Chapter Text
Bird Lewis slammed the tailgate with more force than was probably necessary, but tension was already running hot underneath her skin. Her team had been in the country no less than twenty-four hours, and already they were butting heads with the Romanian detail. From dicing up provisions to muttered insults on choice of rifle, everything was turning into a fight. It didn’t help matters that Bird was the only woman on the detail, and it was clear that the hired men did not respect her or her expertise.
Her years spent as manager of the most profiled conservation hunters in all of North America went by the wayside. She didn’t spend thousands of hours freezing her ass off in the forests just to be shunned by a bunch of beefed-up twenty-somethings looking for a quick thrill. Those same beefcakes were currently looking everywhere but at her as she hauled the footload traps to the back of the side-by-side.
“Fucking useless,” she muttered under her breath, earning a chuckle from her colleague who followed her with a box of communication gear. She ought to cuss him out, too, but Ethan was hardly someone of substance. A good, strong wind would blow him away, but he was a damn good shot. She was thankful he had agreed to take this contract out in the middle of Nowhere, Transylvania.
It was not unusual for her team to be contracted out for jobs outside of the U.S., but it was her first time in such a remote area in the Carpathian Mountains. They would rely on the satellite phones and two-way radios Ethan was hauling into the off-road vehicle. Grunting, she tossed the traps into the back and straightened, her spine cracking in discomfort. Jet lag ate at her, but she pushed it aside.
Her pale green eyes scanned the tree line, searching for evidence of deer trails. The best way to catch predators was to follow the trails their main food source traveled. The wolves in this area were overpopulated and encroaching on public lands. Livestock was at risk, and so were unsuspecting hikers. Culling the packs was a necessary evil, and one that Bird did not take lightly. She respected the cycle of nature, but human intervention was called for in times when human mistakes spurred the cycle to be broken.
“Bernadette,” called one of the Romanians, using her given name, “we are ready to head out if you are.” She caught his name as Alexandru.
She nodded, finding their superior to be competent from the get-go, although gruff in nature. She counted on him to keep the other two in line. Tucking her dark hair underneath her camouflage cap, she slid behind the driver’s seat of the side-by-side. They had a journey of twenty miles ahead of them before they stopped for the night. September was just beginning, but the weather would fluctuate from the sixties during the day down into the forties at night. It was the ideal weather to hunt.
She started the engine, easing the vehicle after their colleagues.
“Bernadette, you remembered to grab your lucky pack, didn’t you?” Ethan spoke next to her, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Don’t call me that,” Bird muttered, navigating off-trail and maneuvering over a grouping of fallen logs. “And yes, of course. You know I don’t go anywhere without it.” She glanced over her shoulder at the banana-yellow backpack she carried everywhere. It may have been responsible for scaring off her target more than once, but Bird could not bear giving it up. It had saved her life once, and she was remiss to forget it on any trip since.
Ethan kicked back next to her, crossing his booted feet over the side mirror. “Now, just to sit back and enjoy the ride.”
They were an hour out from their intended campsite when the Romanians came to an abrupt halt in front of them. Bird slammed on the brakes, lurching the vehicle and Ethan with it.
“Why are we stopping?” she called, leaning out of her seat to get a better view.
Alexandru shut off his UTV and unfolded his tall frame from the driver’s seat. “Anghel has a feeling.”
“A feeling?” she deadpanned.
“Yes, he’s usually right. We stop here for the night.”
Bird collapsed back in the seat, annoyance bringing her blood back to a quiet simmer. The terrain around them was mostly rocks covered with a thick layer of moss. There was no water source nearby that she could see. It was a terrible spot to break camp. Nonetheless, they knew their country better.
“I bet there are so many underground systems around here,” Ethan said, barely concealing the excitement in his voice.
“Don’t go spelunking on me and end up Nutty Putty,” Bird chastised, referencing a rather gruesome case of cave-diving gone horribly wrong.
Ethan grimaced, holding up his palm to stop her train of thought. “Please. Don’t.”
Bird shrugged, sliding out of the side-by-side in one smooth motion. Her hiking boots skidded against the slippery moss, and she used the side of the vehicle to steady herself. What a terrible place to throw up a tent; the ground was far too waterlogged.
She cast a tight-lipped smile at Alexandru. Time to make the best of it, I suppose.
Turns out the best of it was being eaten alive by every mosquito in the vicinity as she huddled in her one-person tent later that night, once the sun had fallen beyond the cover of the trees. The temperatures had dropped into the low fifties as expected, and yet, the little blood-sucking demons straight from Hell were having a heyday using her as their personal charcuterie board. They lapped up her layer of bug spray like it was the finest wine.
Around her, she could hear the cacophony of snores serenading her. She did a half-toss in her sleeping bag before kicking it back fitfully. She rolled out of her tent after a frenzied struggle with the zipper. The cool night air met her, smelling thickly of loam and pine. She shoved her feet into her boots, not bothering to tie up the laces. A quick romp in the woods to piss would do her good. It’s not like she was going to get to sleep otherwise.
The forest sang its mournful song around her, and Bird could not remember the last time she had been so creeped out by the wilderness. Having grown up in it since she was a child, she wasn’t often spooked. However, these mountains held a fierce air about them.
She stumbled away from the campsite as quietly as possible, patting the bear spray in her pocket. It was unlikely she would need to use it. The moon above filtered through the trees, a crescent in the sky that emitted very little light to guide her way. A nightjar churred above in the canopy. Goosebumps erupted on her forearms, raising the little hairs to attention. She tugged her jacket around herself, fingers blanching white around the zipper.
Satisfied with her distance from camp, she disappeared around a wide tree and pushed her pants to her ankles. Squatting, she balanced against the tree to relieve herself. While doing so, her celadon eyes scanned her surroundings, acutely aware of how vulnerable she was in that moment.
“Buck up, Bird,” she murmured, steeling herself against the dark forest that surrounded her.
She was sliding her zipper up when she heard the crunch of leaves ahead of her. Even as attuned to the forest as she was, she went stock-still. The darkness beyond loomed, tunneling her vision into narrow pinpoints. If the darkness peers, don’t peer back.
A low growl rent the air. Bird gasped despite herself, hands pinwheeling behind her to grapple with the tree trunk. It was not the harsh chuffing of a bear, so the spray in her pocket would do little good. It was distinctly canine.
What were the chances that the predator she was out hunting in this country was the one currently hunting her?
Through the tree trunks, a large, dark figure lingered. Spanning several hands tall, it was larger than any wolf she had ever seen. It wasn’t advancing — simply watching her intently as she slowly made her way around the tree trunk. If she could get ahead of it, it would stop pursuing once she reached camp. The overwhelming human smell would spook it.
Nightshine caught, casting a milky glow across its eyes. A primal terror filled her. Her hindbrain kicked into gear, and she bolted without thinking any further. The sharp rustle of bracken behind her meant that the wolf had picked up the chase.
Up became down. Right morphed into left. Her boots slipped against the slick moss, propelling her forward in what she hoped was the campsite. Behind her, the sound of paws ate up the distance between them. She would never make it.
Bird yelped, finding her voice through her fear. Hoping beyond hope, Ethan would hear her and arrive with a rifle in tow.
It took her mere minutes to realize she had run in the opposite direction. She spun in a half-circle, breath leaving her in harsh, staccato pants. The trees spun around her. She had never felt fear in this manner before in her thirty-one years of life. She cursed herself for leaving her rifle behind in the tent.
“Get away!” she shouted, feeling the presence of the wolf lying in wait.
In the span of one breath to the next, Bird turned to run again, and the wolf was upon her. She was knocked to the ground, breath leaving her with a painful whoosh as her spine connected with the rocky ground. Eyes closed to the onslaught of fear that paralyzed her, she barely registered that the form straddling her form lacked the musky scent and furry body that she had come to expect.
Instead, warm skin pressed against the outside of her arms, and the soft exhalations against her face were distinctly familiar. Eyes shooting open, she gave a soft sound of surprise. Her thoughts scrambled, expecting one thing and seeing another.
A man hovered above her. She stared into a white filigree mask, bone-white in the faint moonlight. His skin was shrouded in a dark layer of black. Not that of a normal skin color, but of a dye that seeped through his pores to stain him.
Understanding came in waves. She could fear animals. She could not fear man. Instinctively, she kicked out with her legs, making contact with the soft, bare flesh of his stomach. “Get off me!” she bit out between clenched teeth, scrabbling for the bear spray in her pants pocket.
It was not one of the Romanians they traveled with, that was for certain. Could this man have tailed them into the forest this far?
Wrestling the bottle free, she depressed the spray directly into the man’s open face. At once, he lurched back, and Bird took the opportunity to roll away from the hazardous mist. She shot to her feet and whirled on the stranger.
“Fuck!” he howled, stumbling back to scratch at his face helplessly. His dark cloak whipped around his legs, and Bird was acutely aware of how much taller he was than she. No matter. Not many people could stand up to a point-blank shot of bear spray.
Not waiting for him to recover, she took off through the trees. Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, she possessed a good sense of direction, and it did not take her long to locate the campsite. Throwing herself into the open maw of her tent, she wrapped her hands around her rifle and flung herself on her back in one smooth motion.
The business end faced the open flap, ready and waiting for the man to appear. Her breath escaped in heavy, painful pants, lungs screaming for mercy. She waited for several moments, and when he didn’t appear, she rolled out of the tent.
“Ethan! Ethan!” she shouted, loud enough to wake the dead.
Alexandru was out of his tent before Ethan even stirred. “Bernadette, what is the meaning of this?!” He took one look at her raised rifle, and his hand shot to his own handgun in the holster around his waist.
“Someone has followed us!” she explained, rousing the other members of their crew. Her heart raced behind her ribs as she desperately tried to convey the seriousness of the situation. Within moments, Ethan was by her side. His arm wrestled for her shoulder, pulling her closer.
“Bird! Bird, you had a bad dream. There’s no one out there,” he soothed.
“You don’t know that,” she argued back, wrenching away from his grip. “I’m telling you what I saw!”
The rest of the crew stared at her, and Bird slowly came down from her heightened state. The quiet sounds of the forest came into clarity, and inch by inch, she lowered her weapon. “I’m telling you what I saw,” she mumbled helplessly. What would it take for them to believe her?
She could only hope the man had fucked off back where he came from. How was it possible he had tailed them through so many miles of forest without detection? The possibility that he lived out in this forest was even less likely.
The next ten minutes were spent trying to convince them of what happened, but no one seemed to really believe her. They pacified her, but she could feel that it was only fake sentiments. Frustrated, she retreated to her tent. She kept her rifle nearby and the flap of her tent open, mosquitoes be damned.
She dozed in fits when the fatigue became too much, at times witnessing golden eyes shine between the tree line only to disappear on the next blink. By the time morning rolled around, Bird wasn’t confident what she saw was real at all.