Revelations
Brighton Wolves #1
By Samantha Hoffman
© 2016 by Samantha Hoffman.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permissions of the author.
Other Books by Samantha Hoffman:
The Arena Wars (Arena Wars #1)
War of Hearts (Arena Wars #2)
Consumed By War (Arena Wars #3)
Zombie Island (Zombie Apocalypse #1)
Zombie Country (Zombie Apocalypse #2)
Zombie World (Zombie Apocalypse #3)
Tales of Terror from Survivors (Zombie Apocalypse #3.5)
The Awakening (Daray Hall #1)
The Protector (Daray Hall #2)
Dark Secrets (Dark Heritage #1)
Dark Revenge (Dark Heritage #2)
Dark Possession (Dark Heritage #3)
Revelations (Brighton Wolves #1)
Coming Soon: Resolutions (Brighton Wolves #2)
Find me on facebook to keep up to date on what I’ll be working on next.
Prologue
Ginevra Grady walked down the darkened road, hurrying to make it home before she was missed for dinner. White, wispy fog rolled in through the trees, making it impossible to see the road beneath her feet. She knew it was there; she had walked this stretch of road a thousand times before and she knew the path by heart. But as the fog level continued to rise and the moon rose higher over the tree tops, Ginny had to stop and look around, wondering if this could possibly be the same wooded area outside her home that she had played in as a child.
Ginny wasn’t sure what was so different about tonight, but all she knew was these woods didn’t feel safe. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and as she rubbed her arms up and down in an attempt to fight off the bumps, she wished she had worn more sensible shoes so she could run the remaining quarter of a mile home. She looked down at the strapped wedges on her feet and sighed. Wearing whatever was in at the moment normally left her feeling confident and untouchable, but tonight she only felt vulnerable.
Somewhere off to her side, a branch snapped, and Ginny whipped around. She narrowed her eyes, searching the darkness for whatever had moved out there in the woods. She hoped it was an animal just passing through but there was some part of her that was worried it was more than an owl or a deer. Ginny held perfectly still, not even daring to breathe, and she surveyed the darkness for another minute. When nothing jumped out at her, she turned on her heel and continued walking. The end of her driveway was only a decent sprint away, but in her shoes, she would have to walk the rest of the distance.
Ginny only made it a few steps before she realized she wasn’t alone. She could hear a soft panting from somewhere behind her, and she spun around again, a scream building in the back of her throat.
A large brown wolf stood in the center of the deserted road. It was far larger than any wolf she had ever seen before, barrel-chested and probably standing up to her father’s hip. It stared at her with slanted brown-colored eyes while baring its fangs at her with a loud snarl. Ginny stood rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do. She could turn and try to run, but with her damn shoes, she knew she wouldn’t make it very far. She thought her best option might be to remain where she was and try to stare the animal down, so she narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders, hoping to appear larger than she actually was.
The wolf snarled again, and Ginny felt her courage begin to waver. What was she doing trying to face down a wild animal? It’s not a wild animal, though, she thought to herself grimly. He’s out here hunting tonight, and I’m the one he’s hunting!
Two smaller wolves—one brown and the other gray—darted out of the woods. They circled around her until they stood at her back, cutting off her path home. As she stared at the wolves, an intense feeling of fear rushed through her, cutting off all rational thought or reasoning. All Ginny knew was that she had to escape, and she had to do it now, before the unthinkable happened. She wasn’t going to wait around for them to decide what to do with her.
Ginny turned on her heels and ran, slipping in-between two thin trees and into the forest that she knew like the back of her hand. Her heels made it harder to run, but her fear pushed her to go as fast as she could. When she heard the crashing sounds of the wolves chasing after her, Ginny put on a burst of speed, trying to keep from stepping wrong and twisting her ankle.
I should have taken them off first, Ginny thought to herself as she took an abrupt turn, hoping to make her way back to the road now that the wolves weren’t blocking it.
Her wedged sole gave out beneath her and she fell to the ground with a cry of pain as her ankle twisted. She gritted her teeth against the pain and struggled to get to her feet. Before she could stand, something furry slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground and forcing the air from her lungs. She coughed and sputtered, trying to regain her breath.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into the dark brown-colored eyes of the large brown wolf. The end of its muzzle was inches from her face. It was so close that she could feel the warmth of its breath on her face, and for a split second, Ginny wondered if she was going to die here in the woods, so close to her home. She wondered if anybody would ever find her body or if they would assume she had just run away from home.
The brown wolf lunged, sinking its fangs directly into her left shoulder and breaking her out of her thoughts. Ginny screamed as the wolf’s teeth tore through the flesh and her blood spilled over the edges of the wound, drenching the sleeve of her thin pink sweater cardigan. As quickly as it happened, the wolf pulled away. It just stood there and watched Ginny as her shoulder bled profusely and her mind went completely blank as her body started going into shock.
Ginny could feel her strength fading fast, and she knew that if she had any hope of surviving, she had to do something and she had to do it soon. She spotted a rock out of the corner of her eye, and her hand slowly inched toward it. She locked eyes with the brown wolf, refusing to look away from him no matter what. Maybe if he could see how brave she was despite the immense pain she was feeling, he might leave her alone.
It was a foolish thought, given what she knew about him, but it was her only real hope. And she was going to cling to it as long as she could.
Her fingers closed around the softball sized rock and before she knew what she was doing, she swung her arm up and around. The rock connected solidly with the wolf’s head, and with a startled yelp, it backed away, shaking its head and pawing at its muzzle. Ginny didn’t waste the precious seconds her brave move had earned her, and she got to her feet and bolted, struggling to keep from collapsing to the forest floor once more.
She didn’t make it far before she realized the wolves were on her trail once more. Ginny could hear a truck engine nearby and knew that the road had to be close. If she could just get there, she could flag the truck down and she could make it safely home. With a sense of renewed hope, she ran as fast as she could, knowing that truck was her only chance.
Ginny stumbled through the darkness, tripping over tree roots, rocks, and her wedged sandals, but she made it to the side of the road just in time to see the beat up red pickup truck race by. Without stopping, she ran out into the middle of the road, screaming as loud as she could to get the driver’s attention. “Help me!” She waved her hands over her head trying to catch the driver’s eye, but the red truck didn’t stop for her.
The brown wolf and the smaller gray one stepped out into the road in front of her, and Ginny felt her heart plummet into her stomach as her only chance of
escape disappeared down the road. God, please don’t let this be it…
Ginny felt teeth dig into her ankle and she was yanked onto her side. Her head slammed into the ground hard enough to blur her vision, and before she could even brace herself or suck in a lungful of air to scream, the brown wolf dragged her into the trees. Her nails dug into the dirt and she kicked and thrashed, but it was no use. She was in pain, she was exhausted, and she had no more strength left to fight.
Not that it matters anyways…
Ginny gave up as the road disappeared behind her and the darkness of the forest swallowed her, the fog cloaking the wolves as they disappeared into the trees.