Beauty's Beast by Kernan Jenna

Author:Kernan, Jenna [Kernan, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, :Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 0373885687
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-04-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Alon woke in the forest and scented the air. The first rays of morning shot through the trees, bringing color back to his bleak world.

Hunger yawned and stretched in his empty belly. He ran through the woods, fast and fleet, bounding over the spongy ground beneath the trees. He had the scent of elk, and his hunger urged him on. One thing that he could not change about his existence was the hunger. The hungrier he grew, the harder it was to stay in his human form. Between his lust for Samantha and the knowledge of how she felt about him, he thought he might go mad. Now he was mad, raging down an animal path, knowing his prey was close. Knowing his quarry had no chance against him.

One, he told himself. He’d take only one. But upon seeing them he lost his mind, and when he came back to his senses he had broken the necks of two, a doe and a big buck. He started on the buck, ripping easily through the tough hide as a child might tear into a paper sack.

He devoured the thing, organs, viscera, meat and bone. He was about to crack open the skull when he saw something move. Something stupid. Something about to be dead. Not only was the urge to defend his kill nearly overwhelming, but he still felt the hunger. True, the impulse was now manageable, not the crazed gnawing want of a few moments ago. Now it was the greedy craving to binge. He needed the protein and fat if he was to stay strong to protect Samantha and if he was to stay strong enough to protect Samantha from himself.

Alon turned, claws raised, chest heaving, blood glistening on his face and hands and saw a familiar grizzly bear. The horror of her coming upon him while he ate nearly caused him to lose what he had put down.

“No,” he gurgled. “Samantha?”

She nodded.

“Go away,” he ordered, his voice harsh as the shame hardened cold inside him. How could he ever look at her again, now that she had seen him feeding on prey?

She shook her head and advanced on all fours, her nose raised as she breathed in the scent of his kill. What was she up to?

“Go away, I said,” he tried again, but his voice had lost its authority and now held a definite note of desperation. It was best that she saw this. He knew it. But his vanity pricked and his heart grieved for what he could never have. He realized that he had enjoyed her touches and those adoring glances she cast. But that was all he would have of her.

She’d never willingly touch him again. Not after seeing this.

She walked slowly forward and then past him, brushing his thigh with her furry shoulder, like a cat rubbing up against an owner’s leg.

Her touch had the same effect it always did. A prickling excitement began at the point of contact, tingled up and into his core, then, like a falling domino set off the next most obvious reaction.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.