Page 10 of Primal Hunger
I stagger back a step, forcing my gaze to climb higher to where the thing’s face should be.
Instead of fur or skin, there’s an elongated white animal skull with sharp teeth and horns spiraling out to the sides. A set of glowing red eyes laser in on me, lighting my insides with fear and making the alarm bells in my head scream at an all time high.
It’s a beast, a demon straight from the depths of hell, and it’s staring at me like I’m its next meal.
“Oh shit.” The words are ripped from my lips before I can stop them.
A deep, rumbling growl rolls in the monster’s chest, the sound shooting straight through my chest like an arrow. Reality slaps me harshly in the face.
This isthe Grimthat everyone has been terrified of, that they feared would come for them on the solstice. The embodiment of the horror stories that plague the town of Great Oaks, death incarnate.
And I’ve offered myself up to it willingly.
Chapter
Four
Syros
One breath has my senses drowning in a minty, floral scent that clings to the mortal’s pale skin, and another allows me to push past it to her sweaty, gamey aroma.
She smells fucking delicious, and I bet she’ll taste even better.
The rush of her blood over my tongue, the intoxicating sensation of dragging my claws across her skin and watching it split open…
My growl rumbles through every part of my body.
I’ve waited for this moment.
For exactly six months, I’ve waited. The humans always come—no matter how terrified they are, they congregate in the woods like animals with no sense for their own safety.
I never have to venture far in order to find my prey.
Some years, I stumble upon a campsite and gorge myself on them, all lined up in neat rows around a fire like the light will somehow protect them from things that should scare them out in the darkness.
Other years, I have to trek much farther than the nearby, familiar path to find what I’m after. Yet every time the solstice rolls around, it is the same. They see me, they scream, and they run.
I hunt. Then, my stomach is filled, and I am satiated for another six months.
They do not all smell the same, however, and at times my prey has tasted nearly as foul as their smell. Fear can be the most delightful addition to the blood if the rest of the package is put together well, but like animals, humans are not made equal.
This one, however…
I draw in another breath, and my gut flips in anticipation.
She’s short, even by human standards, and petite, with a strange, mechanical device hanging around her neck like a large pendant. Silver hair spills around her shoulders, standing out vibrantly against her black clothes, and her jagged breaths are the only sound that breaks the silence.
We stare each other down without blinking.
I’ve never particularly cared for human appearances, but I’d venture to say this one is attractive. Surely a sight for the male species on this planet, like a rare flower.
What a shame, since I’m seconds away from tearing out her petals.
I’m sure they gawk at her with the same sense of desire coursing through me, yet for an entirely different reason.
A fire ignites in my veins that heats my skin, and the desire to sink my teeth into her flesh tears another needy, desperate growl from my chest. It’s been a long time, countless nights, since I’ve indulged in the rich, delectable taste of a human.
And it’s time to sate my hunger.
