Granted by the Beast: A Steamy Paranormal Romance Spin on Beauty and the Beast (Conduit Series Book 4)

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed at me, looking around as he tried in vain to morph and free himself from the trap I’d put him in. “I did what you asked!”

  “You’re also the reason I had to ask it,” I shot back. “And don’t bother trying to shift. I turned that off by locking you into the form you’re currently using. So, unless you want to spend the rest of eternity, or however long it is you things live, looking like the love of my life, then I suggest you continue doing as I ask.”

  “Huntsman’s not the way you remember him, Charisse,” the Shadow Elf said, shaking his head. “Things have happened that you don’t know, and couldn’t possibly understand. If you don’t stop this ridiculousness, the entire world is going to face destruction.” He swallowed hard. “If Satina were here, she’d tell you what needs to happen in a way that you would believe. I just don’t have her skills.”

  “Stay out of my head!” I commanded the thing, figuring that was the way he knew about Satina, my dead Conduit frenemy. “If she were here, she’d know better than to think I could ever kill someone who means as much to me as Huntsman.”

  “Then she’d be wrong,” a voice said from the darkness.

  Looking up in the direction of the noise—a voice I would have recognized even if I was blind—I saw a window which had been closed just minutes ago was now open.

  Someone had snuck in, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  A glowing purple arrow that was obviously laced in magic came flying from the darkness. It whizzed past me, and before I could make sense of what was going on, it struck the Shadow Elf in the chest and buried almost to the hilt.

  The thing screamed. It sizzled as the magic pouring from the arrow seeped into the Shadow Elf’s body in bright purple stripes. The thing exploded into a mess of black smoke and agony. The force of the explosion knocked me backwards, sending me onto my back and looking up at the ceiling.

  Blinking hard, I looked up as a figure walked over to me from the shadows. My body shook as I took in what I was seeing.

  Was this another trick? Had the Shadow Elf cast an extension of it’s magic to conjure a visage? An illusion...a distraction...to come after me while my guard was down?

  But as the figure stepped closer, there was something so undeniably true about what I was seeing that all my doubts melted away. When you’re in the room with someone you love, you know if it’s really them.

  With an arrow gun in his hand and a scar across his face, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the man I was looking at was Abram.

  My Abram.

  “One down,” Abram said, pointing his arrow gun at the unconscious body of the Huntsman. “One to go.”

  Chapter 5

  Once again, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. For the second time today, I was looking at the visage of the man I loved. This time was different, though. I wasn’t sure exactly how I knew, but this was him. This was Abram.

  While the Shadow Elf, who I had just watched disintegrate after being hit by a magic arrow, may have looked like Abram, this man did so much more than that.

  The way he moved, the way he spoke, even the woodsy musk of him was the same as the man I loved. More than that, I felt something when I looked at him. Everything I hadn’t felt in a year swelled up inside of me. Lifted me up and broke me down at the same time. A magnetic pull. A thousand emotions, most of which could not be formed into words because he’d destroyed me when he’d left.

  The missing part of me was here, staring at me with dark eyes, and it was impossible to miss.

  When the Shadow Elf turned into Abram, he screwed with a piece of my mind. This man was pinging at the deepest places in my heart, places that had been walled off since the night I watched Abram jump from that roof and out of my life. This couldn’t be an illusion.

  Was it possible? Could this man—the man who was poised to murder Huntsman right before my eyes—actually be Abram?

  My mind was saying no, but my heart was saying something else entirely.

  But even so, even as I was sure it really was Abram, there was something different about him. This wasn’t the man or beast I remembered. For one, where did the magical crossbow come from?

  “What are you doing?” I asked before I could stop myself, then swallowed hard and looked up at him.

  Abram looked down at me. His eyes were the same as they had always been: the same shape, the same color, even the same intensity. But they held nothing more than that. The warmth I remembered seeing in those eyes when he looked at me was gone. There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition as he stared at me.

  “Just being a man, sweet thing,” he said, shrugging. “More or less, anyway. I have no business with you. If you want to get your pathetic friend over there and hit pavement, I won’t stop you,” he said, motioning to Ramsey, who was still holding his throat and looking at Abram with wide eyes. “If you get in my way, though, I can’t promise you’ll make it out of here in one piece.”

  My heart shot right up into my throat, and once there, shattered into a million pieces. He didn’t even acknowledge our history.

  That very act was all the proof I needed that the man I was looking at right now was no cheap knockoff. No one who had ever lived could hurt me like this. No one could take my guarded heart, and with one sentence, reduce it to ash or shards in my chest. No one but him.

  This was Abram. I knew it like I knew my own name.

  But, if that was the case, what was going on here? Why was this happening? What the hell was he talking about?

  “Abram?” I asked, the word shaky and my body trembling with some strange mixture of fear and anticipation.

  Since the moment he left, all I had wanted was for him to return. All I wanted in the whole of the earth was to breathe the same air as him. Now that I was, I was more torn than ever.

  “Is that his name?” Abram asked, motioning to Huntsman and smirking. “That’s a bit more Old Testament than I was expecting. He looks like one of those new-age hipster dudes, with the long hair and pouty features.” He shrugged. “I would have guessed Hunter or Lance; something fru-fru like that. Whatever. Abram can die just as easily as the rest of them.”

  “Charisse!” Ramsey yelled, scrambling to his feet. “He’s not himself! You have to stop him! You have to—”

  Abram’s bow gun twitched, moving so that the business end of the arrow was pointed at Ramsey.

  “I got one arrow left, bud,” Abram growled. “I was gonna use it on the magic man over there, but seeing how he’s taking a siesta right now, I can probably finish him off with my bare hands.” The gun cocked. “I was going to let you go, but you don’t seem like you’re going to let me do my job in peace. So, you’re going to have to get dead, my man.”

  These words—the phrases leaving Abram’s mouth—didn’t belong to him. He wasn’t this man. He wasn’t as contemporary and loose as all of this. His unique accent was gone, too. It was like I was talking to someone I’d grown up with in New Haven.

  Abram was a timeless man. He was a three-piece-suit type of guy. He wouldn’t be caught dead dressed as he was now. I should have known something was off when I saw him in a simple T-shirt and torn jeans. What was more, he wouldn’t use these words to address anyone.

  He knew me. He knew Ramsey and Huntsman. Whatever was happening here, it was screwing with who he was. I thought back to the spell, the sacrifice that he’d made, and I knew that had to be it.

  I also knew that it was not okay with me.

  “Charisse,” Ramsey said uneasily. “Not to mess up whatever undoubtedly poignant thing is running through that head of yours right about now, but I’d rather not end up dead because of it.” He looked over at me with huge eyes and sweat on his brow. “You think you might be able to help me out here?”

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t respond. This wasn’t some weird Shadow Elf out to murder Ramsey. This was Abram. This was the man whose side I thought I would always be on, no matter what.

  Except, I
couldn’t be on his side right now. Not with Ramsey’s life on the line. Not with Abram making no sense at all. Not with the curse I knew that was running through his veins.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quietly, closing my eyes and casting the spell that would make us enemies.

  As I did, the magic I commanded stripped him of his gun, throwing it across across the room. One more movement of my hand, and I knocked Abram back, too.

  He flew through the air and slammed hard against the wall, cracking the plaster and shaking the entire building. I winced as I stood, every wound I was inflicting on his body mirroring itself in my soul. It was nearly enough to bring me to my knees.

  I hadn’t intended all that, but my emotions were in overdrive and affecting my ability to control my powers properly.

  Scrambling to my feet, I finally took Abram in on equal footing. He recovered from his blow as quickly as I figured he might. He was, after all, a beast. His agility, his strength, his endurance—it was all far beyond that of a normal person’s.

  He had always been a physical specimen, and since he’d left me, his powers were getting even stronger. There was no telling what he was capable of now. Unfortunately, judging by the look on his face, I would bet I was about to find out the hard way.

  “You’re a troublesome little thing, aren’t you?” he asked, pulling a dagger from a belt across his waist I hadn’t seen before. It, too, glowed with energy—this time green. “And to think, I was just going to let you and that man over there walk out of here. I’d have been a damn fool, wouldn’t I? A Conduit like you is going to be worth a pretty penny on the black market.” He blew a kiss at me. “Especially with a face like that.” His eyes leered over my entire body. “And curves like those.”

  My entire being seemed to wretch. This wasn’t right, and I needed to make sure he knew that.

  “You know me, Abram,” I said, powering up with my hands in front of me, just in case.

  I wanted to bring some sense to the man, but if I couldn’t, I’d be damned if I let Abram kill one of these men on my watch. I was going to get him back. I was sure of it. And once I did, he’d never forgive himself if either of their blood was on his hands.

  I couldn’t let that happen to him.

  He took his time, looking between Ramsey and me, before he realized what I was saying.

  “Is that me?” he asked, chuckling hard. “Is that who you think I am? Sweetheart, I think you have me confused with some lame ass-hat.”

  “You are Abram,” I answered, my heart beating quickly. “You’re Abram, I’m Charisse, and we belong together. Somewhere, deep inside, you must know that. Feel that.”

  I was getting desperate now, but I had to try and reach him.

  That’s how it worked in the movies, right? Seeing his one true love, talking to her, would snap him out of it. It had to. Just like a fairytale.

  “Yeah,” he said, stepping toward me just slightly. “I kinda got that we were close, judging by the fact the smoke monster used my body to get your goat. I doubt we were as close as all that, though. I mean, I can’t be sure, seeing as how the old noggin’ hasn’t worked in quite some time, and you’re definitely my type, but I’m guessing I was more ‘hit it and quit it.’ I know girls can be like that sometimes, though. Clingy. That’s probably why I left.”

  “You don’t remember who you are?” I asked, my hands lowering a little instinctively as my heart went out to him. “You don’t remember anything?”

  “Of course I know who I am,” he said. “It’s who I used to be that proves to be troublesome.” He shook his head as though he were trying to focus. “Don’t worry, though. I couldn’t be less interested in whoever the pansy ass bitch I used to be was. Though, if you had visions of white picket fences and a backyard with dog houses all across it, you might have to readjust your expectations.” He shrugged again. “Or don’t. In thirty seconds, your men are going to be dead, and you’re going to be on your way to a life as an indentured servant to whoever will pay me the most for your magical, curvy ass.”

  With that, Abram took a threatening step toward me, dagger still in his hand, ready to rip through me like warm butter to get to the people I was standing stalwart to protect.

  In that moment, looking at him, something in me shifted. The months and months of being on my own kicked in. All the changes in my life and in who I was, everything I had become in the time that he’d been gone, all of it came rushing over me and decimated the old me.

  “I don’t want to do this,” I said, balling my hands into fists and pooling my energy inside of them. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if that’s what it takes.”

  In that moment, I knew that was exactly what I’d have to do, too.

  Abram grinned at me as he lunged. I took a deep breath and thrust my fists outward. A wave of energy shot out, rushing in Abram’s direction. It passed through him harmlessly, though, leaving him to continue on his path toward me, dagger in hand. I glanced down at my hands and cursed silently.

  “That was cute,” he said, leaping into the air and lifting the dagger into the air. “My turn.”

  With wide eyes, I tucked and rolled, letting him land on the other side of me. Then, I prepared for the battle that was going to happen next.

  Standing, I saw that was exactly what he wanted. He turned from me and started toward Ramsey. Of course, my mage wasn’t without defenses of his own. Looking over at him, I saw a gun in his hand.

  “I’m sorry, Charisse,” Ramsey said, his voice tense and firm. “I don’t have a choice.”

  My heart sputtered as Ramsey raised the gun in Abram’s direction. He couldn’t. As a mage, he couldn’t hurt someone, even if he tried.

  Yet, somehow, Ramsey fired.

  Twice.

  My heart dropped to my gut and tried to come back up again, sure Abram was going to fall dead at my feet.

  Instead, he moved that glowing dagger around like some kind of ninja, blocking both bullets like he was freaking Wonder Woman with those metal bracelets. He did a somersault in the air. As he landed, he kicked Ramsey in the face, knocking him down.

  Ramsey had missed. I supposed the gun wouldn’t have been able to fire if it was actually going to deliver a harmful blow. But Abram wasn’t bound by the same magical rules as Ramsey. Abram could kill, and his sights were set on Ramsey.

  “Abram! Don’t you touch him!” I yelled.

  If my powers were going to move through him uselessly, I would direct it back at me. I would use my magic to make myself strong enough to deal with Abram on his own, more physical terms.

  “Don’t worry, beautiful,” Abram said, turning from Ramsey and heading toward Huntsman. “Business before pleasure, and all of that.”

  Grunting, I ran toward the man, watching Huntsman from the corner of my eye and wondering just how on earth he could seriously still be unconscious. He was a warrior, too—almost as powerful as Abram. Whatever happened to him before I got here, he should have definitely been up, around, and healed enough to be able to defend himself by now.

  I slammed into Abram, knocking him out of Huntsman’s path. Feeling the sting that came with our contact, I looked at Huntsman. In addition to his axe, which I wasn’t about to try and wield, there was a sword hanging from his belt. I grabbed it, lifting it into a defensive position.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Abram,” I said again, my jaw tense.

  “I love how you keep saying that, like it’s a real possibility,” he said, chuckling at me. “It’s so damn cute.”

  He tossed the glowing dagger from one hand to the other, catching it and winking at me. “Whatever we were before, Charisse, I’m sure it was awesome. Judging from the way you fill out those jeans, I’m guessing I had a lot of fun. Just wish I could remember it. It might give me something to smile about after you’re gone.”

  “I said I wouldn’t hurt you,” I said, blinking back tears. “But I’m also going to stop you. I swear it.”

  “Oh, baby,” he muttered. “
It just doesn’t work that way.”

  He ran toward me again, and this time, I rushed in his direction, too. Ready to collide with the man I loved, a bright light appeared from underfoot. A swirling abyss materialized beneath me.

  I knew instantly what it was, and I knew immediately who it came from. Ramsey had used one of his mystical doodads to open up a portal, and he was using it to swallow us up.

  “Ramsey, no!”

  But it was too late. The light had already swallowed me up.

  When it was gone, I was standing in my apartment. Ramsey was beside me, and Huntsman lay on the floor.

  Abram was gone, though, and there was no chance I could get him back.

  Chapter 6

  Ramsey had just portalled me away from Abram. I had searched for him for so long and hadn’t been able to find him. That we had been in the same place at the same time had been nothing more than luck, and now that opportunity was gone forever.

  I whirled toward Ramsey. “What the hell were you thinking?” I roared, tears in my eyes and fire in my veins.

  “I was thinking,” he said calmly, “that we needed to get the hell out of there before that man killed all three of us. That’s what,” he said, throwing his hands out as though I was being ridiculous.

  Okay, so I was. That didn’t change anything, though. “That man was Abram!”

  I turned around rapidly, trying to figure out if there was a way that I could undo what Ramsey had just done. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could think of that would let me reverse engineer the portal.

  “I know who he was,” Ramsey interrupted. “I was there. I saw him. I felt the energy coming from him.”

  I crossed my arms. “Then what the hell was that?”

  “That wasn't all he was,” Ramsey said. “There wasn’t just Abram there with us. You have to know that.”

  “If you knew him, then you should have known he wouldn’t have killed us,” I said. “He would never do that. He would never kill me.”

  Even as I said it, some part of me worried I was wrong. I didn’t know what had happened to Abram in the past year, but he didn’t seem open to considering my version of his past life. He didn’t seem to recognize me at all. Not only that, but he was pretty adamant about killing both Ramsey and Huntsman.