Page 8 of Beasts of Mine

A crude metal snare had been hidden beneath leaves and debris near the base of a tree. Whoever had put it there had taken enough time to disguise it, which meant there was no chance it had been left accidentally.

Something dark was trapped beside it.

CHAPTER TWO

EVIE

“Oh, sweetheart,” I whispered to the injured animal, lowering myself several feet away once I had a clear view.

It was smaller than I'd expected, with a long body covered in sleek dark fur, a narrow face, small rounded ears, and a long tail held close to its side. For a second, my attention stayed on the blood and wire rather than what I was actually looking at, but years of studying wildlife eventually pushed the answer forward.

A tayra.

I'd seen them in field guides and caught fleeting glimpses of them in the wild before, but never this close. The dark coat and long, muscular body were unmistakable now that I could see it properly.

The snare had tightened around one hind leg. Blood had dried into the fur beneath the wire.

“Okay, we're going to get that off,” I told the tayra, keeping my movements slow while lowering my pack onto the damp ground.

Its head turned sharply toward me.

I paused.

Its eyes were an unusually bright gold, vivid even in the shade beneath the trees. The tayra watched me closely, its attention fixed on every movement I made.

“Hi,” I whispered to the tayra, settling onto one knee while leaving enough distance between us that it wouldn't feel cornered.

Its ears flattened as a low warning growl came from its throat.

“I know,” I told the tayra, holding my hands where it could see them as I opened the medical kit. “You're trapped and hurting, and now some stranger is coming toward you. I'd be angry too.”

The growl eased.

I paused with one hand over the open kit.

That timing was strange.

I pulled out the wire cutters.

“I need to cut this off your leg,” I explained to the tayra, keeping the tool visible rather than reaching toward it immediately. “It'll probably hurt when I move the wire, but once it's loose, I can clean the wound.”

The tayra's attention shifted briefly to the cutters before returning to me.

I frowned.

“You're watching me like you actually understand this,” I murmured to the creature, studying its expression for a moment.

The tayra blinked slowly and I let out a quiet breath.

“Okay, that's weird,” I admitted to the creature before moving carefully closer. It tensed when my fingertips first touched its leg, but it didn't snap or pull away.

“That's it,” I murmured to the tayra, keeping my hand gentle as I examined the wound. “Just stay still for me.”

The wire had broken the skin, but thankfully, the injury wasn't as severe as I'd feared. There was swelling and dried blood, but nothing suggested that the snare had reached tendon or bone.

Getting the cutters underneath it was the harder part. The tayra shifted when I moved the wire.

“I know, I'm sorry,” I whispered to the creature, stopping long enough for it to settle before trying again. “I almost have it.”