Page 77 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

Panting, I growled as I got to my feet and looked down at her. Cale’s knife had taken her out, and now black smoke curled around her lifeless body before slowly disintegrating. A strange sigh filled the air, and all that was left on the ground was the blade.

I looked over at Cale, and he blinked at me. When he took a step forward, I snarled at him.

“It’s all right, Gil,” Cale said, reaching his arm out.

Stupid man,came the beast’s voice.I will tear him to shreds.

But my will to overpower the beast’s anger was too great, and as Cale came near me, I stood still. When he touched my arm, I flinched and growled, but he didn’t recoil. Instead, he smiled at me.

“It’s all right,” he said. Coming up to me, he ran his trembling palm up my hairy chest, which no doubt had to be odd for him. His touch sent a ripple of static through me, but also bloodlust in the beast.

I grabbed him and grumbled, my teeth dripping saliva as the beast tried to overtake me. My eyes grew hazy, and inwardly, I screamed, trapped between love and bloodlust.

Through the haze, Cale stepped back and unbuttoned his shirt. He drew it off quickly. His trousers slid down to his ankles, and he stood before me bare, shivering violently in the cold.

He wishes to be claimed,came the beast.

No!

But the beast seemed interested as Cale dropped to his knees before me.

“I am your mate. I’m yours to claim,” he said.

Bending down, I threw him to the ground.

He grunted as he landed on his back. His hands twisted in the red leaves as he leaned up, but he didn’t back away. Instead, his eyes locked with mine, staring. I could see him shaking as I bent down on all fours. He pressed back into the leaves as far as he could go as I sniffed him—his hair, his face, and when he let out a breath, I smelled the warmth of his mouth. His body stiffened as my nose followed along his torso, and then to his groin.

The beast growled, but he was fixated now, and allowed me to continue.

I pushed Cale over, and he rolled onto his stomach. Obedient. I bent down to him and sniffed him, nuzzling my nose into his crease, and then I licked him there, and the beast quivered, enjoying his taste. My claw caught slightly on his leg, drawing blood, but Cale only let out a breath.

There was no way he still loved me enough to do this.

My loins stirred. The beast wanted him. He claimed him. And now he would ravish his body.

No, I will not let you take him,I said.

Breaking away, I overpowered the beast and backed up.

When Cale looked back, he gasped and sat in the leaves. When he realized I wouldn’t hurt him, he picked up his shirt with shaking hands and pulled his trousers up.

Above us, the sky was growing dark, and I knew what other terrible things would come out if we didn’t leave. I bent low for him to climb onto my back, and he did so, his fingers tightening in my hair, and I growled low. When he was on me well, I ran forward, and he clutched himself to me.

Leftover snow gathered in many places. It had to be cold, but I wouldn’t know. Not in this skin. When we reached the manor, I came onto the grounds, and Edgar closed the gate behind us.

Cale slipped down from my back, and though I didn’t want to in front of him, I changed back into my human form. It was getting harder all the time to do it, and it took several minutes, but when I did, I was glad to be back.

I looked up at everyone surrounding me, their faces full of shock, and then I looked up at Cale, who blinked at me. I was bare, having left my satchel of clothes in my room with no intention of coming back here. But here I was now before them all, naked and ashamed.

Mary ran up to me with my cloak and placed it around my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but look up at each of them and wonder why they didn’t ambush me.

“You could have just done it,” I told them all. “You could have killed me.”

Bending before me, Mary looked into my eyes, and I saw her for the first time in a long time—her brown eyes, her wavy hair, her light-brown skin. She looked just like her mother, the first of my servants whose loyalty was firm and steadfast, the very woman who had been there since my birth to care for me.

“We stayed with you for a reason, my lord,” she said, smiling. Looking over, she held her hand out for Cale, who bent down with her. “And now, you have someone who sees you, who cares about you. We all do.”

Nodding, I hung my head, the most vulnerable I had ever become around them, and wept.

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