Page 152 of Survival Instinct

He trailed the herd, keeping his footfalls quiet. His ears twitched as he listened to them milling around, foraging on the forest floor. He kept his distance for a while, moving with themas they listed to the east. The breeze was light, but he stayed downwind anyway.

Then he caught sight of them. A small herd of fallow deer, made up of a few dozen does and a smaller number of bucks. It was too early in the year for fawns. Inching closer to the deer, belly close to the ground, he surveyed the offerings and homed in on his target. A buck of perhaps five years, with broad palmate antlers and the distinctive spotted coat of his species. It’d be more of a challenge than the others.

Sage’s mouth salivated at the thought of tearing into its flesh.

A few minutes later, the buck drifted out from under the cover of the trees as it went to graze in the open land. Sage then did what few predators would: he lifted his snout into the air and growled a warning.

The herd scattered.

The buck bolted.

And Sage gave chase.

He thundered after the buck, his legs eating up the distance. The buck made a good go of it, displaying impressive feats of agility as it jumped and stotted in one direction and then another. But Sage grew wise to its twists and turns, and the hunt didn’t last long.

He leapt onto the buck, jaws wide as he aimed a bite at the back of its neck. Its antlers were useless against his teeth and claws. Hot blood spurted over him as he took it down, killing it as quickly as possible. Sage might have been a monster, but he wouldn’t prolong the deer’s suffering. Besides, he wanted to eat.

He dug in. It tasted earthy and rich, the flavours mingling on his tongue. The rest of the herd had left, not wanting to become his next casualty. He could hear them, and the smell of fear lingered in the air.

Sage swivelled his ears when a twig snapped behind him, but relaxed when he realised it was Quin and Kit. Turning, hesaw Quin stalking towards him, Kit perched on his back. Sage chuffed at the sight.

“Okay, so you weren’t joking when you said it was only your human side afraid of blood,” Kit said, slipping down onto the ground.

Sage licked around his snout, tasting the mild, sweet tang of the deer blood.

Kit wandered over and peered at the mauled deer. “You’re a bit of a messy eater, Sage.”

Sage ripped another hunk of meat from the deer in response. He growled in warning as Quin lumbered over, but let him share in his kill when Quin nipped at his ear. Sage was magnanimous like that.

He yelped in surprise when a flash of light went off. He turned to see Kit holding up his phone, a sheepish expression on his face. “Whoops. Was taking a photo to send to DJ. He’s been hounding me for one.”

Sage rolled his eyes and focused on his meal.

Kit came over and dipped a cautious finger into the exposed innards of the deer’s belly. He sniffed his bloodied finger, wrinkling his nose. “Yeah, no, that smells rank to me.”

Quin licked Kit clean, and Sage watched them make heart eyes at each other. All of a sudden, he felt like he was encroaching on their night. He couldn’t stop the whine that escaped him. His human side would rather die than admit he was jealous that they had each other, but his wolf side was a needy little creature.

“Sage?” Kit asked, concern marring his face. “Are you all right?”

Quin came over and nuzzled against Sage, Kit following. He petted Sage’s head, and Sage leaned into the touch.

“You’re lucky you’re a wolf right now,” Kit said. “Otherwise, I would be duty-bound as your friend to force you into speaking about why you’re sad.”

Sage bumped his head against Kit in silent acknowledgment.

“Should I take something for the dogs?” Kit asked.

Quin barked in agreement.

Sage lay down and cleaned himself off as Kit broke the legs off the deer. “I’m going to need an hour-long shower after this.”

Once Kit had all four legs secured, Sage decided he wanted to play. He snuck over and grabbed one of them out of Kit’s hand, then bolted away.

“Hey!”

Sage grinned around the leg in his mouth as he heard Kit and Quin come after him. Now he was back in his element. No more melancholy, he told himself. It was easier to ignore his emotions when he was human. His wolf had them all coming to the surface, and he didn’t need that. So, he distracted himself by sprinting away.

After a while, he dropped the leg, his tongue lolling out as he panted for breath. Once he’d recovered, Sage threw his head up and howled. The answering calls—one quieter than the other, but no less confident—comforted him. He’d always have Quin, and he knew that Kit wasn’t going anywhere either.

But Sage still sang to the moon, drowning out the insistent voice in the back of his mind that told him he wanted something more.