Animal Behavior by Gabrielle Holly Read Free Book Online

started to head to the barn to get the tractor when
his mentor stopped him. “Pull it out with your hands.” Alex had thought the man
insane, but he loped down the bank, grasped a horn in each hand and easily
pulled the half-ton animal from the water.
    And he was fast. Alex awoke each morning bursting with
energy and an overwhelming urge to run. He would fly out of the front door and
through the woods with his black Lab, Bob, struggling to keep up. When Sergei had
learned of his new morning routine, he had chastised Alex. “You cannot have the
citizens of Talbot seeing you streaking through the woods! You have night
vision now and you will contain your running to the moonlight!”
    Staying focused had been Alex’s most daunting challenge.
Every sense was heightened and every stimulus a distraction. Three days after
the spell, he had thrown out his prescription glasses. He could see everything
in amazing detail and his vision had become especially attuned to movement. He
could pick out a sparrow hopping through pine boughs at three hundred yards.
And everything smelled wonderful. If Sergei had a pot of stew on the stove,
Alex could pick out each individual ingredient. It wasn’t just stew—it was
carrots and onions and garlic, potatoes and meat, salt and pepper.
    The acuity of his nose had become bothersome when he was in
the company of women. He could tell which were menstruating, which were
ovulating and which were sexually aroused. The scent of female arousal had been
a distraction he could barely overcome. Sergei had taught him to keep a small
tube of mentholated cough and cold rub in his pocket. When the scents became
too much to bear, he could smear a line of the ointment under his nose to mask
the smell. The technique only helped to dull his longing.
    Alex’s ears picked up every sound. In the early days, he was
so distracted by a rustling sound that he’d had to put down the book he was
reading and seek out its source. He’d followed the noise far into the tree line
before he’d located the garter snake that had been causing the racket by
slithering through the dry leaves. Sergei had taught him how to use a simple
meditation technique to focus on the task at hand and let all other noises
recede into the background.
    By the time the first full moon of his change was at hand,
Alex had only the most rudimentary coping skills. He’d felt like he was a
newborn and everything in the world around him was foreign. Everything was
magical—and everything was terrifying.

Chapter Four
    Present
     
    Gwen glanced up at the pines trees surrounding her as she
adjusted the volume on her MP3 player. “Cómo estás? How are you? ” she
repeated, trying to mimic the native-Spanish-speaker’s voice.
    Jezebel trudged beside her, tongue lolling despite the chill
in the air. Clearly, both of them needed more exercise. With twenty-seven acres
to explore at their new home, they’d have plenty of opportunities.
    Getting healthy and learning a foreign language topped
Gwen’s new list of goals. On her first morning in Talbot, she planned to kill
two birds with one stone.
    “ Estoy bien, gracias ,” Gwen enunciated. “I am fine,
thank you.”
    She was concentrating on getting the “r” in gracias right when all hell broke loose and suddenly she wasn’t bien at all. By
the time Gwen noticed the cougar, it was upon them, squaring off with Jezebel.
    In an instant, an afternoon stroll in the forest had turned
into a nightmare. The cat was huge and he seemed plenty pissed off. Once the
initial shock wore off, Gwen was pissed too. The cougar took a swipe at
Jezebel, sending the dog flying.
    Instinct and adrenaline kicked in and Gwen charged the big
cat, waving her arms and screaming. “Get the fuck away from my dog!”
    When the cat spun around to face her, Gwen stared into his
face and in that instant it seemed that there was intelligence behind his amber
eyes. The animal was huge and sinewy muscles flexed under the thick fur.