Taming the Beast: Eleven Paranormal Romances

by Alyse Zaftig

  Duncan and Nick shared a look before they both laughed. It was kind of a rueful, almost bitter sound, but it still held amusement. “No, not at all. Ellshonna did not like rejection, and she revealed to us that she’d been keeping more than one secret.”

  “She was a witch, and she cursed us that we would be our beastly side that we had kept hidden from her by night and live until we found a woman we could both share, who loved us in return. Then she left us.”

  “We went after her,” said Duncan. “Not because we had changed our minds about sharing her, but because we wanted to ensure there wasn’t really a curse.”

  “As soon as we stepped out into the moonlight, our clothes ripped away, and we became the forms you saw earlier tonight. It didn’t take long to discover that if we tried to leave the lands here, we were beasts all the time. So not only had she cursed us to do something that we loathed the idea of before we could be free, but she had made it as difficult as possible. We’re tied to the estate until the curse is broken.”

  “It took almost a hundred years for us to reach the point where we could consider sharing a woman,” said Duncan. “It got easier as time passed, but we didn’t find that special connection with anyone.

  “Over the years, we found ways to meet women, but none of them felt right,” said Nick.

  “How have you met them?” asked Baylee.

  Duncan look slightly embarrassed when he said “You aren’t the first librarian we’ve hired. After they’ve reorganized our library, we always return it to a disorganized state. We’ve also found other reasons to invite women to the estate over the years, and the Internet has made that easier. But until you, we haven’t felt the missing connection with any of them.”

  A dart of pain shot through her. “I’m just a convenient female that you’ve settled on to break the curse.”

  Nick frowned. “Of course you aren’t. We care about you.”

  “Me and the zillion other women you’ve invited before me. Did you just pick me at random?” She sniffed, trying to hide her hurt. That she was just one in a long line of many that they had test-driven to break their curse sent a shard of agony through her chest. “I’m just here for your convenience.”

  “No, that isn’t it at all. If we were just picking randomly, there were at least fifteen hundred other resumes on LinkedIn that we could have selected that met the criteria, which is a female around our age. We looked through all of the profiles, and it wasn’t until we both saw your picture and had a strong reaction to it that we decided to invite you. We were hoping you were the one, because we reacted so strongly to you even before we met you.”

  Baylee bit her lip. “I want to believe you, but I need time to think about all this. I can’t just be a convenient substitute, or a warm body. There has to be something more for this to work.”

  “Don’t you feel it too?” asked Duncan, sounding agonized.

  She hesitated for a moment. “I definitely feel something, but now I’m not sure what it is. I’m questioning everything. I just don’t know what to do or think.”

  “Is it because we’re beasts?” asked Nick with an air of resignation that suggested he was fully prepared for that possibility.

  “No, that’s actually the least of my concerns. I feel like my entire world has tilted on its axes, and there’s a lot I’m going to have to change about my belief system, including incorporating the existence of magic, but that isn’t the biggest fear.” She couldn’t verbalize the biggest fear, which was loving them deeply only to have them not love her the same way in return. If it was a simple matter of them both agreeing on the same woman, and getting her to accept them, then how could she ever be sure that they wanted her and loved her for her, and not just as a means to break the curse?

  Chapter 5

  As she often did in times of distress, Baylee turned to books as a means of escape. There seemed little point in continuing with reorganizing the library until she had decided if she was going to stay with them. Otherwise, they would simply hire another librarian and hope she was the mate they sought.

  The room still became her refuge over the next two days as she tried to sort out her thoughts while avoiding Nick and Duncan. They maintained a respectful distance, which she appreciated, and even had Mrs. Farley bring her trays for food.

  It was obvious they weren’t trying to push her, but in a way, that made it even harder to decide. If they had been encroaching on the time she asked for to consider the situation, she would have been more certain of their assertions that they needed her and cared deeply about her.

  That was an unfair stance, since she had specifically requested time and distance, but the thing she had asked for was leaving her raw and aching. She missed them, and the connection they had found, and it was leading her toward trusting the bond forming between them. She just wished she could be absolutely certain that it was her specifically they needed to break the curse, rather than being a convenient warm body to whom they were both attracted.

  Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket with a frown. She had begun to dread looking at the screen, and she wasn’t at all surprised to see Sam had sent her a text message. It was at least the third one of the day, and it was barely after noon. She started to delete it, but her gaze moved to the words as she tried to figure out what had caught her attention.

  She did her best to look through the aspersions on her moral character, and his favorite word of whore, which he used several times. Her stomach was queasy from the sheer hate in the message as she forced herself to read it twice before she realized what had felt wrong about it the first time.

  Only a whore would screw two men at the same time where anyone could see.

  Her heart stuttered in her chest as her face flushed. He must be watching her to know she had taken two lovers, and the easiest way for him to have seen that was three days ago, when Duncan and Nick had taken her for a picnic when they’d had a surprisingly nice fall day.

  It had been a little chilly, but they’d soon found ways to keep her warm, and the three of them had made love on the blanket—where anyone who was spying could have seen them. At the time, she had thought Mrs. Farley was the only other person on the grounds, and the men had assured her she was in the kitchen, so she’d allowed them to seduce her, since she had wanted it too.

  She scrambled to her feet, contemplation forgotten in her need to seek out Duncan and Nick. They needed to know Sam was somewhere around. Until recently, she wouldn’t have feared Sam despite his attempts to control her, but in light of the texts and the fact that he had followed her here, she knew he was dangerous. Her lovers needed to be warned.

  She hurried from the library and spent ten minutes searching their wing of the house, but neither were in attendance. She was growing concerned for them as she moved down to the main floor, seeking out Mrs. Farley, who was in the kitchen.

  The older woman gave her a kindly smile as she kneaded bread dough. “If you’re looking for a bite to eat, there are several options in the refrigerator.”

  She shook her head. “I actually need to find Duncan and Nick. Do you know where they are?”

  “They’ve gone fishing, Ms. Edwards.”

  Baylee blinked, having a difficult time imagining Duncan and Nick as the fishing type. “Really?” At Mrs. Farley’s nod, she asked, “Where are they fishing?” She already knew it couldn’t be off the property, or they would have immediately turned into the beasts.

  “If you head due east, you’ll come to the river that runs across the property at the edge. You’ll find them there.”

  Baylee debated the wisdom about going outside alone, but the idea of Nick and Duncan out there alone, with no knowledge of Sam’s presence, spurred her onward. She was certain they could take care of themselves if they knew there was a threat, but she didn’t know what method Sam might use to attack, or if he would even target Duncan and Nick.

  There was a visible path through the forest, and as she reached the edge of it before ent
ering, she knelt down and picked up a sturdy branch. It was light enough for her to carry, but heavy enough to do damage to Sam if he appeared. With a deep breath, and the branch in her hand, she stepped into the gloom of the afternoon forest.

  The canopy was thick and lush, blocking out the sun in places and reducing it to little more than a pleasant haze in others. It wasn’t too dark to navigate, but it was dark enough to be nerve-racking. She moved her head continuously, eyes constantly scanning the area around her. When she stepped into a clearing near the stables, which appeared to be in disuse, she breathed a sigh of relief. The river was still about a mile away, and that meant reentering the forest after the clearing, but she was more confident in her journey now that she’d accomplished part of it.

  Maybe she was overreacting, and Sam wasn’t lurking on the property somewhere. Perhaps he had tricked her parents or one of her friends into telling him where she was working and had driven up to see her, and had instead found her with Duncan and Nick. Maybe he’d been so angry and hurt that he had turned and gone back the way he came, but she wasn’t going to cling to that hope. In light of his increasingly violent text messages, and his overall creepy behavior, she figured it was more likely he was on the property somewhere. She only hoped he wasn’t watching her right that minute.

  She crossed the clearing, moving toward the stables, though not approaching them. The slightest smell of musty manure remained in the air, indicating it had probably been years since they had kept horses on the property. She eyed the building uncertainly as she walked past, but didn’t feel the sensation of being watched, at least not any stronger than she had ever since stepping outside the manor house.

  Two minutes after she had entered the clearing, she was back in the forest again, and she remained vigilant, but saw no sign of Sam. She continued walking forward before crying out sharply when something created a stinging sensation in her hip. She angled her body slightly to look at the spot, having expected she had caught herself on a thorn or something.

  Instead, there was a dart extending from her flesh, and she picked it up, wincing as she pulled it out. For a moment, her brain couldn’t make the connection between what it was and how it had gotten there, but as she swayed, she realized it was a tranquilizer dart.

  She didn’t see Sam as she collapsed to the floor of the forest, but she was certain he was there, and he was the one who had shot her. She could hear footsteps approaching as she fought off the wave of unconsciousness, but she passed out before they had a chance to reach her.

  She woke with the smell of old manure in her nose, and scratchy straw against her cheek. Without thinking, she groaned as she lifted her head before awareness returned, dictating she should appear unconscious for as long as possible.

  It was already too late as evidenced by footsteps approaching. Her head spun as she forced herself to turn over, already knowing the identity of the person standing over her even before she saw his face. “Why are you doing this, Sam?” Her voice was raspy, and she cleared her throat several times before she could speak normally. “This is downright crazy.”

  His expression tightened, making his normally model-perfect face take on a chilling edge. Maybe it was the way the shadows highlighted his face, illuminated by the lantern he held, but he appeared to be a creature crafted from darkness and rage rather than a human being. She shivered at the sight, finding him far more terrifying than she ever had Duncan or Nick, even when she had seen them as beasts before realizing it was them.

  “What’s crazy is throwing away what we had. You could have been the perfect wife and partner if you’d allowed me to mold you and guide you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a lump of clay, and I had no interest in being shaped to your version of perfection. Whatever we had is over, and it was before I came here. It’s been over for a long time, but I didn’t have the sense to end it formally until recently.”

  His expression tightened even further, and he knelt down to backhand her. “It’s not over until I say it is, but I agree with you. It’s definitely over now, slut.”

  Her head was reeling from the blow, and she blinked as two images of him blurred before gradually merging again into one. “If you feel that way about it, then why are you here? Stalking me is not compatible with ending a relationship.”

  He tried to hit her again, though this time she managed to bring up an arm and slightly block the blow. Unfortunately for her, Sam was a great deal larger than she was, having been an athlete throughout high school and college, and still playing softball on the weekends. Despite her hand blocking a good portion of the blow to her face, it still jarred her sharply.

  “I don’t care what happens to you now, slut. I’m here for the beasts. When I saw what they were, and what they could do, I knew they’d be of great value. I have pictures, but those can be dismissed. I won’t be accused of being crazy again. I need proof, and that comes in the form of capturing one of them alive.”

  Her eyes widened, and she struggled to deny what he was saying. “That’s crazy. What are you talking about? What beasts?”

  He grasped a handful of her shirt and dragged her to her feet, pressing his face against hers. “Don’t call me crazy.” For emphasis, he shook her before shoving her away.

  Baylee stumbled backward, but managed to catch herself in the pile of hay bales that had long since turned to straw, which kept her from sprawling on the floor again. She eyed him warily as he paced in front of her.

  “I only need one of them alive, so I’m going to kill the other one.” He stopped and faced her with a cold smile. “I’ll even let you pick which one lives and which one dies. Since you’ve been in bed with both of them, you should be forced to choose, you disgusting whore.”

  She glared at him as she straightened her spine and stood upright. She was still a little woozy, but she didn’t think she was in danger of collapsing. “I’m not a whore, and they aren’t beasts.”

  “I’ve seen the proof with my own eyes.”

  She shrugged. “Fine, but how do you think you’re going to trick them, or capture them? They’re too smart for you.”

  “But maybe not for you.” His grin was chilling as he marched toward her, grabbing her with one hand as he started to hit her with the other. She tried to block his blows, but had little success. Soon, she could taste blood in her mouth and feel it dripping down her forehead and into her eye.

  Finally, he stopped hitting her and pulled back. One of her eyes was swelling shut, and the other had blood in it that obscured her vision, but she was certain he looked smugly confident.

  He sounded it too when he spoke. “The smell of blood should draw them in. All animals respond to that. It’s almost dark, so it won’t be long. I guess I’d better get you in position. If they don’t devour you in their beast forms, and you survive to the end while they’re eating you, I’ll even shoot you between the eyes when it’s over. I’ll give you a quick end in honor of what we once had.”

  “You’re a real prince.” Her lips throbbed when she spoke, and a cut at the corner of her mouth wept freely with blood. She brought up one of her hands to try to wipe it away, but he intercepted it before she could. She tried to tug away, but only delayed him in fastening a pair of handcuffs around her wrists.

  Using the cuffs, he dragged her behind him, not allowing her any quarter even when she stumbled. If she wasn’t on her feet marching with him, he dragged her along on the ground. When they left the stables, he pulled her to a tree, where there was a section of chain lying beside it.

  She struggled to escape, and he pulled her head forward before slamming it back against the tree with casual cruelty. Baylee wasn’t completely unconscious, but she also wasn’t aware enough to keep fighting him as he wound the chain around her several times before finishing off by wrapping it around her neck twice to the point where it restricted her oxygen, but didn’t quite suffocate her.

  He sounded pleased when he said, “I should still be able to hear you scream. You
owe me a few of those.”

  She would have been brave and told him to go to hell, but it hurt too much to talk with her lips broken open and bleeding.

  They stayed there for several minutes, and she grew progressively more uncomfortable. She could make out dusk descending into nightfall with her one semi-good eye, and a few minutes after he had chained her, she heard howls unlike anything she’d ever heard in her life. They weren’t wolf-like, or like any other creature. Since there were two of them, she was certain they were Nick and Duncan in beast form.

  They were either calling out to her because they hadn’t found her, or they were calling out because they had scented her blood and were following her trail. She fervently hoped it was the latter, because she was certain they wouldn’t hurt her, but they might be able to rescue her from Sam and thwart his plans for them.

  Thinking of the other man’s name forced her to open her eyes as far as she could, blinking away blood as best she could as she searched for him. She didn’t see him out in the open, and she figured he was hiding either in the stables or in the trees. The howls came again, this time closer, and she held her breath for a moment before exhaling as they called out a third time, closer still. She was certain now that Duncan and Nick had detected her scent, and they were coming for her.

  Unfortunately, they didn’t know what they were walking into. They probably thought she had been injured in some way and were coming to rescue her, planning to get her medical attention. It was unlikely they would suspect Sam’s involvement, especially since she’d never mentioned a crazy ex-boyfriend.

  Would they detect the scent of another person? Would that be enough warning for them? She didn’t know. When they were closer, at least close enough that she thought she could hear them crashing through the forest in their haste, she summoned her last reserves of strength enough to yell, “It’s a trap,” as they burst into the clearing.