Page 6 of Chaos At Second Sight

It was like an eclipse on Earth.

“Oh my Stephen…”

Its eyes—two red pits of hell over that massive muzzle—were fixed on me from across the loch, never leaving me as the beast prowled forward.

“What i-is that?” I stuttered to myself. Around me, the wolves dropped low, baring gums and fangs at the intruder.

The creature showed its own fangs, and I would have fallen on my butt if I’d stood, because it charged forward on four legs, its footfalls shaking the ground.

My brain ordered me to run. Yet the fact that it simply existed kept me in place, along with its…scent…

“It smells like…like—” I choked out. “Amber.”

The wild wolves retreated, backs curled, growls ignored. The dominant energy emanating from the beast pressed in on me like gravity.

For something so enormous, it moved fast.

A heartbeat later, it halted in front of me and fell into a crouch, its head snapping toward the scattering wolves.

I didn’t care. I had more immediate concerns, like not becoming lunch for a creature that still needed a biological classification.

When my hand touched the ground behind me, its head whipped back to me.

“I-I don’t taste that good,” I blurted, hands shielding my eyes. “I had sheep stomach this morning.” Actually, that might make me more appealing.

When nothing happened, I peeked between my fingers, only to draw in a gasp.

It was staring at me, transfixed by what it saw. It was…confusing, and my stomach did a flip—not entirely reassuring.

I gawked up at it and slapped my cheek. Hard.

The beast didn’t like that, if the low growl was any indication.

Its muzzle inched closer. Too close.

I smacked it away with my forearm. “Go find some deer!”

The growl that followed blasted my hair backward, my heart lodging itself in my esophagus.

I needed out of here, pronto! Scouring the ground around me, I grabbed the first thing I found and chucked it straight at its face.

It yelped, stumbling as its snout took a hit from a thorny branch. Not sticking around to see its reaction, I sprang to my feet and bolted. Full speed ahead, no looking back.

Probably not my smartest decision.

It chased after me—every single predator on this planet would. To confirm my theory, a growl, neither human nor wolf, detonated behind me.

I leapt over fallen trees, dodged uprooted bushes, and skirted around half-eaten carcasses. Branches snagged me like desperate hands, tearing my clothes.

This was uncontaminated land. Rogue land. And I had run straight into its belly.

My feet pounded the ground as my breath came in gasps, sweat dripping down my face. Fast, heavy footfalls hammered closer along with a steady, low growl.

Deviating suddenly, I slid under a broken log and popped back up mid-sprint.

Behind, a smash shook the air. Good. I hoped it had tripped somewhere and face-planted.

My sweater snagged on a branch. I yanked, pulling myself out of it, leaving it behind as I sprinted left. Or tried to.