May 2024 WipWordSearch Excerpts Week 2

He jerked away from Artemis’ inspection, pulling his hand from sight. It was too late. She’d already seen the matching wounds on his #neck.

The little color left in Artemis’ face drained.

All the hard work he’d put into getting here. All the effort he’d spent to become a respected surgeon. It was all wasted if he couldn’t control his inhuman, bloodthirsty #nature.

Ironically, his sense of hearing was so acute it transformed all of the sound into a backdrop of white noise—a confusing, static hiss he tried to force out of his mind. The #noise and heightened vision made his head throb.

Penny took her cup gratefully before standing and serving herself a slice of the cake. “And is there any particular reason we #need to be watching out for our chakras?”

Thomas passed the porch and patch of garden gnomes and followed a #narrow cement path to the left and rounded the corner to a flight of stairs. His shoes clunked on the rusted steps as he descended down to Artemis’ studio apartment.

Thomas reminded himself to #nod, dread and excitement sending jitters through his hands as he washed them. As his anticipation took control, he envisioned exaggerated images of blood dripping from lacerations and abrasions beyond the sealed doors.

That was the most frustrating part: the uncertainty. More than anything he wanted to be sure whether he was going #nuts or actually a vampire.

At the first heavy knock, Clara threw open the door and hugged Sean. His #neck smelled human, a musty flesh scent mixed with salt and oils, but the vampire stench clung to his hoodie and backpack.

The greatest perk a werewolf had was its sense of smell. They could smell a being’s #nature, so they always knew if someone was human, werewolf, vampire, or something completely different.

A strangled #noise caught in her throat as she locked her jaw down, refusing to give into her reflexive need to scream her rage and frustration to the sky. She needed to curse. She needed to yell until her voice was hoarse and broken from the weight of her heartbreak.

The wolf inside howled with #need and approval, wanting to be let loose again.

She would never be able to derail the vampire’s plans, and the #narrow window she had until someone realized what she was threatened to snap shut any second.

However, Benjamin knew her well, and had already pulled out his pocket knife and handed it to her. With a #nod of thanks, Clara twisted a lock of her black hair from her ponytail and, with a quick slash, cut it free.

That little suspicion was driving Clara nearly sick with worry, almost as much as her brother’s pesky presence was driving her #nuts.