The Animal Sagas: A Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Read online

  The Animal Sagas: A Paranormal Romance

  By SusanG Charles

  ©2013 SusanG 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!

  I hope you enjoy the 3 books in The Animal Sagas trilogy.

  ©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.

  Animal Heat: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 1)

  An unsuspected knock came to the door of their cabin. It wasn’t an outrageous “beat-your-door-down” kind of 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 left to right, her blue eyes 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 frantically 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 hardwood tiles. Her arms could have dragged on the floor but instead she held onto the table’s edge tight with her eyes just above her knuckles, her nose rested in between her hands.

  Sonya resembled a young pussy cat, peeping out of a box at the mystery which lies ahead, and then from the first level of the cabin, less than twenty feet away, rushed up a furious Lynda, with a matte black pistol-grip pump action shotgun in her hands, on her way to answer the door.

  Sonya bounced into the hallway, taking cover behind the wall, watching her sister as she reached the door. Lynda pumped the shotgun keeping a stone face. “Shick-chick!” Cocking that shotgun was one scary sound. She hoped that the person on the other side of the door completely understood what the sound meant! She put her ear to the door and shouted, “State your purpose here!”

  From the other side of the door came a voice that seemed to be non-threatening and light in tone, a man’s voice. It could be someone injured or sick or weakened and fatigued. He also sounded as if he was right up on the front door when he said, “Please… I-I… I… I don’t mean any harm. If you could just open up the door and―”

  Linda’s eyebrows sunk. She crunched down on her lip with her teeth, flung the wooden door open with a ferocity and speed surprising to the stranger on the other side of the door. Immediately she shoved the barrel of her black beauty to the man’s skull before even getting a good look at his face. She pressed the gun at his skin in an upward motion, bringing waves of flesh over the barrel’s steal, and the man’s eyes widened, and then sunk just as fast.

  Lynda’s teeth mashed together and ground as she said, “Didn’t I tell you to never show your face around here again?”

  And there he was. He had scraggly brown hair that was flickered up at the ends in blonde highlights. His ears were pierced, and within the holes were four inch round black metal-like earrings. He wore a white button up shirt with a wide collar and ruffled sleeves with Onyx cufflinks.

  His beige pants were sort of puffed out at the thighs like a jockey’s would be, but loose enough around the lower leg area to resemble Dickies brand work clothes with full pockets. The buckles on his black Durango boots shined, and his eyes were locked to hers as she held the pistol-grip pump shotgun against his head.

  “Please, Lynda… what have I done so ―”

  “Jonathan?” Sonya called, and revealed herself as she came from behind the wall.

  “Sonya! Please, let me speak with you. I must ―” he begged, trying hard not to move his head, but raising it just a bit to project his voice.

  “You the scoundrel that’s been stealing my chickens, Jonathan Anderson?” Lynda nudged the barrel forward just a tad more, her finger set to pull the trigger.

  Jonathan grinned, but it was quickly hard-pressed in, like a debit card being shoved into the card slot. That’s what it seemed like when Lynda nudged him a third time with the cold, dark hole of her pump shotgun. The pressure compelled his head back a few inches. He stumbled away from her gun point and then voluntarily took a step out the doorway.

  He said, “Stealing chickens?” within a snicker, as if he was unconvinced of their seriousness.

  “Chicken, hog, hen, cows… are you?” Lynda raised the gun at her shoulders length and aimed, her eye trained at his chest. Her fingers rolled off the neck of her gun as if she was all that anxious to put an opening in him like a Dunkin’ donut.

  “What would I have to do with your livestock? I simply arrived to divulge my love to her,” he motioned his hand at the logs, knowing full well Sonya was somewhere on the other side of them.

  “She doesn’t love you! Don’t you get it? She doesn’t care! Plus, she’s just a kid! Now get off my property or I will shoot you dead, Jonathan Anderson!” Lynda yelled.

  Jonathan Anderson, now feeling a little cocky, nodded his head, winked at Lynda and backed away from the door.

  Lynda said, “Come back again and I’ll kill you, Jonathan Anderson.”

  “Sure you will. I’m sure you will, Lynda,” he said in a teasing fashion. And with that, he turned and disappeared into the night.

  Lynda wasn’t entirely convinced he had gone, maybe he was just out of sight hiding somewhere she thought, so she stood on the porch for several minutes with her shotgun still firmly clenched in her hands, listening intently, hoping that he had gotten the message and had really left their property. After about 2 or 3 minutes she w
ent back inside and carefully shut and locked the door behind her.

  The sisters, still a bit uneasy about the whole encounter, settled back into their breakfast routine and finished their meals. Once they were done, they continued on about their regular daily activities firmly hoping that was the last they would see of that particular unwanted visitor.

  Later on, in the midst of that same evening, Sonya was startled awake by an unfamiliar racket. It sounded like whatever it was that walked upon the earth outdoors, that it moved as if it was on a tightrope, with four legs, unless it was multiple persons out and about, perhaps hoping to sneak up and steal more animals that roamed about the sister’s clear farmland.

  Whatever it was could not have been human, or if it were, how could one tell by only the light crackling sounds from outside? It could be the wind. Maybe only the trees outside. But if it were the wind, then it breathed really deeply, almost as if it could very damn sure well breathe fire in the stroke of an instant.

  Sonya obviously was not the only person shocked aware at the sound. In less time than it takes for you to twist a door knob handle to the right, glass from somewhere in the first level of the cabin shattered, a shotgun blast lit up the night, and she covered her ears in total surprise. The sounds of their farm animals and every other undomesticated part of wildlife now in the area now called out into the night as if awakened from their dreams.

  Lynda had sat up through the night, that night, looking for any intruders. With her firearm nestled safely 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. Just the perfect location to see, but not so easily to be seen.

  The constant hoot of a nearby owl had been Lynda’s only companion through her long nights observations. Eventually the owl’s hoot became mesmerizing, as would the welcoming breeze of her rooms ceiling fan. It would soon 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 movement’s 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. “Watch it girl,” she whispered to herself with a grin on her face. 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.

  Animal Heat: A Paranormal Romance (Chapter 2)

  It was the beginning of a new day. The very early beginning of another day. Still dark outside, both sisters now stood over the pieces of glass just outside Lynda’s room window, her trusty pistol-grip pump action 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?” Lynda said matter of fact.

  “But he still got away didn’t he?” Sonya asked.

  Completely aggravated by the entire incident, Lynda shook her head at her sister, and bent down to begin carefully picking up the shards of glass that now covered the floor inside Lynda’s bedroom.

  “So, how do you know that 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?” Lynda questioned her sister.

  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 hours.

  Sonya gazed off into the woods surrounding their cabin. The dawn was fighting it’s way across the sky. She scanned through the trees and all about where the eye could see in the darkness, though she knew soon enough that the sun would be up. 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, a few years ago.

  He had fancied her right from the start, as if she was the only woman that existed in their region, and he craved her timeless beauty. Her scent was his desire. But his hunger was not shared in the same way, as least as far as Sonya was concerned. Her thoughts and wonders took her eyes south from their home, but that’s also when she heard a gasp from her sister.

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

  “Prints,” she answered. “I told you.”

  At that very instant the sounds of leaves crackling emerged from the east of their cabin. Both girls heard it. The early dawn made it easier to see but it was still dark enough to have to take a double take. Lynda grabbed her shotgun, rose to her feet, and both girls stared in the direction from which 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 yelled back to the strange voice.

  “My name is Ben… Ben Wilder,” the voice called out before the man stepped out of the complete darkness and into the early sun’s light out in their homes driveway, “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! Just a few hours ago!” Lynda excited her home and lowered her firearm a bit as she faced the new stranger. “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 back into the mystery of nature and faded into the semi darkness instantly.

  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.”

  ========= Later that same day…

  The girls had gone about their normal day to day activities as best they could after the arrival of the two strangers previously. By the time the sunlight had again left them for the day, they were both drained, both mentally and emotionally, and were ready to call it a day. So the sisters went about their pre-bedtime activities and eventually turned in for the evening, both hoping for a drama free evening.

  “Night sis, ” Sonya called out to Lynda from the safety of her bedroom as she got into bed.

  “Goodnight Sonya, sleep well! See you in the morning,” Lynda said as cheerfully as she could in return, still worried about the strangers.

  After a tiring few days, Lynda was ready for some rest. She double checked all the locks on the doors, the win
dows and took one last look outside before going to bed herself. Completely worn out, it was only minutes before she was fully asleep.

  Hours later. Lynda awoke from her slumber to the sound of a crash coming from somewhere inside the cabin. 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 immediately thought to herself, as she once again rose from her bed, this time rushing out the room and into the hallway. She looked toward the main living area and then 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, grabbing her shotgun as she exited her room. 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 shivers before her defense mechanism kicked in and her adrenaline co-signed her anger.

  “Don’t do it!” a man’s quiet voice told her.

  She ignored the intruder’s orders and took a step forward demanding answers by her very actions, and with a twinkle in his eye and the pointed chompers’ grit of a smile, Jonathan Anderson stepped out into the light, pressed a hairy hand with clawed fingertips around the neck of his lovely captive, and cautiously backed out of the cabin with her and his helper, and disappeared into the black of the night.

  Lynda ran outside behind the group. When had they gotten there? Where were they now? There was no sign of life outside the cabin other than their 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 or the trail of them anywhere.

  She rushed out into the green and entered the woods. She probably ran all night. In fact, she did run all the rest of 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.