Under the Midnight Cloak
(Synopsis)

Lee Grayson is a nature photographer whose father is a senator in New York. She’s never felt close to him and her faith in people as a whole is lacking. She moves to the Adirondack Mountains after inheriting her great aunt’s estate, but the local townspeople seem a little…off. Then she meets Ranger Jamison Kessler and can tell the woman is special but seems to be hiding something. On top of the fact that Lee has moved somewhere that she doesn’t know anyone, there is a killer running rampant in the area and he’s not even human. Neither is Jamison.

Things become even more interesting when she discovers that her aunt was a central part of this community and that Lee possesses the woman’s abilities. She and Jamison are falling for each other, but can they survive all the odds when the murderer sets his sights on Lee and a cure he believes her to be harboring?

Outtake

Jamison was less than a hundred yards from the house when something darted out of the tree line directly in front of her and she jumped in surprise. Even in the headlights, it was only a dark hulking shape between her and the front door. She stomped down hard on the brakes and came up sharply against the restraint.

At first, she thought it was a bear; Jamison never considered she’d actually run into the predator so quickly on her own. Then the thing turned its head and she knew beyond doubt that it was no bear, nor was it any other natural wilderness creature. Silver eyes blinked at her, a solid sheet of light uninterrupted by pupil or iris, and then it was moving. Not away, but right at her.

It scampered quickly on all fours like an ape even though the tawny color was all lion; massive front paws kicking up bits of turf. Malicious intent flowed from it like a shadow and she could see its claws as it rushed forward. They were large, powerful and curving; the perfect instrument for ripping deep and perforating organs. Fangs flashed as a red tongue rolled out, sampling the crispness of the night breeze.

Jamison could see crimson gore splattered over its chest and muzzle. Her heart thundered and adrenaline flooded her system as her inner beast clamored to tear into the creature, but she wrestled it back under control. There wouldn’t be time to get out of the truck before it pounced. With no chance to change, she’d be nothing but another victim. Her higher reasoning quickly assessed the situation and she came up with the only possible solution.

She was sitting behind the wheel of a one-ton deadly weapon.

Rather than wait sedately for it to rip her head off, Jamison slammed the accelerator to the floor. For an insane instant, the tires spun uselessly, giving her the impressing of existing in a real-life episode of The Flintstones. Then the tires dug in and the Chevy shot forward, engine straining. She watched as the demented cat’s eyes widened in brief surprise, evidence of a reasoning side.

The truck didn’t have enough distance to gather much momentum and couldn’t have been going very fast, but when they collided, the sound of the impact was deafening. There was a loud thump followed by the shriek of twisted metal. Both headlights blew out and the creature was thrown over the hood, smashing into the windshield. The tempered glass crunched and cracks spider-webbed across the surface, obscuring any view of the monster.

Jamison slammed the pickup into park and reached for the door handle, shifting while in motion. She heard the seams at her shoulders rip and the top button of her jeans flew away. Three-inch claws tore out of her fingertips and her incisors erupted as midnight pelt raced down her arms and the center of her abdomen. Out of the truck and partially shifted, she prepared to meet the lion in combat, but it was already entering the woods. Jamison thought she saw it limping slightly, but there wasn’t any other indication of injury.

She started after it, a blur of motion, but stopped abruptly when she saw the front door of Hank’s home standing ajar. Her cat raged and howled for freedom to continue the pursuit, but her worry for the elder gave Jamison the strength to battle the change. She looked briefly after the lion, but it was gone.

The night was suddenly quiet; even the wind had died away and if not for the condition of the truck, Jamison could almost believe she’d imagined the whole thing. Except Hank’s front door stood open in the middle of the night.

Instinct urged her to cock her ears forward, alert for any signs of life inside the house, but her human physiology wouldn’t allow for directional hearing. She scented the coppery taste of blood even from a distance, and knew something was very wrong. With her eyes pinned to the front door and all of her other senses straining, she walked quietly toward the entrance. There was the possibility the monster had a companion still inside and she didn’t want to alert anyone or anything to her presence.

Her foot had just touched the bottom step when a chill raced through her that had nothing to do with the cool evening air. She looked around quickly, feeling like she was being watched, but nothing moved in the shadows. Jamison climbed the four wooden steps, slowly placing each foot before shifting her weight onto it to reduce any noise she might make. Although the killer had vanished into the woods, he could always change his mind and circle back around.