Page 9 of Squatch Out!
What the hell is that?
The sound comes again, and the hair down the back of my neck stands up. It sounds like…something roaring?It’s nothing like any of the usual animal sounds I’m used to, and it seems to be coming from somewhere down the mountain.
I mute the show and set my dinner aside as I rock forward, straining my ears as another growling screech cuts through the quiet.
What is that?My sensitive hearing picks out what could be a cougar’s sharp yelp but with undertones from a grizzly bear’s snarl. It’s definitely not something natural, more like something that’s been tampered with and…digitized? Whatever it is, it’s got my curiosity triggered, and I kick the footrest out of my way.
The longer I listen, it becomes clear it’s on a loop. Then realization hits me.
Shit,the god-awful howling is meant to sound like asasq’etsin distress.
My brother and I share a very rare,verysecret, genetic mutation. It’s a gene that only a very small number of families throughout the world share and we’re one of a handful of families along the West Coast. Few people know anything about it since most wouldn’t believe us if we told them.
Owen and I aresasq’ets. More commonly known assasquatch. Or simply squatch.
After pushing myself out of my chair, I’m out the door and heading down the mountain toward whoever is responsible for the recording. My mind is churning as I prepare myself for a confrontation with a group of bigfoot hunters. We get them on occasion, and after last year's “sighting,” where my brother had to chase a hiker out of restricted tribal land, I’m growing more certain that’s what I’m going to find.
The howls grow louder as I run down the side of the mountain, realizing they are coming from Windy Ridge, a popular campsite.
The “hunters” tend to be the most obnoxious campers. They have something to prove and come up with the strangest means to get the proof they are seeking. Like thinking they can lure us from the forest with the equivalent of a deer call.
More often, theproofthey actually get is nothing, and we don’t have to do anything. Occasionally, a group gets lucky, though. Like the hiker last year. Lucky for us, most people don’t believe that sasquatch actually exist, so we’re able to spin most stories away from the truth.
When the howling suddenly cuts off, I slow my strides and come to a full stop just inside the tree line. Now that I know what the sound is, and where it’s coming from, I should justleave them be. They are secluded enough out here that they aren’t bothering anyone. Since Owen and I are the onlysasq’etsup here, I’ll just give him a heads-up to be careful around Windy Ridge and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t cause trouble for other campers.
I’m about to turn around and head back up the mountain when the wind shifts and I’m punched in the face by the sweetest aroma. It goes straight to my head, and I greedily drag in more of the heady scent until it’s filling my senses with notes of soft female and wildflower honey.
This woman’s scent is as unexpected as it is arousing, and suddenly my clothing is gone, ripped to shreds from the sudden transformation as I go from human to squatch. My cock extrudes from its protective sheath to swing ahead of me as I rush through the trees toward the campsite.
My mind screams for my squatch tostop,but I’m half drunk on her pheromones as I stride into the open. Four pairs of eyes turn to stare at me, but I hardly notice them because all my focus is on the small female backing away from me. I growl softly as I stalk toward her, caught up in my instincts rather than the rational side that spews warnings as I drag more of her potent fragrance over my sensitive olfactory senses.
I’m no longer in control of my body.
She is my entire focus as my powerful legs eat up the distance between us.
Two of the men she’s with come at me, trying to protect her, but I bat them away as if they were insects. Weak. They fall away far too easily, unworthy of being anywhere near this woman.
With my cock jutting out in front of me, leaking pre-cum from the tip like a faucet, I reach for her.
Her golden-brown eyes are wide as she stares at my straining erection. A small pink tongue moistens her lips, and her slender throat works when she swallows. She drags her eyes up to searchmy face. For an instant, I see a flash of curiosity before her fear takes over and she spins around to flee.
But I’m faster.
Her scream is soft and musical as my hands circle her tiny waist. I shush her to let her know I would never hurt her, but she fights me. Fists and feet land harmless blows against my legs and chest as I lift her up and toss her over my shoulder. That nagging voice in my head is begging me to put her down, but the way her scent fills my nose with every breath has me under a spell as I turn back to the forest.
The two men have regrouped and come at me again, trying to take their woman back, but she’smine. I easily sidestep them, but they follow. My strides are much longer, and my powerful body is built for these woods, which makes it easy to leave them behind once I reach the trees.
My feet eat up the steep mountain terrain as the woman over my shoulder continues to scream and fight. Hiking her up higher on my shoulder, I offer more soft sounds, hoping to calm her. When that doesn’t work, I clap a large hand over her ample denim-covered backside, groaning at how the stretchy material hugs her curves. Her sweet scent is even more potent this close to my nose, and it muddles the rational thoughts trying to break through my thick head.
“Hey!” she squeaks, beating on my back and twisting around on my shoulder. “Get your hands off me!”
I give her round bottom another squeeze and growl a warning for her to be still, enjoying the way her soft cheek feels under my palm. A shudder runs through me, and my cock pulses, dripping more pre-cum onto my thighs.
I’ve left the campsite far behind us when the nagging voice in the back of my mind starts up again.
What are you doing? Do you have any idea how many laws you just broke? Not just tribal laws, either. Kidnapping is a felony!
I pause. I’ve never felt this splintered before, like there are two separate beings in my body. I’ve always been Sean—whether I’m human or squatch. But suddenly I have this whole other instinct that has taken control.
