Charmed by the Beast: an Adult Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Conduit Series Book 3)

by Conner Kressley

  True, Abram said I was super powerful and all that, but he was my boyfriend. It was his job to say stuff like that. Besides, superpowers aside, deep down I was just a washed-up super model who was in way over her head.

  And the way this guy looked at me, his eyes tearing through me like so much tissue paper, let me know that he knew that, too.

  There was no overture in his movements, no over-the-top theatrics or typical ‘mwahaha-esque’ villainy to speak of. Satina’s father struck me as a precise man, one who saw no need in doing more than what was absolutely necessary to get the job done and get it done well.

  And that, along with the looks on Satina and Abram’s faces when they spoke about him, scared me to death.

  My eyes slid over to Cindy. “Run,” I said. “Now!”

  This was either going to be a battle royale, or I was going to be dead in seconds. Either way, I didn’t need Cindy sticking around to see it.

  Cindy bolted toward the door without question, but Satina’s father threw his blade at her. It stuck in the door, just inches from where her head would have been moments later.

  “Not so fast,” he said. “If I let you go now, I’ll have to hunt you down later.” He looked from where I sat on the floor to where Cindy trembled by the door. “Now that doesn’t seem very practical. Does it?”

  “Let her go,” I growled. “Or I’ll show you what I’m really capable of.”

  “Is that a threat or a promise of entertainment?” he asked, glaring at me. “I have no doubt you’re capable of great feats. The fact that The Brothers are having such a hard time pinning down your identity speaks volumes of your potency. But I’m not easily impressed, and I’m certainly never frightened. So if you’re going to threaten me with violence, you’ll at least need to make good on it.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out another blade. “Where shall we start?”

  I looked back at Cindy, using my eyes to motion her toward the door.

  Satina’s father sighed. “You’re wasting your time. Even if she could make it to the door without me gashing her throat wide open, she’d find they’ve been magically sealed. No one is leaving this place alive. Except me, that is.”

  Fire revved in my gut. I wasn’t going to stand for this, especially not from someone with a Dastardly and Muttley mustache.

  “There’s that feminine brashness we all knew was inevitable.” He tapped his finger against his lips. “It all began when you people started wearing pants. A woman should never be able to spread her legs without the fear of spoiling her modesty. It gets you people in trouble.”

  “You know what gets you people in trouble?” I asked, gathering my energy. “Underestimating me.”

  I threw my hands in front of me, unsure of what was about to come shooting out of them. I had enough of a handle on my abilities to know that whatever I was about to produce wasn’t good, but the exact nature of my attack was unknown to me until I watched flames dance dangerously out of my fingertips.

  Satina’s father jumped over me, flipped in midair, and landed behind me. I didn’t have time to turn around before I felt it. Hot pain flashing in my back.

  Then it came again.

  And again.

  He’s stabbing me.

  That was his blade dancing in and out of my flesh, moving inside of me too quickly for me to feel all the pain I knew would soon overtake me if death didn’t beat it to the punch.

  I screamed. With my scream, a boom of energy emitted from me in a circle, pushing Satina’s father backward.

  I crumpled to the floor, but I couldn’t stay there. This monster would be up in a second, coming back at me with that horrible blade, ready to finish me off.

  But I also couldn’t get up. Blood was gushing from the wounds.

  I was going to die here, without Abram, without any of the things I worked so hard to get for myself.

  Cindy would likely die right after me.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Satina’s father approaching. He had made it to his feet even quicker than I’d anticipated.

  I closed my eyes, and they begged to remain shut—to let them rest for just a moment—but there was no time for that. Rest meant death, and I wasn’t ready to die yet.

  I opened my eyes just as he swung the blade at me again. It flickered in the light as it drew blood from my cheek, but I pulled back quickly enough to keep the cut from going too deep.

  The floor beneath us began to quake. He stumbled, but he still drew nearer. I tried for my feet, but his boot came quick and hard against my chin. Sent me spinning back to the floor.

  The glass from all the skyscraper windows shattered, sending a torrent of shards raining down on us as if some corporate god wished to see us dead.

  Poor Cindy. Surely, this would be the end of her. But what could I do? This was all so out of control.

  Satina’s father ducked and danced around the sheets of falling glass as though he was born to do it. If any of them even touched him, it was only superficial.

  The room felt frigid. My body was nearly numb with cold. Although I wasn’t a nurse, I knew enough to know it meant I had lost way too much blood. The world was getting darker, but he was still coming. This man. This monster.

  “I was right,” he said as he settled over me, the bloodied blade fitting in his hand as if it were an extension of his natural self. “That was quite entertaining. You’re certainly a creature,” he said, tilting his head. “It’s a shame to put you down.”

  Shame or not, he reared back and drove the blade deep into my chest.

  Pain finally found me in full force as everything I was began to slip away. All that was left was an impossibly high ceiling and countless shattered windows.

  It all ended here, at the tip of a madman’s blade.

  Was there ever any other way?

  An angel descended toward us. I blinked my bleary eyes and opened my mouth, but no sound came out. No. Not an angel.

  Cindy.

  She landed on Satina’s father’s back and dug her teeth into his neck. He flailed, yelling as he tried to shake her off.

  I had just a moment—one more chance to get this right.

  After I pulled myself up, blade still in my chest, I lifted the biggest, sharpest shard of glass I could find from the floor. Diving forward, I drove it into Satina’s father’s foot. I had more energy than I thought because I felt the shard drive through his shoe, his entire foot, and then into the floor below.

  If I could get up, I might actually make it out. Satina’s father pulled at his leg, but before he could make another move, I sent a blast of energy toward him, crippling him where he stood. His screams lit up my fuzzy head as I clambered away, sucking in painful gasps of air. How long that would immobilize him, I didn’t know.

  When a hand suddenly clasped mine, I tried to pull away, thinking it was him. But Cindy’s voice came sweet and low against my ears.

  “Come on,” she pleaded.

  I did as she said. After what felt like eternity, air pelted against my skin.

  We were outside.

  Blinking hard, I tried to take the world in. I saw the ruined building in front of me, the building Satina’s son-of-a-bitch father was stuck inside, though probably not for much longer.

  “We have to go,” Cindy said. “That knife is still in your chest.”

  I looked down. The blade was still there, all right. But I couldn’t leave right yet, not with that monster like a sitting duck there.

  “Just a minute,” I said in a low tone.

  Pulling at strength I would have sworn I didn’t have, I screamed one more time.

  And I brought the entire goddamn building down.

  Cindy yanked me away as the rubble and dust showered down yards away from us.

  “My God,” she screamed. “You…you did that, didn’t you?” She pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. “Forget it. We have to get you to the hospital.”

  “No.” The magic and blood loss was beginning to take its toll.
I would be out in seconds. “No hospitals. Just go here for me.” I handed her my hotel room card. “Please. Everything will make sense there. I promise.”

  I didn’t get to see if she took the card. Before she could respond, I dipped off into the darkness.

  Chapter 18

  I woke to a bright, almost blinding light. My arms hurt. My legs hurt. My chest felt as if it were on fire.

  And I couldn’t move. Not even an inch.

  A tall man stood over me. He wore a mask over his nose and mouth, had dark skin and a shaved head, and his hands disappeared somewhere near my body, out of my line of sight.

  He was a doctor. God, Cindy had taken me to a hospital.

  This wasn’t good.

  Even if this doctor could save me—a feat which was probably beyond traditional medicine at this point anyway—it meant I would be in the system.

  Another of Charlie’s girlfriends who had almost met her end. It wouldn’t play well with the police at all.

  Although maybe it was for the best. Charlie was, after all, in jail. Certainly, they couldn’t blame him for what happened to me.

  I needed to get myself together, to gather my energy, pull on some of that healing energy I’d used on Abram in the past, and redirect it back at myself.

  But I couldn’t. The creep of unconsciousness came calling again. I tried to fight it. I tried to moan or twitch as the tall man seemingly worked on my most severe wounds. It was no use. The need for sleep was too strong. My eyes flickered shut, and the world disappeared again.

  * * *

  The next time I woke, the room was dark, but the mattress was too thick and soft for a hospital bed.

  I blinked hard, thankful that the night now was duller than the blinding light that greeted me before. Lifting my head, I found myself stronger than I had any right to be. My head was practically spinning and foggy, but, other than that, I felt amazing.

  I was tired, wasn’t sore, and I wasn’t even achy. As I reached down, I realized I wasn’t hooked up to any machines, wasn’t bandaged from head to toe, and wasn’t even wearing a standard hospital gown. In fact, I was wearing my silk pajamas, the pair Abram bought me right before our trip to Grimoult.

  I cleared my throat, and it too felt fresh and new.

  I wasn’t in the hospital. I couldn’t have been.

  The door opened, illuminating the room with a sliver of light from the outside. I was in a hotel. I was in the room where Abram and I were meant to have our vacation.

  The dark-skinned, tall man stood in the doorway, backlit with light from the hallway. He looked at me, and then turned to his left. “She’s awake now,” he said before disappearing into the hallway.

  The door flung open, and a hand flicked a switch to turn on the lights. Abram rushed toward me. His eyes darted around the room, underscored by dark circles. He hardly looked like himself.

  “Abram,” I said, surprised that my throat wasn’t even the least bit raw.

  He practically slid toward me. Scooping me up in strong, muscled arms, he took no care to be gentle with me or treat me like someone who had just been pulled from death’s doorstep.

  “I’m okay,” I said against his neck as he squeezed me tightly. Again, though it should have hurt like hell, all I felt was relief. I was in his arms again. I was sure I was going to die, yet here I was. Safe. Sound. Where I belonged.

  “This is my fault,” he breathed against my shoulder. “I should have never told you to go to her. I should have kept you safe.”

  “Relax, Abram. I’m fine.”

  “Barely.” He swallowed. “If Timmon hadn’t been here, I’m not sure you would have made it through the night.”

  I had no idea who Timmon was, but my best guess was the tall man in the hallway. “What about Cindy?” I asked.

  “She had a few cuts and bruises and a gash on her left leg that required stitches. But she’s fine. She’s more concerned about you. Says you saved her life.”

  “Guess we’re even,” I mumbled, remembering the way she leapt onto Satina’s father’s back, giving me the time I needed to make my getaway. I winced at the thought; as a Conduit, I still wasn’t as strong as I needed to be. I should be able to take care of myself by now. “And Charlie?” I asked. “Did you get him out? Or did I ruin that?”

  “He was out long before what happened to you.” Abram pulled away from me but kept his hands in mine. “Ramsey had a Supplicant connection in the city. Once we got Timmon here, Satina was able to use her abilities to convince the police to release Charlie of his own volition. At least for now.”

  “I knew she wouldn’t leave us,” I mused. For better or worse, Satina always came through when we needed her. I didn’t know what we would ever do without her. “And Timmon?” I asked. “Is that the guy who was just here? Was he the Supplicant?”

  Abram nodded. “Supplicant and skilled surgeon, which came more in handy than I wanted to admit.” His eyes burned into me. “Your wounds were more severe than we first thought when Cindy brought you here. Magic alone wouldn’t have saved you. Neither would surgery. You’re lucky we found someone who could provide both at the same time. Timmon performed surgery on your more pressing wounds, while Satina channeled his blood to magically fill in the gaps.” He squeezed my hand. “For a horrible moment, I thought we might lose you.”

  “I’m here,” I said, squeezing back. “And I’m not going anywhere.” In fact, I felt great. The surgical mysticism or whatever must have been the most effective thing ever, because I was perfect. “He was strong, Abram,” I said, my eyes moving to the bed. “And fast. If even one thing would have gone differently, I’d be dead right now.”

  “I know,” Abram said. “Edwin is a brute without peer.”

  “Edwin,” I muttered. That was right. I’d forgotten his name, and now I was on the fence about whether he deserved one.

  “Don’t worry,” Abram said, pulling me into his arm. “You won’t be dealing with him by yourself next time.”

  “Next time?” I balked. “I killed that bastard. I brought an entire building down on him.”

  “Cute,” came a familiar booming voice from the doorway. Satina leaned against the doorjamb. “I can see why you think that would have done the trick. Unfortunately, I know my father better than that.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, looking past Abram to the Conduit who, in so many ways, started all of this. “Did you not hear me? Your dad just got a building dropped on him, wicked-witch style.”

  “Well, ding dong then,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “But I’m afraid that particular witch is most certainly not dead. I scoured the site last night after you came here. There’s no body.”

  I shrugged one of my shoulders. “Maybe you overlooked it,” I said, though deep down, uncertainty festered in my gut.

  Satina waved her hand around, dismissing me. “Edwin is my father. If he were dead, I would know it. I would feel it. And, since you don’t see me sporting a festive party hat, it’s safe to assume I haven’t felt it yet.” She blew out a thin breath. “My father is alive, and we’re going to have to deal with that sooner or later.”

  “I vote for later,” Abram said, holding me even closer. “Charisse needs to rest.”

  “I certainly don’t,” I said, loosening myself from his embrace and pushing myself to my feet. As I stood, I felt how strong and sturdy my legs were. “I feel fine. More than fine, actually. And we don’t have the luxury of slowing down right now.” I moved for my equally luxurious satin robe, throwing it over my shoulders. “We need to come up with a plan, and we need to act on it. Soon.”

  Satina smiled. “I might be able to help with that.”

  * * *

  I moved out into the living area. Timmon, the Supplicant who saved my life, nodded at me and said, “Hello.”

  Charlie sat in the corner, his legs crossed Indian style as he stared over at Cindy, who was perched on the edge of the sofa, staring out the window. I hadn’t liked her before, and, truth b
e told, we still didn’t seem to have much in common. But we had been through this thing together and that made us war buddies of a sort.

  I sat beside her. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” she said. “Aside from the fact that you tricked me into running back to the guy who’s trying to kill me.”

  “I’m not trying to kill you,” Charlie yelled, his eyes glassy with tears. “I would never try to kill you. I love you. Don’t you get it?”

  “I thought I did, Charlie.” She crossed her arms tighter. “Really, I did. I took you to meet my dad, for Christ’s sake. I don’t do that with anyone. Ever. That’s not who I am.” She swallowed hard. “I thought…I thought you were special.”

  “I am special,” Charlie answered. “I mean, I thought I was to you. You are to me.” He moved closer, and Cindy pulled away. “I love you so much, babe. I still do. That hasn’t changed.”

  “You changed,” she said, her voice wavering as tears filled her eyes.

  “That wasn’t me,” he pleaded. “You know that—”

  “Right.” She scoffed. “It was the monster living inside you. I suppose he’s the one who pulled away from me, too, the one who started making excuses and not wanting to go out anymore, the one who was only interested in me after he left the bars.”

  “I got scared,” he mumbled. “I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. I wanted you, but I didn’t know how to express it.”

  “Drop dead, asshole,” Cindy said, turning away from him.

  Satina flopped into the chair across from us. “That might prove truer than you’d like,” she said, kicking her feet on to the ottoman. “I spoke to our resident mage, and he’s informed me that the only way to banish Mr. Mandrake is to destroy his connection to this plane. We have to crush his heart.”

  “His heart?” Charlie stammered. “You mean the heart inside my chest?”

  “Afraid so,” Satina said, making me hate her all over again. “It seems the only way to drive this Conduit lunatic back into his rightful grave and put a stop to this nightmare is to cut off the source. We have no choice, Charlie. We have to kill you.”