Adrian lowered his hindquarters a couple of inches. Guntar’s nose flared as he sniffed the air and then he nodded. “Why?”
Mr. Edgerton looked down at Crystal again. “Because of her. She came here and risked her life to protect us. She stood up against you, her friends and allies. For my family’s sake, even though I deserve nothing but hate from her. She proved to me that she’s a better Christian than I am, and it’s about time I live up to what I preach.”
“Dixon is dead,” Guntar said. “And so is the man named Adam Peterson. You and one other are all that’s left as far as we know.”
“I know the other man. If you let me, I’ll try to talk to him.”
“Who is he? Crystal didn’t recognize him and we haven’t been able to figure him out.”
Robert shook his head. “You can do with me what you will, but I won’t give up someone else to save my own hide.”
Adrian’s lips curled up in a snarl but he sat still.
Guntar nodded. “If I find out you ever hunt one of us again or return to the ranks of the paladins, we’ll come back. We want nothing to do with any notions of the devil, but cross our paths again and I’ll see to it that your family is hunted down and gutted one by one until only you are left. Only then will we come for you.”
Robert’s breath hissed between his teeth. Crystal ignored him and stared at Guntar. “Really?” she breathed. “You’re going to let him live?”
Guntar nodded. “Adrian and I are old. We’ve seen a lot and we’ve learned a lot. We’ve even reached the point where we think we’ve seen and learned all there is. You’ve reminded me that’s not true. If you can fight for the man who tried to kill you and if he can realize his own mistake and offer his own life in exchange for yours, then maybe I can change too.”
Crystal’s grin burst through her lips like sunshine on a cloudy day. Her smile brightened the room as she said, “So you can teach an old dog new tricks!”
Guntar scowled and jerked his head in Hank’s direction. “Help Hank.”
Gwen and Ember rushed over to Hank. Ember shifted on the way and crawled the last few feet towards him. He growled and shifted, letting out a yelp in the process. In his human form, he lay on his side and grimaced. His right hand went to his left shoulder, which was still mangled and raw even though blood was no longer dripping from it. His leg still looked like curled up hamburger but it, too, showed signs of mending.
Hank took Gwen and Ember’s hands and climbed to his feet. He leaned against Ember to take his weight off his damaged leg and stared at Crystal.
A whimper slipped from Crystal’s lips. “Hank,” she breathed.
“I’ll be okay,” he said.
She shook her head and tried to ignore the tears that fell down her cheeks. “I won’t,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
He smiled at her and motioned with his hand for her to come closer. Crystal rushed across the room and had to force herself to slow down before embracing him. Ember grunted as she took on more of his weight for a moment.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Crystal breathed as she kissed him. “Sorry I ran off. Sorry I left. Sorry about everything!”
Hank chuckled when she finally stopped kissing him and gave him a chance to speak. “You showed how strong you are—don’t be sorry about that. Maybe don’t be so impetuous next time, though. I’m willing to let you make it up to me, though.”
Crystal grinned and kissed him again before turning and staring at Stephanie. She was streaked in blood. Crystal’s blood. It was smeared on her face and lips and all over her bikini clad body. In fact, Crystal’s blood hid more of her skin than the bikini did. She turned and glanced at Guntar. “Is she, um, okay?”
Guntar looked at Stephanie. “Are you hurt? Any cuts or open wounds?”
“What? No!” Stephanie shook her head. “I got her blood in my mouth, though. Is that bad?”
“I doubt it,” he said. “You’d need to eat her heart to be one of us.”
Stephanie’s eyes widened. “Gross! No way! Besides, I’m already something else, remember?”
Guntar smirked and nodded.
“Robert! What in the hell is going on? Where’s that white dog at?” Colleen snapped as she disobeyed him and came down the hall. Jimmy trailed behind, moving as quietly as he could. “And why are there so many naked people in my house?”
Adrian shifted and stood up, his wounds from fighting Hank and Crystal mending as he became a man again. Colleen gasped and stuttered before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell back on top of her son. They crashed to the ground with a grunt from Jimmy.
“I got her,” he called out from beneath her. “We’re okay.”
Adrian walked up to Mr. Edgerton and kept his gaze locked with the reformed man. His nostrils flared as he inhaled. “I’ve got your scent now,” Adrian said. “It will only take one mistake to bring me back.”
Robert nodded and opened his mouth to respond but Adrian had already turned away and taken a few steps towards the door. He looked at Crystal and nodded. “You got balls, kid. Glad you’re not my bitch.” Crystal gasped and then smiled as Adrian turned and scooped up his clothes. He was putting them on as he walked out the front door.
“Did he just call you a bitch?” Stephanie asked.
She nodded.
“He’s kind of a dick,” she whispered. “And didn’t he just try to kill you?”
“No,” Guntar said. “It was a challenge. If Hank hadn’t interfered, she would have passed out.”
“Sorry,” Hank offered. “I kind of lost my head.”
Crystal grinned and made a mental note to give him a special thank-you later. She turned to Stephanie and explained, “It’s okay. What he said was a compliment.”
Stephanie stared at her. “It was? But you’re like the nicest person I know!”
Crystal smiled. “Thanks, but I was too nice. These guys taught me how to stand up for myself. Now I know when I should be a bitch.” She stopped and shrugged. “It just depends on whether I do it on two legs or four.”
###
Afterward by the Author
There are a lot of people I'd like to thank for the Claimed by the Beast serial romance. The first one is you, the reader. Seriously, without you reading it and writing back to me ask questions and tell me what you liked (and didn't like), I don't think it could have turned into what it did. So thank you, a few thousand times over, for supporting me and for letting yourself enjoy it.
So what happens next? Is that it, will Crystal and Hank live happily ever after? What about Stephanie and her repentant father? How is Beth going to recover from her ordeal? And what about Brandy, Crystal's mom? Well, to be honest, I don't have an answer for any of that. Yet.
I do have an answer for why Adrian and Guntar are the way they are though. Check out the prequel, Taken by the Beast, to learn more! And next up I may continue with more about Stephanie, Beth, and Crystal or I might jump into something else. I've come up with some really exciting ideas that I'm dying to try out, but my husband won't let me talk about them yet. The moral of the story? My husband's mean but I guess he means well. That and keep checking back, there's going to be lots more from Dawn Michelle!
Until then, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected]. If you’d like to know when it any any future books are available sign up for my newsletter so you can be the first to know!
About the Author
Dawn Michelle is a girl next door turned mother of two and household champion. After years of watching her husband write novel after novel and not trying to write the stories she was interested in she decided it was time she showed him how it was done.
If you enjoyed Dawn’s writing and would like to have a chance to find out more about her and her new releases, please sign up for her newsletter. You can also reach out to her personally at [email protected].
The Claimed by the Beast Series:
Claimed by the Beast – Part One
Claimed by the Beast – Part Two
Claimed by the Beast - Part Three
Claimed by the Beast – Part Four
Claimed by the Beast – Part Five
Claimed by the Beast – Part Six
The prequel to Claimed by the Beast:
Taken by the Beast
Claimed by the Beast Bundle Page 49
