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    Zoology 101
    Zoology 101
    Zoology 101
    Ebook84 pages1 hour

    Zoology 101

    By Patti Larsen

    ()

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    About this ebook

    When the new zookeeper of a private facility is found dead, Gerri is forced to face who—and what—she really is. But, will she turn her back on her bheast, or finally accept the help it’s been offering her all along?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPatti Larsen
    Release dateSep 18, 2014
    ISBN9781927464779
    Zoology 101
    Author

    Patti Larsen

    About me, huh? Well, my official bio reads like this: Patti Larsen is a multiple award-winning author with a passion for the voices in her head. But that sounds so freaking formal, doesn’t it? I’m a storyteller who hears character's demands so loudly I have to write them down. I love the idea of sports even though sports hate me. I’ve dabbled in everything from improv theater to film making and writing TV shows, singing in an all girl band to running my own hair salon.But always, always, writing books calls me home.I’ve had my sights set on world literary domination for a while now. Which means getting my books out there, to you, my darling readers. It’s the coolest thing ever, this job of mine, being able to tell stories I love, only to see them all shiny and happy in your hands... thank you for reading.As for the rest of it, I’m short (permanent), slightly round (changeable) and blonde (for ever and ever). I love to talk one on one about the deepest topics and can’t seem to stop seeing the big picture. I happily live on Prince Edward Island, Canada, home to Anne of Green Gables and the most beautiful red beaches in the world, with my pug overlord and overlady, six lazy cats and Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn.

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      Book preview

      Zoology 101 - Patti Larsen

      Zoology 101

      The Nightshade Cases: Book Nine

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright 2014 by Patti Larsen

      Find out more about Patti Larsen at http://www.pattilarsen.com/home

      ***

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Edited by Annetta Ribken www.wordwebbing.com

      Proofed by Jessica Bufkin

      ***

      Chapter One

      Her feet moved on their own, legs pumping. The need for flight took over everything in her subconscious though her mind struggled to regain control. She fled, darkness devouring her. She stumbled into trees and underbrush, toes catching on roots and debris. Somehow, she kept moving, kept running.

      Somehow.

      The snarling only made things worse, feeding her flight response when she should have been able to regain control. She looked back over her shoulder. The whites of her eyes lit by the setting moon, mouth gaping, stitch in her side crippling her. And missed the fallen log that took her at the shins.

      She crashed to the ground, face first, the agonizing crack of bone stealing her ability to scream. Her hands barely raised in time to catch her as she hurtled forward over the rotting deadfall. Something sharp gouged her cheek, tore a scream from her at last. Hot wetness flooded from the wound. Moonlight reflected on the rectangle that flew from her pocket and stuttered to a halt under a pile of leaves, just out of reach. Panting, meeping in terror, she scrambled toward it. Fingers twitching, hands trying to retrieve the cell phone, another scream tore from her chest as the shattered bone of her right leg ground against the surface of her flesh.

      She rolled over on her side, tears blurring her vision. Another growl punctured her panic, driving her backward. Her one useful foot pushed her through the leaves, hands scrabbling for purchase.

      A shadow detached from the dark and lunged toward her. It blocked what little light the moon offered. With one final, Herculean effort, she pushed out with her foot, shoved hard with both hands as her attacker dove forward, just out of reach.

      And felt the world give way beneath her.

      One last scream. One last howl into the night.

      Her cell phone rang. And rang. And rang.

      ***

      Chapter Two

      For fuck’s sake. Gerri half turned, glanced down and to her left, grinning at the sight of her asshole partner staring at the sole of his expensive leather shoe. A sole coated in what looked like dog shit. He shook his foot with a snarl, swiping at the halo of mosquitoes hovering around him, landing from time to time, tiny welts already dotting the back of his neck and the arch of one cheek. I fucking hate fucking nature.

      Looks like the feeling is mutual. Gerri left him to gripe, her cowboy boots eating up the ground in long strides, gripping easily through the brambles and fallen branches of the woods. Jackson Pierce might have an issue with the great outdoors, but Gerri lived for it.

      In fact, she realized as she left the car behind on the highway and followed the markers into the forest, she’d been missing out on some spectacular opportunities to go hiking, apparently. She had no idea this amazing park even existed. The only one she’d been in was puny, city central. The one she didn’t even want to jog through. Not when her run would take her past the artificial lake where the green, scaled creature she couldn’t get out of her head dragged her first partner’s dead body into the water.

      But this place… this felt like real nature, tall growth of trees towering above, the scent of earth and fresh air washing over her, through her, making her smile despite her destination. Definite hike in order. ASAP.

      As it was, she had to walk about five minutes deep into the brush until she found the bottom of the ravine, the faint hum of water splashing alerting her she was almost there moments before she broke through the tree line. The white-outfitted forms of the CSI team moved around like ghosts in the low light. The sun’s rays made it through the canopy in patches that danced and flowed like a river of light, matching the sparkle of the water gushing past as the narrow stream gurgled its happy way over the rocks.

      Hard not to be in a great mood out here. Even at the sight of Dr. Rachel Hunter bent over a body, one hand pushing back at her long, dark ponytail, swatting at the same kind of bugs giving Jackson a hard time.

      Funny, they seemed to ignore Gerri.

      Gerri’s gaze swept the scene, taking in the pair of young hikers in designer gear talking with Officer Candace Mills and her partner, Blake Purcell. A grisly discovery for a Sunday morning. Gerri wondered if they’d ever pull out their brand-new hiking boots ever again.

      As she turned to change direction, to join Mills and have a chat with the pair, Gerri’s gut growled. Without her consent, her instincts pulled her to an abrupt halt, her head going up, nostrils expanding. That scent. What was that smell?

      It clung to the back of her throat with a musky depth she couldn’t ignore, teased the inside of her nose, made her blood hum, her body tense and vibrate slightly in response. She’d never smelled anything like it. A devouring, encompassing aroma she couldn’t get enough of.

      The bheast inside her, the paranormal creature she shared her life with, seemed to know. But, if that was true, it

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