Taming the Beast

She did her best to look through the aspersions on her moral character, and his favorite word of whore, which he used several times. Her stomach was queasy from the sheer hate in the message as she forced herself to read it twice before she realized what had felt wrong about it the first time.

Only a whore would screw two men at the same time where anyone could see.

Her heart stuttered in her chest as her face flushed. He must be watching her to know she had taken two lovers, and the easiest way for him to have seen that was three days ago, when Duncan and Nick had taken her for a picnic when they’d had a surprisingly nice fall day.

It had been a little chilly, but they’d soon found ways to keep her warm, and the three of them had made love on the blanket—where anyone who was spying could have seen them. At the time, she had thought Mrs. Farley was the only other person on the grounds, and the men had assured her she was in the kitchen, so she’d allowed them to seduce her, since she had wanted it too.

She scrambled to her feet, contemplation forgotten in her need to seek out Duncan and Nick. They needed to know Sam was somewhere around. Until recently, she wouldn’t have feared Sam despite his attempts to control her, but in light of the texts and the fact that he had followed her here, she knew he was dangerous. Her lovers needed to be warned.

She hurried from the library and spent ten minutes searching their wing of the house, but neither were in attendance. She was growing concerned for them as she moved down to the main floor, seeking out Mrs. Farley, who was in the kitchen.

The older woman gave her a kindly smile as she kneaded bread dough. “If you’re looking for a bite to eat, there are several options in the refrigerator.”

She shook her head. “I actually need to find Duncan and Nick. Do you know where they are?”

“They’ve gone fishing, Ms. Edwards.”

Baylee blinked, having a difficult time imagining Duncan and Nick as the fishing type. “Really?” At Mrs. Farley’s nod, she asked, “Where are they fishing?” She already knew it couldn’t be off the property, or they would have immediately turned into the beasts.

“If you head due east, you’ll come to the river that runs across the property at the edge. You’ll find them there.”

Baylee debated the wisdom about going outside alone, but the idea of Nick and Duncan out there alone, with no knowledge of Sam’s presence, spurred her onward. She was certain they could take care of themselves if they knew there was a threat, but she didn’t know what method Sam might use to attack, or if he would even target Duncan and Nick.

There was a visible path through the forest, and as she reached the edge of it before ent

ering, she knelt down and picked up a sturdy branch. It was light enough for her to carry, but heavy enough to do damage to Sam if he appeared. With a deep breath, and the branch in her hand, she stepped into the gloom of the afternoon forest.

The canopy was thick and lush, blocking out the sun in places and reducing it to little more than a pleasant haze in others. It wasn’t too dark to navigate, but it was dark enough to be nerve-racking. She moved her head continuously, eyes constantly scanning the area around her. When she stepped into a clearing near the stables, which appeared to be in disuse, she breathed a sigh of relief. The river was still about a mile away, and that meant reentering the forest after the clearing, but she was more confident in her journey now that she’d accomplished part of it.

Maybe she was overreacting, and Sam wasn’t lurking on the property somewhere. Perhaps he had tricked her parents or one of her friends into telling him where she was working and had driven up to see her, and had instead found her with Duncan and Nick. Maybe he’d been so angry and hurt that he had turned and gone back the way he came, but she wasn’t going to cling to that hope. In light of his increasingly violent text messages, and his overall creepy behavior, she figured it was more likely he was on the property somewhere. She only hoped he wasn’t watching her right that minute.

She crossed the clearing, moving toward the stables, though not approaching them. The slightest smell of musty manure remained in the air, indicating it had probably been years since they had kept horses on the property. She eyed the building uncertainly as she walked past, but didn’t feel the sensation of being watched, at least not any stronger than she had ever since stepping outside the manor house.

Two minutes after she had entered the clearing, she was back in the forest again, and she remained vigilant, but saw no sign of Sam. She continued walking forward before crying out sharply when something created a stinging sensation in her hip. She angled her body slightly to look at the spot, having expected she had caught herself on a thorn or something.

Instead, there was a dart extending from her flesh, and she picked it up, wincing as she pulled it out. For a moment, her brain couldn’t make the connection between what it was and how it had gotten there, but as she swayed, she realized it was a tranquilizer dart.

She didn’t see Sam as she collapsed to the floor of the forest, but she was certain he was there, and he was the one who had shot her. She could hear footsteps approaching as she fought off the wave of unconsciousness, but she passed out before they had a chance to reach her.

She woke with the smell of old manure in her nose, and scratchy straw against her cheek. Without thinking, she groaned as she lifted her head before awareness returned, dictating she should appear unconscious for as long as possible.

It was already too late as evidenced by footsteps approaching. Her head spun as she forced herself to turn over, already knowing the identity of the person standing over her even before she saw his face. “Why are you doing this, Sam?” Her voice was raspy, and she cleared her throat several times before she could speak normally. “This is downright crazy.”

His expression tightened, making his normally model-perfect face take on a chilling edge. Maybe it was the way the shadows highlighted his face, illuminated by the lantern he held, but he appeared to be a creature crafted from darkness and rage rather than a human being. She shivered at the sight, finding him far more terrifying than she ever had Duncan or Nick, even when she had seen them as beasts before realizing it was them.

“What’s crazy is throwing away what we had. You could have been the perfect wife and partner if you’d allowed me to mold you and guide you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a lump of clay, and I had no interest in being shaped to your version of perfection. Whatever we had is over, and it was before I came here. It’s been over for a long time, but I didn’t have the sense to end it formally until recently.”

His expression tightened even further, and he knelt down to backhand her. “It’s not over until I say it is, but I agree with you. It’s definitely over now, slut.”

Her head was reeling from the blow, and she blinked as two images of him blurred before gradually merging again into one. “If you feel that way about it, then why are you here? Stalking me is not compatible with ending a relationship.”

He tried to hit her again, though this time she managed to bring up an arm and slightly block the blow. Unfortunately for her, Sam was a great deal larger than she was, having been an athlete throughout high school and college, and still playing softball on the weekends. Despite her hand blocking a good portion of the blow to her face, it still jarred her sharply.

“I don’t care what happens to you now, slut. I’m here for the beasts. When I saw what they were, and what they could do, I knew they’d be of great value. I have pictures, but those can be dismissed. I won’t be accused of being crazy again. I need proof, and that comes in the form of capturing one of them alive.”

Her eyes widened, and she struggled to deny what he was saying. “That’s crazy. What are you talking about? What beasts?”