Beauty's Beast

by Jenna Kernan

  Samantha assumed Bess referred to the wars between the Halflings. Both sides had endured heavy losses, but that was before her time. Had Bess fought the Spirit Children?

  “Blake will convince them.” If her dad wanted something, Blake would move heaven and earth to bring it to him. Her brother made everything look effortless. She released a long breath. Would she ever get a chance to make her dad proud?

  Bess spoke softly. “I’ve known this day would come. Your father asked me long ago to protect you should the need arise, and you are welcome to remain as long as you wish. But...”

  Her hesitation gave Samantha time to grow anxious.

  “But?” she asked.

  “But the Thunderbirds did not bring you to me. They brought you to Alon. I wonder if they think he is better suited to be your protector.”

  “He’s happy to be rid of me.”

  “I know my son, and I can assure you he is not happy. Now, why is that?”

  “He finds me a burden.”

  Bess glanced at Cesar, who shook his head. Then she directed her attention back to Samantha.

  “What are your plans? Will you rejoin your father or your mother?”

  Samantha felt her breath catch. But she needed to say aloud what was in her heart.

  “Neither. Since my arrival I’ve seen many things. And I think...that is I believe that it is essential to include the Ghost Children in this fight.”

  Both Bess and Cesar rose to their feet. Samantha followed them, now feeling awkward and uncertain.

  “Did your father send you here to ask us this?” asked Bess.

  “No. He told me you had strange ideas and that there would be Toe Ta...Ghostlings about you. He told me that if I saw a Ghost Child, I was to run and if I could not run I was to kill it.”

  Bess threw up her hands. “He doesn’t listen to me. I warned him of Nagi recruiting the lost children, but still he sees no difference between those Nagi has captured and those we have found.” She pinned Samantha with a focused stare. “But you see. Don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I believe you are right. Your father cannot win without the Ghost Children.”

  Samantha clasped her hands together before her heart. “Then you’ll help me?”

  Bess shook her head. “I am not their leader. Alon is. He has always been. If you wish them to fight, you must persuade him.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “It will be difficult, as he hates the Skinwalkers, but the Thunderbirds brought you to him for a reason. Perhaps this is it.”

  “There is another reason,” said Cesar, looking at Samantha. “Isn’t there?”

  She looked into the eyes of a Spirit Child, one who could see auras as clearly as she could. Her stomach dropped.

  “And now, Samantha, you and I need to have a talk.”

  * * *

  Aldara found him first, of course. She materialized in her fighting form. The other Alphas appeared a moment later.

  “Alon, what is happening?”

  In the course of a few moments the other twins from the Beta and Gamma packs took shape around him, and he was forced to change to his fighting form or stand naked before them all.

  “I was scouting for ghosts.”

  “There are none,” reported Bart. He and his sister, Bella, were the second twins found by their father. It was Cesar’s idea to name them alphabetically. The Alpha Pack also consisted of Cody and Callie, Daniel and Darya and Evan and Elizabeth.

  “Aldara said that she’s a Skinwalker,” said Callie, her speech much better than Cody’s, whom Alon still could barely understand when in this form. “Why would you bring her here?”

  “She is a Seer of Souls.”

  The gathering gasped.

  “If he finds her, he finds us,” said Darya, her yellow eyes huge and round.

  There was nothing his siblings feared more than Nagi. Samantha’s arrival threatened them, and that put her at risk. He wondered if he should take her away.

  “You said there are no ghosts here.”

  “Brother, there is a war coming,” said Aldara. “Our parents speak of little else. What are we to do?”

  “That is up to each of you to decide.”

  “No,” said Bart. “You are the Alpha leader. You decide for all of us.”

  The honor swelled inside him. A moment later the responsibility dragged him down. He tried to think of someone better qualified. Aldara? She was as good a fighter but she lacked self-control. His sister was always ruled by her heart.

  “Will we join the fight against Nagi?” His sister sounded so anxious to fight and die. Did she understand what they faced?

  “Why should we fight with those who hunt our young?” asked Bella.

  “Because Nagi is trying to upset the Balance,” said Bart. “It is our duty to protect it.”

  “And Mankind,” added Daniel, his words slurred and awkward.

  They were willing to fight for a world that did not want them. Alon bowed his head in humility at the magnitude of their generosity.

  Bess and Cesar would be proud.

  When he lifted his head, it was with the conviction of his brothers and sisters.

  He lifted his voice and spoke to the three packs. “We have not chosen war with Nagi. But he hunts us. From this moment on we will fight all who threaten us. It is better to die in the battle to be free than to be taken as a slave.”

  They cheered.

  “We will fight to defend ourselves. But we will not join the Skinwalkers who hunt our babies or the Spirit Children who do nothing to stop them. They reject us so we reject them.”

  The assemblage nodded their approval of this.

  “To defeat his army we will need more than bravery. Nagi will drag the humans into this fight. I would not kill innocents. That is why we must protect the Seers.”

  They cheered again.

  “But the Seers are Spirit Children,” said his sister.

  “We cannot save the possessed humans without them.”

  She nodded her understanding of this. He wondered if she would be so understanding of his next order.

  “Aldara, you will go to Samantha’s brother, Blake Proud, and act as his bodyguard. Keep him safe from ghosts and any of Nagi’s forces.”

  Aldara frothed at the mouth and gnashed her teeth. “I am a better fighter than any of them.” She pointed an accusing finger at their siblings.

  “It is why I send you. I know you will keep him safe.”

  “They are Niyanoka. Not our concern.”

  “Am I Alpha leader or am I not?”

  Aldara hunched. “You are.”

  “Then you go.”

  She nodded her acceptance.

  Alon turned to the next oldest. “Bella and Bart. You will guard Michaela Proud, Samantha’s mother. Find out from our parents where she is. But do not let her see you unless it is to save her life.” He turned to his sister. “Aldara, you go with them.”

  She scowled at him but did not argue. The three burst into their flying form and billowed away.

  “Who will guard the last Seer?” asked Hamilton, the leader of the Beta Pack.

  All eyes turned to him.

  Alon knew he could not leave Samantha with his mother because only a Ghostling could protect her from her enemies. But it did not have to be him. Hamilton was a good fighter. Not as good as him, but still formidable. The hopeful expression on Hamilton’s face made Alon seethe. No, he would not hand her over, even though it might be safer for Samantha if he did.

  “I have taken her under my protection. She’s mine.”

  Hamilton bowed his acceptance.

  “The rest of you go back. I need to hunt and think. I will see you in the morning.”

  The packs dispersed. In a moment he was alone.

  She’s mine. But she wasn’t. Never would be.

  His heart beat painfully against his ribs. Until this was done, Samantha would be under his guard protection. He knew that it was only a matter
of time before he lost control and took what he wanted.

  Icy fear for Samantha crept through his blood like poison. With all his strength and power, he couldn’t protect her from himself.

  * * *

  Cesar drew Samantha away from his wife, and Bess allowed it. He walked with her toward the riverbank beside the ribbon of water that still glinted bright against adjoining banks. Beyond, the tree line loomed darker against the midnight sky.

  “Alon is quite protective of you,” said Cesar.

  He had stopped walking. She glanced above his head to where his black-and-white aura burned beneath a glittering gilded cap.

  “You can see my aura,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “And I can see yours. Yours and Alon’s.”

  She knew it.

  “Did you know I found Alon the day he was born, feeding in a Dumpster a few feet away from his dead mother?”

  Samantha nodded.

  “He told you? This surprises me.” He paused to look out at the water. “He and Aldara. Bess was there and Tuff Jackson. But Alon came to me. He couldn’t speak, but I could see his aura. He sought help. His sister was too afraid to come with us. But she followed. I released them in the woods. Both Tuff and Bess thought I was crazy. I tried to set them free, but Alon kept following me. I didn’t adopt him. He adopted me.”

  “I thought it was Bess.”

  “Bess was rightly afraid of them at first. They smelled the animal part of her, and that meant food. A buffalo does not adopt a wolf pup or a raven foster an eagle. But that’s what I asked her to do. And she did it for me. Now you could not find a fiercer defender of her Ghostlings.”

  “But they’re so dangerous.”

  “That is part of what makes them wonderful. That viciousness brought under conscious control.”

  “No one can fully control their instincts.”

  “You do. Right now, when your instinct tells you to run. But here you are.” He rubbed his palm over his jaw as he stared up at her aura. “Alon didn’t bring you safely from Nagi’s ghosts because of his love for his mother. He brought you here because of his love for you.”

  Samantha stepped away, the denial springing to her lips. “Love? He can’t wait to get rid of me.”

  “Only because he is afraid of what you make him feel. Do you deny what you see?”

  She dropped her gaze, unwilling to accept the truth reflected in his eyes. “It is not love. Just a physical attraction,” she whispered.

  “Yes. But it could be more.”

  She raised her gaze to his, her hands curled into fists. “No. It cannot be. Not with a...”

  “Toe Tagger?” supplied Cesar. His mouth set in a grim line.

  “Just like Bess. She couldn’t see the beauty in them at first. She thought I was crazy. But she was willing to set aside her fear and loved them because she loved me.”

  “He doesn’t want me. He’s told me so.”

  “And you believed his words instead of your own eyes?”

  Her heart beat so loud she felt sure Cesar could hear it dashing against her ribs. Alon’s soul and her soul reaching... But they did not touch. They were not true soul mates. Yet.

  “I didn’t want to believe my own eyes because...” Her words fell off. When she spoke again it was only a whisper. “I don’t want this. Not with him.”

  “But it is there, whether you want it or not.”

  “Is there some way to break it?” She didn’t like the desperation in her voice.

  “None that I know. You will always be connected in some way. What way is up to both of you.”

  “Will you tell him?”

  Cesar shook his head. “That’s not for me.”

  “I just want to go back to the way things were. Back to my family.”

  “Back to running? Back to never being allowed to be who and what you are? Is that what you really want, Night Sky Woman?”

  She didn’t. But neither did she want Alon. At least not as a soul mate.

  She covered her face with her hands and hunched over as the sobs racked her. Cesar gathered her up in his arms and held her just as her own dad would have done.

  “It can’t be him.”

  * * *

  Alon hung in the darkness in his flying form, watching his father embrace Samantha. His mother had tried to speak to him, but he would not leave Samantha alone with another man, even if that man was his own father.

  Alon was there when she told him that she wanted her family. He had known that. But what did she see that he could not? What was the connection between them that she denied?

  It can’t be him, Samantha had said.

  Alon’s shape contracted at the agony in her tone. Her hurt and dread drove him wild. He did not pursue her, had not asked for her affection because he had known how it would end, and even knowing all that, he had allowed himself to grow fond of her. Now he must suffer the pain of her rejection.

  Alon billowed away, scouring the forest for something he could kill and eat.

  Whatever this connection was, she didn’t want it. Of course she didn’t. No one would want to be connected to him. Alon knew what he was. But it was hard to hear it from Samantha’s lips.

  If only he could be free of her. But to be free was to leave her unprotected, and that he could not do. He sank to the forest floor and hung there, blanketing the ground like a black fog.

  Even if he left her, would he ever be rid of her?

  You will always be connected in some way.

  He did not understand this connection. But he felt it. It burned within him like molten lead eating him away from the inside.

  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.

  Alon pressed his hands over his naked body, hiding the erection that lifted in her direction. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Samantha naked or that he didn’t want to be naked himself, but when he imagined this in his mind, she was not in her bear form and he was not covered with blood and bits of torn flesh and viscera.

  The humiliation seemed to stick with the blood. She sidled past him, right to his second kill, and used the claws of one of her massive forearms to tear open the hide covering the doe’s shoulder.

  He blinked in astonishment as she began to eat. No one but his sister had ever seen him feed, and he had never shared a kill with anyone until now. This privilege he did not afford even to Aldara, though they did hunt together. But Samantha was different, for he felt none of the familiar urges to defend his kill or the need to drive her away. Instead he was filled with a strange calm and pride at providing her with such a feast. He was not yet full, but still he wanted her to eat first. Some of his despair lifted.

  She gave a huffing sound and then looked back at him, as if calling him to join her.

  He did, approaching slowly. She allowed it. Somehow he thought that in most circumstances she would have chased off every challenger for this kill. Was this new territory for her, as well? He could not tell and, though he could ask her, she could not answer. Samantha sat gnawing away as if this were the most normal of all circumstances.

  By slow degrees he became more comfortable beside her. Some faraway portion of his brain registered that this was how mates acted. The male offering his kill. The female accepting the tribute. Males of many species brought food to their mates in courtship. Was this their courtship?

  Alon thought of the other reason for a male to bring food to his mate—when she raised their young. His stomach tightened and his heart ached at what he wanted so badly but could never have.