CHAPTER NINETEEN
STARK NAKED, LIN PEERED at the development across the stream, the latest one to encroach on her forest, and shivered, more a gentle tremble of anticipation than a shudder of cold. She twitched and half-turned as a howl rose behind her, answered by another – voices she recognized but didn't know. Unwelcome creatures had started stalking her woods, sometimes man, sometimes beast, all disturbing her unrest. She scanned the houses, noting which ones had lights on, where people were more likely to be home. Despite the cold, the little creek still ran. She picked up a handful of snow and scrubbed her face, another handful to run over her arms, then her legs, her torso. She sighed. She'd forgotten how glorious it was to be clean. She'd left her filthy forest clothes behind.
Twi
