Charming The Beast

by Cynthia Eden

Connor’s shoulders stiffened as he saw the werewolves. At least a dozen of them. All in silver cages. All wearing silver collars.

  “We rounded up all the ones who followed my little bit of bait and the ones who’d stayed behind to keep surveillance running on this place.” Eric sauntered toward the cages. “Like I didn’t realize they were out there, watching. That shit was just insulting. What kind of security do they think I have? With the way things went the last few months, I stepped up everything.”

  Some of those werewolves smelled familiar. They were at Eclipse. He whirled back to Eric. “They’re Keegan’s pack.”

  Eric nodded.

  “You knew they were watching the base? With Chloe here?” He shot forward. “What the hell—”

  “I didn’t transfer Chloe immediately because I wanted them to watch the place. I needed them to stay close so I could keep up my surveillance on them.” Eric said this as if it should have been obvious. “And my trap worked.”

  He was going to hurt Eric. In so many ways.

  “Sheath your claws and I’ll show you just how well it ended.”

  He could barely growl out a response. But Eric had just turned on his heel and headed down a narrow hallway.

  Toward maximum security containment.

  Silver doors barred the way. Artificial sunlight pumped into the area.

  “Of course, these containment measures aren’t stopping him, so we’re having to keep the prisoner sedated, for the time being. Until other…means…can be discovered to neutralize the threat he poses.”

  They eased around a corner, but Connor had already caught the bastard’s scent. Rage fueled his blood, and it took every ounce of power that Connor had to not race across the room and kill the guy in that cell.

  Keegan was there. His arms were shackled. His legs secured. His head sagged forward.

  For an instant, the world went red for Connor. He stared at Keegan and his claws stretched from his fingertips. He had never wanted to kill anyone more, not even his bastard of a torturing father.

  “Keep that control,” Eric warned him. “Hell, your reaction right now is the reason I didn’t take you out on the mission with us. I worried that if you went with that team—”

  “You wouldn’t bring that bastard in alive.”

  He wanted to rip through those bars and attack Keegan.

  At that moment, Keegan’s head tilted back. He stared at Connor out of bleary eyes, and the guy grinned.

  Oh, the hell, no.

  Eric slapped his hand on Connor’s chest. “Don’t. I need him alive, got it? I have to see how many werewolves are involved in the mess the senator left behind. I have to find out how the hell Keegan managed to become a cross-over.”

  “He needs to be in the ground.” Connor was definite on this. “After what he did to Chloe, there’s no question of what we should do to him.”

  Eric sighed. “Things aren’t always black and white. You of all people know that.”

  Connor knocked his hand away.

  “He’s in custody,” Eric said. “He can’t hurt Chloe again. He won’t hurt anyone. It’s over for him.”

  “So what? He gets a fast trip to Purgatory? Don’t you get it, Eric? That’s probably what he wants!”

  “I’m going to interrogate him soon. I’ll find out every secret the guy has.”

  Eric thought he was the one in control.

  But Keegan was still grinning.

  And Connor wanted to rip his head off.

  “He’s contained,” Eric told him. “That’s a good thing. A win. Chloe doesn’t need to be afraid any longer.”

  But then Keegan said… “Yes, she does.” His voice was low, rasping. “Because I’ll be…leaving this place…soon…and my Chloe will come with me.”

  Connor raced forward. He wanted to sink his claws deep into Keegan’s chest, but when he touched the cage, an electric surge shot through him.

  He snarled at the flash of pain.

  “That’s some new, enhanced security we have.” Eric’s voice was flat. “You aren’t killing him. Not when I’ve gone to such trouble to bring the guy in alive.”

  He wanted that bastard dead.

  “You can let Chloe know that the threat to her has been eliminated.”

  The threat hadn’t been eliminated, not yet. It had just been brought right to her. Up-close and personal.

  Connor whirled on his heel and marched away from Keegan. He had to leave, if he didn’t—he would be killing that werewolf.

  “She isn’t clear yet, agent,” Eric said. “Chloe can’t leave the facility.”

  Connor stopped.

  “Just didn’t want you getting any ideas.”

  Connor glanced back at Eric.

  “Chloe Quick is still a person of extreme interest for the Para Unit. She might not be in a containment cell, but that doesn’t mean she can walk free.”

  Connor shook his head. “You really are a bastard, you know that, Eric?”

  “Never pretended to be anything else,” Eric murmured. “Brief Chloe and then…then I’ll be transferring Keegan to Holly’s lab for tests. You might want to stop by for that part.”

  Why? Because if Keegan broke free, only Connor and Duncan had a chance of matching the guy in a power fight? “You realize you could be making a serious mistake.”

  Eric didn’t speak.

  Right. Shaking his head, Connor walked the fuck away.

  ***

  “He’s…here?” Chloe asked. Her knees were shaking. She really hoped Connor hadn’t noticed that tremble because she was trying to appear brave and in control.

  But she was seriously shaking apart.

  “Eric has him in a special containment area. From the look of things, Eric brought in most of the guy’s pack.”

  She should be relieved. Keegan wasn’t out there, hunting her any longer. No, now he’s in the building with me.

  “I want to leave,” Chloe blurted.

  Connor stared back at her.

  He’s not my jailer. He’s my lover.

  “Let’s both leave,” Chloe said and she knew she sounded a bit desperate. That was fair, she felt desperate. “You and me. Let’s just leave this place and go start over somewhere new.”

  He wasn’t speaking.

  “You said I was your last assignment. Well, can’t we consider the assignment done? Finished? Eric brought in the bad guy, and the streets are safe.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Now we can go out and live a normal life, just like everyone else.” The farther she was from Keegan, the better she would feel. “We can leave today. We can go out and vanish and just—”

  “No,” Connor said quietly.

  Her heart was racing too fast. “You don’t want to leave with me?”

  “Leaving now isn’t an option. Not for either of us.”

  She shook her head. “I haven’t done anything wrong.” Other than kill her father. But he killed me…he hurt me for so long. Like that eased her guilt.“ I haven’t done anything to the Para Unit.”

  Connor’s face looked as if it had been carved from stone.

  “I want to be with you, Connor.” She wasn’t going to lie or pretend. She was going to tell him exactly how she felt. “When I’m with you, no matter what, I feel safer.” But Chloe shook her head because it was about so much more than safety. “I feel good. As close to happy as I’ve ever been.” Because Connor made her feel normal. He treated her like a woman and not some broken thing.

  “I want to be with you.” His voice was gravel-rough. “But we can’t leave, not yet.”

  We. “I want to leave Connor. I don’t want to stay here with him.” This was the perfect time for her to vanish, didn’t Connor see that? Keegan couldn’t follow her now. She would be free.

  “I know, but you can’t leave.”

  Goosebumps rose on her arms. “Connor?”

  “You haven’t been given the all-clear yet. To the Para Unit, you’re still a…a person of extreme interest.”

  “I’m a pri
soner?”

  He strode toward her. Took her hands in his. “You’re with me, Chloe.”

  But she pulled away from him. “I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to go. I want to live my life. Be free.” Only she was starting to wonder, would that be possible?

  Connor’s gaze was tormented.

  “Will I ever be free?” she asked him. “Really free?” Or would Eric always be keeping tabs on her?

  “Baby…”

  In that instant, Chloe made a decision. She straightened her shoulders and pulled away from him. “You want me, don’t you, Connor?”

  “You know I do.”

  Want. Lust. Need. That wasn’t enough for her.

  “I want you, too.” She would hold nothing back. “But the thing is…I think I could love you.”

  His expression didn’t change.

  She held her breath and asked, “Do you think you could love me?”

  “Chloe…”

  “Someone told me…” Her voice was too brittle but she forced herself to continue. “That maybe we all deserve the chance to love and be loved. I want my chance, Connor. I want it with you.”

  His expression became even harder. “You want us to run away together.”

  “I want us to try having a life! I want the white, picket fence and barbecue nights! I want laughter and little league!” All of her dreams tumbled out right then. Dreams she’d had as a sixteen year old girl, before her life had turned into a living hell. Dreams that she’d thought were dead and buried.

  But, apparently, nothing about her could stay dead. Not even those pesky dreams.

  “I can’t give you that.”

  Her heart hurt.

  “I can’t ever give you any of that.” He shook his head. “Because you know what, Chloe? I am a monster. I have been from the time I was a child.”

  “No—”

  “And that is who I will always be. I can’t give you what you want.”

  She hurried forward and grabbed his arms. “I want you to love me.”

  “Baby, I don’t know how to love.”

  His words sank right through her.

  “I know how to kill and how to hurt. There’s not much more to me than that.”

  “You’re wrong.” But he was hurting her right then. Crushing her. Turning her faint dreams to dust. “Give us a chance. Please, Connor, I’m begging you.” Because she knew this was it. Her chance. Their chance. “Let’s leave here. Let’s go together, now, and leave everyone else behind. Let’s—”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  His words were so cold and so…final.

  Her hands fell away from him.

  “You’re safe here, Chloe. You have my word on that.”

  And Connor never lied. She did. She lied often.

  But I didn’t lie about the way I feel. She was falling for him. Apparently, he was just fucking her.

  “Now I need to go check in with Holly and Shane. Stay settled up here, and I’ll be back to check on you soon.”

  Then, without another word, he just left her. The door closed softly behind him.

  Chloe stared at the door. How could he not see it? There weren’t bars on the room, but she was in a cell. She’d been captive most of her life.

  I’m going to be free.

  She wasn’t going to be the weak one anymore. The one who was pushed around and hurt. She wasn’t going to wait for someone else to decide her fate. Those days were over—and all she’d gotten for her trouble was blood, pain, and life as a semi-werewolf.

  She rolled back her shoulders. She was getting out of this place. And she’d be getting out that day.

  Good-bye, Connor. Because she would miss him. Always.

  But she wouldn’t give up her life for him.

  ***

  Connor shoved open the door to Holly’s lab. He wasn’t particularly surprised to see the crowd that had gathered inside. “Looks like the gang is all here,” he muttered.

  Holly stood a few feet away, garbed in green scrubs. Duncan was at her side, like the guy always was. But if Eric was really going to have Holly run tests on Keegan, Connor had been sure that he’d find his brother in the room.

  Shane was there, too. The vamp’s expression was carefully schooled, but his body was tight. He might not look worried, but Connor knew the fellow was.

  Olivia paced a few feet away. Nervous energy rolled off her body.

  “Did you all know that Eric was bringing the bastard in?” Connor demanded.

  “No,” Duncan said immediately. “I didn’t.”

  Shane shook his head. “I’m not in the loop anymore.”

  Holly sighed. “Eric thinks he doesn’t have to answer to anyone.”

  “He’s wrong,” Connor said flatly.

  Holly glanced back toward the door. “He’s going to be bringing Keegan in any moment. I don’t…I don’t think you want to be here for this part.”

  “Hell, yes, I do.” But that was a lie. He actually wanted to be on a motorcycle, with Chloe holding tight to him, as they rode hell-fast out of there.

  So why am I here?

  Chloe’s image flashed in his mind. Her eyes had been so blue, her expression so stark. Do you think you could love me?

  He didn’t know anything about love. He knew about hate. About rage. About possession and obsession.

  Love?

  Hell, did it even exist?

  “How’s Harris?” Connor asked as he tried to shove the image of Chloe from his mind.

  Duncan approached him. “He made it through the night. That’s something.”

  Yeah, it was.

  “But you know Eric. He wanted the guy put in a cell, just until the full moon passed. With it coming tonight, he didn’t want to take any chances.”

  Connor had already felt the pull of the moon.

  “Connor, if you’re going to attack Keegan, you know you can’t stay in here.”

  Connor cracked his knuckles. “I’ll play nicely…”

  “Are you sure you know how?” This came from Shane.

  Connor gave him a hard glare. “I’ll play nicely…as long as he stays under Eric’s control. If the bastard makes an attempt to attack, he’s done.” Because Connor couldn’t allow Keegan to threaten Chloe again.

  Chloe.

  The woman was haunting him right then. She’d been so hopeful, but he truly wasn’t the barbecue and picket fence type. His instincts were too dark. Too dangerous.

  Chloe hadn’t seen the real Connor, not yet. She thought he was one of the good-guy agents. She just didn’t get it.

  And maybe I don’t want her to get it. Maybe I want her to keep looking at me with that light in her eyes.

  Because when she really saw him for the beast that he was, Chloe wouldn’t think that she could fall in love with him. Chloe would run as fast and as hard as she could—as she tried to get away from him.

  ***

  Chloe’s fingers slipped beneath the mattress. When Connor had stormed into Eric’s office late last night, she’d tagged along. And while Connor had questioned Eric, she’d helped herself to one of Eric’s precious keycards.

  So maybe she had some sticky fingers. Maybe she’d had to escape the guards her father had put on her over the years.

  She’d stared right into Eric’s eyes as she’d palmed the keycard off his desk. For someone who was supposed to be so savvy, Eric had sure not even noticed her little theft routine.

  Her hand curled around the keycard. She’d been watching closely each time she was led through the facility. So she should be able to get back down to the lower level, using that keycard at all the right intervals, no problem. Then she’d find her way out and vanish.

  She wouldn’t see Connor again. She wouldn’t see Olivia.

  She’d be on her own.

  Would she change into a wolf again? Chloe didn’t know, but she did know that she couldn’t stay in that base. She wanted a life, and she’d take it.

  She opened her door. No guard stood on the other
side. Connor must have really thought that she was fine with being a prisoner at that place. Pain gnawed through her.

  Why couldn’t he have come with me? But more, it seemed as if the real question was…Why couldn’t he have chosen me? Because she felt as if it had been a choice for him.

  Her…or the Para Unit.

  She slid into the hallway. She could hear voices coming from the stairwell. Squaring her shoulders, Chloe took a deep breath. This was it.

  She kept a tight grip on that keycard and headed down the stairs.

  ***

  “Keep him sedated,” Eric ordered the guards as they strapped Keegan to a gurney. “I don’t want this jerk getting any chance to slip away from us.”

  The guards dosed Keegan again. Good. Eric nodded. Then he turned on his heel. He had to make sure that Holly was ready for her latest patient. As he swept out of the general containment area, his gaze slid to the right. Harris Grey was there, watching him. The silver collar seemed to glow around Harris’s neck.

  Eric paused. “The collar is just for your protection.” And for the protection of every staff member in that base. “After the full moon passes, we’ll know that you control your beast.”

  Harris was sitting in the middle of the cell. “And if the beast controls me…what then? You going to put me down? Ship me off to Purgatory?”

  “I’ll deal with you.” That was all he’d say because the last thing Eric wanted to do was hurt a loyal agent.

  He marched out of the area. Hell, he sure hoped Holly was ready for Keegan. Because they had to figure out how the guy had become a cross-over.

  No one else can be allowed to change.

  Cross-overs were far too dangerous.

  ***

  The drugs were filling his veins. Cold, like ice that chilled him from the inside. The guards had strapped him down on the gurney, securing him so tightly. Too tightly, but they hadn’t cared.

  Now they were wheeling him out of the cell. His head sagged to the side, and he knew that he looked as if he were barely conscious.

  Appearances could be so very deceiving.

  They took him past his men. Werewolves locked down in their collars. He muttered as he past them, his voice no more than a whisper.

  It was a good thing werewolves had such wonderful hearing.

  The guards took him past another cell. One that was far away from the others. Ah…and there was someone in that cell, too. The agent he’d slashed…and bit.