Page 27 of Falling for the Beast

“There was blood. But there’s no wound. That guy…he did somethin’. He’s like a witch or something.”

“He didn’t do anything.” Why was she still talking?

“So you know this guy?” Gavin started to walk into the kitchen but she stopped him.

“Go home.”

He grabbed her like he’d done the other morning and pulled her to him. “You’re sure cute when you’re bossy.”

She wriggled away.

Thaddeus came at him like a pouncing lion, knocking him down. His eyes were murderous and he clenched his jaw so tight she could see the tendons sticking out. Gavin struggled beneath him, but Thaddeus had him pinned. “Go. Now!” He turned a furious gaze on her, and she backed up into the kitchen. She turned and fled into her bedroom and shut the door.

She heard a scuffle, a thump, and then the front door slammed. A few moments later a knock sounded on her bedroom door. She opened it to find Thaddeus leaning on the door jam, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “You okay?” he asked, his voice measured.

“Yes.”

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know him?”

“Yes.” She didn’t want to elaborate and make Thaddeus even angrier. When he didn’t comment, she tentatively asked, “Is he all right?”

“He’s in one piece.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out. “And what about you?”

“I should go.”

She was about to protest when he said, “I’ll stop by to get you in the morning.” And then he was gone. She heard his motorcycle start up and take off down the street.

Chapter 13

Thaddeus cursed himself for hisstupidity. Not only had he been seen, but now he’d gotten Aribelle mixed up into everything. He shouldn’t have been so reckless. At least he’d been able to control himself enough to not fully change. That would have scared her.

What was wrong with him? It wasn’t like him to let a girl get to him like this. He was smarter than that. He knew better. And yet, here he was, indulging himself in fantasies.

He gripped the handlebars tighter and picked up speed. This was a dangerous slope he was on. If he were found, he would become a science experiment. They would lock him up. He needed to be more careful, and that meant staying away from Aribelle.

But it seemed that he didn’t have much willpower when it came to her. She was…amazing. She saw past the ugly scars. She made him feel wanted. Needed.

When he was with her, he felt like he could do anything. Be anything.

And that was dangerous, because he needed to remember who he really was.

Aribelle peered down the dark alley. Nothing was as it seemed, like she was in a dream. Movement near the trash bin caught her eye. Something urged her forward. “Thaddeus?” she called as she walked.

She saw his biking boots sticking out and raced to him. He was slumped up against the building, his head flopped to the side like he didn’t have enough strength to lift it. He moaned and she put her hands on his face. “Where are you injured?”

He pointed to his stomach and she lifted his shirt. His skin was gone, and a bloody mass of organs pulsed. She screamed and shrank back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, getting up. His arm twisted and fell to the pavement.

She grew dizzy and she screamed again, running down the alley, but the end stretched even further the more she ran.

Aribelle awoke with a jerk and sat upright in bed. She clutched the covers, her heart pounding against her rib cage. She gasped for air.

She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the cold water. It pricked at her fingers like needles. She splashed it on her face and toweled off. Her hands shook as she looked at herself in the mirror.

It was only a dream. Nothing more. Thaddeus wasn’t a scary monster. He was a good man. He had risked his life to save her. And risked that plus his anonymity every night to heal people.

---