Venom - Whitney M. Westrope

When seven people go missing within a month, questions and fear arise among the townsfolk of Hemlock, Virginia. When local authorities discover the body of one of the missing people in a holler close to town, it appears the victim has suffered severe tissue liquefaction. After the police find bite marks on the body's throat, they suspect there could be an undiscovered venomous species lurking within the Blue Ridge Mountains.

While the FBI and scientists unsuccessfully attempt to decode the cause of death, the locals become haunted by rumors about an insidious predator that's roaming the mountains. Deep in the forest nearby, the alpha of the Blue Ridge Mountain clan knows that if her kind becomes an exposed entity, the humans will become hysterical, potentially leading to harmful repercussions. Although her kind has gone undetected since the beginning of time because of their physical similarities to humans, her efforts to keep her clan and species hidden are beginning to disintegrate because of the impulsive actions of two of her own and the arrival of the military. Extinction is not an option, and war is the ultimate price. What will Shadow and her clan be forced to endure to keep her kind alive?