Beast in Me (The Divination Falls Trilogy) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-three

Cameron found he was still shaking. No matter how hard he tried to stop, his body betrayed him and just kept quivering. He’d rushed to the edge right after the man had been taken. Richard Jones was the husband –
had been
the husband – of the postmistress of Divination Falls. He’d expected, really expected, a bolt to come out of him then. But he’d been too surprised, and possibly somehow too distressed, to have a reaction.

Maybe the thing in the water sensed him; hell, maybe it
smelled
him. When he took a step toward the edge even as he heard Trace calling him, damn near commanding him to stop, a tentacle reared up and smacked him down. It had been like face planting against a wall. A slick, wet wall coiled with muscle and gristle. A wholly unwelcome and terrifying experience.

The thing had moved toward him again. Seeking out his heat and his body with the tip of its appendage. Cameron sat, mortified and shell-shocked, and watched it try to search him out like some blind creature. Until Trace grabbed him under the elbows, hefted him up, and yanked him away.

Now he sat in the back of Slaughter’s cruiser with a blanket wrapped around him, hair completely drenched and a fine tremor running through his body that refused to leave. No one spoke.

At the rectory, Slaughter got out, opened the door for them. Trace got out first and helped Cam stand. ‘What are we going to do?’ Trace asked.

Cameron looked up. The sun had shifted. Most of the day had bled away. Most of the day was now just a memory.

‘I don’t know,’ Slaughter said. ‘But for now, no one’s allowed out there and I’m going to go shower and eat before I fall down. Possibly drink
until
I fall down. I suggest you do the same. Eliot and I have to just sit and think. Nothing seems to be working. Our best bet is to regroup.’

‘Call if anything changes,’ Trace said.

Slaughter nodded. ‘Someone will. Might even be Luke or Tryg. Not sure. We’ve developed our own little fucked-up task force, haven’t we?’ He laughed, but there was worry in that sound.

Cam sighed and Trace studied him. ‘Yes, we have. I’m gonna get him inside. Like I said, just call –’

Slaughter gave him a salute and got back in his car. Eliot raised a hand as they drove away.

‘How are you doing?’ Trace said, prodding Cam so he’d walk. There was a bit of anger under the surface. Cameron could feel it the way one feels a tiny pebble in his shoe. Not a huge deal but worrisome.

‘I’m fine. I’m worried about the whole damn town.’

Trace grunted. He opened the back door and sniffed. ‘Pot roast. He’s worried too. And don’t
you
worry about Divination Falls. It’s been here a long, long time and we always end up just fine.’

Cam shrugged. ‘I feel disgusting.’

‘Go take a shower, I’ll check in with Father.’ Trace leant in and kissed him on the forehead. Cameron could feel the stiffness just below the surface – Trace was angry with him.

He wandered off toward the shower, hoping that Trace would come and take him again. Another encounter that started in the bathroom sounded fine by him, despite his entire body feeling as if he’d been dropped from an airplane.

‘He’s mad at you,’ he mumbled to himself. He stripped bare, turned the water on, and put his head in his hands for a minute. Cameron was pretty sure he needed to act, and he was pretty sure he knew how, but he also knew the idea scared him. And that he didn’t necessarily want to.

The low thrum of thunder could be heard just slightly above the running water. Electricity licked at the tips of his fingers and the heels of his feet. ‘I know, brother, I know,’ he said to the energy at work in him. ‘I know what I have to do, but you can’t blame me for being afraid.’

He climbed into the shower and started to wash his hair. Even his fingertips on his scalp hurt. Everything hurt. Including his heart.

‘Hey there, aren’t you hungry?’ Trace pressed his lips against Cam’s neck.

‘I fell asleep.’

‘I took a long time.’

‘Why?’ Cameron turned to watch the wolf.

Trace shook his head. His lips were pressed together tight. ‘I took a shower. Father was still cooking. I –’

‘You’re mad at me,’ Cam said. He could feel it.

‘No. I’m mad at me.’

‘That makes no sense.’

‘It makes perfect sense if you’re an asshole like me,’ Trace said.

Abrupt laughter erupted out of Cameron. So sudden he clamped his hand over his mouth. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m laughing. You’re not an asshole.’

‘Ah, but I am.’ Trace spread himself out next to Cam. He traced circles and whirls and patterns on Cameron’s skin. Cameron was instantly full of want.

‘No.’

‘Yes. I’m angry not at you but at me. I am terrified – it’s the only word for it – that you’re going to go and do something stupid. And get yourself hurt.’

There was real pain in his voice. Real worry. And Cam felt his throat grow tight with emotion. ‘I will do my best not to,’ he said.

It was a lie, but it was necessary. While he slept, his thoughts – his fears – had been confirmed. He dreamt of darkness and water and struggle. He dreamt of falling and no air and flailing.

‘I can’t lose you now,’ Trace said, blowing out a sigh. ‘You’ve fucked everything up.’

‘What!’ Cam half sat up but Trace pushed him down. His bulk settled over Cameron and he kissed him.

‘I was intent – 120 per cent sure – of a lone life. Me, myself, and I. No lovers, no real friends – barring Father, obviously – no …’ He hesitated. ‘Nothing more than attraction, and attraction I ignored.’

Cam’s heart had quickened. What had the wolf been about to say? What had his tongue stumbled over? The same feeling that kept returning to Cam, and he insisted with a shake of his head and a tightening of his heart that he could not, would not, should not be feeling that. Not now. And yet it was there.

‘And I did what?’

‘You came along and wrecked all my careful plans. I want you around. I don’t want you to leave here. And I especially do not want you hurt. And yet, you’ve bought into this idea that you were sent here by …’

‘Great Spirit.’

‘Right and you and your lightning.’

‘Brother Lightning.’

‘Yes,’ Trace said. ‘You think you’re the answer.’

‘I do think I am.’

‘I disagree.’ Trace pushed a finger against Cam’s lips. Cameron’s cock responded instantly.

‘Why do you disagree?’ Cam asked. He sucked gently, drawing his tongue down over the tip so that he felt a resounding tug of arousal in his gut. Somehow sucking on Trace’s finger had given
him
pleasure. Go figure.

‘Because I don’t want it to be true,’ Trace said and kissed him.

‘Me either, but sometimes –’

‘Shut up,’ Trace said. ‘No more.’

He rolled fully on top of Cam so they were pressed tightly together. His lips were soft at first, gentle even. But then their tongues touched and Cameron gasped, his cock jerking against the hard cock that was pressed against his – mirroring his arousal. A growl escaped Trace and he kissed Cam harder.

‘I want you to know –’

‘Shut up. Not now.’ Trace’s tongue slid against Cam’s. His body crushed firmly to Cam’s. Chest to chest, belly to belly, heartbeats pounding away at one another like duelling drums.

Cameron wound his hands in Trace’s hair and tugged a little. Another growl flew out of the wolf and he kissed a rough path from Cam’s lips to his jaw. He bit him gently and Cam bucked from the sudden sensation.

‘Trace,’ Cam started.

‘You’re going to suck my dick,’ Trace said, his breath hot on Cam’s ear.

Cam began nodding instantly. Yes, yes, he would. He would do that. He
loved
to do that. Just thinking about it had him on the verge of –

‘And I’m going to suck yours,’ Trace said.

Cam’s body went rigid and excitement made his heart pound faster. He was dizzy and wonderful and alight with it. Just the idea had him aching to come. He could feel the wolf smiling against his shoulder.

‘I –’

‘Is that OK with you, Cameron?’

‘I think so.’ His voice sort of cracked and he heard Trace laugh.

‘Good. Then take off those pyjama pants and let me into your bed, Little Red.’

‘Little Red,’ Cameron snorted.

Even as he laughed, Trace flipped him on his belly, wedged Cam over his lap, and yanked at his pants. ‘Yeah. Little Red. Because you’re going to be in a minute.’

Surprise whooshed through Cameron; he almost felt like if he listened hard he could hear it ignite like gas under a match. Fear swiftly followed and then, right on its stark and brazen tail, excitement. His cock felt fit to pound nails, his heart a rogue thing in his chest, thumping so hard he nearly felt ill.

‘What?’ was the most brilliant thing he could manage.

‘I can’t believe you did that. Rushed in there. What the fuck were you thinking?’ After the words came a brief pause. Silence – like an overheard deep breath – echoed around them. And then the blow.

Trace’s hand came down on Cameron’s ass with sharp precision. It hurt – it fucking
hurt
. A thousand tiny needles piercing his skin at once. Cameron sobbed, his back bowing and his body devolving into sheer chaos. Until … the rush and heat of pleasure came.

‘Trace –’ he gasped.

‘I mean really,’ Trace said, absentmindedly smoothing his rough palm over the very skin he’d just punished. ‘What were you going to do?’

Before Cam could answer, the second blow fell. The sting-smack-bite of the blow burned over pristine skin. He now had a matching print on his other cheek. Cameron knew he had handprints on his ass because he could feel them banging in time with his runaway heart. He could also feel the electric pound of blood in his cock and want in his gut. Without thinking, he ground himself against Trace just to get the friction.

It hurt – bloody hell, it hurt – but the aftermath was … heaven.

Tears stung his eyes and he got it. As they say, in a lightning flash, he got it. ‘I scared you.’

‘You scared the fuck out of me,’ Trace said, and another blow rained down. He went against the odds, which Cam would have laid on him placing the blow over the original blow. To alternate. But not his wolf. His wolf laid the blow directly over the one he’d just delivered.

Fire licked at Cam’s skin and the meat underneath. He bucked hard, but that only gave him more friction, which swiftly transformed the nearly unbearable discomfort into something sought after – pleasure.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What did you think would happen?’

One-two-three blows in a row. Trace pulled back on them; they weren’t as heavy handed as the ones before them, but they were delivered with precision. Cam felt like it tore into the meat of him but was no worse than a wet towel snapping on his bare ass. Still, he sobbed, but found himself humping shamelessly at the wolf’s leg.

Trace stopped everything. The silence was deafening. His hands smoothed over the pounding skin of Cameron’s ass and stopped every so often to finger at the tight star of his anus. Finally, he said, ‘I’m waiting for an answer.’

A sob curled out of Cameron first, so he swallowed hard, trying to ignore his dick. It felt like it was throbbing visibly at this point. Couldn’t they just move on to the 69 portion of the evening? The wild thought made him laugh out loud – a crazy man laugh. A needy man laugh.

‘I thought I could save him. I thought the lightning would come. But it didn’t. That only worked with you. I don’t know why –’

That was a lie. His body went tight as soon as he said it, and he could tell by the wolf’s change of position he could feel it too.

Trace pulled him up so they were face to face. ‘You sure about that?’

‘Yes.’ Another lie.

There was something akin to hurt on Trace’s face. Cameron wanted to change his answer, but you don’t say these things after what amounted to a blink of time. Let alone say them
first
to a gruff, wary wolf who’d been alone since he was 18. Trace would laugh at him, he thought. Even as it occurred to him, his throat grew tight with unshed tears.

I will not cry, he told himself.

There was something else in Trace’s eyes, though. Understanding. He gave a nod and put his big hand to the back of Cam’s neck. For a moment, he simply swept his thumb up and down the side, making that skin tingle. The throbbing pain in Cam’s bottom had bled out into a thrumming kind of pleasure – too much blood beneath the skin, too much of his heartbeat there under his tender flesh – and it felt … wonderful.

Cameron couldn’t wait. He might not be able to say what was in his heart, but he sure as shit could make the first move. He threw himself against Trace and kissed him hard, his tongue sliding greedily along the bigger man’s lower lip before plunging in past his plump lips to stroke over his waiting tongue.

Trace laughed softly. ‘What’s gotten into you, Lightning Boy?’

‘You. Kiss me.’

So Trace did. Kissing him like the world might end. Like monsters might be real. Kissing him rough-gentle-sweet-sharp until the world seemed to be spinning. Then Trace pushed Cameron back and, in that intentional way he had of moving, removed his clothes in seconds. Already bare, all Cam could do was watch. Until the wolf lowered himself over Cameron’s body and licked a long, flaring line of heat from the base of his cock to the tip.

Then Cam’s eyes slammed shut all on their own. It was too good.

Chapter Twenty-four

Cam shoved a pillow under his head to reach Trace better. Playing his lips along the glans only, he teased his wolf. He licked and sucked but only the tip. Just the most sensitive places. He felt, more than saw, Trace’s thighs start to tremble, and Cam was only distracted by it when Trace shoved his mouth all the way down his aching shaft. Trace’s tongue was a bright heat against Cameron’s needy skin. He moaned, but since his mouth was full, the vibration of his pleasure worked through Trace, who in turn moaned too.

A never-ending circle of titillation, Cam thought.

He thrust up without realising he was doing it and Trace chuckled against his skin. ‘Behave, Cam,’ he said. His big hands covered Cameron’s jutting hip bones – he’d lost weight since arriving – and he pushed down with a steady pressure. Effectively trapping Cam to the mattress. Which, my God, only made Cameron want to thrust that much more.

Cam made a desperate sound but repaid the restraint with more teasing, dragging his tongue – held rigid – along the side of Trace’s cock before licking back down the other side.

Trace grew still. A full-on growl erupted from his throat and Cam felt the hair on his body tingle and sway. That one noise alone had him on the verge of coming.

When Trace shoved deeply into his mouth, he didn’t baulk at all. His heart leapt at it and his body too. Cam tilted his head back to let his lover fill his throat to the best of his ability. His seeking hands running restlessly up over Trace’s backside, his flanks, his powerful thighs. He would touch whatever he could. His fingers stroked Trace’s balls and the tempo of the wolf’s mouth on him increased. In the thick of it, he lost himself to the sensation of Trace’s mouth on his skin. The heated stroke of his tongue and the velvety insides of his cheeks. When Trace nudged a finger into his ass and found the hard marble of his prostate and began stroking there … Cam’s mind went blank.

He tried to say he was going to come, but his mouth was full. His throat was full. His hands were full – and so was his heart. It was a blinding rush of white sensation and then he was coming, his body helpless at the mercy of such an ancient instinct: pleasure.

He only had a second to worry before a salty rush filled his mouth and he knew that his was not the only pleasure that had become overwhelming. They were there, tangled up together, and the welted skin on Cam’s ass was still beating in merry time with his heart. He couldn’t think of a better place to be. Or a better place he’d been before.

He dreamt of water and gristly things and electric blue. When he woke, he was almost sad, and when he found Trace gone, the sadness bloomed fully. Cameron sat up and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure how the fuck he’d slept, only that even the roots of his hair hurt. When he tried to stretch, he groaned.

‘Hey there.’

He jumped when he heard the familiar – and, yes, beloved – voice. Even though it was part of his brain now, he was on edge enough from his dreams to jump.

‘Sorry,’ Trace said, frowning. ‘Thought you heard me.’

‘No. I just woke and, fuck …’ He tried stretching again and winced. ‘I feel like I got hit by a truck.’

‘Not a truck. A behemoth. A beast. What the fuck do we call these things?’ Trace asked, passing coffee to Cam.

‘Monsters,’ Cameron said and sipped at the pale liquid. ‘Perfect. Two sugars and half and half. Thanks.’

‘I’m surprised you have teeth,’ Trace said, winking.

‘You’d probably like me even more if I didn’t,’ Cam said, winking back. He wanted to push the darkness of his dream away. The worry in his heart could wait. It could take the back burner to his joy at seeing the wolf.

The joke caught Trace off guard and a look of surprised preceded his laugh. ‘Jesus!’ He shook his head, grinning. ‘Not true, but you got me, didn’t you?’

‘I did.’ Cameron held out his hand and Trace took it. ‘What’s wrong? Your face says something is.’

‘Another tremor last night.’

‘And?’

‘And we lost someone. Someone near the falls like Batts was. Her name was Winona and she was a leopard. She lived out there alone. Said she liked the quiet. No husband, no kids, no nothing. But one of the volunteers guarding the perimeter heard her go in. I don’t know why she’d go so close to –’

‘I think the ones who live close – who’ve been near it since it arrived – can be
called
? For lack of a better word. I think it can lure them or call them or
something.
But you said it was a tremor, so any other –’

‘Bleed-through near the town fountain of all things. Something took a midnight bath and almost grabbed a barmaid who came out of The Den to see what was up.’

‘So that’s near the original site. Where Malus conjured a crack, right?’ Cam sipped his coffee and refused to give in to the terror that was poisoning his heart.

‘Yeah. So … Something’s got to give. I have these brief mental images of our town full of monsters, flying, sliding and swimming around the place, but we’re all gone.’ Trace frowned, his jaw tight with worry. ‘Stupid and embarrassing, but at least I can tell you anyway.’ He winked.

That made Cameron happy – that trust. But under it was a sadness, a worry, that felt like a pit in his stomach.

‘Something does have to give,’ he said, softly.

Spirit.

‘Hey, sorry to bring you down. Get dressed and come up and eat, OK? Father’s worried, so it’s like a fucking breakfast buffet up there.’

Cam smiled and nodded. ‘I will.’

‘I have to go check the back gates and the part of the grounds that back up near the falls. Finn’s worried about us being safe.’

‘Well, Christ, please be safe when you do it.’

‘Of course. I’m always safe.’ Trace kissed his forehead and then squinted at him. ‘Why do you look so anxious?’

‘Just about you checking is all,’ Cam lied.

‘Well stop,’ the wolf said and then he was gone.

It was only 20 minutes later that an actual wolf came barrelling toward the patio where Finn, Cameron, and Slaughter were eating. As soon as Cameron saw Trace in animal form he stood, his gut clenching with fear.

‘What’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ he bellowed.

The wolf, big and powerful with salt and pepper fur, slid to a halt. As he watched, the image flickered-twisted-shifted to bring him a naked, panting Trace. ‘A tremor.’

‘There was no tremor –’

It hit, rocking the world under his feet. Cam clutched the table and waited for it to pass.

‘I felt it before it came,’ Trace said, shoving past him and into the house. He came out of the kitchen with sweatpants.

‘Do you have stashes of clothes everywhere?’ Cam blurted. It was a stupid thing to say, but it popped out before he could think about it.

Trace grinned. ‘We all do. Never know when you might be naked.’

‘Fuck it all,’ Slaughter said. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’

A lion came into view and Cameron almost cried out before he realised it had to be Tryg. Luke was right on his heels, running.

‘Having to be saddled with human legs and wheezing for air blows sometimes,’ he gasped. ‘This is it.’ He bent at the waist to catch his breath.

‘This is what?’ Trace asked, but he knew. He could tell. His body was tingling, his heels and head felt heavy with power even as his gut felt light and floaty. This was the big push. The creature was making a move.

‘This is the big one –’

A second tremor cut him off. In the distance, someone screamed. The lion took off into the woods, barely audible on giant paws. With a swish of his tail he was gone.

‘We have to go,’ Cam said. He dropped the napkin he’d been clutching like a worry blanket.

Trace stopped him with a big arm thrown across his chest. ‘Whoa. What do you mean, “we”?’

‘I mean we. Let’s go,’ Cam said. He didn’t have time to argue. The energy in his body prompted him to act and, to prove it, a crackling tendril of energy shot out of him, shocking Trace. The wolf jumped back, but only for a moment. He put a hand on Cam again, his mouth drawing down to a tight line.

‘No. Not you.’

‘Trace –’ Slaughter tried to interject.

‘We’ll handle it,’ Trace said, practically grinding his teeth. His fingers curled to Cameron’s chest. The action broke Cam’s heart.

‘I’ll be fine.’ He did his best to look Cam in the eye.

‘Now see, I don’t think you will.’ Trace’s gaze was steady. He didn’t blink. Those intense lavender eyes were probing all of Cameron’s secrets and fears.

‘I will.’

‘Trace,’ Luke said, ‘we need to save this town. We need him to act. He was brought here.’

‘Shut up,’ Trace growled and turned and walked away.

‘He was brought here for more than that,’ Father Finn said, starting to clear the table. ‘He was brought here for Trace also. To heal him, I believe. I haven’t seen that man so interested in life since I met him.’ He said no more, just took his pile of dishes and went in through the French doors to the kitchen.

‘We have to do this,’ Slaughter said, his face grim.

‘I know. We will.’ Another tremor rocked them, and somewhere something boomed. A big boom. The kind that made you jump. ‘And we have to do it now.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Luke yelled as they all started to run.

‘That’s the funny part,’ Cam called above the sound of his pounding heart. ‘I won’t know until I’m doing it. I have no idea!’

Slaughter grunted. ‘That’s reassuring.’

All Cam could do was laugh. Though his heart was breaking and his mind was terrified, he laughed. And he ran.