The forest was too quiet.

Too still.

Every instinct in Desiree’s body screamed at her that she wasn’t alone, that something was hunting her.

As she ran, the night air was cold and sharp in her lungs, and she breathed in short gasps. The sound of twigs snapping beneath the feet echoed too loudly in the quiet of night. Her heart pounded frantically, almost painfully, against her ribs. She didn’t dare slow down.

Behind her, the growl came again, low, guttural, vibrating through the ...