nestled in her lap she sat in a sandalwood rocking chair that she had positioned right beside the shattered window, staring out into the bleak darkness as the chair lightly swung to and fro. The constant hoot of a nearby owl had begun to sound as if the bird was actually asking the question to the animal that prowled their territory. The owl’s hoot slowly became mesmerizing, as would soon the welcoming breeze would come to be comforting enough for Lynda’s eyes to vanish beneath their covers. It wasn’t long after that before the chair ceased all movement and she dreamt the night away.

Whoosh!

A heavy gust of wind compelled the rocking chair to sway back and forward, its strength woke Lynda up almost instantly. She grabbed her gun and raised it with surprised eyes and a wide open, speechless mouth as she leaped up from her seat, into the air. The chair stopped moving as she landed in just the right place on the armrests, looking for a target outside the window with the gun following her eyes. She snickered aloud before taking a seat, realizing it was just a figment of her imagination. Only the wind, she thought, before springing back into the air, landing on the hardwood floor and lowering her hind parts back into her guards post the right way.

She sniffed at the air but by that time it was too late. She heard a muffled panting sound and the footfalls of human feet, inside the house. Sonya, she thought, as she once again rose from her seat, this time rushing out the room and into the hallway. She looked toward the main living area and caught a glimpse of two shadows. It was two men in the nude and… “Sonya!” she screamed.

Without time to spare, Lynda darted in the direction of the two. She reached the corner, raised the shotgun and yelled, “Stop or I’ll shoot, I swear it, I will.”

That’s when she knew. What she had never thought to happen was taking place within her very own dwelling. A threat being made to keep her distance from her own flesh and blood gave her the shiv this is what you wanta? prers before her defense mechanism kicked in and her adrenaline co-signed her anger. She ignored the intruder’s orders and took a step forward demanding answers, and with a twinkle in his eye and the pointed chompers’ grit of a smile, Jonathan Anderson pressed a hairy hand with clawed fingertips around the neck of his lovely captive, backing out of the cabin and into the night.

Lynda ran outside behind the pair. When had they gotten there? Where were they now? There was no sign of life outside the cabin other than the domestic animals. She hollered out for her sister through the black of night, and then ran in the direction she had thought they traveled but could not pick up on the scent of them anywhere. She rushed out into the green and entered the woods. She probably ran all night. In fact, she did run all that night. She ran crazy that night and until the sun had arisen the following morning, ’til the roosters crowed. That’s when she thought of Ben Wilder and his word to return if the beast was not captured. And she now knew who that beast was.

*****

Lynda sat on the front porch in the sandalwood rocking chair, pump in her lap, with a threatening demeanor written across her face. It’s been about 7 hours since her sister had been taken into the night by her abductor, and it wasn’t long before she stood up and begun to pace around the perimeter of the property before Ben Wilder made his grand entrance through the woods as he had done the previous day.

No sooner than it took for her to recognize the charming nature of his voice, in her mind, she was willing to do anything to get her sister back. As her feet lead her in the direction of this mystery hunter who had popped out from the woods a second time within twenty four hours she had already made up her mind. Could it have been that this Ben Wilder was an accomplice of Jonathan Anderson? Now, in her mind it did seem very odd that he just so happened to arrive the same day as Jonathan appeared on the property wanting more from Sonya than she was willing to give.

She stopped in her tracks.

“Are you alright, fair lady?” Ben asked.

Lynda raised her gun. “No, I’m not! Who are you and of what order are you from?”

Ben put his hands in the air as if Lynda was an officer of the law. He was not frightened in the least of her. In fact, truth be known, he was more on the verge of cracking a smile before he saw the red in her eyes from a night of tears and fatigue and realized that this was not the impression he wanted to make.

“I am of the Stronghearts… I am the Alpha of the Strongheart clan, and as I can tell… the animal has made its way back to your place of residence.”

“Yeah, he did… and that beast just happens to be a man!”

Ben’s eyes damn near popped out of his head. He asked, “And do you know this man?” still with his hands raised.

“Do you know him? How do I know you’re not a part of his clan, or that he is one with yours?”

“My fair lady, I promise you that he is not a part of my jurisdiction or branch. But I can help you to find your beloved sister if you would just be as kind as into point me in the direction this man ran. Do you know who this man is?”

Lynda had thought for a second before responding. She tried to envision what deed this man, Ben Wilder, would want done in return for his assistance, what length would she travel to see her sister’s safe return back to their cabin, and for how long would they actually be safe from another intruder. Ben was clean and Jonathan was not. But then again, Jonathan Anderson was clean before his true self emerged from within his very selfish soul. She lowered the gun and spoke the name of her sister’s captor.

Ben Wilder lowered his this is what you wanta? pr hands and took a step forward. He said, “I know of this man. This man is a foul and conniving beast who pillages villages and other small areas known to keep a clean woman… an innocent woman. He is in search of a mate – a breeder. He is like a dog in heat, and he is in search of his mate.”

“And if this is so, then what must I do to bring my sister back home? Can and will you be of any if at all… any assistance to me?” Lynda asked, almost on the verge of tears herself she was so angry.

Ben lowered his head for a mere second, as if he was thinking of a wager for Lynda to consider in return for the safe homecoming of Sonya. He could sense that Lynda would do anything to see her back, and he, in fact was in search of a mate.

“Well… what is it? What do you want from me? I beg of you, please.”