season. Franco knew, with a certainty born of too many wildlife documentaries, that this storm would be the last. After it p

anna. Franco knew they couldn't stay in the mound forever. The cub

of distant thunder masked the sound of their paws on the damp earth. He spotted a lone s

ide in a thicket, their small bod

blur of focused intent. The poun

s over to eat when two massive sh

for hours in the field, instantly assigned them labels. The bigger one-broad-shouldered, aggressive, the kind that would throw the first punch in a bar fight-he ment

ith the arrogant gr

nd swaggered forward, making

a hiss tearing from his throat. But he knew it

at the kill. He was looking at the th

ugh Franco. Losing the meal was one t

ve paw swiping through

him, something inside Franco snapped. A primal, unknown po

en light erupte

ed with an awful, grinding sound. Fur reced

brain trying to process what he was seeing. Where the cheetah had be

than his photographer's body, but undeniably

k or the mortifying awkwardness of his

und in powerful strides. He scooped up Sean with his left arm and

ly wrong, so contrary to every law of nature they had ever known, th

e the opportunity.

d sluicing over his bare skin. He ran, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm agai

n't know what that thing was, but it was running away w

the parched earth into treacherous, slick mud. Franco's bare feet slipped

She had seen a lot of strange things on the savanna-two-headed calves, elephants walking on their hind legs to reach the highest branches-but a naked ape ca

reath right behind him, could almos

g his human agility, he leaped, grabbing the branch and swinging hi

e, slammed headfirst into the

bled into a dense, thorny thicket that w

is lungs burning. The lions roared in frustratio

safe. F

lattered body. Then at the two ter

anna while carrying two cheetah cubs. It was, without a doubt, the most profound social d