Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

KILLIAN

Something happened to my body while I was in the car with Beau. An overwhelming urge to get out. Out of the city. Out of the car. Out of my clothes. Out of my skin. And now that I'm free, away from civilization, I strip off my clothes while running. I need to get as far away from Beau as possible. As my feet hit the ground, I'm stretching, growing, breaking free from the confines of this body. This life. I scream into the night, but a roar comes out, reverberating through the trees. The birds take flight. The smaller animals scamper away.

And that's when the hunger starts.

The doe is smaller than me. I'm high above the animals but one snap of my jaws takes care of that. I stalk more prey, sating my hunger.

I'm free. Home.

No. Not home. But it's more real than anything before. Truer. The sounds of animals off in the distance. The frogs. The insects. The alligators. The scent of moss and dirt and swamp. The earth teaming with life.

It's not right. Not completely. Things are off. There's nothing like me here. But it's closer than the humans and their things. I roar again, letting this world know I'm here.

No. Others can't know. Memories bombard me. Men yelling. Unnatural noises stinging my ears. The…guns. The pain. The darkness.

I stomp through the memories as if they're happening in real-time, destroying anything in my path. Trees fall and animals flee. But I see the men. And I want to hurt them. All of them. The scent of oranges and something else cuts through my aching head, and I turn to get more of it.

"Oh my lord. Holyyyyy shit."

A man. Not one of the others. Not the ones causing pain. But his scent is familiar. The sweet one. The one helping me.

"I must be dreaming." The man covers his face but watches me through his fingers. "A dinosaur?" He points, his hand shaking. "You can't be real."

As I try to explain, blood drips from my mouth, and he scrambles backward. My roars mean nothing to him.

Then he surges forward, his fists raised, and my body reacts as if he's the enemy. "Is that Killian's blood? Did you—oh my God, did you eat him?"

A rock hits me. Then another. One snap of my jaws would end him. But something holds me back. His scent. And Killian. His name for me.

The fight is gone, leaving me tired. My bones twist and my roars of pain turn into cries of anguish. I shift back to human form, and as my senses become duller, my thoughts become clearer. The man stands over me. Watching with wide eyes. Making no sound at all.

Beau.

Beautiful. Sweet. Trusting.

The man I would defend with everything I have.

But my return to human form brings with it memories. Not just of my time with Beau but before. The men and their guns. The torture and pain. I close my eyes, wanting to return to that sweet oblivion.

This man challenged a monster for me.

But I'm the monster. In more ways than one.

The truth taunts me, and I let out another scream.

I didn't happen to be on Beau's doorstep.

He's the reason I'm here.

The man I was sent to kill.