Read Claimed by the Beast - Part One Online

Authors: Dawn Michelle

Tags: #romance, #coming of age, #young adult, #werewolf, #witch, #teen, #shapeshifter

Claimed by the Beast - Part One (8 page)

Crystal blushed. “No. Yes. I mean—I don’t
know. Ember told me this would happen.”

“What, you’d get clumsy?”

“No,” Crystal said. She blushed again. Best
friend or not, there was no way she could tell Beth that she was in
heat. Beth was a girl! She was a girl! And she liked Hank. She
hoped Hank liked her. Being a mom at eighteen was crazy—she’d seen
the horrible shows on MTV—but if it saved her life, it would be
worth it. “Just, um, affectionate.”

Beth jerked her head back and blinked. A
smile spread across her face and she nodded. She glanced back and
forth and took a step closer to Crystal and leaned in close as
though she was going to whisper something to her. She turned her
head and pressed her lips to Crystal’s cheek. “It’s okay, I don’t
mind,” Beth whispered.

Crystal’s eyes rounded as her blushing
friend smiled at her and hurried down the hall to her class. Beth
made it halfway down the hall before the fog cleared in Crystal’s
mind and she realized she had to get to class. She groaned and
started running down the hall.

 

 

Chapter 12

 

Crystal met up with Beth at the school doors
and rolled her eyes when Beth grinned at her. They pushed through
the doors and took a few steps before Beth burst out, “So now
what?”

Ember slipped in on Crystal’s other side
from the shadows beside the door. “Now you take us to Crystal’s
place and you go home.”

Crystal gasped at her sudden appearance. She
forced her heart back into her chest and tried to glare at her.
“Don’t do that! You scared me half to death!”

“You bang anybody at school?”

“What? No!”

Beth laughed. “Whenever I saw you, there
were guys checking you out.”

“No there wasn’t!”

Ember smirked. “Boys don’t have a clue.
Their instincts can tell, but they’ve learned to ignore them.”

“Ignore their instincts? I don’t think so,”
Crystal argued. “We all have those!”

Ember shook her head. “Humans have lost
touch. A baby who’s hungry will lie on the floor and cry until
someone feeds it. An animal? It will crawl, walk, or do whatever it
can to try and find something to eat. Pathetic.”

“Um, hello, we’re humans too,” Beth pointed
out.

Ember smirked. Crystal was afraid she’d say
more so she clapped her hands and said, “So, I told Beth about
Friday night. The thing at the bridge. And, uh, that you guys think
it’s still after me.”

Ember scowled. “You shouldn’t have told
her.”

“Why not?”

“She’s already got your stink all over her.
You should go home and take a long shower. Lots of soap. Then stay
inside. With any luck, he won’t smell you.”

“That’s creepy,” Beth argued. “Why? And how
could he smell me? I don’t smell like her.”

Ember stepped in front of them and turned to
face them. Both girls had to stop to avoid running her over. The
redhead leaned towards Beth and inhaled through her nose. She
sneered and licked her lips. “What have you two been doing?”

“What?” Beth protested.

“She hugged me earlier,” Crystal said.
“Friends do that.”

“Uh huh.” Ember didn’t sound convinced.
“Well, knock it off. You’re marking her every time you do
that.”

“Marking her?”

Ember nodded.

“Isn’t she marking me too?”

Ember sniffed her. “You’re the dominant,”
she grunted. “Huh, I didn’t expect that.”

“The dominant?”

Beth gasped and whispered, “That’s kind of
kinky.”

“Oh my God!”

“Not that kind of dominant,” Ember said. Her
eyes raked up and down Beth and she shrugged. “Well, not
usually.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Beth
asked.

A rumble in the distance ripped Crystal’s
attention to the parking lot. She saw Ember shaking her head and
then noticed Beth looking back and forth. Beth gasped a moment
later and whispered, “Motorcycle!”

Crystal couldn’t stop herself from
grinning.

“You knew,” Beth accused. “You did that last
time too! How did you know?”

“I heard it,” Crystal said.

“You have to know what to listen for,” Ember
offered. She glared at Crystal for a long moment and then turned as
Hank rumbled into view on his cruiser.

“What is that, anyhow? A Harley?”

“Indian,” Ember said.

Beth frowned. “Native American or do you
mean India?”

Crystal nearly stumbled from the strange
comment her friend made. “What?”

“Indian is a brand of motorcycle,” Ember
said.

“It is? Oh!”

“Oh my God.” Crystal resisted the urge to
facepalm herself for Beth’s mistake and shook her head. “You are
such an indoor girl.”

Beth shrugged and kept her mouth shut.

“Ember, Crystal,” Hank greeted as he climbed
off his bike and stood to face them.

“Jesus, he’s a tank,” Beth mumbled.

Ember grunted and nodded while Crystal
grinned and barely resisted the urge to skip and jog ahead to meet
him. She still walked fast enough that she almost didn’t slow down
in time to meet him. Hank smiled when Crystal’s eyes widened and
she stumbled with the effort to slow herself down.

Hank reached out and caught her shoulders
before she could fall. He chuckled. “Well, hi there.”

“I’m such a klutz!” Crystal groaned.

He shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

Ember smacked him in the arm as she walked
up next. “What’s the word?”

“He hasn’t been back to the bridge,” Hank
said with his rumbling voice.

Crystal picked up a touch of an accent.
Tennessee, maybe?

“We couldn’t track him or find him. He
healed before he came out of the river. No blood to follow.”

“I should have been there,” Ember mumbled.
“I could have found his scent again.”

“Found his scent?” Beth asked as she joined
them. “What are you talking about?”

“Ember was the one who knew the Beast was
there when we rode past Crystal,” Hank explained.

“Hank, shut it!” Ember hissed. “She doesn’t
know.”

“I know about Crystal getting hurt,” Beth
protested. Once all eyes were on her, she held out her arms and
said, “What? She told me!”

“What did you tell her?” Hank asked.

Crystal felt herself withering under his
bright-eyed gaze. “I told her about the thing that bit me and how
it was making me sick. And that it was hunting me.”

Hank nodded. He glanced at Ember.
“Soon.”

Ember laughed. “Better be.”

Crystal scowled. “What’s that supposed to
mean?”

Ember glanced down between the two of them
and nodded. “Two of you are getting awfully close and it looks like
somebody’s getting happy to see you.”

“Ember!” Hank growled.

Crystal glanced down in spite of the sudden
heat in her cheeks and saw the bulge in his pants. She gasped and
felt her knees tremble. “Uh—”

“Crys! Wait up!” Stephanie’s voice broke
over her like a tidal wave of freezing water.

Crystal jerked herself around, twisting and
ending up brushing her arm against Hank’s chest. He caught her and
held her still so she didn’t trip. Crystal felt the quiet strength
in his grip and hoped the moan she heard was only in her head.
Ember was right: if she wasn’t careful, she was going to jump his
bones the first chance she got!

“You said you’d introduce me to your
boyfriend,” Stephanie said as she closed the distance on her long
legs.

“Boyfriend?” Hank whispered in her ear.

Crystal shivered. “It kind of slipped,” she
mumbled.

“So?” Stephanie said as she slowed. She
looked up at him and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Stephanie.”

Crystal jerked and turned to look at Hank.
He had his head tilted a little as he looked down at her.
“Stephanie, this is Hank.”

Hank took his hand off Crystal’s shoulder
and extended his arm to her. Crystal’s stomach tightened and her
teeth felt like they would crack under pressure any second as Hank
shook her hand.

“Oh my, you really are big,” Stephanie said
with a smile.

“We were just leaving,” Crystal said. “We
can catch up later.”

“Oh? That’s too bad,” Stephanie said. She
smiled at Hank and nodded. “Later then. I’m holding you to
that!”

Crystal grabbed Hank and turned him around.
“Let’s go,” she muttered.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Long story. She’s the reason I cry myself
to sleep at night.”

“You what?”

Crystal sighed. “Never mind. I’m kidding.
About the crying, at least. Do you want to come to my place?”

“Everybody’s already there,” Hank said.

“What? My mom—oh, she’s working a double.
Wait! How’d they get in my house?”

“They’re not in your house,” Ember said.
“Camped outside. Probably on the back deck.”

“Oh, okay. So the neighbors will see them.
Great.”

“If you’d prefer, we could leave you to face
this on your own?” Ember asked.

Crystal clamped her lips shut and glanced at
the ground. “You’re right,” she mumbled before looking back up.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Crys,” Beth said. “Can I stay with you,
please?”

Crystal looked at Ember and Hank and saw
both of them shake their heads. She sighed.

“It’s not safe,” Hank said. “This is
dangerous and if we have to protect you too, it will spread us too
thin.”

“How can anything be dangerous with you
around?” Crystal asked him.

Hank chuckled while Ember made a gagging
noise.

Beth pouted as they got to her car. “All
right, let’s go. But you call me if anything happens and you’d
better respond to my texts!”

Crystal looked at Hank and said, “I will,
unless, I’m, uh, busy.”

Ember slammed the back door of the car as
she climbed in, jarring Crystal out of her pleasant thoughts. She
glanced at Beth and saw her friend roll her eyes. She climbed into
her car and left her standing on the passenger side with Hank
beside her.

“Sorry about the boyfriend thing,” Crystal
mumbled into his leather-covered chest.

He chuckled. “Anything that helps you find
the strength to fight through this. I don’t mind.”

Crystal smiled and glanced away from him so
his blue eyes wouldn’t pierce through her heart again. She saw
Stephanie standing near the school with a crowd of her friends.
They were gossiping, probably about her, but Stephanie was staring
straight at Crystal.

“Oh damn, why won’t she leave me alone?”
Crystal groaned.

“Trust me,” Hank whispered before he spun
her around and pressed his lips to hers.

Crystal’s mind exploded. She felt the
sensation of his lips, firm but soft, crushing hers. The whiskers
on his face scraped at her skin but it felt so raw and powerful.
She could smell the leather mixing with the odor that was pure
Hank. It filled her and made her moan into his mouth. Without
realizing it, she parted her lips and felt his tongue against hers.
He invaded her, filling her with his essence.

“That should take care of her,” he
whispered.

Crystal blinked and blindly reached out to
grab the car door. Her knees were weak and she wanted nothing more
than to rip Hank’s clothes off and throw herself on him. “Oh. My.
God,” she breathed.

Hank grinned and winked at her, and then
turned and walked to his bike.

“You’re such a slut. Get in,” Beth chided
her.

Crystal hesitated as she stared after her
dream man. Her mom was gone until six a.m. tomorrow. “Go ahead. I’m
going to catch a ride with Hank.”

“Oh hell no,” Beth groaned.

Ember threw her door open and stepped out.
“Crissy, what are you doing?”

Crystal grinned. “I’m just catching a ride
home.”

“Did you hear me, Crissy?”

Crystal turned slowly and blinked. She
called her Crissy. Twice. She smiled at her assigned protector and
said, “Yes, I heard you.”

Ember sniffed and leaned to look past her.
“Hank!”

The large man stopped and turned around. He
had a grin on his face. “What’s up, Red?”

Ember scowled. “He won’t come until it gets
dark. Go ahead and give Princess a ride home. Follow us and don’t
stop anywhere, got it?”

“Why would I stop?” he asked, feigning
innocence.

“You know damn well why,” she growled. “Keep
it in your pants, Tiny.”

Beth groaned from inside the car.

Crystal blushed and looked away. “I’ll see
you there.” She hurried after Hank and then turned to glance back
when Beth chirped the tires on her car and raced out of her parking
spot. Crystal grinned and couldn’t wait to wrap her arms and legs
around Hank.

The only questions she had: how would she
manage to get him alone and why had Ember called him Tiny?

 

 

Chapter 13

 

True to her fantasies, Crystal rested her
head against Hank’s back and breathed him in while she pressed on
his hips with her legs and kept her hands locked on his stomach.
She felt each breath he took and daydreamed about making him
breathe hard while he was on top of her.

Hank shifted and caused the powerful engine
to send vibrations through the seat that made her tingle. She
smiled and thought about the nature of Ember, Hank, and the others.
Maybe having Hank on top of her wasn’t the best option. Maybe he’d
like to be behind her. Reaching around and leaning forward to sink
his fingers into her—

“You doing okay?” he asked over his
shoulder, jerking her out of her vivid fantasy.

Crystal jerked her head up, glad he couldn’t
see her blushing. “Yeah, why?”

He lifted his massive shoulders in a shrug.
“Making sure. From what I’ve heard, it’s not often somebody gets
away from one of these things.”

Crystal stiffened against him. “You mean
there’s more than one?”

He nodded. “Yeah, not a lot, but whenever we
run across one, we try to take ’em out.”

“Why? I mean, if they’re so dangerous, why
risk it?”

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