Once in a Blue Moon (Silver Society Book 7)

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

Feed.

     The single thought echoed inside his head over and over again, almost like a mantra. Feed. It wasn't so much a thought as a raw need building inside of him. He had denied it for too long. He had to give in.

     He smelled something in the air. Human. It would be so simple. He could sneak up on it, catch it by surprise, and pounce. It would never see him coming. He just had to be patient and wait for the exact right moment to strike.

     Feed. Feed now, his instincts demanded. The hunger was so severe. He was free and he intended to enjoy every moment of his time.

     The human was close. It stood beside one of the many weeping willow trees scattered throughout the park. It had stopped to rest. It was time.

      The leopard sprang into action. He ran toward the human and before it could react, he had pinned it to the ground. His teeth ripped into the flesh on its shoulder. Blood spilled into his mouth. He savored the taste before tearing into his prey's flesh again. Its screams were cut off abruptly as his teeth punctured its throat.

     The prey looked up at him with fear in its eyes. Silently, it begged him to stop. Finish it, he thought. Feed now and end its life.

      Some part of him wasn't ready to be done with things. He moved to the human's stomach, tearing it open and pulling its insides out. It was quite a feast. The beast was satisfied.

      Finally, with a lethal tug of intestine, he ended the human's life. He stopped to lick the blood off his face and paws before leaving the park in search of shelter for the night.

~*~

      Ruby Vasco had a daily routine of traveling to the Salem Willows and working on her art. She always found something beautiful and interesting to sketch there, and it helped her relax before heading to class at the local college.

     Ruby had grown up in Salem. She was a member of the local Episcopalian church. Her mother's side of the family could trace their lineage back to before the infamous witch trials of 1692. She was used to somewhat unusual rumors flying around about witches and the battle between good and evil, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe any of them. That nonsense didn't exist. Salem was a peaceful town with very little violence and a lot of tourism.

      So when Ruby arrived at the Salem Willows that December morning, she was stunned to discover what was clearly a vicious and brutal crime scene. At first, she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking at. Lying next to one of the trees the park was named for was a large mass. There was blood everywhere, and things that definitely didn't belong on the outside of a human body were clearly visible. The mass was a young girl with long red hair and blue eyes that stared back at Ruby in horror.

      Ruby did the only sensible thing to do in such a situation. She called the police, explained she had stumbled across a dead body, hung up, and promptly began screaming.

~*~

      Shooter Berkley, Tammy Meadows, and Skip and Susie Burke arrived at the Salem Willows shortly after the "normal" police did. The traditional Salem Police knew a supernatural crime when they saw one and hadn't hesitated to call in the members of Salem's Supernatural Phenomenon Investigational Unit upon seeing the remains of the young girl in the park.

     Ruby Vasco was still screaming when they arrived. "Holy crap," Shooter said. "Is that who I think it is?"

      "There's no way her luck is that bad," Tammy replied.