The Kennard-Porter household smelled vaguely of chlorine to any creature with an even moderately powerful nose, mixed in was a variety of herbal and floral scents. The smell of scented candles burned on many a romantic nights, of long dried paints and clay from Bette’s art collection. Plus the smell of the house’s occupants themselves. For any beast with a delicate nose, the house was a fascinating-and perhaps frightening- mix of scents. A veritable feast for the nostrils.

That night, the subtle scents were charged with a crisp, sweet smell. The promise of a very rare L.A. rain later in the evening. It’d been an unusually wet September, with the rains coming more and more frequently. Many blamed global warming, even though most weren’t even sure if the rainstorms were a symptom of it. It was simply the topic on everyone’s mind this week, and nobody wanted to fall out of fashion with the gossip. Tina walked up the driveway with her arms full of groceries, fumbling with her keys as she did so. A late night trip to the supermarket after Bette had berated her for forgetting to get rosemary and milk. They usually shopped together but Bette had been busy at work. Tina had been preoccupied with family matters. It had been a rough month.

Actually, it’d been a rough year.

Tina’s nostrils flared, enjoying the rain soaked atmosphere mixed with the delicious scent of rosemary. Plus she had picked up a few extra items just in case. Lately she’d found that "just in case" had become her motto. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. Most people dismissed it as a dog or a coyote but sensitive ears cold pick up the differences. Tina smiled though, recognizing the voice and even the tone. Someone was having a good night.

A pair of glowing golden eyes watched her hungrily from the underbrush. Most animals who hunted by nighttime had eyes which reflected light, giving off the illusion that their eyes were glowing but not these. No, the golden brown-flecked irises seemed to give off their own golden illumination as though the eyes themselves were lit by some internal flame.

Tina was being stalked by a supernatural beast that ancient man called a monster in his terror. Perhaps it was not an ill fitting label, for what was a monster but a predator that defied all natural laws? With agility, swiftness and stealth no natural wolf could ever dream of the beast slid from its perch and darted across the driveway with supernatural speed, becoming a vaguely human shaped blur as it crossed behind Tina and disappeared around a corner of the house. Tina turned, but to slow. By the time she even realized she had sensed something the creature had already leapt into her backyard.