9. Savannah

NINE

SAVANNAH

Standing there watching the standoff between Daxton and Lucius, I felt like I'd been dropped into a fight scene from a movie. The surrounding air was charged with hostility that was palpable. It was clear these two had a history—a bad one. The slight prickle of relief I felt seemed like it was ill-timed, but whatever was going on between these two explained why Daxton had been acting so strange and wanted to leave. It hadn't been because of me.

Obviously, he'd been trying to avoid a run-in with this guy.

"Daxton?" I whispered, wanting us to hop on his bike and hightail it out of here.

He didn't move to do any such thing, though. He didn't even reply to me. Instead, he stood like a statue, every muscle in his body poised and ready to react. Wait. Was that a low growl? My heart skipped a beat. I held my breath, trying to figure out what I was hearing. There it was again, a sound so animalistic and out of place it sent shivers down my spine, and it seemed to come from him.

Was I hearing things?

I had to be, because Daxton, the guy who was always so calm and collected, now stood in front of me as if he was something... other .

The growl was barely audible, but it was undeniably there.

Confusion and a tinge of panic swirled inside me, making my head spin. All the while, Lucius moved closer. His intentions were unclear, but obviously not good. Daxton's body shifted, a protectiveness emanating from him as he kept himself firmly between Lucius and me.

"Stay behind me," Daxton ordered, turning his head to toss the words over his shoulder at me.

I nodded, even though he wasn't looking at me.

The urge to run powered through me, but I stayed rooted in place. My heart raced in my chest, yet it faltered when Lucius abruptly stopped sauntering toward us. His face twisted into a sinister smirk that chilled me to the core, and I swallowed hard.

Lucius's expression had gone from straight malice to a bizarre kind of amusement that was disturbing.

Daxton tensed even more. I knew he'd noticed it too.

At least that was what I thought… Until his body began to contort.

I gasped as he made a guttural noise from in front of me. My eyes widened at the sound.

What was wrong with him?

He looked as though he was fighting an invisible force.

"Daxton," I breathed, panicked. "What's wrong?"

"It's just a little demonstration, love," Lucius assured me, his voice tinged with amusement.

Daxton's body convulsed with more force than before, his body twisting in an unnatural way. The sound of bones popping filled my ears an instant later.

Whatever was happening, it wasn't something Daxton was doing to himself.

It was Lucius.

"What are you doing to him?" I demanded, glaring at the jerk.

"Watch," Lucius insisted, the smirk on his face growing.

Daxton released another horrific sound, startling me. My gaze snapped back to him, and I watched in horror as his face elongated into an animal's. As black, sleek fur sprouted from his skin, I swore I forgot how to breathe. All the air rushed from my lungs as I watched him morphing into a creature in front of me. He pivoted his head to look my way, and I saw the change in his eyes. They'd become an eerie shade of yellow.

What was happening to him? Better yet—what the heck was he?

"Oh, this is good. Rich, actually," Lucius said, giddy.

I had to stop him.

Whatever he was doing to Daxton—pulling a beast out of him, turning him into one, I didn't know—I had to stop him.

The pepper spray the strange old woman Ms. Lynette had given me popped into my head, and my survival instincts kicked in. Dropping to my knees, I rummaged through my purse until I found the canister. Without hesitation, I lunged toward Lucius and sprayed him in the eyes, using every bit of the canister's contents. He howled in agony, falling to his knees and clutching his face. My attention drifted back to Daxton, and I noticed he was returning to normal.

"We need to leave. Now," he insisted. He grabbed my purse and the helmet he'd tossed down earlier and placed a hand against the small of my back, guiding me toward his bike.

My mind raced with questions, and every part of me felt numb as I walked.

Was this what shock felt like?

Daxton slid the helmet over my head and buckled the strap beneath my chin. I took notice of how calm and steady his hands were, even after all that happened. The moment was surreal, and I felt utterly out of my element. There was so much about Daxton I didn't know, so much that didn't make sense.

How had Lucius been able to do that to him?

"What was all that?" I finally asked, my voice trembling. "What did he do to you?"

Daxton slid onto his bike and nodded for me to do the same. "We need to get out of here. I'll explain everything soon, I promise. Let's go."

He started his bike, and I climbed on behind him. The night was a blur around us, the wind and speed making it hard for me to think. As we moved through town, I clung to him, my mind racing with questions.

The world I thought I knew had exploded into something far more complex and dangerous than I'd ever imagined.

Lines between reality and fantasy I'd always had clearly defined in my head were now blurred. I didn't know what to think. The fascination I'd always had with paranormal romance books had been something I'd only thought of as a harmless escape. They were fiction. But now, fiction had collided with reality.

What. The. Actual. Hell?