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She took a couple of steps backward, away from whatever the hell body of water lay in front of her, and once again stood there indecisively.
She heard a sound to her left and her head swung in that direction, but all she could see was the dark, high outline of the hedge against the slightly lighter sky. The sound came again, rustling in that hedge, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight.
“Go away,” she whispered. Then raised her voice and tried again. The thready, quavering sound that emerged from her throat was embarrassing, but at least it could be heard over the wind. “Go away!”
There was a soft, chuffing, animalistic sound in response and she backed up slowly as a dark shape separated itself from the hedge and prowled toward her.
“Get back,” she implored, taking another step backward, but this time her wet trainer skidded against something slick on the paving and she lost her balance, and fell .
She impacted the hard ground with a pained oof and the massive dark silhouette saw its opportunity and surged toward her with a whining growl.
This is it, she lamented to herself, terrified as she lifted her arms to her face to protect her head from harm. She curled into a ball, hoping to make herself as small a target as possible. This is how I die.
Once again Iris’s thoughts swirled to her family, her parents who had sacrificed so much for her and her brother. Her brother, who liked to act like a tough, independent guy but who called her every Sunday, just to talk. This would destroy them.
She mustered up enough resentment and anger to consider Trystan Abbott’s role in her downfall and she cursed him with every fiber of her being, but she refused to allow her last thought to be of that horrible man, and instead held the image of her family bright in her mind.
The massive thing stood above her, four paws straddling her body and Iris braced herself for unimaginable pain. She would have screamed if she’d had the breath for it, but she had none.
She would go out with not even a whimper.
Chapter Two
Iris felt hot, foul breath wash over her face, immediately followed by something warm and wet on her cheek.
Blood?
It turned out she had some breath left after all because she released it in a high-pitched scream. The creature above her stilled for a second before lowering its head again and this time the warm wetness stroked up from her open mouth to her forehead.
“Oh. Oh… ew, no… stop that!” Iris cried, her terror instantly turning to disgust as she realized that instead of being mauled, she was being licked to death. So gross. She pushed at the large shaggy head of what she now recognized as a massive dog and turned her face away from his tongue and wet nose. Ugh, she was almost certain he’d licked her gums while she’d been screaming.
How disgusting.
“Get away, Rover,” she commanded, feeling foolish for having thought he was a wolf. Were there even wolves in South Africa? The dog’s entire body was vibrating with the force of his tail wagging and he was still trying his best to lick every available surface of her skin. “No. Sit. Down!”
The last two commands yielded immediate results as the dog stepped away and, as far as she could tell in the darkness, sat obediently, before lowering himself into a down position.
“You’re a good dog,” she said automatically, and—now that her eyes were adjusting to the gloom—she could see the happy swipe of his tail at the obviously recognizable compliment. Iris sat up and reached for the gigantic floof, scratching the wiry fur around his perky ears, and moving her hand further down to discover a collar. “Do you belong to that horrible man in there? Does he just leave you out here at night? That doesn’t seem right.”
She felt around the front of the collar, looking for a tag of some sort, not that she’d be able to read it in the dark but…
Aah, there it was. A flat disk that Iris hoped was microchipped and tuned into an electronic pet door.
Fido over here was massive. Probably taller than Iris if he was to stand on his hind legs. If there was a pet entrance, it would be large enough for her to fit through.
“Where’s your doggy door, boy? Can you show me? Can you take me inside?”
The full moon broke through the clouds to reveal an endearing fuzzy face, with a lolling tongue. The pooch tilted his head at the sound of her voice, his ears pricking attentively. He was a lanky, scruffy looking gray boy, with shaggy hair, and lively golden eyes.
“Come on, boy, let’s go home,” Iris invited again, and the dog continued to stare at her quizzically.
“Uh…” Iris wracked her brain, trying to figure out what would make him go inside. “Ball?”
He jumped up, turned in a circle—immediately getting her hopes up—but, after one rotation, sat down to stare at her again.
“Right. Okay. What about food? Are you hungry?” His head cocked comically at the last word, and he whined and shifted excitedly from paw to paw. “Yes, you’re hungry, aren’t you? I am too. Let’s go and get some food!”
He nuzzled her hand with his big wet nose and then sat back with an expectant stare.
