Nature of the Beasts (9 page)

“No, that would raise too many questions. Let whatever happens happen. Then we’ll fix it later.”

“Wait,” Sarah called as Dmitry stood and started to walk to the window. “The hands know we’re here, right? The truck’s still outside. We can’t just make it disappear.”

Dmitry frowned. “We’ll leave it, and we’ll disappear.”

Sarah stared out the window in awe as lightning illuminated a twister. Dmitry grabbed her arm, but Sarah tried to wiggle free. “Wait. I’ve never seen one.”

“No!” Dmitry snapped.

A board busted through her bedroom window. Glass shattered and flew across the room. Dmitry wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and the two of them transported into the protected dimension just a split second before it reached them.

DMITRY WANTED TO continue to hold Sarah to him so much, he shook. This was nuts. His cock was so hard, it actually hurt. Her scent was like an aphrodisiac that just increased his hunger, fueling his erotic need to a fevered pitch.

“Where are we?” she asked.

She moved from his hold and stared out the large window that overlooked Manhattan. He felt the loss of her in his arms like a punch.

“Mine and Dastan’s penthouse.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “In the mortal world?”

“No.” He waved her out onto the terrace just outside that window. “Take a look.”

Sarah walked out the door and stared across the moonlit city streets. There were no cars, no people, just the buildings and lights. It was the image of Manhattan.

“It’s not real,” she whispered. “We’re in the protected dimension?”

Dmitry followed her outside. “Yes,” he replied. “The ranch is the first mortal home we’ve had in I don’t even know how many decades.”

“Do you think the twister got the house?” she murmured softly.

Dmitry could tell by the worry lines around her eyes that she was concerned. “No, I think it will miss it.”

“What about the hands?”

“They were at the far side of the ranch. If they needed to take shelter, there’s a cabin on that side. I’m sure they’re fine.”

Sarah nodded. “Should we tell Sam and Cody?”

“No. Let them be happy with Keegan for a while. Don’t worry them.”

Sarah again nodded, but Dmitry couldn’t take his eyes off the way the full moon reflected against her naked skin. Her nipples were hard and pink, her pussy bare and smooth. Dmitry clenched his hands into fists at his sides, unsure he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking her again.

“I feel more at peace here, somehow,” Sarah said.

Dmitry brought his gaze back to her profile. She stared out over the city, frowning. If it was a spell that kept her from changing into a wolf, then it would be understandable she felt more peaceful here. The turmoil of her body fighting the spell and needing to shift would be less pronounced here. The spell protecting her was more powerful in the protected dimension. Because the protected dimension was essentially created by magic, magic had more power here.

“How so?” Dmitry asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s weird.” She turned her head and met his gaze. “I still want you, though. It’s insane just how bad it is.”

Dmitry was momentarily speechless at just how forthright she’d been. He truly expected her to dance around the subject or just flat-out deny it. Her honesty surprised him.

“Why, Dmitry?” she asked. “I’ve heard of how shifters are when they first meet their so-called mates, but I’m not a shifter.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Of course, I am.”

“How old were you when your mother stopped your aging process?”

“I was about halfway through my twenty-third year.”

Dmitry raised an eyebrow. The antiaging spell had been put into place before her twenty-fifth year, which was when she would’ve gone through her Ascension. At twenty-five, she should’ve shifted for the first time.

Sarah shook her head in denial. “No.” She turned to walk back into the penthouse, brushing past Dmitry angrily.

“Sarah,” Dmitry said as he followed her.

“No,” she snapped. “I’m not a shifter.”

She spun to face him, hands on hips, eyes narrowed in anger. Dmitry stopped dead in his tracks. The image of her naked and angry, glaring at him as the moon reflected against her skin, made his whole body ache to have her. Her nakedness didn’t seem to bother her, or perhaps she’d forgotten. God knew he hadn’t.

He lowered his gaze along her body, across her perky breasts, her flat stomach, flared hips, long, firm thighs, then back up to her face. The second his eyes met hers, he knew she’d realized.

Although Sarah’s desire may have intensified, Dmitry’s suddenly lowered. He took a step closer and studied her eyes more carefully.

“What?” Sarah whispered with concern.

“Your eyes.”

She raised her hand and touched her temple. “What about them?”

She raised her other hand and conjured a mirror. With trembling fingers, she held it before her face and looked into it. She gasped and dropped the mirror to the floor, where it shattered.

“I have eyes like yours,” she whispered.

Dmitry wanted to grab her to him, hold her close, but he had a feeling that right now she would shove him away. She was becoming what she’d learned to distrust, to hate. Glancing down at the glass, Dmitry held his palm out. The mirror pulled back together in his hand.

Walking over slowly, he moved behind Sarah and placed the mirror in front of her. She wouldn’t look at it. “I see beautiful eyes, Sarah,” he murmured. He kissed her temple, but she flinched. “Look,” he said.

Her blue-gray eyes rimmed in black finally looked into the mirror. Tears gathered at the corners, and Dmitry wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her back against him. She didn’t push him away. Instead, she lifted her hands and held tight to his forearms

“How could my mother have hidden this from me?” she whispered so low, Dmitry wasn’t even sure he’d heard her.

She reached out with trembling fingers and touched the reflection of her eyes in the mirror. She then tilted it so that she could see Dmitry’s as well. For several seconds, she just looked. She didn’t say anything, but Dmitry could see the emotions in her eyes: the wariness, the fear, the confusion, the anger. Sarah could never hide her emotions from her eyes.

Then suddenly…distance. She was going to shut him out.

She lowered the mirror. “We need to check on the house and the ranch hands.” Sarah pushed away from him and, with a wave of her hand, covered both of them in clothes.

Dmitry didn’t say anything. Her cold dismissal was like a stab to his heart. It actually hurt him, and he’d never dealt with that kind of hurt before.

Sarah spun around to face him as she adjusted the waistband of her jeans. “I do not want to have to report the death of one of the hands to Sam.”

Dmitry nodded in silence. She was right. They needed to get back to the ranch and check out the damage. He reached out and took her hand in his before transporting them back to Montana and the mortal world.

Sarah stood in the middle of her bedroom and studied the shattered glass and wet carpet. The room looked like she felt: a mess. At least she’d had some reprieve, as Dmitry had gone to make the rounds, checking on the animals, ranch hands, and out buildings. She’d needed the moments of solitude. Unfortunately, despite the solitude, she still didn’t have any answers and doubted she would anytime soon.

Dmitry stepped into the room. “The bedrooms on the other side of the house are fine. It was just this side.”

Sarah nodded as she bent to pick up a piece of wood that had blown through the window. “Is this off the barn?” she asked.

“Yeah, the twister went between the barn and the house, so this side of the barn looks like the house.”

Sarah walked to the window, still holding the four-foot long piece of board. She tried to keep her mind on what happened to the ranch and the cleanup ahead, not the changes in her body. If she ignored it, would it go away? If she avoided sex with the shifters, would it stop?

She had so many questions, but she wasn’t ready to confront her mother yet. Everything about her life had been a lie. Even who she was had been a lie. Some shifter out there who’d raped and beaten her mother was her father. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she squeezed them shut, trapping them behind her lids.

She could not—would not—fall apart. Not now.

“The animals?” she asked, still holding her eyes closed.

“From what I can tell, the ones closest to the house are fine. All the horses are still here, and the equipment doesn’t appear to be damaged.”

“The hands?”

“All accounted for.”

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. Dmitry came up behind her and tried to put his hands on her shoulders, but she quickly moved away from him. The last thing she needed was his comfort. If he touched her in any way, she knew she’d end up on that bed with him. Even now, she wanted him. She wanted him so much her entire body ached for him.

When Dastan got back, it would be twice as bad. How would she avoid them? How would she stop herself from giving in to what her flesh so desperately wanted?

“Sarah,” Dmitry began.

“I’ll take one of the rooms on the third floor that isn’t damaged,” she said, cutting him off. “Until we can get this one fixed. I don’t suppose it would be a good idea to use magic.”

Dmitry shrugged. “The hands are never in the house, so I’m not sure the bedroom would really matter. We would at least need to make a show of getting the downstairs fixed.”

“Is it bad?”

“This side of the house is like your room, but because it’s so open down there, the damage spread farther.”

With a nod, Sarah tossed the board out the shattered window, where it landed against the ground with a soft
thud
. “Well. I guess we better get busy, then.”

* * * *

Dastan transported back to the ranch and stared in shock at the damage to the great room. What the hell had happened? Sudden fear for Sarah overrode his shock, and he yelled toward the second floor.

“Sarah!” he shouted, but when she didn’t answer, he called again, this time much louder. “Sarah!”

She appeared on the landing that overlooked the main level. “Not so loud. Jeez, are you trying to get
everyone’s
attention?”

Dastan let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her. “What the hell happened?”

“Twister,” she replied, then headed back to where she’d come from.

“What?” Dastan murmured. “Dmitry!”

“He’s in the barn,” Sarah called from upstairs.

Dastan headed outside, but Dmitry met him on the front porch and shoved him back inside.

“What the hell?” Dastan growled.

“The hands think you were here the whole time. If you go out there asking a bunch of stupid questions, they’ll think you’re nuts.”

“What the hell have I been doing all this time, then?” Dastan sneered in aggravation. It wasn’t Dmitry he was angry at. It was Sarah’s mother and the surprise at finding his ranch torn to shreds.

“Working inside the house and calling the insurance.”

Dastan nodded as his anger began to fade. “How bad is it?”

“It’s not bad. Well, we can still live in the house, the animals and hands are all accounted for, and the equipment is okay, so…not bad.”

Dastan frowned as Dmitry led him into the kitchen. “There’s something you need to know before you see Sarah,” Dmitry said.

“What?” Dastan asked.

“Her eyes have changed. They’re like ours.”

Dastan sighed. “Does she know?”

Dmitry nodded sadly. “And she’s pushing us away…or me away, anyway.”

“Which mean’s she’ll probably push me away too.”

“Most likely.”

“Great.”

“What did you find out from Vincent?” Dmitry asked.

“We confronted her mother. It’s what I suspected. Sarah is a product of her mother’s rape.”

“Ah, damn,” Dmitry said as he pulled out the stool at the kitchen island and sat down.

“She’s going to talk to Sarah, but she needs time to figure out what to say.”

“What’s there to say, Dastan? Sarah already knows.”

“It’s got to be tough on her.” Dastan glanced toward the upper floors. “To suddenly find out you’re not who or what you thought you were. That your father isn’t your father.” He looked back at Dmitry. “How’s she handling things?”

“She’s become very distant. She won’t let me near her. Since we’ve been back, she won’t hardly even look at me. She hasn’t said anything about going back to the protected dimension, though.”

“My guess is that if she shifts here, no one will know but us. If she goes back…”

“Then everyone will know. They’ll be able to sense it.”

“One look at those eyes and everyone will know.”

* * * *

Razeen stood back and watched through the upper window at the pretty blonde who stared out across the prairie. Just who was she to Dastan? Razeen could feel the stirrings of the beast inside him. The kill never lasted long anymore. It seemed the more he killed, the more often he wanted it.

He tilted his head and studied the young woman. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It didn’t really matter anyway. At least not right now. He would need to find out more about her and her connection to Dastan.

He’d hit Montana on a whim, using the gray wolves here as cover for his murderous spree. Running into Dastan had been an unexpected bonus. He pursed his lips, wondering if there was a way to make Dastan look guilty for these murders. He was obviously trying to live a mortal life. If the local law enforcement thought he was a murderer, he would have no choice but to flee. To leave a life he obviously wanted.

But was fleeing too good for Dastan? Or was it something much more?

* * * *

Sarah wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed. Human labor was for the birds. With a wave of her hand, she righted her bedroom and smiled in satisfaction.

“Much better.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself, cheating like that,” Dastan teased from behind her.

Sarah jumped and spun around to glare at him. Anger seemed the better emotion when dealing with either Dastan or Dmitry for the time being. Any other emotion allowed her to feel too much of her lust. Unfortunately, even anger didn’t seem to be helping at the moment.