10 8

She was more beautiful in person than Beast thought she would be. In his dreams, she had been a tempting vixen. In the flesh, she was something much more devastating… a tangible hope at freedom that he could touch.

“Sonya.” He kneeled beside her unconscious form, his animal gaze taking her in. The curve of her body as she lay on her side was a sinful tease to the curves that he knew lurked underneath her clothing. A pair of fitted jeans hugged her hips and thighs while nicely cupping the shape of a rounded ass that he wanted to sink his fangs in. Although she wore a jacket, he could still see the outline of her full breasts with each inhale of breath she took.

He was practically salivating for a taste.

“Beautiful,” he said as his hands once again itched to touch the soft outline of her face and trace the subtle curve of her plump lips. Shit, he even wanted to play in the thick curls of her hair. She was truly a natural beauty. A subtle image of perfection that, if you weren’t careful, could capture your heart before you drew your next breath.

Absently Beast reached out, his body craving for just one feel of her soft flesh, only to quickly jerk his hand back. His yellow gaze went to the claws that he had called hands for the last century or so. A dark sort of hopelessness settled over him as he once again realized how great the challenge in front of him was.

He remembered all too clearly the horror reflected in her gaze when she looked at him. The bone terror that seized her when he told her to take her place in his bed. True and abject fear had taken ahold of her, and it hit a part of him he didn’t know existed. He didn’t blame her for her fear. If anything, it was a perfectly normal reaction, yet it didn’t stop a sting of pain from hitting him. For that, he had lashed out at her.

“What are you doing?”

Beast looked up to find Camren watching with a curious expression.

“Nothing.” Beast lied. His thoughts were his own, and he wouldn’t share them with anyone. “She will awake soon,” Beast continued as he scooped her light form into his arms. Tiny and fragile compared to his size and strength, he couldn’t help but cradle her in his arms as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

“Where are you going to put her?” Camren asked.

Rising to his full height, trying to ignore the warmth of her body, Beast walked around his brother. Mulling over his question, Beast headed out of the throne room, Camren falling in step. Beast knew he couldn’t keep her in the castle, not if he wanted her safe and out of harm’s way.

“For the moment, it might be best to lock her in the dungeon cellar until…” Camren’s voice trailed off.

Until what exactly?

He doubted that when she awoke, whether she was in a lavishly decorated room or a cold cell, she wouldn’t try and escape. At least locked beneath his castle, her attempts at escape would be pointless… that much he knew for himself.

In truth, he didn’t know what to do with her. He couldn’t afford for her to do something reckless in her efforts to escape and seriously harm herself. He would never be able to forgive himself.

“Cassandra can never know about her,” Camren, always captain obvious, said.

Beast didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. Just like his brother, Beast knew all too well the depths of Cassandra’s jealously and venom. If she ever found out that he had found the key to his freedom, there was no telling what she would do.

In truth, it didn’t matter where they put her, the castle was still a dangerous place. It didn’t matter if the danger came from Cassandra or himself, there was no escape for her. At least locked in the dungeon, she wouldn’t be able to escape. The last thing he wanted was to be chasing her through the castle and have her stumble on his secret.

He spared a brief glance at the woman he held in his arms, her head nestled nicely in the crook of his arm and a light snore coming from her as if she had cuddled up with a nice, fluffy pillow. For the first time in a long time, he felt his heartbeat.

As Beast descended the steps that led to the dungeon, which hadn’t been used in decades, he continued to contemplate if he should leave her alone in such a dark and damp place.

“Damn it.”

Beast looked over his shoulder to Camren, who had walked into a thick cobweb and was currently swatting it away from his face. Beast’s low chuckle of amusement drew his brother’s irritated gaze.

“I’m glad you find that amusing.”

“You looked like a twelve-year-old girl who just had a fly land on her nose.”

His brother’s aggravated expression amused him even further. With a shake of his head, he continued to make his way down the spiraling staircase and closer to the part of the castle that was last used to confine him when he had first turned into the monster he was.

Not now. Beast told himself with another hard shake of his head. The last thing he needed was to be dragged into the dark memories of his past. If he did, his temper would flare, and all that would matter was the need for blood that consumed him.

Already, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. He flexed his claws, still careful not to hurt the beautiful creature in his arms, as the need for a blood started to cloud his judgment.

“Are you all right?” Camren asked as he came to stand beside his brother at the bottom of the steps.

“Perfect,” Beast crumbled. Ignoring Camren’s stare, Beast walked down the dungeon hall. Dark and dreary, this was the place where every hope and dream he ever had was shattered into pieces. Thanks to his curse, his vision had gotten ten times better, allowing him to make his way effortlessly through the dungeon without tripping over the old weapons and barrels that had been left behind from when he had dismissed all his servants.

As if his brother could tell the direction of his thoughts, Camren said, “I still have those scars.”

“So do I.” Beast paused. “Let’s get her chained.” Beast waited as Camren pulled open the doors to the very cell that he had called home for more years than he cared to remember.

“Be quick,” Camren whispered as he walked past.

Not like that was something Beast needed to be reminded of. If there was one place he never wanted to see again, it was the inside of this cell. Giving a stiff nod, well aware of his brother’s cautious gaze, Beast replied, “I got it.”

The moment he stepped into the cell, Beast instantly regretted it. The control he thought he had vanished, and his world slowly shifted. Suddenly, it felt as if the space around him had begun to shrink. Nervous apprehension caused his eyes to dart rapidly around the room. Before he could take his next breath, his mind was transported back in time. His memories rapidly warping his reality, he no longer knew if he was coming or going.

His panicked yellow gaze went to the walls of the cell. The places where he had spent hours, days… years clawing at the wall were fresh.

He stumbled back as a wave of nausea hit him.

Beast groaned softly as he suddenly felt weighed down. Frowning, he looked down at his feet to find thick shackles around his ankles. Tight and secure, they cut into his bone. His heart rate tripled as the thought of being locked away for the second time slammed into him. Again he staggered backward until his back hit the wall. He felt something hit his feet, but he paid no attention to it as he became trapped in the nightmare of his mind.

“I am not there anymore,” he repeated over and over as he slid down to the floor, his legs finally giving out from under him. With his ass on the floor and his head in his claws, Beast struggled to regain his composure.

“Jacks,” a familiar voice called out to him. “Jacks.”

Each time the voice called to him, it sounded farther and farther away until it slowly faded away. And he was left with nothing but the screams of his own mind. Rocking back and forth, the back of his horns hitting the wall, Beast began to mumble incoherently as he fell deeper into the dark depths of his mind.

***

Camren called to his brother. Yet no matter how many times Camren called out, Beast remained unresponsive, too lost in his own pain to notice that the things he saw were all in the past.

Damn it…

Camren knew this was going to happen. That was why he hoped Jacks would pick any cell other than this one. But that was not the case, and Camren had to figure out how to pull his brother back to reality. It had been damn near impossible to get him under control the first time he lost his temper and let his beast run free. The last thing Camren needed was for his brother to dig up unnecessary memories and lose it all again.

But first things first, Camren turned his attention to the woman on the ground. He needed to get her out of harm’s way. He doubted under his brother’s feet was the safest place for her to be. While Jacks went from rocking back and forth to banging the back of his head against the wall with his claws covering his ears and eyes closed, Camren knew his brother was too far gone.

For the moment, he left his brother to his dark dreams and turned to the woman on the floor. In the midst of his fit, his brother had dropped her. Camren would feel bad for her another time. He quickly checked her for any serious injuries. From what he could see, she might have dislocated her shoulder, a gash on her head, and a few minor cuts and bruises. All of which he would have to tend to later. Scooping her into his arms, he walked over to the old pallet of sheets in the back corner of the cell, which still had the imprint of his brother’s body in it, and laid her down.

Making sure she was as comfortable as she should be, Camren reached for the chains he had dropped at his feet. He froze as a low and dark growl vibrated down his spine. Cursing under his breath, he rose to his full height and turned to face his brother, who towered over Camren with dark intent. While Camren didn’t fear anything, not even Cassandra, his brother’s beast was something altogether different.

When his brother was docile, calm, or deep in his depression, the beast inside him was locked away. He might look like a monster, but in those moments, he was still the man Camren had known all his life… in that moment, however, there was no trace of his brother, only the beast Cassandra had created in her fit of rage. Soulless eyes stared at him as if he was his next meal.

Beast took a step forward, the wide expanse of his chest swelled with rage, so much so a thick stream of steam poured out from his nostrils. At some point, his eyes had turned red. In that instant, all his hope vanished. Inch by inch the room grew smaller, closing in around him until he felt like a mouse cornered by a hungry predator.

Shit… Camren cursed as his mind struggled to come up with a plan to get his brother out of the cell without putting an unwanted hole through the wall or injuring the unconscious woman behind him. As if he had read Camren’s mind again, his brother’s enraged gaze went over his shoulder and zeroed in on Beauty.

Shit.

Beast’s eyes narrowed, and his long tongue ran along one of his oversized fangs.

Camren was out of time.

If he didn’t do something, there would be no saving any of them. Beast took another step forward, puffed out more steam, as the ground shoot beneath their feet. Without thinking, Camren moved so he was in his brother’s line of sight.

Not Camren’s brightest idea, but he couldn’t let his brother harm her in any way.

“Jacks,” Camren called to his brother. “Back away.”

Beast gave an angry snort and took another step forward.

Camren sighed and then flexed his hands at his sides. “If this is how you want it.”

Another angry snort, a scrape of his nails against the ground, and his brother was charging like some mad bull. With a foul curse, Camren rolled out of the way and came to his feet by the cellar door. Beast skidded to a halt just before he could trample over Beauty. Camren’s sigh of relief was short-lived as Beast quickly turned to face his brother again, black nostrils flaring as power crackled through the space between them.

“Jacks, you—” Camren’s sentence was cut off when Beast threw his head back, howled one of the most devastating howls Camren had ever heard and charged once more. This time Camren stepped into the dungeon hall, just out of the reach of his beastly brother.

Dodging several swipes of his claws, Camren made it to his feet before Beast could charge for the third time. This time he backed into the cell diagonal to the cell there were just in. Carefully watching him, Camren waited to see what his brother would do. The moment Camren saw Beast stomp his feet, Camren braced himself to dodge out of the way in the last possible moment. That moment came faster than he thought, and he narrowly escaped being ripped in two. Jumping to his feet, Camren slammed the cellar door shut. Locking it, he knew it wouldn’t be enough to hold his brother forever, but it would do for his temporary confinement.

From behind the small barred window carved from the door, red eyes watched Camren dangerously.

“I’ll be back once you have calmed down.”

With another snort, Beast began a feverish pace that truly made him look like a feral and caged animal.

“I will save us both.” Camren turned and walked away from the dungeon, but not before he locked the other cell and made sure Beauty was where Beast had seen her last.

She better be the one…

Or else their world would become something much worse than hell