The forest—and the jogging trail.Not again.Why couldn’t it just leave me alone? Anger seared my chest, the fire joining my headache.
My stomach cramped hard, the knives in my head migrating to my gut.
The bench.If I could get to the park bench, I could lie down. I just needed to rest for a minute. Once my head cleared, I could figure my shit out.
Gulping air, I staggered forward. Gravel crunched under my feet. The trees around me grew more solid-looking. With a burst of strength, I shrugged off my backpack and let it drop to the ground. Ahead, the brown outline of the bench took shape. The knives in my stomach twisted, but I kept going. Step by step,I lurched to the bench and collapsed. My head swam, and I leaned over as saliva flooded my mouth. Suddenly, the knives in my stomach plunged so deep that I leaned too far and lost my balance. The ground rose up and smacked me in the face, and then I was slumped on my side with my cheek pressed to the gravel.
“Fuck,” I said weakly, my vision wavering like the surface of a swimming pool. My heart banged against my ribs. A cartoon reel of it bursting from my chest and flopping down the trail played in my mind. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. The pain in my gut writhed like I’d swallowed a wild animal that now fought to free itself. Maybe it could join my heart, I thought, picturing the xenomorph punching out of that dude’s chest inAlien. Nausea rushed me, and I whimpered and curled into a ball, my knees to my chest.
So fucking tired.Fatigue dragged at my eyelids. It was stupid to fall asleep. I clawed at the ground, trying to lever onto my elbow. The exhaustion tugged harder. A deep growl echoed through the trees. The demons were back, but I was so damn tired. Maybe it was better if the demons caught me and put me out of my misery. With another pitiful-sounding whimper, I gave up and closed my eyes.
When I opened them a second later, the forest was purple with dusk—which was how I knew more than a few seconds had passed.
And history had repeated itself. Once again, I’d collapsed next to the park bench and lost god knew how many hours of my life.
But my head was clear. It stayed that way as I stood and looked around. The nausea was gone, along with the stabbing pains, but my vision was still fucked up. My heart pumped harder as I stared at the trees and tried to wrap my head around what I was seeing. Because I was seeing…everything. Ahalf-moon hung pale and ghostly in the sky. Long shadows fell over the branches, but they didn’t impede my vision. On the contrary, every leaf was cast in startling detail. The jagged edges. The web of veins. The brilliant greens, reds, and yellows of fall surrounded me, as if someone had draped the trees in glowing, leaf-shaped gemstones.
Gravel crunched, and I dropped to a crouch without thinking, my gaze locked on the jogging trail. My lips peeled back from my teeth as I lifted my head and scented the air.
Except…what the hell was I doing? For a second, it was almost like I could see myself from above. My arm was stretched in front of me, my fingertips splayed on the ground. I balanced on the balls of my feet, every muscle tensed.
But not with fear.
No, the emotion pumping through my veins wasanticipation.
The air shifted, ferrying the sound of gravel and something rhythmic to my ears. Something that was approachingfast.
A growl vibrated my throat. Somewhere in my mind, I knew I was acting weird as shit. But that thought flitted away as a familiar scent hit my nostrils.
Formaldehyde.
It seared a burning path to my lungs. The rhythmic noise swelled, and each decibel of sound was a scarlet burst of rage in my veins. Gravel crackled as a bicyclist burst from the forest and zoomed toward me. The cyclist bowed low over his handlebars and pumped his legs as he rounded the curve of the trail. Moonlight flashed over the bike’s metal frame, sending sharp needles stabbing into my eyes.
Red dropped over my vision. The growl exploded from my chest as I leapt forward. I moved without thought or reason, launching my body through the air like a missile. A strangledscream and a pair of wide, terror-filled eyes greeted me just before I crashed into the bike.
The cyclist went flying, but I was fast—so fucking fast that raw, undiluted exhilaration spiked my veins as I snatched the cyclist from the air and slammed him to the ground. The red veil over my eyes had a heartbeat, and it throbbed with fury as the scent of formaldehyde pummeled my senses. That scent meant danger, maybe death. I couldn’t allow it to thrive. The squirming, sweaty body under mine was no match for my strength. I flipped it over, seized a flailing leg, and sank my teeth into flesh and muscle. Hot, coppery blood filled my mouth.
“No!” the cyclist bellowed, thrashing under me. “God help me, no!”
That voice lived in my memory. I dragged in a ragged breath, scenting another layer. Waxy, artificial cherry. More memories rose, each layered with a new threat.
Danger.
Judgment.
Maybe death.
I growled and sank my jaws deeper. My incisors met bone. Warm blood ran down my chin. It hit my throat and flowed into my stomach. The knives that had plunged so deep before twisted into something altogether different.
Hunger.
“Stop!” the cyclist screamed, clawing up chunks of grass and dirt as he attempted to crawl away.
I locked my teeth around his femur. Felt the bone start to give…
Something clamped hard on my nape. “Let go,” a deep voice said.“NOW.”
The command streaked down my spine and opened my jaw like it was spring-loaded. As soon as I released my prey, the manacle around my neck tightened and hauled me up. Then Iwas spun around and imprisoned by strong, unforgiving hands. Piercing, golden eyes bored into mine as the voice’s owner shook me like a dog shaking a rat.
