Savage Hunger

by Milly Taiden

  “Have you told him about the meeting?” his mother asked Mirabel.

  “I did.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him this part.” She glanced at Beast. “When your father and I realized Isaline was your mate, we had to ensure you found your way to her once she was grown. You’d told us how you’d love to own a line of luxury hotels in the coming years and we knew that in time, you’d make it happen.” She smiled. “Your father was so happy to come up with this idea. Mirabel wanted to open a bakery. We wanted you to eventually find your way to Isaline, so we allowed Mirabel to have the lot and your father waited until we knew Isaline was of age before he started telling you about his Little Rose project.”

  “Why Little Rose?” he asked, still putting it all together.

  Mirabel and his mom laughed in unison. “You gave us that one, son,” his mother said. “You said no matter how many roses on her blanket, the baby was still the most beautiful little rose.”

  Mirabel nodded. “So I got my bakery and it was agreed that once Isaline graduated college, you would handle the Little Rose project.”

  “We didn’t see your father’s death in the cards,” his mother sighed. “It delayed everything. But I knew he wanted you to find your mate. He came up with the plan, so I just pushed you to make your father’s final wish a reality.”

  Beast sat up, realizing he’d been played. “So whenever you said Dad wanted the Little Rose project to be done at that lot and Mirabel not budging with the negotiations, this was all a setup?”

  Both women nodded.

  “I told Fierce to make sure you went to handle getting Mirabel to move the bakery,” his mom added.

  “And I explained to him that I would not deal with anyone but you,” Mirabel said, taking another sip of her tea.

  “We knew it was all a matter of bringing you both together. You can’t fight true love.” His mother smiled. “And if we’re telling you this story, it means you’ve gotten your mate.”

  “I should be angry for you not being honest with me from the beginning, Mom,” he said. “But I got Isa, and I can’t ever be angry when she’s the woman I’ve been missing my entire life.”

  “Oh, Beasty,” his mom sniffled. “I can’t wait to see her now. I bet she’s just as beautiful as she was when she was a baby. I knew one day she’d be my daughter.”

  Mirabel glanced at the cell phone. “Serena, we’ll finally be family!”

  “I can’t wait, Mirabel.”

  Dear god. Both women getting together. He might just need to take Isaline to the other side of the world when that happened.

  32

  Isaline glanced at her cell phone. She’d missed a call from Tyson. He’d left a voicemail stating he’d come by the bakery to talk to her about the break-in. Goodness. She’d almost forgotten about it with all the things happening lately.

  She cleaned off tables and groaned when she stood straight. Her back was killing her. She’d let Beast twist her in so many ways and she should’ve known she was not a damn pretzel. Now she was feeling it. Still, even with all the soreness, she couldn’t help but sigh in happiness.

  “Look at that grin,” Becky laughed. “I know the grin of a woman who got laid.”

  “Oh, shush,” Isa chastised.

  “Shush my ass. We’re alone here. The rush crowd is gone, and you know it’s super slow at this time. So…got anything you wanna tell me? When’s the wedding?”

  “You sound like Sage and Zuri.”

  Becky raised her brows. “So there’s no wedding?”

  She sniffed. “Maybe. I don’t know yet.”

  She pulled a chair up to the counter and sat. “Go take your break, Becky. I’ll sit here and watch things.”

  “Shouldn’t you be on this side of the counter?”

  She groaned. “Fine.” She took her chair to the other side of the counter and sat.

  “I’m taking these boxes to the back,” Becky told her, grabbing a mountain of pink boxes from the bottom shelf at Isa’s back. “We have a big order to fill and we ran out in the back. The new boxes come in a few days.”

  “You’re leaving me with a big empty shelf,” Isa complained.

  “You’ll live,” Becky sassed her and headed to the back.

  A few minutes later, her mother came in through the front door, a big smile on her face.

  “Hi, Mom. You’re here early. Didn’t you say you’d come when it got busy later?”

  “I did,” her mom said. “But I drove over with Beast and he needed me to show him some things.”

  “What things?” she asked, curiosity in her voice. “Spill it. You suck at keeping secrets.”

  Her mom started giggling as she got to the other side of the counter and hugged her. “If you only knew. I’ll let Beast tell you the story.”

  “Fine. Why don’t you go in the back and make us a sandwich? I’m starved,” she complained. “I swear I’ve got to make new visits to my nutritionist because all I’m thinking of is food today.”

  Her mom had just gone through the door to the back when the sound of breaking glass made her head snap to see a car coming through the floor-length window, straight at her.

  Beast saw the car going through the bakery glass panels as he came out of the flower shop across the street. His heart stopped, seeing the destruction the car caused. Isa! He ran, dropping the bouquet of baby pink roses and hating the sound of the tires crunching on wood and glass.

  People rushed to the bakery before he even got a chance to get there.

  “Isa!” he screamed when he rushed through the door, bypassing the crowds. He hoped she’d reply and tell him she was fine, but there was no answer.

  The crowd grew larger, and one moment, there was a man in the car and the next time he looked there was nobody. He shoved pieces of wood out of his way, knowing that Isa would normally be behind the counter. A counter that was destroyed and lay in pieces under the wheels of the sedan.

  A surge of anger and fear rushed through him. He could hear Mirabel screaming out Isa’s name from inside the kitchen.

  “Oh, god, oh, god,” Mirabel cried. “My baby.”

  Beast called on his dragon’s strength and shoved the car away from the counter area. “Isa!”

  “Find my baby, Beast!” Mirabel screamed, trying to shove the kitchen door open but it was blocked by debris.

  People moved pieces of wood and glass. He shoved the largest pieces out of his way until he saw a bloody hand. His stomach dropped. With even greater speed, he pushed off all the wood and found her lying in the bottom shelf, glass all over her shoulders and hands. She had bruises and cuts all over, but he knew she lived because he heard her breathing. It was shallow, but there.

  He picked her up and ran into a group of paramedics.

  “Bring her out here,” one of them told him. “We can treat her best in our truck.”

  He carried her into the truck and watched them put an oxygen mask on her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone running across the street and getting into an old pick-up truck. He knew his mate was going to be okay, but he had to find the asshole that did this.

  Mirabel ran out of the bakery then. Tears streamed down her face and she had bloody fingers from trying to get past the glass blocking her way. “Is she okay?”

  “She’ll be fine. Stay here with her.” He met Mirabel’s gaze. “I’m going to find who did this.”

  She nodded and turned to his bloody mate. “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

  He ran into the middle of the street and shifted, uncaring of the fact he tore his clothes apart or that anyone would see him. He let the shift take him quickly, allowing his dragon free.

  Quickly in the sky, he searched for the pick-up he’d seen. Doing a big circle, it took him a while until he finally saw it, speeding toward the highway.

  He dove down, scratching at the top of the hood with his talons. The man in the car started shooting. He shot a plume of flame at the pick-up, but the man only sped up.

 
Police cars joined the chase, yelling over a speaker for the pick-up to stop. The guy drove recklessly, weaving through cars and causing a couple people to swerve to keep from hitting each other.

  Beast dove again, peeling the top of the pick-up like a can of tuna. He saw the guy then, shooting at him with hate-filled eyes.

  “She was mine!” the man yelled. “We were supposed to get back together!”

  Beast’s anger passed the tipping point. He slammed down on the back of the pick-up, blowing out the tires and stopping it in its tracks. The guy hit his forehead on the wheel.

  The police surrounded the pick-up. Tyson, the sheriff, approached Beast, giving him a grim look.

  “Let us handle him,” Tyson said.

  The guy in the truck shot at Beast’s dragon, proving he was wide awake and still had bullets in his gun. He hopped over the torn roof and shot again, missing Beast.

  “Put the gun down, Gavin!” Tyson told him, pointing his gun at him. “Stop shooting the dragon or I won’t be responsible for what happens to you.”

  Gavin shot at Beast one more time before Beast slapped him with a wing, sending him flying. He hit a tree and fell unconscious.

  Officers handcuffed Gavin and dragged him into the back of a police car.

  Beast shifted to his human body, still full of anger and debating if he should kill the man who hurt his mate.

  “He’s wanted for murder in Texas,” Tyson said, handing him a blanket from the back of his car. “He won’t go free any time soon.”

  “What happened?” he asked, watching as Gavin was driven away from the area.

  “It seems he couldn’t handle rejection,” Tyson told him. “He had an affair with his manager and when he realized she wasn’t going to leave her husband for him, he stabbed her to death.”

  Christ. He tried to kill your mate. Your Isa. A loud growl emanated from his chest.

  “Try to calm down,” Tyson said. “His cousin turned himself in. He told us he and Gavin were responsible for the break-in to the Primrose house. His mother got him to turn himself in.”

  “It had never been random or kids.”

  “No,” Tyson pressed his lips into a thin line. “I’m sorry. I know every time you think about Isa being hurt, you want to tear him limb from limb. In fact, I’m surprised you didn’t, but I appreciate it.”

  “I thought about it. I didn’t want to be gone long from Isa. I just wanted to stop him,” he growled. “I need to see my mate.”

  Tyson motioned toward his car. “Come on. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

  33

  Someone was hammering at Isa’s head. She woke up with a flinch. Blinking slowly, she winced at the continued drilling in her skull. God. What happened? She turned her face to the left in the dimly lit room and saw Beast sitting there, holding her hand. Behind him were several get well bouquets. One larger than the last. She couldn’t believe so many flowers were for her.

  “Hey,” she croaked. “Water?”

  “Let me,” he said softly, bringing a cup to her lips and tilting it so she could take a few sips.

  “What happened?” she asked, clearing her throat. “My head hurts.”

  He nodded. “You got a concussion when Gavin drove a car through the front of the bakery.

  “Oh my god! I remember seeing the car coming at me and trying to dive so I wouldn’t get hit, but something hit me in the head.” She raised a hand to touch her forehead but found it bandaged.

  “He’s wanted for killing his manager in Texas.”

  Isa gasped. “What?”

  “They had an affair and when she broke things off to stay with her husband, he killed her,” he said, still holding her hand.

  She shook her head and winced. “We went on four dates, but if he hadn’t told me he was moving, I would have told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. He was very clingy and was too attached. Always showing up at the bakery or the skating rink. It started to feel like he was stalking me. His move was the best thing that happened.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” he said, meeting her gaze. “He’ll never come near you again. I’ll protect you with my life.”

  Her heart warmed at his words. “I know. I love you, too.”

  “God, I almost went crazy thinking the worst. Don’t ever scare me like that,” he chastised.

  She laughed at his words and glanced behind him, her attention caught by the cute stuffed dragon and giant pink roses bouquet. “Those are all so beautiful. Who are they from?”

  “Zuri and Savage, Sage and Feral, your mom, my mom, Ike and Christian, and me.”

  She frowned. “Ike and Christian? But how? They’re homeless.”

  “About that,” he started nonchalantly. “After I met Ike, I realized he could be very useful in one of my hotels. I had him meet with one of my HR managers. He already had great references and had worked customer service before. It was a case of losing everything from living paycheck to paycheck. I have him working at the Golden Dragon.”

  She gaped at him. “You gave him a job?” She squealed and raised her hand to slap his arm. “Don’t say it like it’s not a big deal. This is amazing!”

  “With his new job came a sign on bonus and moving help. Since he’ll be management, he’ll have paid business housing for a year. Christian will have full paid tuition when he goes to college. It will give them a chance to save up and get their lives together.”

  She wiped at the tears racing down her cheeks. “You’re wonderful.”

  He shook his head. “No, love. You are. You brought me in there and allowed me to see that they only needed a chance to put their lives in order again. I only helped make it happen.”

  She sniffled into the tissue he handed her. “You’re everything. My superman. I love you, Beast. My chocolate cake loves you, too.”

  He met her gaze with golden fire in his eyes. “You’re the chocolate cake baker?”

  “Umhm.”

  “And when were you going to tell me?”

  She grinned. “Why, have you been missing the cake?”

  “Hell yeah! I’ll do anything if you make it for me.”

  She raised her brows and giggled. “Anything?”

  A wink. “Anything.”

  She closed her eyes and smiled. Then opened them to look at him. “It’s insane. In a week you managed to make me fall for you.” She raised the hand he held to his cheek, scratching at his short beard. The clean cut, perfect business man she’d seen that first day was gone.

  This Beast had on a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt, with a beard and wild hair. He looked like he could be Feral’s twin brother. And she loved it. Absolutely loved both sides of him. The clean, sexy, well-dressed business man and the big, brawny mountain man.

  “I love you, my chocolate-cake-loving Beast.”

  He pulled her hand from his face and brought it to his lips. “I love you, my Isa. My sexy baker.”

  Epilogue

  “So, what exactly do you want to show me?” Isa asked in the elevator in his cabin located in the mountains of upstate New York.

  “Remember how you were asking me about what dragons hoard?”

  She blinked wide eyes at him. “Yes…”

  “You’ll see.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Are you okay? Do you need me to carry you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not sick. I can walk.”

  “Come,” he winked at her, “you’re going to like this.”

  They left the elevator and lights turned on as they walked. She gasped at what she saw. “Oh my god. Is that?”

  “Yeah. My dad and I both like collecting cars. Old cars. He started the collection and I added to it,” he told her, striding toward the weirdest looking car she’d ever seen.

  “What is this?” she asked, shocked at seeing antiques in his private cabin.

  “My dad and I financed a lot of the first inventors, so we got to keep our own models. This one was built in 1769. It’s one of the first steam-pow
ered automobiles capable of human transportation. It was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot.”

  She couldn’t believe he had a copy of the first car ever built. “That’s unbelievable.”

  They continued walking to the next display.

  “This one was invented in 1808, by François Isaac de Rivaz. That one was from 1870 by Siegfried Marcus. He built the first gasoline powered combustion engine. He did quite a few of them in this line and all have advances from steering, clutch and brakes.”

  She blinked at the amount of history in his underground parking. “Wow.”

  “This one here is the first gas powered Benz, built in 1885.”

  “Like Mercedes Benz?” She gaped at the car.

  “Yeah. Then Ford came along and mass produced their first one in 1903. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

  She leaned into his side and hugged him. “You guys really like cars.”

  “There’s something else I want to show you,” he told her, pulling her down a hallway, away from the car to a massive two-foot-thick door.

  “What do you have in there, Fort Knox?” she joked.

  “You’ll see.” He dialed a security code and the door opened. More lights turned on and she gasped at the number of jewelry displays with blue gems.

  “You have a thing for blue?”

  He cupped her jaw and smiled. “Your eyes. They’re the most beautiful blue and I didn’t realize why I was hoarding every blue gem I could get my hands on, for the past thirty years.”

  “Since you saw me as a baby?” she asked, having been told the story of how they first met.

  He nodded. “I didn’t know why I started collecting blue gems, but I did. It became an obsession. I realize now, I was looking for something as bright as your eyes.”

  She tugged on his sweater, pulling him down. “You’re too tall. Come down here so I can kiss you.” He lifted her, and she curled her arms around him neck, kissing him deep and sound. “You’re so romantic.”

  “Do you think your mother and mine are driving Fierce crazy?”

  She giggled and nodded. “Without a doubt. Thank you for putting the bakery in the lobby. And I know your mom will be great at designing the interior.”