"What did they do to you?” Lanie asked, not really sure she wanted to know.
"Horrible things,” he whispered.
As the silence stretched on, Lanie wasn't about to pressure him into telling her. Obviously it was painful for him, as his hands now shook when they rubbed his face.
"You need to sleep,” he said, his gentle voice a stark contrast to his trembling body.
"What about you? Is this your only blanket?"
"I'll be fine."
"But—"
"I'll be fine,” he repeated.
"All right. What about your tiger friend?"
"He'll be fine too."
His stony demeanor prevented Lanie from asking him any more questions as he stared into the fire. What the hell was she going to do now? Stuck in the middle of nowhere with a man she knew nothing about who spouted stories of white tigers and secret agencies. Should she even believe him?
Right now, she needed his help while her head still spun from her injuries. Yet he'd said those horrible men would be after her too now just for making contact with him. Lanie snuggled under the blanket and closed her eyes, trembling violently herself. She was exhausted, but whether or not she'd actually be able to sleep was another matter. Her entire body ached, her ears were ringing, and she was stranded in the mountains with a tiger and a man on the run.
What in God's name had she gotten herself into?
Three
Noah couldn't move. He twisted and turned, but, try as he might, his arms and legs were held down by thick leather straps. He could feel the cool metal of the table underneath him as a bright light shone in his eyes, making them water. He couldn't even turn his head because it too was strapped to the table.
Suddenly, he felt sharp needles pierce his skin everywhere. They seemed to be burrowing deeper and deeper into his muscles, and Noah screamed in agony. It echoed through his skull as he tried to break free. The pain was unbearable as the needles burned hot, scorching him from the inside out. His heart raced as he gasped for breath, straining once again to break free.
"Resisting will only make it hurt more,” a voice whispered in his ear.
With a yelp, Noah sat up, and his eyes darted around, taking in the darkened cave surrounding him. A sheen of sweat covered his body as he gulped in air, trying in vain to calm his pounding heart.
The dreams were getting worse.
With trembling hands, he wiped his eyes that were damp with tears. “Christ,” he whispered. Swallowing hard, he tried to work moisture into his mouth. He glanced around for the canteen and remembered that Lanie had drank some water earlier. Looking over his shoulder to where she slept, every hair on his body suddenly stood on end.
She wasn't there.
The blanket was gone, but the canteen still lay on the ground where she'd left it.
"Lanie?” he called out.
In one fluid movement, Noah grabbed his shirt from the ground and stood. He pulled the ratty brown tee over his head as he grabbed the canteen on his way out of the cave.
"Lanie?” he called out a little louder. He didn't dare shout. If B*E*A*S*T* knew of the car accident, then it was a safe bet they were already roaming these woods looking for him. His breath puffed on the slight breeze as a crescent moon hung in the sky, illuminating the snow. He could see Lanie's footprints in the white powder, but he didn't need them. He could smell her as he jogged along her trail, suddenly feeling his heart in his throat. What was she doing, wandering these woods alone?
Her trail didn't go on for long before he found her standing near a small copse of trees with her back to him. He grabbed her shoulders roughly and turned her to face him, his eyes flashing. Lanie yelped loudly, making Noah clamp his hand over her mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?” he whispered furiously.
Her eyes were large and round, and he could smell the fear radiating off of her in waves. With a sigh, he released her mouth but still held her shoulders.
"I—” she began, but Noah placed a finger over her lips.
"Not so loud!” he hissed.
Now her scent was laced with anger as she tried to shove him off. But he wouldn't be budged.
"I had to ... use the little girl's room!"
Noah's eyebrows knitted together in confusion before he finally understood and let her go. “Well, you should have woke me, woman! You have no idea who or what is roaming these woods."
"I'm not about to wake you just so you can watch me do my business!” Her voice shrilled through the woods, and Noah once again slapped his hand over her mouth.
"Be quiet!” he demanded. “I don't want to watch, I would have simply protected you.” Once again, he lowered his hand, and she looked as if she were about to say something, but a scent and a sound wafted to him on the breeze at the same time. Something was out of place—something odd. He dropped to the ground, pulling her with him, and he motioned for her to stay silent as he gazed out through the brush.
That scent—he'd smelled it before. Every nerve ending in his body screamed to shift and hunt, but he fought the urge for all he was worth. He couldn't risk shifting into a tiger right in front of Lanie. His instincts were to kill, and he knew without a doubt that the men who hunted him were nearby, but he couldn't risk Lanie's life in his bid for revenge.
Glancing back at her, he grabbed her hand and whispered, “They've spotted the cave. We've got to go!"
With that, he sprinted into the forest, pulling Lanie along behind him.
* * * *
Lanie's lungs were on fire. The crisp mountain air burned them every time she took a breath, and her arm felt as if Noah were going to pull it from the socket. But she didn't dare stop running. Noah's urgency fueled her own and all sorts of horrid, evil thoughts raced through her brain. Were they being chased? Who had found the cave? What the hell was going on?
She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and she stumbled in the snow. A cry escaped her lips as Noah dragged her to her feet.
"Come on!” he demanded.
The world was spinning, and Lanie fell once more. “I can't ... I can't go ... on!"
She panted, her head throbbing and threatening to explode at any moment. A sudden wave of nausea overcame her, and she turned to wretch on the ground.
"Oh, God,” she moaned.
"Lanie! Are you all right?"
She shook her head and suddenly regretted it. “No,” she managed to say.
Her eyes filled with tears as her stomach lurched once more and a baleful roar rose from the trees behind them, raising every hair on the back of Lanie's neck.
"What the hell was that?” she exclaimed, turning her large eyes into the darkness. “Was that your tiger?"
Noah's body stiffened as he knelt over her. “No,” he said. “We've got to get out of here. Now!"
He scooped her up in his arms and dashed through the trees as if she weighed nothing. Too late, Lanie realized that she'd dropped the blanket she'd been carrying, but she wasn't about to ask Noah to turn back and get it regardless of the chills racking her body. Not with that ungodly howl she'd just heard.
Terror overcame her as she clutched onto Noah's neck, and she willed him to run faster. Lanie had to close her eyes as her head still spun. Was Noah growling? She couldn't be sure with her pain. She hissed through her teeth at being jostled in his arms.
After what seemed an eternity, Noah climbed a small embankment. She would have marveled at his strength if she hadn't been trembling with fright. Before she knew it, they were standing on a roadway—perhaps the very same road she'd been traveling on before her accident.
Was it her imagination, or did she hear that shrill yowl again? And it seemed to be closer this time.
"Noah!” she shrieked, clutching him even harder.
"I know, I know!"
Suddenly, a brown sedan rounded a bend toward them, illuminating the road with its headlights. It slowed as it got closer, and the driver-side window rolled down, revealing the face of an older man.
<
br /> "You two all right?” he asked with concern in his eyes as he brought his car to a stop.
"Please, sir,” Noah said frantically, “we were just in an accident—our car skidded off the road, and she's hurt. Can you help us?"
"Good Lord!” the man exclaimed. “Well, hop on in the back and I'll take you to town. Granite Ridge is about thirty miles away."
"Thank you. Thank you very much!” Noah opened the rear door and climbed in with Lanie on his lap. He slammed the door shut, locking it behind him. “Please hurry, sir!"
"You got it,” the man said. “But these roads are slick. Can't go too fast."
"Just please go as fast as you can."
"Th—thank you, s—sir,” Lanie murmured through chattering teeth.
The man glanced at them in his rear-view mirror. “Right next to you is an armrest. Pull it down and you'll see a little door behind it that opens into the trunk. If you feel around a bit, you'll find a blanket."
Noah reached into the trunk and grabbed the blanket. In no time, he had it wrapped around Lanie's shoulders. The combined warmth of his body and the blanket gradually soothed away her shivers.
"Are you all right?” he whispered, rubbing her shoulders with his large hands.
"What was that thing?” she whispered back, her face mere inches from his.
Placing a finger on her lips, he shook his head and looked up at the driver. She understood and gave him a nod.
"How do you feel?” he asked. “Do you want to sit up?"
She tried to move, but her head once again exploded with pain. With a grunt, she said, “No, please. Just let me lie here. You're so warm."
Under any other circumstances, Lanie would have been mortified to say those words to a man she barely knew, but right now she was beyond caring.
Noah brought his large hand up to her head and urged her to lay it on his shoulder. “Sure thing, baby."
Four
He could smell him on the wind—the man who was a traitor; the man he wanted to rip limb from limb. And he smelled her as well. The woman's sweet perfume entwined with the traitor's putrid scent, rising from the ground in waves. Bounding through the snow, his black paws demolished their pristine tracks, but he didn't care.
They were close.
He'd found their stink in the cave not too far away, and he knew they'd just left it. He also knew that if he pushed himself, he could catch them. Roaring, he pounced, landing on a blanket that was still warm. Within seconds, nothing but shreds remained. She'd been wearing it. Her scent was unmistakable.
Never before had Tam been filled with the desire to kill and to mate at the same time. It had been so long—so very long since he'd felt a woman underneath him, and he knew if he continued on, he would be able to satiate both of his desires. But for now, he remained in his shifted state, his golden eyes flashing in the moonlight. Bounding across the snow, he could almost taste them, their scent was so strong.
Then, not more than mere yards ahead of him, he saw a road with a car stopped in the middle of it. The bastard was going to escape!
Urging his body beyond its limits, Tam raced for all he was worth to catch them before the car sped into the night, but as the sleek black panther leapt onto the highway, he could already see the car's taillights fading into the distance.
Rage boiled inside of him and he screamed, his howl echoing off the surrounding hills as he chased the car in vain. He would soon find Noah Carpenter—wherever he went—and he would kill him. Noah might think he could run, but Tam knew he couldn't hide.
Not when he belonged to B*E*A*S*T*.
* * * *
"Mind if I turn on the radio?"
The old man looked in his rear-view mirror at Noah with a smile.
"Go right ahead,” Noah said with a nod.
"Don't like to listen to music much. Hope my talk radio won't bother you."
"Not at all."
The soft tones of a man speaking about the weather filled the car as Noah glanced down at Lanie. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell by her breathing that she wasn't asleep. She snuggled closer to him, and he knew she was still cold, but the faint scent of her fear still lingered in the air. Lanie was probably scared half out of her mind, but she hid her fear well. He had to admire her for that.
Just remembering the roar that had chased them through the woods raised the hair on his arms. He knew what—and who—it was the moment he'd smelled the odd odor in the air.
Tam.
One of the most ruthless shifters the agency had ever created, Tam was a black panther, a man who reveled in his new abilities and never once challenged the orders he was given. Because of Tam's loyalty to B*E*A*S*T*, he was allowed to roam the halls of their compound rather than being thrown into a cage like the rest of the men. He'd often bragged of that fact, and it hadn't taken long before he was resented by the others. It was safe to say that he was one of the favorites of the scientists, always being tested and always getting rewarded.
Now B*E*A*S*T* had sent Tam to hunt Noah.
Damn, they must want him bad. Glancing out the window, he watched in silence as the scenery flew by. Noah should have known better than to hope they'd just let it lie, just let him leave the compound without bothering to search for him. Each shifter had cost millions of dollars to produce, so he wasn't just a man anymore, he was a commodity.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the seat. He couldn't allow himself to be caught again. Punishment wasn't what was in store for him. Reprogramming would be his fate.
Obviously, his first imprint hadn't taken if he could still remember glimpses, shades of his life before. He knew killing without remorse was wrong, and he knew being a shifter wasn't right either. His captors weren't friendly and wanted their creations to become as ruthless as they were, dreaming and desiring the taste of blood.
Shuddering at the bitter memories flowing through him, Noah squeezed Lanie a little tighter. Now they'd be after her as well, he was sure of it. Regardless of the fact that he hadn't told her the truth of who or what he was, the agency wouldn't be able to take that chance. It was too risky to let her go now.
Shit! Anger welled up inside of him. Lanie had nothing to do with any of this, and now she had to hide just as he did. And for how long? For the rest of her life? Just what the hell had he done to this poor woman?
For the first time in a long while, Noah felt tears fill his eyes. Just the thought of Tam getting his hands on Lanie made a growl rise low in his throat.
He'd protect her. He had to. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him when she found out what he really was.
* * * *
Lanie shivered once more as she felt Noah sigh. She wondered what he was thinking about. The sound of that ghastly howl kept replaying in her mind and she simply couldn't ignore it. She wanted to ask him about it but knew she couldn't, not in front of their Good Samaritan. Noah had said the howl hadn't come from the tiger that followed him, so what the hell had it come from? And what would happen to the tiger now that they'd left him behind? She hoped the poor creature would be all right fending for itself against ... whatever was out there.
With a forlorn sigh of her own, Lanie wondered what she was going to do now. Her car was wrecked, her body ached from numerous scrapes and bruises, and she was on the run with a man who hadn't really told her much about the people he was running from. What a great way to start off the new year.
Spending the Christmas holidays with her family in their secluded cabin had been a wonderful, festive time, and she'd hated to leave them and return to her normal life. They'd cut down one of the nearby fir trees and decorated it, her mother and father and a few aunts, uncles, and cousins. They'd sung carols around the piano and sipped eggnog and brandy by the fire.
And now, not only was her car destroyed, she'd lost all of her Christmas presents as well! Her father had packed them in the trunk before she'd been on her way. Lanie could even remember him telling her to drive safely.
; Now, here she was. She couldn't stop the tears that fell from her eyes, and her chest heaved with her pent-up sobs as she turned her face into Noah's broad chest.
"Hey, what's wrong?” he whispered.
"It's just too much. I don't know what to do! Oh, God, what do I do?” She curled her arms around his neck and cried.
Noah held her with an iron grip. “Don't you worry, Lanie. I'll take care of you."
"Noah...” she said, her voice cracking.
"What?” He tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Will you please tell me what's going on?"
Noah looked at her for so long that she thought he wouldn't answer. Finally, he nodded. “I will, but not here. Not now."
"I'm so scared,” she admitted, once again clinging to him.
"So am I,” he whispered.
Five
"Gotta stop for gas,” the old man said, pulling his car into a deserted gas station.
Lanie looked out at the run-down building of the service station and cuddled further into the blanket. She was still perched on Noah's lap. His strength and warmth soothed her. Never before had she pictured herself as a coward, but with the threat of secret agencies and wild animals roaming about, she found that she wished she could simply disappear.
After turning off the engine, the man stepped from the car. “Be right back,” he said. Lanie watched him with a critical eye as he slipped his credit card through the slot and placed the gas nozzle into the tank. Once the pump was started, he wandered over to the convenience store inside the station. He'd left the keys in the ignition, and the radio still emitted the monotonous voice of the man reading the news. Suddenly, the voice stopped and the rustling of papers could be heard.
"This just in," the announcer said. "Authorities have issued a statewide all points bulletin for a highly dangerous criminal. The suspect is approximately six-feet-three and two hundred pounds, with blue eyes and sandy blond hair. The man goes by the name of Noah Carpenter and is believed to have recently abducted a local woman, Lanie Erickson, who is five-foot-six with blonde hair and hazel eyes. This suspect is considered armed and dangerous. If you see a man and woman who fit this description, please contact authorities immediately."
The B*E*A*S*T* Within Page 2