Page 63 of Baby and the Beast

Chapter Seven

Casimir sat in silence as they headed on. Liam turned on the radio and they both listened to the forecast. Seemed like with the snow coming they had gotten out just in time.

"Storm's gonna hit the mountains hard," Liam commented, glancing at Casimir. "Good thing I found you when I did."

Casimir grunted in acknowledgment, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. The mountains were disappearing behind them, growing smaller in the side mirror with each passing mile. His mountains. His refuge.

In the back seat, both Nash and Copper were asleep. Copper fastened in a proper car seat. Nash using it as a pillow, which had to be uncomfortable.

"We're about an hour out," Liam said, breaking the silence. "The Center's tucked away in the mountains outside Asheville. Not on any maps."

"Security reasons?" Casimir asked.

"Exactly. Too many shifters there have stories like Nash's." Liam's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "People hunting them, families rejecting them. The location stays private. Kind of like women’s shelters in the human world."

"How many live there?"

"Fluctuates. Around a hundred and fifty permanent residents, maybe twenty to thirty temporary. Mostly wolves and big cats, but we've got a few bears, and a few special surprises." Liam said vaguely. "Nash’ll be our first fox, though."

"So," Liam said quietly, for Casimir's ears only, "what's your story?"

Casimir turned to the window. "Don't have one."

"Everyone has a story." Liam's voice remained casual, but Casimir sensed the assessment behind it. "Especially humans who know about us and choose to help."

"I did what anyone would do."

Liam laughed softly. "No. No, they wouldn't." He glanced in the rearview mirror, then back at Casimir. "Those marks on your face—shifter claws?"

Casimir's hand instinctively rose to his scars before he forced it back down. "Yes."

"Thought so." Liam nodded. "The Center takes in humans too, you know. Those caught up in shifter politics. Those who've lost something."

"I haven't lost anything," Casimir said flatly.

"Haven't you?"

Casimir didn't answer. The highway stretched before them, winding through valleys now instead of mountains. They passed small towns, farms, lives being lived in the open. It had been so long since he'd been among people. The thought made his skin itch.

They turned off the main highway onto smaller roads. Liam navigated with the confidence of someone who'd traveled thisroute many times. The landscape grew more rural, houses spaced further apart, then forest closing in again.

"Almost there," Liam announced as they turned onto a narrow gravel road that climbed steadily for another thirty minutes until they stopped at a barrier and a guy jumped out.

“Liam,” he acknowledged.

“Garth,” Liam replied. “I texted an hour ago. I have clearance.” Liam nodded and raised the barrier, then drove through. “That’s for humans. We have five pregnant male omegas at the moment and they don’t want to be hidden away. Plus, with the school and clinic, we have human inspections.”

Casimir nodded. Nash had woken up, and quickly unstrapped Copper, who was fussing. They were bouncing along at a crawl, and Casimir watched as Nash dragged the blanket over them both and when Copper quieted, he knew he was feeding her.

Liam must have realized the same thing because he pulled up and let the engine idle for a few minutes. “Soon as we go around that corner, you’ll see the security and office complex, but the main house is behind that. There’s many people that live there, plus some cabins behind and each side. Casimir heard an engine and leaned forward to see a helicopter rise above the trees.

“Wow,” Nash echoed Casimir's silent thought.

“That’ll be Zeke. Human businessman, and Emmett’s dad. He’s the one that bankrolls the rescue place, but he’s also mated to Darriel, an omega. They have a son, Caden, and they just had a daughter, I think. Plus the teenagers that live with them.” Liam chuckled. “So many kids around here, it’s hard to keep up with them all."

Copper finished and Nash dropped the blanket. Liam took the hint and drove slowly around the corner.

Casimir heard the gasp from Nash as they rounded the corner and the place came into view. The main house was stunning. A huge wooden lodge that seemed to stretch half a mile ineach direction, and looked like some exclusive winter holiday complex, but complete with a child's playground area. There was another house to the side, a smaller version of the main one, and then on the right some sort of complex that looked like offices. A dozen different sized trucks, all suitable for the North Carolina roads in winter sat behind it.

---