Page 47 of The Beast Between Us
I step out into the hallway, bare feet echoing against the stone. My thoughts are cloudy, sluggish.
And then…
“Mate.”
The word crashes through my skull, shattering the fog.
A pulse of urgency follows, not from fear. No, not quite. But something deeper. Protective. Wild.
I break into a run.
The manor groans around me as I thunder up the corridor toward my chambers, the old stones quivering beneath my feet like they share the Beast’s panic.
When I reach the door, I throw it open.
Empty.
The bed, still slightly rumpled, is empty.
I snarl, and the house shudders.Wind hurls itself against the windows. The fire in the hearth leaps tall and furious.
“Sire?”
Oswin’s voice cuts through the storm. He steps into the hallway, sleep-tousled and blinking behind his spectacles.
“What’s happened?” he asks, eyes immediately scanning the hall, sensing the shift in the air.
I bare my teeth.
“She’s gone.”
My Beast howls with rage. I inhale deeply and catch her faint scent. There’s just enough to guide me.
“She’s gone?” Oswin asks, rushing after me.
I push open the manor doors and step outside, following the delicate trail. My mate’s scent leads me toward my mother’s garden. For the first time since the curse took hold, I cross onto the garden grounds without hesitation, praying she’s fast asleep in the bushes.
But she’s not here.
Instead, I catch another scent.
Male. Fear.
My mate was terrified.
“She’s been taken,” I say, my voice no longer entirely my own.
“Sire,” Oswin breathes, the tremor in his voice betraying his fear, “the Beast… It’s gaining strength.”
How long has she been gone?
Too long. Her scent is already thinning. Soon, it will vanish completely.
“Find her.”
My Beast’s voice tears through my mind like thunder.
And suddenly, it’s clear. I might not be able to follow the faint remnants of her trail…
