Page 33 of Beast

Fucking shit. I pushed my arms and legs to move faster. She was going to try and call for help. If my boss found out she was still alive, he’d skin us both.

When my feet hit the sand, I shifted again, plowing up the dune to the house.

I had to stop her.

A few strides from her, she must have sensed or heard me because she spun around. Her hands raised into fists.

“Don’t you fucking come near me,” she yelled.

Since she’d already discovered my secret, I didn’t bother to hide it from her. I shifted back and she choked on a gasp.

“Natalia, please.” I stood. “You were in danger. That shark—”

“I don’t want to be here anymore. Take me back. Now.” Her gaze darted behind me to the boat.

“Those are my men.” I didn’t bother following her line of sight. “You could bribe them with anything in the world and they won’t turn on me.”

“This is wrong.” She bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut briefly. “I want to go home.”

Her fragileness made me want to take her in my arms. Make her forget her fears. And her scent increased, making my lust increase tenfold. But I stayed where I was, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was.

“It won’t besafe,” I said, not looking away from her.

The panic in her scent sharpened.

Her cheeks held a rosy flush. Her clothes clung to her and showed every curve of her body.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” I promised.

She shivered, and I didn’t think it was just from being soaked. “And I’m safehere with you? Is that what you’re saying?” Her voice cracked as she asked, her back rigid. “I heard you… on the radio… with that guy. They want me dead.”

I could feel her desperation, and the magnitude of her desire to get away was palpable.

So I stood my ground, wanting to ease her fears so desperately it took everything in me not to erase the distance between us and make her understand. “Natalia, I won’t let anything happen to you. I will protect you. I swear.”

For a moment, I thought she would break down and run into my arms. But then she stepped away and shook her head.

“I can’t stay here. I won’t.”

The urge to force her to yield pounded through my skull. But I wouldn’t do that to her. Not after what we’d shared. I had to make her see reason.

If she didn’t, then I would do anything to keep her safe. Even if that meant locking her in my room until I dealt with the aftermath of not obeying orders. “Come with me inside,” I coaxed gently. “We’ll talk about this after we get you out of those wet clothes.” And naked in my bed so I could warm her up.

Her breath hitched and her cheeks flushed, but she didn't budge.

“No, no.” She shook her head like she was trying to convince herself. “Y-you’re a wolf… a fucking werewolf? That’s impossible. Werewolves don’t exist. This means you’re some kind of monster. I don’t understand. Or is this some magic island? What does all this mean?”

She was ranting and throwing her arms up in the air, not giving me a chance to respond, until I stopped her as I held up my hands while walking toward her. I wanted her to know I had no intention of harming her.

“There’s more.”

Her eyes widened and she skittered back a foot.

“Don’t come any closer,” she shrieked. “I don’t want to become a werewolf.”

Did she not know? How could she not? I could smell the faint stirrings of an omega going into heat from here, and it was only getting stronger. The same smell I’d scented the other day and in the park back home.

It must be triggered by excitement and fear. She was blooming, and soon, she wouldn’t be able to control herself. She’d want to mate with an alpha, and I was the lucky bastard here.

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