Title: Ravenous

Author: LadyNRA

Rating: PG

Spoilers: None that fans wouldn't know already

Characters: Artie, Pete and Myka

Genre: Drama (more or less)

Disclaimer: The producers and Syfy may own it but I'm taking the time to play with the characters (especially Artie) for a little while.

Summary: Pete and Myka are sent on a mission to discover why wild animals are attacking city dwellers.

Author's Note: I started this back around Thanksgiving and, while it wrote itself out fairly quickly I have been lax about getting it up here. I sincerely want to thank my beta reader who knows the show and characters. The corrections and suggestions were few but definitely on the money and I want to say THANKS!!

RAVENOUS

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Chapter 1

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Hunger, ravenous and pervasive, tore through the gut of the animal, driving him relentlessly onward. Pink tongue lolling, he panted as he loped across the terrain, over cool, hard surfaces that bruised his pads and made weary legs ache. Moonlight dappled his fur, slate gray and shining silver. Yellow eyes burned in the darkness with a feverish light, growing more intense with each hungry moment.

He ran between high stone edifices, his keen ears bombarded by a cacophony of sounds he could barely sort out. Sensitive nostrils flared widely as he detected the faint smell of food not too far in the distance. He pushed powerful haunches harder, breaking into a fast gallop. Rounding a corner, he slid to a halt. The rough asphalt under his skinned pads did nothing to distract his focus. Crouching slightly, he moved forward, silently, a stealthy gray and silver shadow merging with reflections in storefront windows. He paused by garbage pails that smelled good but not nearly as enticing as the prey ahead. Instinct nearly made him want to whine at the temptations around him but he had to choose and he did so in an instant.

Ahead and just to the left, a strange mound grew up out of the ground. Leaning against it were two lean, lanky figures bearing the distinct scent of a viable food source. He dropped to a crouch, slinking closer, barely daring to breathe lest it attract the attention of the two creatures before him. Drool started to flow in tiny rivulets from strong jaws lined with sharp teeth. He suppressed the urge to utter a low growl while he edged closer to study his quarry.

One was a female, obviously in estrus, her peculiar and distinct odor sinking deep into his nostrils. He whuffed at it, the scent of blood exciting him. The male was a different story, his stink was earthy, mixed with the odor of the deep forest, pine trees and cedar. Strong, enticing, beckoning. The knot in his stomach twisted with a painful wrench. Hungry…so very hungry. The urge to feed was so powerful that he almost tossed caution to the wind. But the hunting instincts of his species won out and he crept stealthily onward until he was almost within striking distance.

The male and the female before him were so entwined it would have been hard to visually tell them apart in the dark, at least to members of their own species, but his night vision was so much better than that of these pathetic creatures. He saw them clearly. Pheromones flowed from one to the other, almost palpable, weaving a nearly visual net between them. The male was caressing the female, who moaned with the pleasure of it. Both were totally unaware of their visitor.

A tiny growl slithered between snarling teeth. Thigh muscles bunched and suddenly uncoiled, propelling him in the direction of his unwary dinner.

It was by mere circumstance that the female turned his way just as he sprang off the pavement. The truth was that he didn't much care which one he caught. Oppressive need boiled in his blood and either of them would have sufficed to assuage the flaming hunger in his belly.

The male, not surprisingly, reacted first as he felt her tense. He backed away from the hard object he'd previously pinned the female against. She looked at him then, her eyes growing wide in panic, her mouth opening into an enormous "O", then gasped like a goldfish out of water. Her scream of pure unadulterated terror sliced through the night air. She whirled, grabbed something on the 'rock' in the road and yanked it back. A panel opened and she jumped inside, slamming the panel shut behind her. There was a loud click as something inside moved.

The male's scent of fear pervaded the whole area, heightening after having heard the noise from inside the hollow rock. He bolted for the panel and tried to yank it open but it wouldn't yield to his efforts. With a strangled cry, he turned to face his attacker, staring at the enormous wolf padding slowly toward him. Wicked teeth grinned at him. Gold eyes flamed with its rapacious need. Like most prey, the male had not bolted. Instead he had chosen to freeze and this made the wolf's job so very easy.

Silently, he jumped on the male, rending and tearing, first on the arm thrown up in defense and then at the throat. He felt his teeth slide into the warm pulsing flesh, felt the fresh blood slide down his parched throat. And all the while, the female screamed from a position of relative safety while he fed on the still quivering carcass.