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Was it coming for her? Was this what had killed the little boy? Maybe it wasn ’t an accident—maybe he’d been eaten alive!
    She pulled herself back up to the railing and started to scramble away. Wedges weren ’t running shoes but she would have run a marathon in high heels to get away from whatever the hell was behind her.
    “ Shi—oof!” She gasped as her right foot twisted and she fell forward. Her knee slammed into the rough pavement, ripping her jeans and making her knee erupt in agony. She slapped her left shoulder and right elbow next but that pain was forgotten when her cheek hit the asphalt and rubbed her skin raw.
    Crystal rolled over and stared up, her vision blurry and dark. She heard someone crying . Was it her? And something else. Something growling and breathing heavy. She blinked as fast as she could and tried to make sense of what was happening. She pushed herself back, sliding across the road to gain some time. She needed to get up and run. That much made sense. She could deal with her face and arm and knee later. Her foot felt funny, too—kind of numb but with a sting to it, like she’d cut off circulation to it.
    She rolled back onto her hands and knees and staggered to her feet. Her right knee felt like someone was sticking needles in it but she had to go. She clutched her right arm against her side and took a few steps that left her limping and crying out. She couldn ’t make it—it hurt too much! She suddenly caught a new and wretched smell. It made her think of rotting meat.
    A howl pierced the night and sent a shiver down her spine. She stopped breathing for a moment and started to turn her head back just as she heard the sound of an animal fighting another one. Was it her animal? The one that was after her? It sounded like more than that. Were there two of them under the bridge?
    She risked a look and saw dark shapes rolling on the bridge. She made out fur and a flash of white teeth. Eyes sparkled with a light that seemed like something straight out of hell. Crystal wanted to scream but she couldn ’t find her breath. Something grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
    “ Go!”
    Crystal stared into the wild eyes of a woman with flaming red hair flowing down her back. She tugged Crystal as though she was a little kid instead of a teenager who ate too many meals out of a drive-through window. Crystal stumbled and cried out, but the pain in her knee was numbing already. She staggered a few steps and looked back again.
    She stopped and stared as the woman slipped her leather vest off her shoulders and reached down to rip her skirt off. She jumped forward, her image blurring in the darkness. She landed on all fours and jumped again, except she looked different. Did she just—
    Crystal was spun around again. She stared into the chest and neck of a man who might as well have been a mountain. Before she could say anything, she felt him grab her waist and pick her up. Her stomach felt like she’d left it behind until she landed on his shoulder and realized she was staring at his leather-clad back.
    She screamed and started punching him as he turned and started to run.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 3
     
    Crystal yelped as the brute carrying her upended her and set her down. She staggered and would have fallen except for his hands keeping her upright. She shook her head and lifted her head to look at him. She opened her mouth but the words didn’t come to her.
    He was amazing. He reminded her of a bigger Adam Levine , with his strong jaw line and dark scruff darkening his face. His eyes were blue, but not a blue like she’d ever seen before. They were bright, almost bright enough to glow in the dark. Cornflower blue, maybe?
    “ I said, are you all right?”
    She shook her head. He ’d been talking? Why hadn’t she heard him? And his voice—it was raspy and deep and it made her knees weak. At least she thought it was his voice. Her entire body felt sore and loose. So was she all right?
    She