Beauty in Winter (Beauty #4)

Then I hear the sounds of clothes being ripped and bones snapping, I scramble back as I watch the impossible happen in front of my eyes—a man turning into something else. Something more.

All too quickly, right before my eyes, a giant wolf stands, taking the breath from my lungs. I’m not even sure if wolf is the right word for him. He’s bigger than any wolf I’ve ever seen, even on TV. His golden eyes are locked on mine as he takes a step toward me. I should be screaming. Running. Anything. Instead I stand there, transfixed by those eyes, unable to move. The gold swirls in them are mesmerizing, as if they are pulling me into him.

“I knew it. The rose ring tale is true,” Mr. Blackden says, and I take my eyes off the giant wolf in the middle of the room. The wolf growls loudly, and when my eyes come back to him he stops. It’s as if he’s agitated that I’m not looking at him.

“I think I want to leave,” I finally say, my fear picking up as I grasp what is happening. I think I’m in shock. I’m simply unable to wrap my mind around the fact that a man just turned into a wolf right in front of me.

The wolf moves, blocking the door as if he understood what I said. His golden eyes are trained on me.

“I don’t think—” Mr. Blackden is cut off when the wolf turns and snaps at him. “I’m not going to let her leave,” he says, but the wolf still doesn’t seem happy. “I thought this might happen.” He shakes his head. “It’s for the best.” I scream as he raises the gun and fires.

My heart drops as I rush toward the wolf. Something inside me wants to protect him. But the gun makes no sound as the wolf falls to the ground. I scream again, dropping down next to the wolf. Mr. Blackden finally moves away from the door and comes closer to me. The wolf growls again but doesn’t open his eyes or move beside me. Mr. Blackden stops.

“Calm, my friend. I must make sure she stays,” he says in a calm voice, as if trying to soothe the wolf.

“Friend? You just shot him!”

“Yes, well, I didn’t know what he was going to do. He was feral and he needs time to calm down without you so close.” He says it so simply, like his friend didn’t just turn into a wolf.

“I want — ”

He interrupts me. “You belong to him now. Don’t you remember the contract you signed?” he reminds me, tsking at my inability to grasp the situation.

“Whatever, sue me,” I tell him, coming to my feet. Part of me wants to run, and part of me has a deep desire to make sure the wolf is okay. Something is pulling me to him. The feeling settles deep inside me, as if he’s mine to take care of.

Mr. Blackden moves fast. Faster than a human should be able to, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me through the giant castle. The wolf growls, and I look back as he attempts to come to his feet, clearly drugged and swaying. He must have shot him with some kind of tranquilizer.

“That should have put him down for hours,” Mr. Blackden says in disbelief. I try to jerk from his hold, but he pulls me through that house and up a set of stairs. “Seems even a tranq that’s made to put an elephant on his ass for a day won’t stop an alpha from coming for and protecting his mate.”

“Mate? Alpha?” There’s too much for me to try to figure out here.

“There will be time for that later. For now, I feel it’s best to put you away.”

“Put me away?” I move to free myself again but get nowhere. He pulls open a set of double doors and pushes me inside, and I almost trip over my own feet.

“Get comfortable,” he tells me, that smirk playing on his lips once again. I jump for the door, but it slams in my face and the lock clicks into place. I pull on the handles, but nothing happens. Growls fill the outside hallway, and a loud crash echoes through the room. Then I hear something trying to claw its way into the room.





Chapter 4





Reid





I can feel a pain in my chest as I watch her take a step away from me.

MATE.

My wolf roars, and my alpha blood pumps hard and fast. But it’s not enough to push the poison from me. I look down to see my hands have become paws. My body has changed, and I’m not fully shifted. More animal than man.

MATE.

My wolf beats down on me again to get up and claim what’s mine. It’s so foreign to have him inside my head; I’ve never been able to fully feel him before. I always knew my inner beast was right under the surface, but I’d never been able to grab onto him or bond to him in a way that all shifters are able to when they reach maturity. This is the first time in my life that I truly feel whole, like I was meant to be. And it’s all because of her.

I push through the fog in my brain and watch as Ron takes her away from me. He said he was going to make sure she didn’t leave, but my brain isn’t working right. I can’t think straight. Right now, I’ve got uncontrollable urges that must be sated.

MATE.

The word rolls through my body like the reverberations of a drum. I can’t be stopped. Rising, I take a step and feel the weight of my wolf’s body. It’s part of me, an extension of who I am, yet it’s all new. It’s like taking steps for the first time, only right now I’m half drugged.

I make my way up the stairs, tracking her scent, the one that I know is mine. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before, and my mouth is watering to taste it. It’s sweet and rich, like warm syrup. I want it dripping down my chin and over my chest, coating me with her.

The muscles in my back tighten as I catch a little fear mixed in with her fragrance, and I bare my teeth. How dare anyone frighten what belongs to me. My one true love.

It’s insane that it’s happening so fast. One moment I thought I was cursed forever, unable to shift, never to find a mate, never to have my own young. Now, within seconds, this beauty shows up on my doorstep, and all that is now possible. She has given me a gift unlike any I could have dared to dream of, and I will spend my life protecting her.

By the time I catch up to them the drugs are completely out of my system. I watch as Ron puts her into my room and closes the door, locking it. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I’m on him. I push him down on the ground, pressing my paws into his shoulders and pinning him down. Immediately he turns his head to the side, baring his neck and showing submission. He’s clearly showing me that I’m the dominant wolf and he isn’t going to challenge me for her.

“Calm down, Reid,” he whispers, but I can’t be bothered. I need to get to mine.

I push him down a little harder this time, and he grunts, then nods in understanding. He knows to get out and stay gone.

I turn toward the door and claw at it. I’m still in wolf form, and I don’t know how to change back. It’s all happening so fast. Normally there are pack elders nearby to help us change back when it first happens. But I’m alpha, and this is so much later in life that I don’t know what will make me shift back to my human form. Right now all I can do is follow my instincts. And they are telling me that once I get to my mate, all will be fine.