Read Bite This! for Free Online Page A

breathed in deeply, hoping against hope for a clue.
    Nothing.
    She slowed her breath and pulse to a crawl, straining for the sound of footsteps.
    Nothing.
    It was more than just dull senses.
    Whatever was up here with her wasn’t natural.
    As if to confirm her suspicions, a piece of the shadow from a nearby car wriggled and then broke away to melt into a form of its own.
    It whirled and writhed for a moment before coalescing into a doglike shape.
    The shadow-dog lowered its nose to the ground.
    Was it looking for her? Trying to sniff her out?
    Did it have something to do with the kid?
    The shadow hound took a step in her direction.
    Darcy’s tattoo screamed with fresh pain.
    It wasn’t about the kid. It was about her 300th moon.
    Talk about shitty timing. Darcy needed to get out. Now.
    Fighting her instinct to run, she leaned down next to the beat-up minivan next to her, and held herself motionless, barely breathing. Maybe the shadow thing would pass her by.
    She couldn’t smell or hear it, but she sensed its presence through the radiating pain in her navel.
    It crept closer still.
    Darcy used to play hide and seek with her brothers back at the farm. This was the hardest part, the moment when your pursuer had nearly found you. The boys were always too scared, too impatient. They would scream as soon as the seeker came near. But Darcy had been good at hide and seek - the best. Once she’d hidden in her bed in plain sight and they hadn’t noticed her among her toys when they’d glanced in her direction, because of her iron will to stay still and not give up until they had announced her presence.
    She called on all of that patience now.
    At last, the creature was close enough that she could see it. Her own breath plumed in the freezing air.
    The shadow stepped delicately past the van, the smoky tendrils of its ears and tail curling away into nothingness.
    It stopped right there for a terrible moment, then lowered its head and passed her by, searching the next row with an eerie patience that was distinctly un-doglike.
    Darcy forced herself to count to two hundred, then dashed past the van to Finn’s Jeep at last.
    She opened the door as silently as she could and slipped herself inside.
    Only when the doors were locked again did she allow herself to look around the car.
    The boy sat curled up in the backseat, swimming in Finn’s too-big shirt and jeans, looking both adorable and pathetic. So that was what had happened to Finn’s clothes.
    She smiled in relief and he grinned right back at her.
    Darcy felt a pang of joy. He wasn’t so far gone then.
    She scanned the garage and saw no sign of the shadow dog or the goon squad. Good.
    “Get your seat belt on, okay, buddy?” she said over her shoulder.
    She started the car and headed for the exit ramp.
    They had nearly reached the rectangle of light that would signify they were out on the street, when the shadow creature appeared directly in front of the car.
    It rose up on its hind legs, shifting into something vaguely man-shaped.
    Darcy’s tattoo erupted in agony.
    She eased her foot off the gas.
    The kid moaned - a small, scared sound in the darkness of the backseat.
    Fuck it.
    Darcy gunned the engine and pointed the Jeep directly at the shadow.
    Bracing herself for impact, she pushed the pedal to the metal.
    They passed through it without slowing. There was no resistance at all – like there was nothing there.
    She checked the rear view mirror.
    The shape reformed behind her and lunged toward the Jeep.
    She was so focused on it, that when her eyes went forward again she almost screamed.
    Finn had stepped into the street, waving his arms to flag her down, and in her preoccupation, she had nearly run him down.
    She screeched the brakes and hit the door lock.
    He hopped in and slammed the door shut.
    “Where are you headed in such a hurry?” he joked.
    Darcy’s eyes found the rear view mirror. The shadow thing was catching up.
    “Anywhere but here,” she said and