Prologue
I am lying on the kitchen floor, gasping for breath that won’t come. I can hear the growls and snarling from the other room amidst the furniture breaking and glass shattering. My whole body is trembling so violently I can’t move beyond the curled fetal position I’m in next to the floating island.
I need a knife! I need something to protect myself until my husband comes home. I don’t know how these wild animals managed to get inside, but they were absolutely destroying my formal dining room.
Where my phone lay on the table with my untouched dinner I slaved over. Out of reach.
Our house sat far back from the road and our nearest neighbor was a quarter of a mile away. There was no way anyone would hear me if I screamed. Literally.
With deep breaths, I found my sense of coordination firmly attached to my will to live. I managed to raise up to my knees on the cold tile floor. I braced my hands against the island as I slowly raised my head to peak over.
The double French doors leading into the dining area were crooked and completely destroyed. I couldn’t see anything clearly beyond the piles of rubble that used to be my dining table.
That’s when I realized I suddenly couldn’t hear anything, either. In that moment, I noticed that the house had gone completely silent around me.
With trembling but determined hands, I reached up and yanked the entire butcher block towards me, bringing it down to the floor next to me in one swift motion.
I grabbed the two largest knives, one in each hand, before slowly creeping around the island. If I could just get to the dining room, I could get my phone and call the police.
Or animal control.
Fucking anyone would do at this point.
I was really kicking myself right now for disconnecting the landline last year since we didn’t use it anymore.
The yard outside was dark, indicating the late hour. Calvin should have been home by now; I don’t understand what has been keeping him at the office so long lately. I know it’s past nine in the evening, so what could he possibly be doing?
I didn’t want to let my brain run away with those kinds of thoughts. Focus. I have to focus. There are two rabid dogs in my house that could spring out and shred me to pieces at any moment. I have to get to my phone and hide in a better, more secured place.
I made it across the kitchen floor without making a sound as I strained my ears for any noise coming from the other room. But all was still silent. Slowly, very slowly, I poked my head around the broken doors, careful not to step on the glass.
I couldn’t stop the scream that bubbled up in my chest. The entire room was obliterated, like someone had unleashed a tornado just inside this one room before scooping it back up and leaving again.
The large picture window was nothing more than a gaping hole in the side of my house. I could feel the cold breeze and smell the salt in the air.
I tentatively moved the larger shards of glass, trying to stay as quiet as I could. My feet were bare and unharmed, for now. I wasn’t eager to change that. But as soon as I had managed a step inside, I froze in place.
I hadn’t immediately noticed the large pile of black fur as it twitched and let out a low growl, ending in a high-pitched whimper of pain. A scream lodged uncomfortably in my throat. My muscles locked into place, too tense to move. Afraid that any second, the massive animal would wake.
I backed away as slowly as I had approached. The glint of something shiny hanging by the door caught my eye and I glanced over to see the keys to my SUV hanging next to the door to the garage. On the other side of the room.
Inspiration struck, and I felt so stupid for not thinking of it sooner. If I could get to my car and turn it on, my phone would automatically connect to the speakers, and I could make the call.
It felt like miles away. How was I ever going to get all the way over there without waking the beast or making a sound? I felt so helpless and alone in that moment, I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face, smearing my makeup.
I’m sure I looked like a drowned raccoon at the moment, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The beast stirred again, and another one appeared next to it, growling and panting. I watched with wide-eyed horror as the gray monster loomed over the black one for a moment before it lunged.
The black dog had no chance. It was on the cusp of death, and the gray one came back to finish the job. Blood flew from his savage bites as the gray dog tore the black dog apart. Literally.
My breath hitched painfully in my chest.
I have to move.
I need to move.
Now.
I scrambled back like a crab, using my knuckles for balance as I gripped the knives with every ounce of strength I had. One blade scraped loudly against the Italian tile floor, drawing the gray dog’s attention to me.
His head snapped up toward the sound and its glowing golden eyes met mine. They were actually glowing! I blinked, thinking I was imagining it. Maybe some kind of fear-induced hallucination?
I bolted, not waiting to see if it would catch up with me. I jumped to my feet, snatched the keys from their hook and tried to slam the door behind me as fast as I could.
But I wasn’t fast enough.
The snout made it through before I managed to get the door latched. It barked and snarled and growled ferociously at me. My strength was no match and in no time at all, my arms gave way sending me flying back on my ass.
It wedged its way through the crack head-first. In one leap, the gray beast was looming over me as I lay shaking on the floor of my garage.
His eyes were definitely glowing; there was no denying it when its face was so close I could feel it’s hot rancid breath on my chest. My heart was beating so fast, I was sure it would fly right out of my chest.
Something truly unbelievable happened. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The sound of bones snapping and breaking filled the air around me, replacing the snarls and growls. My pulse pounded painfully in my ears and I blinked rapidly.
Somehow, I have no idea how, in the space of a handful of heartbeats my husband of two years appeared kneeling in front of me in place of the massive beast.
I looked left and right, trying to figure out where it went. “Calvin,” I whisper-screamed. “We have to run. There’s a wolf-”
“The wolf is gone,” he cooed softly, brushing my wild tangles out of my eyes. “It’s okay now. You’re safe. Shh.”
“No!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet. “I saw it! I don’t know where it went, but we have to run! Now!” I swung my arm wildly, not realizing that I was still holding the knife until he jerked back out of my striking zone.
My brain finally caught up with what my eyes were seeing in front of me, and my brows furrowed in confusion.
“Calvin,” I said suddenly. “Why are you naked?”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said gently, brushing my question off and reaching out to hold me again. His hands were so warm, I could feel the heat seeping into my skin through the delicate fabric of my silk nightgown.
“Don’t worry about it?” I screeched, pushing back enough to see his face. “Why are you coming home in the middle of the night naked, Calvin? Where have you been?”
The wild animals were all but forgotten at this point. It wasn’t like my husband to be this late getting home, much less sans clothes.
“Just come back inside so we can talk about this,” he tried to reach for me again to usher me inside. The skin around his eyes was tight with stress, contradicting his smooth calm voice.
“No, we can’t go back in there! We have to call the police,” I started but he cut me off with an angry sound I’d never heard him make before.
I was so close to him, I could feel the loud sound vibrate throughout his whole body. My head snapped to his face, and that’s when I saw it.
His eyes were no longer brown. They were glowing gold. Just like the gray dog.
