Page 26 of Monster

Chapter Five

Sunrise the following day…

The sky was awash with color as the sun rose above the fields of wheat. The autumn sun felt good on Dario’s face as he jogged the path he’d worn over the last few weeks. Running hadn’t been something he’d done consistently over the years. Unless chased.

Dark thoughts began to form in his mind… and he pushed them away, refusing to let the darkness consume him.

Since coming to Samuel’s house and becoming a part of something more—something he still didn’t wholly understand—he’d felt the need to grow stronger. Daily, he worked on his skills with Samuel and Sky, and slowly, he was learning a bit of control. Yet he was nowhere close to how well the others controlled theirs.

He felt as if he were behind, just as he had been in the human world. His smaller stature had always kept him at a disadvantage—he’d been underestimated at every turn in life, regardless if he was capable or not. Men were big and strong… not tiny and scrawny.

With the huge shifters here on the base, he felt even more diminutive. The only way he could see to make life easier was to gain strength. He’d begun running each morning… and lifting Cal’s weights in the evenings, after the beast and Samuel had gone to bed. Dario was beginning to feel more powerful in his own skin… and it seemed to be helping with his power.

But not much.

Small fire balls and contained fires he had down pat. Anything larger and it was wild and chaotic. He struggled to meet the target and often went way off track.

He pounded the ground a little harder with each step to the hard-packed earth, letting some of his frustration out with the run. Sweat trickled down his spine… like a lover’s touch.

Dario hadn’t had a lover in a long time. Months had passed since he’d been nearly raped by the two men in that alley.

The two he’d burned to death with his unexpected power.

The acrid smell of their burning flesh filled his nose as if he was back there, looking down at their bodies.

Dario closed his eyes and forced the vision out.He couldn’t continue to linger in that moment, stuck there, for all eternity.

It drove a wedge between him and…

Gator…

The man stepped out of the barn ahead, as if on cue. Dario sped up a little, his heart pounding harder. Lingering between want and dread, Dario struggled with the intense need he felt for the sexy Cajun.

Who was walking away too damned fast.

“Gator,” he cried as he neared. Breathless, he slowed as Gator turned to face him.

He stopped a few feet away, sucking in air.

The expression on Gator’s face made him pause.The man didn’t look happy to see him…

He won’t wait forever…

“Morning,” Gator murmured, the deep, dark accented voice sending thrills down Dario’s spine.

“Morning.”

Gator eyed him slowly. The man’s gaze lowered some, but quickly returned to Dario’s. “Somethin’ I can help you with?”

Murmur my name over and over again in that voice while you fuck me senseless? “I just wanted to say hi.”

“Hi,” Gator said, smiling slightly. But the smile didn’t seem to go to his eyes. It had the last time they’d seen one another. The sparkle of humor and warmth had been there, caressing Dario from afar.

“I should be goin’. I’m on duty,” the Cajun added, backing away.

Duty hadn’t stopped him from spending as much time as he wanted before.

“Okay,” Dario said. “Have a good day.”

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