True Nature Read Online Free Page B

not to snicker as Zoe said to Kinley, “I’d rather stay down here to keep an eye on things.”
    Hunter left the two women to work out the sleeping arrangements. He halfway hoped Zoe would end up in the ruffled nightmare upstairs. He could tell by her disgusted look that she knew exactly what he was thinking.
    “Don’t be afraid of the dolls,” he muttered as she let him out the front door.
    “Go chase your tail or something.” She closed the door with a snap.
    He laughed out loud and decided chasing something wasn’t a bad idea.
    As he folded his six-feet-four-inches into Zoe’s compact BMW, Hunter’s mind and body raced. Maybe it was all the shifting he had done today, but he was revved with energy and excitement. Heading toward the office, he worked out his plans to retrieve his own car and spend the night at Zoe’s house. It was too late to go to his apartment in Jersey City.
    Was part of the hum he felt from finding the body in the woods? He still couldn’t wrap his brain around that idea. He pulled to the rear of the driveway behind the office. The street was now clear of police vehicles and officers. He glanced toward the woods, again feeling a tug of exhilaration.
    He’d taken that same route home from Mandy’s house three times now when the old man had come home unexpectedly. Her husband was most likely getting suspicious, and that was why he kept popping in early. Probably time to end it with Mandy. He’d sure miss those sweet breasts and long, silky legs.
    Going to his office, he quickly undressed and grabbed a bag out of a file cabinet drawer. The flat square with two straps was a small backpack. He could slip it on as a human and it would remain in place while he was a panther. Made from heavy black cotton, it couldn’t be seen in the dark. It ensured he’d have clothes and car keys when he needed them.
    Hunter had been roaming these woods off and on since he and Zoe opened the practice. He had never seen or heard anything untoward until tonight. Now he felt an uncertainty that was alien to his confident nature. These were his woods, dammit. A low growl escaped his throat.
    He needed to go back through the trees and release some of this jittery energy he felt. He could cover the miles at a dead run and get there almost as quickly as he could by car.
    Hunter let his body flow into its animal form. What was once so difficult was now as easy as taking a deep breath. Letting out a low growl, he stretched his lithe cat body and bounded out the open window. He stopped to watch the window slowly close, enjoying that he could take care of these little details with his intense mind control. He’d worked hard to learn this element of his powers. His grandfather promised, as he grew stronger he’d be able to do more. Hunter streaked through the night, sticking to back roads and heavily forested areas. He paused at Lookout Point, a park not far from Mandy’s house. He padded across the parking area and jumped up on top of the marble memorial that honored victims of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He looked out over the leafless trees and sleeping communities that led to the Hudson River in front of the majestic skyscraper forest of Manhattan.
    The mournful howl of a coyote echoed through the woods. He jumped down, hugging the shadows of the monument, peering into the bare January trees. Was it just a coyote, or something more? Unease prickled his fur. But he wouldn’t back down or hide. He skirted the darkened monument and surged into the night, once again feeling powerful and in control.
    Almost thirty minutes after leaving the office, he reached Mandy’s exclusive neighborhood. His car was in the parking lot of the strip mall where her husband had the first of his chain of dry cleaners.
    Keeping an eye out for traffic, he shifted into human form again, removed his small backpack, pulling out the jeans and T-shirt. Near the building and well out of sight of any passing car lights, he dressed