Read Online Sinful Instincts (Woodland Creek) by J. D. Hollyfield, Woodland Creek - Free Book Online Page B

sources, which allowed me to stay on his trail. He couldn’t keep his urges under control, so it was easier to track him. His killings brought me here to Woodland Creek.”
    Hmm... So, we’re dealing with a psychotic serial killer. Got it. “Okay. So, I get that you both are shifters.” Not really. “Are you also searching for immortality? Is that what this is about?”
    He places his finger over my lips until I get his hint and stop talking. “As I said, I was born into this life. I didn’t choose it. I was the result of a rape. My mother was human. My father, if that is what you would call him, was a full-bred leopard shifter. My mother chose to keep me, and here I am. I am part human, as you, and my animal inside is leopard. But to answer your question, no. I have no interest in immortality.”
    Fair enough. Taking the conversation down a notch, I ask a basic question, “So, like, what do you do? I mean, I saw what you do , but how? Or why? Or when ?” I accentuate the ‘when’. Curiosity—it’s a guilty pleasure.
    His hardness lifts a bit as his demeanor shifts into a more playful mode. “I can shift at any time, but choose to only transform at night. I do not wish to expose who I am. Anger, lust, fear, those are core emotions which trigger me to shift. I tried to fight it when I was young, but that caused me to lose a lot— lose Gabriella. So now, I embrace it. When I change, it’s to hunt and destroy. I won’t harm anyone for fun. I harm only for revenge.”
    Yep, that last part along with the whole I killed my dad part causes me to scoot a little bit farther away from him on the couch . I definitely shouldn’t have made that girlfriend comment .
    “I won’t hurt you. I’ve already told you this.”
    “But how do I know that?” I question warily.
    “Because I’ve already told you. I am not here to hurt you, Emma. I want what he took from me and then my revenge. That is all. And none of that has to do with you.”
    “Okay,” I reply hesitantly. “So, last night. He called you his brother. Why was that?”
    “Because I am. We share DNA. And he finds sport in reminding me who my father was. A way to taunt me for the partial blood I have flowing through my body. Blood that, on a daily basis, I wish I could expel. And if not for that, the reminder of what he was able to take away from me.”
    “And does he feel he will ever get caught? Or pay for what he’s done?” I ask curiously.
    “He believes he won’t. I think otherwise.”
    Talk about holding a grudge. “So, you’ve spent the last five years of your life chasing your half-brother?”
    He nods.
    “Why? I mean, why not just let it go? Aren’t you the least bit over what he did? I’m sure your girlfriend would want you to move on. And you said so yourself, you don’t even want to be immortal, so why waste all this time trying to find a spell of immortality?” I can’t imagine always living in grief and hatred.
    His reaction confirms he does not agree. Uh-oh. His playful banter gone, he replies, “Because of me, she isn’t here to have a say. So my condemnation is to live with that agony and guilt until I can find Zander and destroy whatever was on that scroll. The hatred will live within me until I make it right. Then possibly, I will live a peaceful life.”
    “Okay, but still…” I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here. “I just don’t understand why you don’t let it go. You keep mentioning this scroll. How is destroying it possibly going to fix what’s already been done?”
    “You wouldn’t understand. It’s not that simple.”
    “Well then, explain the un-simple parts. I mean, no one has the power to bring back a life.” Geez, dude.
    “There are details you do not need to know. He took someone very precious away from me. If that isn’t reason enough to end his life, then I’m sorry I cannot answer your question.”
    Yep, not good enough for me. “Yeah, well, if I am going to go all play the bait for you,