Republished by Nef House Publishing on February 1, 2026.
Sahala continued to walk forward, relentlessly. Beads of blood sprang up on her muzzle, staining her beautiful fur. I could hear Ben screaming as red lines appeared across her face, hear Dr. Warner banging against the gates, but I could only watch as she strained with a strength I didn’t know she had to get to Luka…
Her muzzle began to fall away like Parmesan in the grater. Her dead eyes never left Luka’s. He was cowering, shaking violently at the back of his enclosure, buried underneath a soft bed of straw. She pushed, hitting the bones in her nose, her face, teeth chipping and flying away. I dimly felt a fang embed itself in the side of my hand.
After Dark on Amazon
Kristi Buckel Writes 