A Beauty So Beastly

by RaShelle Workman

  Adam. Adam. Adam. My mind kept repeating his name. Each letter filling up the ache in my heart. He had no intention of killing me.

  I pulled his shirt from his pants so that I could feel his warm skin.

  Another howl permeated the air around us.

  “Okay, that one was closer.” Adam quickly jumped up and ran to the window, pushing back one curtain.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Maybe nothing.” Adam grabbed my hands, helping me stand. My thighs were shaking. His eyes were hard with ferocity and he gave me a little shake. “You can trust me,” he said again, repeating his words from before.

  “Trust?” I snorted. “Do you even know what that word means?”

  Adam released my hands. “Yes, Beatrice I do. I trusted your father when he promised to protect my mom and my sister. But when my mother was killed by his father, Fisher did nothing.” The words ripped from his throat and I felt his agony.

  “So I was right. Celeste wasn’t your mom,” I muttered softly.

  Adam went back to the window. I moved closer as a strong desire to comfort him swept through me.

  “I have no idea who that woman is.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “It was my job to infiltrate, destroy, and bring back the pendant.” He closed the curtains and moved over to the couch in the living area. “I’ve been studying your family for a long time, and when I saw Celeste being taken away by the police I used the situation to my advantage.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. “Did you kill my mom and dad?” The words came out barely above a whisper. I hadn’t wanted to ask, but I needed to know.

  He crossed him arms. “No,” he said, his gaze holding mine. “I would have.” He paused and started to pace. “Except they’d already vanished.” He glanced at me. I felt my mouth open and close as questions rose and fell from my lips in silence. His jaw clenched. “Fisher always was a coward.”

  That pissed me off. I walked over and slapped his face. “How dare you speak like that about my dad?”

  A wisp of a smile played on his lips. “When Fisher used the spell to allow you to cross realms, it took away all the best parts of you. For eighteen years your parents gave you everything, but you felt nothing. You may look human but you’re not. You’re Vaktare and not just any Vaktare, but of royal blood. On your birthday, when you were busy being a total bitch with your friends, you should’ve been in Hiraken preparing for your vision quest, allowing your people to see that you would stand against the terrible things still going on in your land.” He was fuming, barely able to contain his emotions.

  “My what? Do what?” I was seething too.

  “It’s a journey you take into the Fyrge desert and discover what your ability is.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling that what he said was true. “But not if your kind killed us all. I read the history. That was what the Locanis wanted. To destroy all Vaktare, to take Hiraken for themselves. I thought my kind were all dead.” I knew it wasn’t true even though I’d said the words. Obviously there were more Vaktare alive than my parents first believed. Still, I didn’t know what to do. I watched Adam silently, my fingers gripped in fists, but the position felt awkward.

  So I walked away.

  Adam swore. “Most of the Locanis wanted to kill all Vaktare, that’s true, and we nearly succeeded. But what’s also true is that most Vaktare wanted the Locanis to continue to be their slaves.” He stopped in front of me. “Slaves, Beatrice.”

  I blinked and backed away.

  He went on, “They thought of us as lesser creatures because we weren’t given an ability.”

  I closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around myself. “Where did my mom and dad stand on the matter?” For some reason the answer to that question was very important to me.

  “Lenora was completely against enslaving us. Fisher was next in line to be king. He’d been raised by his tyrannical father, but . . .” Adam sighed. “I don’t believe he wanted to treat us the way his father did. I believe he would have been a much better king.” I opened my eyes. Adam’s face had softened. He was watching me. “I call him a coward because he didn’t stand up to Kevoney. He didn’t stand up for what was right. He was too afraid.”

  “Did you ever think he ran away not because he was afraid to stand up for what was right, but because he wanted to save his wife and daughter?” I didn’t know what Adam’s deal was, but I needed answers, and he was finally giving them.

  “What about the pendant? My dad said you stole it from him.” I moved over to the window. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to see the moon.

  “When Fisher jumped realms, my claws caught hold of the pendant. I took it and more.” His face fell. “I took his ability as well.”

  So it was Adam who stole my dad’s powers. I remembered the black cat saying something about that the night he tried to kill me.

  “Why would you do that?” I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t.

  Adam sighed heavily. “That wasn’t my intention.” He came to stand beside me. “I don’t know how it happened. Needless to say, being a werewolf with the ability to cast spells has made me the topic of a lot of conversation. In fact my ability ended the war. I thought it would be a good thing. That perhaps the Vaktare and Locanis could truly become equals once again.” He laughed but it was without joy. “Some even believed I was the one your medicine woman spoke about. He shook his head. “When it became apparent I wasn’t, I was reassigned to the position of glorified assassin. It seemed the new King believed that was all my powers were good for.” He blew out his breath, frustrated. “After nearly ten years a few of the lower Vaktare and some Locanis formed a secret society.”

  “What kind of society?”

  Adam smiled. “They are called the Society of Believers. They stole some of our most intelligent scientists, giving them access to Vaktare and Locanis victims with the sole desire to do what I did by accident—take abilities from the Vaktare and implant them in the Locanis?”

  I gasped. “Has it worked?”

  He shook his head. “Knock on wood, they haven’t found a way . . . yet.”

  “So if you want nothing to do with it, why did you agree to come here and kill my family and me?”

  Adam stuffed his hands in his pockets. “They have my sister. She wasn’t killed during the last war, but they’ve sworn to kill her if I don’t murder the last of the Cavanaughs.”

  My heart sank. That was sad. “So why didn’t you kill me?”

  His teeth ground together. “The first day I met you, I knew I could. I wanted to. You were . . .” He paused, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Not the kindest person. You reminded me a lot of your grandfather.”

  I hung my head. “I know. I was a total bitch. The only reason I agreed to hire you was so I could make you suffer.” I laughed bitterly. “I wanted you to become as beastly as I was.” I winked. “Guess I’m too late. You’re quite beastly all on your own.” For some reason that made me laugh hard so hard I started to cry, which was weird, but totally what happened. “Anyway, sorry. Was it my sparkling personality that changed your mind?”

  Adam pulled me to him. His eyes smoldered and kept going from my lips and back to my eyes. “That was part of it. Mostly it was your hot body.”

  I smacked his arm.

  Adam chuckled. “Ouch.” His fingers caressed my cheeks. “When I showed up the next day, you were different. Then I found out your enchantment had somehow been removed and I was finally meeting the real you. Right away I knew you were different, special, spectacular.” He lifted my face to his. “Once upon a time there was a dog that fell in love with a cat.”

  My face burned. “Love?”

  Adam’s lips caressed mine. He wrapped me in his arms, pulling me against him, his lips capturing mine tenderly. I clutched his shoulders, in too much shock to do anything more than enjoy every second. But the Vaktare and Locanis weren’t supposed to procreate. It was one of the laws I read about in the history book my parents wrote. Acc
ording to them any children created between the two species would be considered demon spawn. Still, Adam and I weren’t procreating, we were kissing, and the kissing was amazing.

  Our kiss intensified. His hands left my waist and went into my hair. It was a mess, I knew. I hadn’t brushed it in I didn’t know how long, but at that moment, with his fingers twisting the strands and tugging near my scalp, it filled me with desire.

  My emotions were a whirlwind of need and want and longing. As the seconds passed, a small wind began to blow around us. It lifted the edges of my hair, soft and billowing. At first. But the more entangled the kiss I became the stronger the wind blew until Adam paused.

  “Are you doing that?”

  The curtains whipped and knocked a picture off the wall. Adam’s eyes grew big. “It is you. It’s your ability. You can control the elements.”

  I nodded, feeling a small surge of excitement that was immediately eclipsed by fear. “That’s great but how do I make it stop?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. It was your mom’s ability too. If she were here she could tell you.”

  My body started to shake. The wind was getting stronger and a dark cloud began to form. In the room! “How do you stop your ability?” I had to shout against the strong wind.

  He yanked me back into his arms and whispered against my ear, “Breathe in through your nose. Out through your mouth. Think calming thoughts.”

  A shiver ran down my spine and it started to rain. Freaking rain, inside the hotel room.

  Adam kissed my cheek. “Beatrice, you need to calm down. Use the animal part of yourself to control the ability. They are connected, one helps balance the other out.”

  I wanted to tell him that it was his touch, his breath in my ear, his lips on my cheek, and the way his body curled with mine, that were putting my emotions into a passionate frenzy. I couldn’t though. All I could think about were his hands roaming my body, his lips on my neck, and more. For the first time in my life I wanted to go all the way, and even though I knew I shouldn’t I couldn’t stop what I wanted.

  “Beatrice.” His voice was tinged with worry now. He let go of me and tried to step away, but I didn’t want him to stop touching me. As soon as I had the thought that he should put his hands back on my body, Adam obeyed. His eyes went from amused worry to serious uneasiness. “Did you do that?” He tried to pull his hands from me, but they wouldn’t budge.

  My teeth chattered. I wanted to believe it wasn’t me forcing him to continue to touch me. “Maybe. I don’t know.” I shivered, unable to stop. Rain soaked through my hair and my clothes and trailed down my face.

  “Control it, Beatrice. Deep breaths. Calming thoughts.”

  I’d never been so cold in all my life. Or scared. I nodded and took a deep breath. Blew it out. It didn’t help. Thunder rumbled across the cloud as though mocking me. “It isn’t working,” I said, crying, my tears mixing with the rain. “Help me, Adam. Please.”

  There was a loud noise. The door to the hotel room shattered. Wood flew everywhere, splintering against and into my skin.

  “Isn’t this better than awesome?” Will walked into the room followed by three more men I’d never seen before. They all wore similar attire—black suits, white shirts, and black ties.

  “Will?” The rain and wind stopped as abruptly as it started. I blinked water out of my eyes and wiped the hair off my face.

  Adam’s body relaxed as the spell or whatever I’d commanded his body to do dissipated. In the same second he tensed again, growling at the men in the doorway.

  “Beatrice, get out of here,” Adam said, his voice hard as steel. One of the men standing behind Will flicked his hand and Adam’s mouth was clamped shut.

  “What’s happening?” My gaze flashed between Will and Adam.

  Adam rushed forward, placing me behind him. One of the men raised a palm and moved his fingers slightly. Thick rope coiled itself so tightly around Adam’s body he fell onto his back, smashing the coffee table in the process. Unintelligible sounds came from Adam’s throat. His lips tried to move and I realized he was trying to say something. I rushed to his side, pulling at the ropes, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “Stop,” I shouted. “Will, why are you here and . . . involved?” He appeared older somehow, and the kind face he’d always shown me was completely gone.

  Will’s eyes glimmered bright blue and I knew. Will was the werecat that had tried to kill me a few days ago. “You’re a Vaktare.” Shock chained my feet to the floor. Now I understood why Adam hadn’t like the guy. I didn’t like him either.

  “Bingo.” Will stepped over pieces of broken glass that had been the coffee table.

  Two of the three men moved to either side of Will. The one with short black hair picked Adam up and tossed him over his shoulder. Will grabbed my arm. There was a quick rush and we were no longer in the hotel room. We were at Cavanaugh Mansion, standing in the entryway.

  “What the freaking hell?” I muttered, shocked that I was home but even more shocked at the disarray my house was in.

  “That’s better.” Will let go of my arm. I had so many questions, but I was paralyzed with fear. Adam’s eyes glowed. I wondered why he wasn’t changing. In his werewolf form he could easily break the ropes.

  Will punched Adam in the face and laughed. “I bet it’s killing you that you can’t transform.” The three men with Will joined in the laughter. “It’s because of Rhem, you know. It’s his gift. He has the power to bind not just the body, but also the Vaktare’s ability. Pretty cool, huh?” He kicked Adam again.

  Adam twisted and contorted his body, trying to get out of the ropes. His eyes were twin balls of rage. I knew if he got out of those ropes, Will was dead.

  “All right, let’s get down to business.”

  The Wolf Pays

  Nineteen

  “What do you want, Will?” My voice trembled with fright. “Is this because I threw your birthday present in the pool?”

  Will’s eyes burned with fury for a brief moment and then he laughed. Addressing the three men with him he said, “She thinks I’m angry because she’s a bitch.”

  They joined in the laughter.

  “No, Bea. That definitely isn’t it.” He cupped my chin in his hand. “I’m not angry. Why would I be angry? I’ve been your friend for years. We’ve been a couple for the past six months. I’ve put up with your shit. I’ve been patient, supportive, and an all-around good guy.”

  He leaned in and kissed me.

  “Don’t,” I mumbled and tried to push him away.

  Will’s hand shifted into a beastly paw. He yanked my face forward and slammed his lips onto mine, trying to open my mouth. When I wouldn’t budge, he let go. “No warmth. You are one cold-blooded bitch, aren’t you?” He didn’t wait for my reply but kept going. “I did what I did to get close to you.” He grabbed hold of my head, forcing me close as he licked my face, our noses touching. The hair from his paw tickled my cheek. His breath seemed to burn my skin. “Where’s the red diamond, Bea?”

  “Diamond?” I asked trying not to breathe.

  I kept hoping I’d shift, or that I’d be able to use one of my abilities. My thoughts kept going to Cole and what he’d said. That I needed to think about something happy, that I needed to breathe deeply. I kept trying to recall the kiss between Adam and me but I was too scared and the memory was marred by questions. There were trust issues as well. He’d been sent to kill me. That was a fact. Sure, he’d chosen not to go through with it. He’d said he changed his mind when he got to know me. But what was to say he wouldn’t change his mind again? His sister’s life was at stake. If he killed me, she’d be set free. Why wouldn’t he choose her?

  Will shoved me, letting go. My head smacked against the door as I hit the ground hard. “Give me what I want, Bea, or the wolf pays.” He nodded at Adam and two of the three men picked him up. The third, the man Will had called Rhem held out a hand and turned it slowly.

  Adam started to writhe, letting
out a snarl.

  “Stop,” I shouted, crawling toward him.

  Will grabbed me around the waist and held me fast. “If you’re a good girl and give me the diamond, maybe I can talk to the King, put in a good word. Maybe you won’t have to die, maybe he’ll let you be my lover.” He leaned in, running his teeth against my neck.

  I spat in his face. “I’d rather die.” I grabbed hold of his shirt and tried to push him off.

  He yanked on my hair. “Oh, that’s going to happen, don’t worry.” He bit my shoulder with mock playfulness. “Besides, I’d tire of you before too long. I mean you did fall for a worthless dog.” He shoved me into a wall, my head going through the plaster before he yanked me out by the back of my neck.

  My forehead was bleeding as well as my nose. I grabbed hold of his arms, scratching and clawing, but I wasn’t strong enough to do any real damage. Will led me over to Adam. He was still writhing. Occasionally, he would moan.

  By the faraway look in Adam’s eyes I knew whatever Rhem was doing to Adam was killing him.

  Then Will kicked Adam in the stomach. The men hooted. “If I wasn’t under orders to bring his ass back alive, he’d already be dead.” He kicked Adam in the stomach again. “But there might be an accident. Sometimes shit happens, right?”

  “Fine,” I yelled. “I’ll take you to the diamond.”

  Even through the pain, Adam heard me, and he seemed confused. I’d told him Celeste stole the diamond. “Sorry, Adam.” Then to Will I said, “The diamond is upstairs.”

  Will took me by the neck and forced me to walk up with him. I didn’t fight him. When we got to my bedroom, Will smiled. It was sinister.

  “It’s in the closet,” I said, pointing.

  “Go get it.” He shoved me and I flew forward, falling onto my hands and knees.

  I crawled into my closet and over to the section where my pants hung on hangers. I pushed them aside, clicked the secret door open, and entered the safe’s combination. My hands shook as I pulled on the safe’s handle.