Sedona Scandal - Lisa Kessler

CHAPTER 1

Wendy

I hated the full moon. It didn’t change what was about to happen, though. I glanced up at the Technicolor sky and pushed my legs to move faster. Sweat stung my eyes as I made my way to the top of Lookout Mountain. The view of Phoenix was spectacular, and in the heat of summer it would be deserted.

I had to think about things like that now that I was a werewolf.

Some days I wished the wolf had just killed me.

By the time I crested the mountain, my first canteen was nearly empty. Good thing I had brought a backup. After the shift, I would be famished and parched. I took off my backpack and dropped it onto the rocky ground at my feet. Lookout Mountain was composed of ancient volcanos, making the rocky terrain tricky for hikers. In the dark, the mountain peak became even more treacherous, killing more than a few people over the years.

The danger kept it deserted at night and made it the perfect place for me to shift without being seen. But with any luck, I wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer. Deidra Harlow promised me a cure was on the horizon.

Growing doubts gnawed at my insides. She’d been making me that same promise for months. Just over three years had passed since the night two massive wolves cornered me and my brother. One attacked us, while the other stayed back. Maybe a lookout. I’d probably never know for sure.

One bite from a rabid wolf had ruined my life, and hundreds of blood samples and tests later, I was still spending full moon nights alone on this mountain.

So damned alone.

How much longer could I keep living like this?

A gust of hot wind pulled at my ponytail. My long blond hair obstructed my view of the sunset as I unzipped my pack. My monthly tradition had evolved over months of trial and error. After being bitten, one of the werewolves shifted back. I remembered looking way up, but somehow, his face…I couldn’t remember. Maybe the shock had stolen that memory, but his instructions were burned into my consciousness. Stay away from humans during the full moon, and never come back to the Sedona.

I discovered the rest on my own.

I took my cell phone out and opened my e-mail.

Let’s talk.

Chandler Williams

CBS Phoenix

Chandler Williams was the co-anchor of the evening news. I’d been watching him for weeks as I weighed my options. If I decided to give him my story, to tell the world werewolves were real, my hope was that the government would take notice and help me find a cure. Chandler was a well-respected journalist. People would listen if he reported my situation.

I stared at the email a second longer. This was my last chance to back away and keep hiding. Was I ready to talk? I lifted my gaze to the painted desert below, surprised to find tears rising in my eyes. If I took this step, there would be no turning back. Once I went to the press, my life would never be the same. I could kiss the Cain Foundation goodbye and the final link to my parents and my brother would be destroyed. Not to mention the world would know werewolves were real, that I was a werewolf.

Did I care? If Deidra and all her researchers at Evolution Defense couldn’t unravel the mystery of the new mutation in my DNA, maybe the scientists at the Pentagon could. This might be my only chance at a cure. And if I went to the press first, the government wouldn’t be able to eliminate me and erase the problem. Too many people would know for them to sweep me under the rug.

But on the other hand, what good would a cure be if my life was ruined?

I swiped a tear from my cheek, tipping my attention back to my phone. My life had been ruined the second a giant wolf bit my brother and me. The wolf took Brock and left me behind. After a year of private investigators coming up empty, I gave up searching for him and began mourning him instead. Grief was something I understood. Intimately.

This new existence, living in the shadows, this wasn’t a life. I had nothing more to lose.

Before I could change my mind, my thumbs flew across the digital keyboard.

Tomorrow night after the evening news. Symphony Hall. A ticket will be waiting under your name at will call.

Wendy

Since Brock’s disappearance, I had taken the reins