Skinwalkers - Bad Moon Rising Excerpt

Skinwalkers - Bad Moon Rising Excerpt

copyright 2012 Lorraine Kennedy



Chapter One

Everyone knows that one day they will leave this physical realm of existence, but only an unlucky few ever actually stare into the eyes of death and know they will probably never see another sunrise.

Mya wondered if she were already dead. Had she met her fate and failed to realize it? If she wasn’t dead, then why was her whole life flashing before her eyes. The years – days – hours, and in fact, every millisecond of her life was replaying in her head like a late night rerun of some classic movie.

The images moved so fast that it would seem impossible to absorb them, but contrary to this, she experienced every feeling - every moment of her life as if she were reliving it all over again.

Before that moment, Mya had never thought about how she would die, though maybe she should have. She’d known the risk of loving him, but had made the fatal decision to ignore that risk.

But was it really her love for him that brought her to this moment?

Even as she went over her every decision from the time she was a young child, she still couldn’t be sure what had brought her to this end. Was it the day that she made the decision to take that internship in Arizona, or was it when she decided to pursue the truth of who she was?

As much as she wanted to blame her fate on these decisions, deep down she knew the truth. She could mark the beginning of the end the moment she stared into his eyes - eyes so wild and untamable that it had been foolish to believe he could ever be anything other than what he was by nature.

Though the shadow of death loomed over her, she placed her bleeding heart before him - hoping the love and passion that they’d shared would overcome his instinct to kill.

But hadn’t this always been their fate?

She’d known almost from the beginning that it was his duty to kill her - she was a threat to his kind. Maybe it was hope that led to her death. She had stubbornly held out hope that they could defy fate and triumph over the evil that had purposely led them down a path of destruction.

* * *

From where Mya stood on the corner, she could see the heat shimmering off the blacktop. A reminder of just how hot it could get in Arizona, as if she needed reminding. The droplets of perspiration that were steadily making their way down the back of her neck were reminder enough.

The light was still green. If they hurried, they could make it across before it turned red. She’d just put one foot into the street when she heard the deafening roar of motorcycles coming right at them. The light was red for the bikers, but it didn’t appear as if they would stop.

Mya felt a hand tugging at her arm. Donny pulled her out of the way just as the four bikes pulled up to the intersection. As fast as they were going, it was a wonder they were able to stop for the light, but they did.

There were four of them, but Mya only noticed the one closest to her - the one on the shiny red Harley. Mya’s eyes strayed to his hard muscular chest, visible beneath the open - sleeveless vest he was wearing.

She then glanced up at his face, and that’s when she realized that he was watching her. He wasn’t even bothering to disguise his interest. It was in that instant that their eyes locked.

Mya could feel herself being drawn into those eyes - those fascinating - disturbing eyes. They were like silver pools of moonlight gliding over her skin - caressing her - seducing her. Like a deer hypnotized by oncoming headlights, she was frozen in place - unable to look away - incapable of rational thought.

Unlike the dark eyes of so many of the people she’d encountered on the reservation, his eyes were the color of pale moonlight. Those beautiful - magnetizing eyes stared at her with such intensity, it was as if she could feel them burning into her soul - stripping away the outer shell of her body until he was staring right into the very essence of her being.

For Mya, time stood still. It was a moment that would be forever seared into her memory. She was aware of nothing but him, and the certainty that there wasn’t anything that he did not know about her. Those mysterious eyes reached out to soothe the turmoil in her soul, while at the same time they were boring into the deepest recesses of her mind to discover her darkest secrets.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

She’d seen those eyes somewhere before!

Mya had no time to think about it. The light turned green and the four bikers took off. She watched him as he drove away, quickly disappearing in the afternoon traffic.

A sharp whistle brought her back to the moment. She must have been standing there in a daze - staring at him for a long time.  The light for them to cross had already turned green.

“If we don’t cross now we’ll be waiting for another light,” Donny advised.

Feeling like she had just come out of a strange dream, Mya stepped back into the crosswalk. “Sorry, I guess I was a little distracted. Who were those guys?”

The truth was that she really only wanted to know about the guy with the strange eyes. She couldn’t even recall what the other bikers looked like, but she could remember what he looked like, right down to the very last detail. In her mind’s eye, she could still see his ruggedly handsome face and the way the wind tussled with his long dark hair as he was driving away.