HEARTFIRE
Book Two
The Hidden
By
Celeste Davis
Loving a beast is a dangerous game...
Kaylia Thomas wants nothing more than to be normal. A boring, normal college freshman with a boring, normal boyfriend. Unfortunately, that just doesn't seem to be in the cards.
First there were the dreams. Then there wa that night, when Dylan Westen, star quarterback, took her into the woods.
Something has been happening to Dylan lately. Something that changes him from a sweet, chivalrous young man ot a ravening best. And it seems like Kaylia is the only one who can help him figure out how to tame it...
If he doesn't devour her first.
Copyright © 2016 Celeste Davis
All rights reserved.
For Kanga
Chapters
Chapter One ○
Chapter Two ὧ
Chapter Three ♆
Chapter Four ≣
Chapter Five ☽
Chapter Six ⨌
Chapter Seven ✬
Chapter Eight ∏
Chapter Nine ♛
Chapter Ten ✠
Note from author
Sneak peak of upcoming release The Gate
Excerpt of Second Sight
Chapter One
Dylan
○
"Stay away from me."
My eyes fluttered open. I was laying on the cold ground. A faint light filtered through the trees above me. It was early in the morning from the looks of it. And it was freezing.
"What the-"
"I said stay away from me!"
I turned my head to see Kaylia kneeling on the ground. She had a long pointy stick pointed at me. Right at my chest.
A very pointy stick.
Her big brown eyes were wide with fear. Her back was pressed up against a tree trunk. She looked like she was shivering. From the cold or fear, I wasn't sure which. I reached for her and she flinched.
"Kaylia?"
"Don't!"
I ran my hand through my hair and brushed the leaves away. I grimaced, expecting to be stiff after sleeping on the ground all night. Instead I felt good. Really good.
In fact, I felt fantastic.
"What the hell happened?"
Kaylia just whimpered and waved the stick menacingly. I almost laughed. She was about as threatening as a kitten. I grabbed the stick and tossed it away playfully.
That's when I noticed her eyes were filling up with tears.
"Hey... it's okay. It's just me, Dylan."
That didn't seem to work. Maybe she was in shock. I had to get through to her. I used a sterner tone of voice.
"Kaylia! I'm not going to hurt you."
She scrambled to the side and was on her feet in an instant. I reached out and grabbed her just as she started to run. It was like taking candy from a baby. I realized that she was more than a little bit frightened of something.
She was terrified.
I frowned. My girl was brave. It would take something major to rattle her. I wanted to hold her and tell her not to be scared. That I would protect her.
But I had a sinking feeling that the something she was afraid of was me.
"Kaylia, what's wrong? Did something happen to you?"
She stared up at me, the look in her beautiful eyes nearly breaking my heart.
"You tried to- and then you-"
To hell with it.
I reached out for her and pulled her into my arms. Scared or not, I needed to hold her. And she needed to be held.
She stood stiffly, not relaxing into me like she usually did. I closed my eyes, a heavy feeling settling in my chest. This could not be happening. My sweet girl was not allowed to be afraid of me. I would never do something to scare her anyway.
Except... I couldn't exactly remember how we'd gotten all the way out here. Or anything that happened the night before... the game was the last thing I remembered.
I shook that thought off.
"No way. I didn't hurt you. I wouldn't."
Her voice was muffled against my chest so I held her shoulders. She was less than a foot away from me, trembling in my grip. I stared down into her heart breakingly pretty, frightened face.
"What?"
"You didn't hurt me, but..."
"But what?"
I stroked her soft hair back from her face tenderly. I pulled a leaf out of her tangled waves and smiled. Her huge eyes were full of unshed tears.
"Shhhh... You can tell me. It's alright."
Just like that, her walls were back up. She gave me a cold look and shook off my hands. I let her go, wondering what the hell was going on.
"I just want to go home now please."
"Kaylia, please tell me what happened. I can't... remember anything after the game."
She looked at me searchingly. She wanted to believe me, I could tell. I could feel her wavering between fear and compassion.
"You really can't remember?"
I shook my head and tried to smile reassuringly. Some of the tension went out of her shoulders.
"Okay. I'll tell you. But later, okay?"
I nodded. I would give her time. On one condition.
"Alright Kaylia, you win. Just one last thing..."
I pulled her into my arms. I saw her startled eyes register that I was about to kiss her a split second before my lips found hers. She stiffened up, feeling like a board in my arms.
I didn't give up though. I kissed her gently, molding my lips to her unbelievably soft ones. Eventually she relaxed and the kiss deepened, until our tongues were swirling against each others. There was no urgency or pressure, just... us.
It was a long time before I lifted my head again. Kaylia's eyes were trusting now, tamed by my touch. This was the proof I needed.
We were meant to be together.
We were destined.
I took her hand, following as she walked out of the forest. We didn't speak until we were back at her dorm and I kissed her again. Then I promised I would see her soon.
One thought echoed through my head, circling relentlessly.
What the hell had happened last night?
Kaylia
○
'I'll pick you up at 8.'
I stared at my phone. Dylan had just texted me. Once again he was telling, not asking.
I sighed, rubbing my neck. There was no use for it. I was going to meet him tonight. Even after what had happened last night.
But every time I started to remember, my mind skittered away from the reality.
I would go because I cared about him but also because - well- I feared him a little bit too. Of course I did after what had happened last night... I didn't really want to think about that right now.
But I had to think about it.
Last night had been the most traumatic of my life. Worse than when my mom took off. Worst than when Gran broke her hip while I was at school. I'd come home to find her crying and in pain. The ambulance had seemed to take forever. I'd sat with her on the kitchen floor, holding her hand and trying to soothe her. It was awful.
But eventually Gran had healed.
I wasn't so sure if I would ever get over what I'd seen last night.
Last night I'd been attacked by so-called 'normal' men and protected by a beast.
After the game, after those guys tried to jump me, Dylan had changed. Not his personality, though that had certainly shifted in an unpleasant way. No, he had physically changed.
I was still afraid to think about it, let alone say it out loud.
"Monster."
I resisted the urge to slap my hand over my mouth. That
wasn't the right word anyway. Dyan hadn't turned into a monster exactly. Not like the boogie man or a ghoul. He'd become something in between man and beast... his face had changed- growing into a muzzle. His skin had been covered with the thick pelt of a beautiful silvery gray animal. A bear maybe. Or something similar.
I shook my head. It must have been the moonlight playing tricks on me. It had been very bright last night. A full moon.
A full moon...
Oh my God.
The hairbrush I'd been holding slipped out of my hand onto the floor.
"Hey!"
Charise pulled her headphones off. She'd been studying across the room and the noise must have disturbed her. I bent down quickly to retrieve my brush.
"Sorry."
"Let me guess, Prince Charming again?"
I nodded and smiled ruefully. Charise had that right. Dylan was Prince Charming. Only my Prince Charming came with teeth.
Big pointy teeth. And hair. And aggression.
Something occured to me then. Dylan didn't seem to know what had happened to him. Maybe it was the first time.
Maybe it was a curse.
A really, really bad one.
My boyfriend was a Goddam Werewolf.
I stood in front of Charise in jeans and a cardigan.
"So, do I pass muster?"
Charise stood up, eager to play her favorite game 'let's make over our mousy roommate.'
"Hmmm... jeans are good but you could use a cuter top. Hold on, I have just the thing."
She was back in a minute with a floral cotton blouse in soft blue. Charise's closet seemed endless and her drawers seemed bottomless. She was pretty much my own personal Fairy God Mother.
I pulled off my second-hand cardigan and t-shirt. I lifted my arms and slipped into the new top, checking myself out in the mirror. It was a definite improvement.
"Ohhh it's so pretty. Thank you Charise."
"No problem. You can keep it, it doesn't fit me anymore anyway."
"Are you sure? You're too sweet to me."
I smiled at my tall and busty blond friend. We were both curvy girls. I was just a tiny one. Charise just rolled her eyes.
"It's nothing, really. If I could switch places with you tonight, I would believe me."
"Well, thanks anyway. I mean it."
"Yeah, yeah."
Charise climbed back on her bed and slipped her headphones back on. I watched her for a minute. Charise was wrong. She wouldn't trade places with me.
Not if she knew the truth.
I walked over to the window and looked down. Dylan was outside waiting, just like I'd known he would be. He must have just walked up. It was almost like I had my own special Dylan Westen GPS.
He looked up at my window as if he could sense me too. I could feel his impatience, see it in his stance, the way he paced back and forth in front of my dorm like a caged beast.
It was time to face this. I was going to have to tell him something- maybe even the truth about what happened last night. Hopefully I'd be able to put it into words.
I took a deep breath and headed outside to face my demons.
Chapter Two
Dylan
ὧ
My feet felt like they barely touched the ground. It was almost like walking in the dreams, but not quite. This time I knew it was caused by Kaylia.
I was experiencing an incredible feeling of satisfaction. Just walking beside her was enough. Something had shifted for me last night. I was more sure than ever that I wanted to be near her.
Needed to be near her.
Too bad it hadn't worked both ways.
I reached for her hand. She glanced at me, uncertainty in her eyes. She still didn't trust me, that much was obvious. She's started to tell me about what happened the night before but had trailed off. Something had scared the hell out of her.
I had a strange certainty that the something was me.
"Here we are."
Kaylia looked up at the barbecue joint and smiled tentatively. I squeezed her hand and pulled her inside. A pretty waitress came and showed us to a table by the window. The girl was giving me overtly flirtatious glances. I ignored her.
"Hi, I'm Tammy. I'll be your server. The specials are on the board. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order."
"Thanks."
I was watching Kaylia as she looked around the place, picking up her menu and glancing at it. She was like a little bird or some other small creature. I leaned back, feeling my hunting instincts rise. I felt myself wanting to protect her at the same time that I wanted to devour her.
Figuratively speaking of course.
I asked her what she wanted and then ordered for both of us. This time we both had beer instead of wine. I watched hungrily as she licked the foam off of her upper lip.
I was hoping to get her tipsy again. I liked her when she got a little loose. My girl was no pushover though, even after a few drinks.
"So..."
She sipped her draft again.
"Okay. This is all kind of hard to explain Dylan."
"Take your time. I need to understand what has you so spooked."
I smiled at her and took her hand across the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Do you remember those guys outside the stadium? After the game?"
I frowned, not sure what she was talking about. But then a glimmer came to me... men standing around Kaylia... a fight. It was blurry but I had the distinct impression of a body flying through the air.
"It's fuzzy but yeah, now that you mention it. My God- did they hurt you Kaylia?"
She shook her head adamantly.
"No. That's just it. You rescued me."
I grinned.
"Good. I think you should go to the police though. File a report against those guys. They could try again. Or hurt someone else."
She shook her head, her eyes wide as saucers.
"That's just the thing Dylan. They won't try again."
"What do you mean?"
She looked away, biting her lip.
"You... hurt them. I think you hurt them real bad."
I stared at her as her words sunk in. She didn't notice that I was freaking out. She got caught up in her story, the words starting to really flow.
"You were really upset- angry. I thought you were going to kill them. All of them. But they ran away. Then..."
My voice sounded raw and low as I asked her what happened next. I had to know. Even if it meant I would never forgive myself.
"You picked me up and carried me for a long time. I didn't know where we were going but you didn't stop. You just ran deeper and deeper into the woods."
I closed my eyes, trying to remember. But nothing was coming to me. Flashes of trees in the darkness maybe... but then even that was gone.
"I'm sorry, I can't remember that."
"You took me into the woods and then you- you were-"
She trailed off, her breath coming in tiny gasps.
"Shhhhh- it's okay Kaylia. Just tell me."
"I don't think that you wanted to hurt me but you were... not yourself."
I leaned back in my seat. A cold feeling was settling into my chest. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it.
"What do you mean not myself?"
"You changed Dylan. You were touching me, kissing-"
I tried to make a joke. If we had fooled around then I was really wishing I could remember. But I was still afraid of what else she might say.
"I like the sound of that."
"No, Dylan. You were rough, not listening to me. And it was my first time so I told you to stop."
"Wait, what?"
Her voice was soft as she looked at her hands in her lap. She was clearly embarassed about telling me she was a virgin. And that I'd basically tried to force myself on her. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought.
"You were going too fast. So I told you
to stop."
My heart was beating hard in my chest. What the fuck had happened to me last night? I would never hurt Kaylia, or scare her. But it sounded like I'd done just that. And then some.
"And you did. You stopped."
"Thank god. You were scaring me Kaylia. Is that it? I'm sorry if I went too fast."
"No, that's not it."
I knew I wouldn't have roughed her up or pushed too hard. Not only would I never do that to any woman, but Kaylia was so precious to me, I would never even think about doing that.
"What then?"
"Your face- it looked different Dylan. And your eyes-"
"My eyes what?"
"They were red."
"What, like bloodshot?"
"No- I mean the pupils. They were red Dylan. They didn't look..."
She trailed off but I needed to hear it. I needed her to spell it out for me.
"They didn't look what, Kaylia?"
She lifted her eyes to me and I saw the awe in them. The fear. The truth.
"They didn't look human."
The waitress chose that exact moment to bring our food. I ignored her, staring intently into Kaylia's eyes over the steaming plates. The silence spun out between us, pushing us farther apart from each other.
"That sounds like something out of a horror movie. Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
She shook her head softly. Her eyes were sad. Almost as if she knew she was hurting me.
"No, Dylan. I wasn't. But I have seen something like that before. In a dream."
I cursed and stood up.
"Go on and eat. I just- I need some air."
"It's okay, Dylan. I can go. You stay. Eat."
"No! I'll be back in a minute. Please, don't leave."
But when I came back a few minutes later, she was gone.
Kaylia
ὧ
Tears were streaming down my face as I walked through town back towards campus. I had said what I needed to say. I owed him the truth, as strange and horrible as it was.
The Hidden (Heartfire) Page 1