Hunted by A.J. Colby
Chapter 1
THE LINGERING SHADOWS of night retreated, fading from pitch black to purple, and then blue, cloaking me in darkness where I laid in wait. I remained unmoving and silent beneath the tightly woven lattice of pine boughs that smothered the misty trail of my breath in the cold air. The first few rays of sunlight spread across the snowy field before me, turning it to a glittering blanket of thousands of tiny diamonds. I remained a silent sentinel, surveying my domain.
Watching. Waiting.
He would come eventually, and I was willing to wait as long as it took to exact justice for his crimes, but still impatience made my heart beat a steady tattoo against my ribs. I was forced to remind myself that I was a ninja, a cloaked assassin, the cold hand of death and vengeance. All I needed was for my unwitting prey to emerge.
What the hell is taking him so long? I don’t have all damn day.
It was little more than a faint whisper drifting on the breeze at first, yet the small sound lit a fire of excitement in my gut. Adrenaline flooded through me, singing in my veins. Still I waited.
Not yet, I told myself. Just a little longer.
I would have missed the first flicker of movement if I hadn’t been watching so intently. A few blades of winter brown grass rustled, frozen stalks creaking against one another as a pale head emerged, obsidian eyes darting to and fro. Raising his twitching nose to the wind, he scented the air and my lips split in a wide grin. The dumb beast was upwind, carrying his mouthwatering scent to me while whipping my spicy musk away into the trees.
A bark of vicious laughter burbled at the back of my throat, but I managed to smother it before it had a chance to break free. Licking my lips in eagerness, I watched as he pulled himself into the open, legs scrabbling for purchase on the frozen ground, his head swiveling as he listened for the slightest sound that would send him diving for cover.
Holding my breath, I sank closer to the ground where the drifts of snow and pine needles pressed against my belly and chest, the cold leeching into my skin. I cursed the noise my movement made. Across the open expanse of the field he froze, dark eyes roving back and forth.
God dammit.
Not even daring to breathe for fear of giving myself away, I watched as the tension eased out of him and he settled back into the belief that he was safe.
That’s it, nothing to worry about my friend. There’s no threat here.
As the minutes ticked by, he became bolder, moving further from the protection of his burrow and closer to the waiting jaws of death. In a way I almost pitied him, but he had trespassed and his death would serve as a warning for all.
Come on you pudgy bastard. Just one more step…
Another brave step forward and he reached the point of no return.
I burst from the trees like a rocket, my feet kicking up frozen clods of snow and dead grass as I covered the distance in just a few long, loping strides. I watched in delight as he froze for a fraction of a second before turning and sprinting back towards the safety of his hole. He was fast, but I was faster. He would pay for his deeds with blood.
I knew I had him even as his pumping legs carried him across the snow, and before he dove into the darkness I snatched him up with gnashing teeth. The excited thump of my heart echoed the terrified pounding of his, mingling to create a symphony of life and death, the music sublime to my ears. His shriek of fear and pain rose as the crescendo to our masterpiece, piercing the air and sending a flock of birds winging into the sky, dancing as dark specks against the swirled pink and gold of dawn.
The wriggling warmth of his body against my tongue drove my excitement ever higher. A low snarl rumbled through my chest, vibrating through my powerful jaws and into his small, fragile body, wringing another ounce of fear from him. The taste of his fear was almost as intoxicating as the rich coppery flavor of his blood, and together they merged into a heady bouquet that left me drunk with vitality.
One last wail of suffering echoed in my skull before the pressure of my jaws silenced him for good. A final twitch was all he managed before going limp in my jaws, and for a moment I found myself wondering if I had delivered too swift a death. I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he should have suffered more, but as usual, the excitement and thrill of the hunt had swept me up and I had been unable to stop myself before it was too late.