The First

Chapter 54

Savannah's males followed her through dense Oregon forests to the top of a shallow canyon. People in the valley below scurried about a small town. The oldest male's cobalt eyes followed a couple holding hands as they snuck from house to house. Sweat gleamed from the male's bald head. Froth oozed from his mouth in anticipation of her orders.

The young one had shed and now walked on two feet. His clawed hand held hers and squeezed giddily when he noticed a woman chase a child, about his height, into the street. No others had touched the area yet. Savannah claimed it with a deep low-throated growl. The hoard of eight fell to their knees.

With a simple thought, feast; the males raced down the mountain.

The little one headed straight for the human child. He alternated between scampering on all fours and running on two legs. He stalked his prey as she knew he would. With a pounce and small yip from the human, his teeth sank into the soft tissue which covered the child's spine.

Another full-grown male approached the child's mother from behind. She'd fallen to her knees and wept while the youngling tore her own child's still-beating heart from his chest. He attacked the woman like a wolf in heat.

Her scream sent a shiver through Savannah.

His claws tore into the back of the woman's neck and protruded through the front with a splash of blood and a gurgled last protest before he took her.

Savannah sat on a tree stump and turned away from the carnage. Her fingers caressed the soft tips of a bright yellow flower. Cries of terror and agony erupted throughout the town below. She knew the people tried to hide, but their hearts could be seen through the thickest of walls. She thought of the man she spared. The human had risked his life and killed two of her males. Maybe she admired him? Was it his courage? His...heart? Savannah frowned. She didn't even know the name of the flower. Her nail lengthened and she sliced the foliage in two, from top to the edge of the grass.

Cries of terror below quieted for good and the males made their way back to her; their work in town completed. More coastal towns full of people needed to be eradicated and she had more males to collect. Their ethereal pull came from almost every direction. From the west, however, she felt something else.

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