Beast Untamed: Beasts of Bodmin Moor, Book 3 (17 page)

“I never knew who my father was. Never felt the need to know.”

He had to stop for a moment to regroup. His heart was hammering too fast. “When I saw your suitcase, I thought you were about to walk out on me without an explanation. It brought back all those memories.”

“I didn’t realize. That’s the very last thing I would have wanted.”

“She sold me.” Bitterness laced the words, resentment at what his mother had done still as alive in the man as it had been in the boy. “I didn’t know until years later, but she sold me. My adopted parents wanted me, fought for me, but she made them pay.” Anger spliced through the resentment, as he feared it would whenever he thought of the woman who had given birth to him. “Turns out she was a junkie, so she probably used the money to buy drugs.”

“What happened to her?”

“She shot up bad stuff. Died of an overdose.”

The tender way her hands slid over his flesh comforted far more than any words could have done. She touched her mouth to his, her lips sliding warm and reassuringly with a gentle pressure that calmed him. She was like a salve to an old, festering wound. A balm to the sores of his past.

She slid her arm around his waist. “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we? Neither of us won the prize for the most doting parents.”

“I can’t complain,” Nathan said, running the back of his fingers along her arm. “My adoptive parents were loving and giving. Not once did they ever make me feel I wasn’t their real son.”

“You were their real son. It takes more than blood to make a family.”

He touched her hair, drew the spiky brown strands behind her ear. “I’m sorry you had a shit time with your parents.”

She shrugged. “They did their best. They just weren’t all touchy-feely. Like you, I can’t really complain.” She kissed him again. “I’m glad you told me. I don’t want there ever to be any secrets between us, Nathan.”

The chill that ran through him, the concern for what she’d say when she realized he’d kept the most vital secret of all from her, threatened to ruin the closeness they shared in that moment. Again, he pushed it away. Now was not the time for further revelations. Now was the time for them to be together. To build. To strengthen. So that when he did tell her, she would remember this night. Remember that he was a flesh-and-blood man, albeit with a preternatural ability to change into a beast.

Driven by the need to solidify what they had forged between them, he took hold of her arms and encouraged her to straddle him. She pressed her hands to his chest and ran her fingers lightly down to his abdomen. His cock jerked, and blood thundered through his veins, warming the parts that his worries had chilled.

He took her breasts in his hands, molding them to his palms and drawing his thumbs lightly across her nipples. They hardened beneath his touch. He raised his upper body from the bed, desperate to taste her, absorb her essence.

He touched his tongue to the swollen peaks, and an erotic sound came from deep in her throat. She pushed into his hands and dropped her head back. With her throat exposed, Nathan felt the need surge from the depths of his being, rising up on a tumultuous wave and driving aside all his reasoning. He felt his fangs descend, his blood a burning furnace in his veins. He grabbed for every ounce of thinking power he still possessed and by sheer force of will made his canines retract.

But he couldn’t stop the heat that raced through him, and the need to share with Erin a symbol of his commitment to her and of her vital importance to him.

He reached into the drawer of her side cabinet and pulled out a condom. He handed her the packet. “Put this on me, Erin.”

She stared at the packet. “But you… You’ve never wanted me to do that before. You’ve always wanted to do it yourself.”

“I’ve needed the control,” he heard himself confess. “I’ve never trusted a woman enough to let her sheath me. It made me feel too…vulnerable. But I trust you, Erin.”

In the shimmering light, he thought he saw her eyes moisten. “I trust you too, Nathan. More than I’ve ever trusted anyone in my entire life.”

The pleasure of hearing her admit that was momentarily lost beneath the guilt that weighed heavily on his chest.

“Don’t forget this,” he grated, emotion clamping the muscles of his throat. “Remember us together this way. Whatever else you find out about me, know that this is what’s real. That this is all that really matters. All that’s important.”

“I know,” she said “I don’t care about what happened before.”

She thought he was referring to his sexual past, and for now he let her continue to believe that. It was all he could do right then. The rest would come later, when he…

Shit.

The rest of his thought was driven from his head when she rolled on the condom and drew him deep inside her.

He loved her, Nathan realized, feeling her feminine muscles tighten around him. He loved her, craved her like his next breath. And when he told her who he was, what he was, he would fight until the end of days to make her accept him, understand him, and make her love him right back.

* * * * *

Desperate to get out of the cold, Erin walked down the path to the cottage, grocery bags in hand and already thinking about the timescale to have dinner ready for when Nathan arrived home tonight. He’d been delayed in Paris an extra day, and it had seemed interminable.

Despite that he’d called her each night and sent texts throughout the day, she missed him so much. Last night, they’d enjoyed phone sex, something she’d never experienced before but certainly hoped to enjoy again if she couldn’t have the real thing. Except, the next time he had to go away and asked her to go with him, she fully intended to take him up on his offer.

She’d been flat-out busy the last couple of days at the coffee shop, but loved every moment of it. Now that she was a legit employee, Sandie had given her extra shifts and asked her to act as deputy manager until Erin started her degree course in September. After that, Erin had agreed to work weekend shifts for Sandie. Everything was just about perfect.

Once inside the cottage, a flash of déjà vu hit her full force. Why wasn’t Willa here to greet her? Her heart thundering in her chest, Erin raced through the cottage and threw open the door to the yard. Willa wasn’t there.

She hurried back inside, calling frantically for her dog. It was then she saw it. A flash of white propped on the kitchen table.

She grabbed the letter, already knowing with a sick dread what she would find inside. Her hands shook so badly, she almost dropped the envelope twice before she ripped it open and pulled out the note.

“I’ve taken my dog. Seeing as you love this godforsaken moor so much, I’ve let the mutt loose there. About now I bet you’re wishing you hadn’t spoiled the dog so much, then she might have developed some survival skills. As it is, she’ll have her work cut out. I’ve been waiting for the weather to turn, to really make things hard for her. I hear snow is forecast tonight. Shame I forgot to put on her doggie coat. Likely she’ll freeze to death before she can be attacked or eaten by whatever creatures roam your precious moor. Have a good life, Vanessa. Or Erin. Or whatever the fuck you’re calling yourself these days. It’s been…interesting.”

Erin’s hands tightened around the note, but the rest of her body went numb. In a split second, her nightmare became real and every fear she had for Willa presented itself in shocking and aching detail.

Every ramification of Willa being alone on the moor pressed against her heart, and she almost buckled beneath the pain. But it wouldn’t do Willa any good if she crumbled now, not at the very moment her baby needed her most. She had to think, to reason.

Oh God. Why wasn’t Nathan here? He knew the moor like the back of his hand and would surely know where to begin searching. Why did he have to be on a plane right that moment and still hours away from her?

Regardless, she grabbed her cell phone and speed-dialed his number. At least he could tell her where to start looking.

Interminable moments passed while she waited for the connection to be made, and during each one of those moments, fresh fear squeezed its way into her heart. When she glanced out the kitchen window, it was to see light snow falling from a darkening sky.

Somewhere out on the moor, her baby was lost, alone and scared. And Erin couldn’t completely discount the possibility that Justin had hurt her before dumping her to fend for herself.

Erin didn’t know what type of forbidding challenges faced Willa out there all alone. With over eighty square miles of semi wilderness, how would she cope? How would she negotiate the maze of woodland, the boggy valleys, the rocky outcrops and sharp granite boulders? How would she defend herself? Protect herself? Apart from the cold, what about wildlife? Were there predators?

Briefly, she remembered the legend about the beast that was said to roam Bodmin Moor. A panther-like cat that savaged sheep and foxes and…dogs.

Oh God, her imagination was running away with her. Didn’t she have enough to contend with without allowing fanciful notions to take hold?

When Nathan’s phone went to voice mail, Erin squeezed her eyes shut.

Think. She had to think.

She opened her eyes and contacted Talia, to be met with another voice mail. Then Naomi. On call.

She knew that Caleb was out of town for the day, and that Tynan was in London.

Which meant there was only one thing for it. She would have to start searching the moor by herself.

Chapter Fourteen

Erin was a mile from Nathan’s house when her cell rang. She answered without checking the ID.

“Hey, sweetheart. Did you try to call me?”

Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t answer. Hearing Nathan’s voice seemed to snap what little control she’d been holding on to, and her body shook. She pulled onto the side of the road.

“Erin?”

“I…” She drew in a steadying breath and let it out slowly through her mouth. “Nathan… Where are you?”

“At Heathrow. I’m just heading out to the parking lot.”

He was still too far away, and she didn’t want him speeding and risking his own safety in order to help her. While static crackled down the line, Erin struggled between wanting to tell him and needing to keep him safe. If she chose the former, he would forbid her to do anything until he got home, and there was no way she could make that promise when Willa was out there alone and every moment counted. Despite her need to tell him the truth, she decided against it. “When will you be home?”

“Few hours. Are you okay?”

Since she could hear the concern in his voice, Erin tried to sound normal. “I’m heading over to your place. I wanted to be there when you get back.”

“That’s great. I’m glad you finally decided to use your key. You remember the pass code for the entry gate?”

“Yes.” She took another breath, the need to tell him what had happened burning in her throat, but she swallowed it down. “Be home soon but drive safe. Okay?”

“Will do.” He was silent for a moment. “You sure you’re okay, sweetheart?”

“I’m sure. See you in a few hours.”

She ended the call before he could question her again. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out and not tell him what had happened.

She pulled out on the road again, hoping that Willa would be able to find her way to Nathan’s, since she’d spent the past few weekends there. Willa loved it, and she’d grown especially close to Nathan. Erin could swear that sometimes the two of them seemed to communicate by some secret code she wasn’t party to.

Maybe her girl would pick up the scent from wherever she was on the moor and make her way home. Erin prayed to heaven she would.

From his car, Nathan contacted the man he had tracking Meers. There was something in Erin’s voice that told him all was not well. It seemed Meers was still in London and currently working out of his office in Canary Wharf. The information went some way to mollifying Nathan’s concerns, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He’d planned to be home yesterday and hadn’t been too happy about the extra delay in Paris. The timing stank. He knew his friends wouldn’t be around to watch out for Erin. Caleb was due to attend a pack leaders’ meeting in Birmingham and Tynan had left that morning for London to start work on a security program for a new client.

Shit
.

With each mile, Nathan’s concern grew and his foot was so far down on the accelerator, it was almost through the floor. The wind had picked up, blowing wintry showers at his windscreen. From the direction of the wind, he knew that by the time he hit the northern edge of the moor, it would be covered in a blanket of snow.

After what seemed like hours, he pulled into his driveway and exhaled his relief when he saw Erin’s car. The lights were on downstairs, and he beeped once to announce his arrival. He expected the front door to open and for Willa to come bounding out, followed by Erin.

But no dog greeted him, and there was no sign of Erin. He got out of the SUV, relief turning swiftly back to unease. He walked into the hallway and an eerie silence greeted him. He called out for Erin but received no reply.

The uneasy feeling ratcheted up several notches, and more again when he found the patio doors from the kitchen wide open. He stepped onto the patio and called for Erin again. His tone took on an impatient edge, laced heavily with worry.

At the edge of the moor, he shouted for her, his voice carrying across the terrain. Fat snowflakes rained down, carpeting the earth and turning the landscape into a bleak wilderness.

His blood burned hot, his instincts screaming for his mate. As if he summoned her by sheer need, Erin appeared out of the darkness. Her hair was plastered to her head, and her clothes appeared sodden. She wore a thin jacket, and mud splattered her shoes.

Nathan rushed to catch her as she ran into his arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you’re here.” Her teeth all but chattered as she clung to him, repeating the words over and over like a heartrending mantra.

He felt the hot sting of her tears at his throat, even as she shivered against him. “Erin? What the hell are you doing, sweetheart?”

He tried to see her face, but she only clung.

“She’s out there somewhere,” she said, her voice muffled. “He’s taken her.”

He simply lifted her into his arms and carried her back to the kitchen, where he set about divesting her of the sodden clothing. “You could catch your death,” he grumbled while she shivered. “What possessed you to go outside and—”

“He’s taken Willa.”

Her face was ashen, her eyes far too big for her face, and Nathan could almost hear her teeth chattering.

“No, sweetheart,” he soothed, grabbing a towel to wipe her down. “Meers hasn’t left London. I’ve had someone watching him.”

Her eyes went even wider. “There’s a note… He broke in again and left a note.”

Before he could begin to work out what had happened, Nathan knew he needed to get Erin warm and dry. “You need to take a hot shower, and then we’ll…”

She shook off his hand. “Nathan, he’s taken Willa. She’s out there on the moor somewhere. Read the note if you don’t believe me.”

She gestured to the counter and the paper lying there. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to reason with Erin if she thought her dog was missing, he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her. He consoled himself with the thought that at least he’d managed to get her out of her wet sweater and jeans.

No sooner was his jacket around her than she grabbed the note and thrust it at him. “He’s left her out on the moor. I don’t know if she’s hurt, or if she can even move, or…”

“It’s okay,” Nathan said, scanning the note. “We’ll find her.”

He reasoned that while Meers had been in London, he wouldn’t put it past the bastard to hire someone to do his dirty work for him. And they’d need to be a crack operator to get past the locks that he’d installed.

Nathan filed it away. Working out the how was a problem for another time. Right now he had a badly shivering and almost inconsolable Erin to take care of, plus a beloved dog to rescue.

He already knew that a young pet with no survival skills wouldn’t stand much of a chance on the vast and unforgiving moor, especially in current weather conditions, which were set to deteriorate according to the local forecast.

He had to find the dog fast. And he knew there was only one way to do that. Only one way to track her and pick up her scent.

He had to shift into his panther form.

“I want you to go upstairs,” he said firmly, holding Erin’s shoulders and making her look at him. “I want you to go into my closet, find a pair of sweatpants and a warm shirt and put them on. No argument, Erin,” he said when she opened her mouth to protest. “I’m going to find Willa, but I need to know you’re okay.”

He thought she’d put up a fight, but then she nodded. She was about to turn away when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. “I’m glad you’re home. I missed you so much.”

He pushed his nose into her wet hair and drew in the scent of her. “I missed you too, sweetheart.”

He kissed her, soft and gentle, and the warmth seeped into his bones, kindling the fire that always simmered when he was around her.

With his arm around her waist, he led her into the hallway and watched as she went upstairs. When she was out of sight, he picked up her keys on the hall table and went outside to her car. He pulled out Willa’s blanket, closed the car door and made his way around the side of his house to the covered terrace. He placed the blanket on an old box and went back inside.

Erin came down the stairs in a pair of his sweats rolled up from the ankles, and a chambray shirt with the sleeves pushed to her elbows. She looked so damned forlorn but so beautiful, she made his throat catch.

Whatever hell he needed to do to find her dog, he knew he’d do in a heartbeat.

“There’s clean socks in the laundry room,” he said, drawing her into his arms to kiss her lightly again. “Put some on before you get frostbite.”

It was the dumbest thing to say, because her eyes welled. “She’ll be frozen out there, Nathan. She won’t know what to do, or where to go.”

He smiled at her. “Dogs are smarter than we give them credit for. And you didn’t raise a dumb-ass. She’s all there when she wants to wheedle a biscuit, knows exactly what button to push.”

“It’s not the same…”

“I know.”

He kissed her again, pleased when she responded by running her fingers into his hair and clinging to him as if she never wanted to let him go.

He drew back. Despite what he’d offered her in words of comfort, he knew that time wasn’t a friend for Willa right now. They didn’t know what state the dog was in or what part of the moor she’d been dumped on.

“Why don’t you get some old towels ready? And cook up some of that beef in the freezer. Willa’s going to be cold and hungry when I find her.”

She nodded and pulled back. “You’ll need a warm coat.”

He let her go out to the hallway and bring him back a padded jacket and gloves, knowing he wouldn’t need either but not wanting to alert her to the fact.

He hiked on the coat and pulled on gloves. Then he tapped her on the nose. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it. Both of us.”

She came to the patio doors with him, and ran her hand down his back. “Be careful. Do you need a torch or something?”

“Yeah,” he lied. “I’ll pick one up from the garage. Now go inside and start cooking up that beef. I’ll be ready for something myself when I get back.”

She nodded, but he could tell she was only half listening. “Have you got your phone? Will you call me and let me know what’s happening?”

He wouldn’t be capable of making phone calls, but those worry lines that scored her forehead made him nod. “I’ve got my phone, but reception’s patchy on the moor, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me.”

From her frown, he knew she didn’t like that answer, but he kissed her again and said, “Go inside.”

He waited until she did, then made his way behind the back of the garage and toward the side terrace.

He picked up Willa’s blanket and pushed his nose into the fabric. Closing his eyes, he drew in the dog’s scent, allowing it to permeate his senses. Opening his eyes, he glanced toward the house, then dropped the blanket and went toward the edge of terrace. He slipped behind the high wall that separated the house from the side terrace and shucked out of his boots and jacket. His shirt and jeans followed, the icy air whistling around his naked body and bringing him to full alert.

After another glance toward the house to check he wasn’t being observed, Nathan planted his feet, closed his eyes again and drew in a deep inhale.

He wondered if the speed of the change that shot through him was powered by worry and concern for Erin’s dog. Usually, he could control the shift from human to panther in minute detail, feeling first that primitive surge of energy that came from his core and spread through his limbs, and then the subtle transfer of matter until he was a fully formed primal beast. But tonight it seemed to happen simultaneously, a rapid-fire transformation that turned him in an instant. One moment he was standing on two feet; the next he was on all fours.

He sniffed the air, using his sharpened olfactory powers to separate the scent of the moor from that of his quarry. Instinct took over and Nathan padded out onto the moor, careful to avoid the light emanating from the house where he knew Erin would be watching.

He headed north, all the while scenting his surroundings and relying on his heightened visual and auditory skills. He followed the moorland river near Golitha Falls, and out over the downs toward Brown Gelly. The reservoirs he passed were already glistening with the snow that fell heavier as night blanketed the land. He took a sharp right toward Smallacoombe Downs, driven toward the timber-strewn acreage rich with spruce and pine.

He had no sense of time passing, but soon he edged the forest and stalked through the trees. Small animals skittered out of his path, while foxes and deer sent out alarm barks and snorts, warning of a dangerous predator in their midst.

Focused and vigilant, Nathan followed his instincts through the dense and darkening landscape. He stopped, alerted by a sound that stood out from the myriad others. He snapped his head around, sniffed the air again. The scent of canine was thick and familiar, and once more Nathan took off, delving through thick undergrowth while the snow fell in huge, wet flakes.

Momentarily, he lost the scent and stood searching his surroundings. All his senses alert, he emitted a low growl. The answering whine came weak and pitiful, but it was enough to guide Nathan to a boggy inlet where Willa lay soaked and shivering.

Getting closer, Nathan saw that the dog’s back leg was caught in a crisscross of fallen branches. Closer still, he realized Willa’s leg was actually tied with rope.

Pity for the bedraggled animal came fast, but hot on its heels came fury. That an innocent animal should suffer at the hands of a man intent on such cruel and spiteful revenge found no favor with Nathan. But right then his priority was getting the dog freed and home safely to Erin.

Willa watched him carefully as he padded toward her, her tail wagging in that often trusting way an injured animal had for its rescuer. Nathan set to work biting at the rope, tugging and pulling, shaking his head to loosen the knot. He used his claws to paw at the stubborn tie, and eventually it began to unravel.

Freed, Willa stood, shook herself, then set to licking Nathan’s whiskers. Since the snow was falling thicker, Nathan shook off Willa’s attentions, then turned and began heading back with the dog in close pursuit.