Read Mating Hunt for Free Online Page B

them wanted her to believe they had. Clever. And dangerous. The Skins who’d taken the young knew exactly what they were and who would be searching for them.
    Her guardian could tell from a footprint how heavy a person was, what they were carrying and what kind of threat they posed. He’d taught her the same.
    Use all your senses, not just this, little pint, he’d told her, tapping her nose . Your wolf can track scent, but in Skin form, your other senses are much keener. Patterns. Look for patterns. Most two-legged have a style of walking, and their shoes leave prints, not just in dirt, but leaves, logs, everything in the environment.
    Patterns, she thought, running a hand over the rough bark of a pine tree.
    Arianna jogged a half-mile back on the trail. Then she headed east, studying the silent sweep of trees, searching the trunks for anything...
    A fallen log blocked her way. Hunkering down, she saw a faint shoe pattern against the gray bark. A child’s shoe. She grinned and looked around.
    “You bastards can’t fool me. I’ve been taught by the best,” she whispered.
    Wind rustled through the trees, sighing in agreement.
    The oldest, a male, had left small, but readable, signs. Digging his toes into the ground. Snapping branches in half with his footsteps. Breaking through spider webs, now shredded and swaying in the breeze.
    She followed the tracks until she reached the end of pack territory. Both Aiden and Darius had laid down strong scent markers to warn other shifters away and No Trespassing signs were posted for Skins. Arianna hesitated.
    Rumors abounded of dark, mysterious creatures lurking here. Aiden encouraged the gossip to discourage intruders. But even Lupines knew strange things happened in the forest beyond their boundaries. The same forest Arianna had run away from, crying and screaming...
    Stepping into these woods meant stepping into a past she did not want to remember. But there were little ones who needed her. Gathering all her courage, she pushed forward.
    Someone had cut a narrow trail. It did not ascend, but remained level as she followed it. The forest grew darker and more sinister.
    Something grunted in the distance. Arianna froze, recognizing the slightly rancid scent. Ogre.
    Fear froze her in mid-stride. If she ran, it would see her. Hiding offered her only defense.
    Crouching down behind a fallen log, Arianna tried to keep her breathing quiet. The ground trembled. She peeked around the log.
    Green-skinned, the creature had long, dark hair and thick, long limbs. The Ogre halted and sniffed the air. She cursed her approaching heat, preparing to shift into wolf.
    But the Ogre ducked beneath a thick western hemlock tree. It emerged as a much shorter Skin, wearing black leather pants, a black jacket and thick, black boots. The Ogre now had rugged but slightly handsome features, yet looked tough, a guy you did not want to mess with.
    Hellhounds. Arianna wanted to laugh. She recognized one of the bikers from Spuds. It made no sense. If the Ogres were here because her pheromones drew them, why hadn’t they attacked her? And why was this one uninterested?
    Ogres aren’t supposed to shapeshift . The books her friend Beth had loaned her lacked many details.
    The creature continued down the mountain. When it was out of sight, Arianna resumed her hike.
    Some time later, she entered a clearing offering a pristine view of the valley. Arianna searched a rock outcropping and found a candy bar wrapper. Inhaling it, she caught the boy’s scent.
    “Good job,” she murmured.
    Settling onto a flat boulder, Arianna broke out an energy bar from her pack and munched between sips from her water bottle.
    A deep howl cut through the air.
    Her heart stilled. She stashed the wrapping, hid her pack and shifted into wolf.
    A large gray timber wolf entered the clearing, but she didn’t recognize his scent. Arianna’s heart pounded hard. She tried to quell her fear, but her wolf was too animalistic. Baring her teeth