Beast Untamed: Beasts of Bodmin Moor, Book 3 (18 page)

* * * * *

The smell of roasting beef turned Erin’s stomach, but she consoled herself with the thought that her queasy stomach would be worth every nausea-churning moment if she could just look out the patio window and see Nathan and Willa coming home.

She glanced at her watch again. It had been two hours since Nathan left, and now the evening was dark and icy cold. The snow fell heavier and heavier, cushioning the patio and terrace in a thick layer of white.

She’d thought to try Talia and Naomi again, to alert them to Nathan’s lone trek out on the moor to find Willa, but since their men had been away and were likely both driving home in this atrocious weather, she didn’t want to worry her friends any more than they probably were already.

She shivered, which reminded her that she needed to put more logs on the fire in the sitting room. She’d started the fire soon after Nathan left, hoping it would take her mind off things and provide Nathan, and, please God, Willa, with much-needed warmth on their return.

There hadn’t been many logs left in the basket container to the side of the fire, probably because Nathan had been away and hadn’t had the opportunity to replenish. Which meant she needed to go outside and gather more from his stockpile.

The lights that shone over the patio cast strange shadows against the snowfall, and Erin wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She looked out toward the moor, into the dense and now incredibly bleak terrain. She had never felt so alone, so wretched as she did standing there with no knowledge of what was happening. Nathan might know the moor like the back of his hand, but people perished out alone in inclement weather no matter how familiar their surroundings.

Aware that standing there and worrying herself half to death would do Nathan no good at all, Erin focused her attention on building up the fire. She found a pair of Nathan’s old boots and a jacket, then opened the doors and stepped out onto the patio. A blast of icy air wrapped itself around her body, chilling through the warmth of Nathan’s borrowed sweats. In seconds, her face felt like a mask of ice, and her breath sliced an arctic course from her nostrils to her lungs.

They must be freezing out there.

Before her thoughts could spiral downward again, Erin glanced around and tried to determine where Nathan would store the wood. She noticed the high wall to the side of the house and the archway that led to a covered terrace. Pulling the jacket tight around herself, she hurried across.

The wood was piled high against the inside of the wall, and Erin began gathering chunks of it in her arms. She looked around for some sort of container, and spotted Nathan’s boots beside a battered wooden box. On top of the box was his jacket, the padded one she’d helped him into before he took off in search of Willa.

She dropped the wood and walked over to the box. Underneath his jacket lay his sweater and jeans. Erin picked them up and looked around. What in heaven’s name was Nathan doing stripping off out here in this weather? Had he changed into all-weather gear? If so, why hadn’t he told her? Why had he gone through the charade of getting suitably dressed in her presence?

She bundled the clothes and picked up his boots. There was no point in leaving them out here. She hunched her shoulders and lowered her head against the elements, and started back around toward the patio.

She busied herself with another two trips out to the terrace, gathering wood and bringing it back in, where she placed it by the fire. She made up yet another pot of coffee and took a cup into the sitting room. Her gaze slid to where Nathan’s clothes were warming on the chair she’d pulled near the fire. She couldn’t for the life of her think why he’d changed in the first place, let alone not telling her he was going to do so.

She stayed a full minute, sipping coffee and staring into the fire’s flames, before she was up again and moving to stand in front of the patio windows.

It was strangely hypnotic watching the snow falling from the skies, and she cradled her coffee between her palms and prayed with everything she had that the two loves of her life would come out of the darkness and into the safety of her arms again.

She loved them so much. Yet she’d never told Nathan. What had been holding her back? Was she afraid he wouldn’t return her love? Was she still holding on to her past, to what Justin had done to her? To hell with that.

The moment Nathan came back, she was telling him. She was going to tell him she loved him. With all her heart.

Emotion clawed at her throat, and along with it came the overwhelming need to see him, to hold him, to tell him the depth of her feelings for him. In seconds, she was on the patio again, hurrying toward the edge and stepping out onto the moor. It was as if she were drawn by an invisible cord, an urge so compelling that it defied every sane thought in her head. All she knew was that she needed to get to Nathan. She knew he was hers. That she was his. They were meant to be together, and something primal linked them, connected them. Something that went beyond logic and reason.

A movement beyond drew her attention deeper into the darkness of the moor, and through the snow, Willa came charging toward her.

Erin’s heart flew into her throat and her knees almost buckled. She dropped the cup and held out her arms, encouraging Willa into them. She hugged her wet, bedraggled body and cooed words of reassurance to her dog, but her eyes searched for Nathan.

A flash of movement to the side brought her head around, but she saw only falling snow, beyond which the desolate moor seemed strangely hypnotic.

From the corner of her eye, she saw it again. Barely discernable and she might have missed it were it not for her heightened nerves and growing anxiety. She stood, peered into the distance, and saw something…shimmer.

She jolted back and watched in morbid fascination as a shape formed from the darkness. It was impossible to make out what it was, but it was large, moved stealthily, and appeared to be heading for the patio.

She must have made a sound because whatever it was came to an abrupt stop. Snowflakes settled on the shape, making it shimmer again, then a pair of golden eyes stared straight at her.

Her hand flew to her chest, and she stumbled back, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Her mind raced as it searched for answers, for clarification. But it seemed intent on playing tricks on her.

It had to be down to the stress she was feeling, the worry and concern. It had to be down to everything that had happened to her before and after she’d arrived in Bodmin.

Because despite every rational and coherent explanation her frazzled mind tried to formulate, in that moment, Erin knew only one thing for certain.

Out of the darkness, amidst the icy temperatures and pitching snow, a huge black panther was stalking toward her.

Chapter Fifteen

Blind terror kept Erin rooted to the spot, and she stared at the creature lurking at the far edge of the patio.

The panther was huge, its glossy black fur sprinkled with snow while its golden eyes shone out. It stared at her, and she stared back, held spellbound by its penetrating gaze.

Her heart thumped painfully against her ribs, her flesh clammy and her limbs numb. She tried to swallow but had no spit. Her head screamed
run
, but instinct told her to stay still.

Oh God. Where was Nathan? Was he okay? What if the panther had hurt him and he was lying injured out there?

Willa was racing around as if the sight of a panther in her immediate vicinity was a normal occurrence and one she welcomed. The dog jumped up at Erin, then ran off to circle the panther as if inviting it to play.

Icy panic layered over her clammy flesh, and Erin wanted to scream at Willa to stop, to get inside. Any second now, the beast could lunge at her dog. Frantic, she searched her memory for something to use as a defensive weapon. She remembered the axe beside the wood pile, but that was behind the side terrace wall and too far away to contemplate.

She took a very slow step back, ordering Willa to stay the hell away from the creature. Fear made Erin’s throat muscles contract again, her mouth so dry, she almost gagged.

The panther remained motionless, its vigilant gaze fixed on Erin, who continued to take slow and measured steps backward and toward the house. Erin called to Willa again. With some reluctance, the dog eventually obliged and trotted to her side.

Not taking her eyes from the panther, Erin groped behind her for the door handle. She fumbled to get a grip and slowly eased the door open. Sharply, she told Willa to go inside and then edged in behind her.

Inside, Erin let out a shuddering breath and slammed the door shut. Safe behind the glass, she turned the key in the lock and stared out at the beast, which had yet to move. Her fears for Nathan took hold, and she began to shake, the concerns for his safety growing exponentially as the reality of what she’d seen sank into her consciousness.

Those rumors were true. A beast really did roam Bodmin Moor. Had it escaped from a zoo? A private owner? Surely the authorities ought to be doing something to safeguard people and livestock?

And, oh please God, where was Nathan? She needed to find him. Now. With no one else around, there was nothing for it. She would have to drive out onto the moor.

She glanced down at Willa, at her sodden and muddied coat. Erin hurried upstairs to Nathan’s linen closet and grabbed some towels, then came back to the kitchen and rubbed Willa as best she could. She grabbed the biscuit tin and beckoned Willa into the sitting room, where she used the towels to set up a makeshift bed by the fire.

After settling Willa, she went into the hall and grabbed her keys from the table. She was almost at the front door when she considered that she would be better taking Nathan’s SUV. She had no idea how her small car would handle the moor’s uneven terrain, and she could easily get a flat or break down completely.

She exchanged keys, and was about to yank the front door open when she stopped dead. Would the panther have circled around to the front? Would it be lying in wait, so that the moment she stepped foot outside the front door and onto Nathan’s driveway, it would be there waiting to pounce?

Erin turned and dropped back against the door. For pity’s sake. She’d stepped into a nightmare far worse than anything she’d had before. But she couldn’t think of that now, all that mattered was getting to Nathan’s car and going out to search for him. While she didn’t know much about predators, she knew they had excellent sensory skills. Chances were that the panther already knew where Nathan was holed up, and was biding its time.

Maybe the beast had already…

Everything inside her went cold, but she drove those thoughts from her mind. Nathan was okay. He had to be.

She clutched his keys in her hand, closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer, then turned and, with extreme caution, opened the front door.

Shock, followed by an almost overwhelming surge of relief, hit her like a sledgehammer.

Nathan stood there. Naked. Wet. And looking far too calm for a man who had spent hours out in the snow and had likely been evading a predator.

Even as her mind whirled, instinct had her reaching out and pulling him inside. Then she slammed the door closed and locked it.

Turning, she threw herself into his arms. “Oh my God. Did you see it? Are you okay? I thought… Oh God, I thought…”

She simply clung, the fact he was naked and soaked through to the bone forgotten amid the joyous realization that he was here. Safe. His arms came around her, and they held each other. But then, flickering through the relief, came the thought that he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t uttered a word. And he still seemed too calm.

And yes, he was naked and dripping wet.

She pulled out of his arms, the questions hovering on the surface of her bewildered and traumatized brain. Before Erin could speak, Willa came flying out of the kitchen, jumping and circling Nathan in much the same way she had done with the panther.

Nathan didn’t take his eyes from Erin, and he watched her too carefully. Warning bells rang at the edges of her consciousness, and Erin was at a loss to know why.

Except…

The dog plonked her butt down beside Nathan, and man and dog looked at Erin as if they were party to some sort of understanding that excluded her.

In the same manner she had done when face-to-face with the panther, Erin took a step back. Fresh fear trickled along her spine, and she tried to rationalize the reasons for it. But she couldn’t seem to formulate the words, couldn’t even manage a coherent thought.

There was only a feeling…

She took several steadying breaths, not breaking eye contact with Nathan.

“What… Why are you naked? I… I found your clothes outside, by the wood pile. What’s going on?”

His jaw hardened beneath thick black stubble, and his dark brows dipped low over his emerald eyes. A thought came and went. So fleeting Erin tried to grab for it again.

Something about…about his eyes…

She took another step back, her brain refuting the sketchy and unformed thoughts edging their way around a scenario that was too bizarre to contemplate.

“Erin…”

“No.” She shook her head and made to take another step away, but her back hit the wall. Carefully, not breaking eye contact with Nathan, she slowly sidestepped into the kitchen.

When he disappeared through to the living room, Erin grabbed for her bag on the counter.

Nathan was back in seconds, zipping his jeans. “Erin, you have to listen to me. There are things I need to tell you.”

This time when she swallowed, there was plenty of moisture available. In fact, her mouth was so full of saliva, she couldn’t seem to stop her throat contracting. “I don’t know what’s going on. But…stay away from me.”

She jerked out of Nathan’s way when he tried to reach for her. “I said stay away.”

He made a sound as if she’d slapped him, and she looked up into his green eyes.

No. Not green. Not entirely. They were…gold. Golden eyes… The same eyes…

Oh God.

Her legs gave way, and she all but stumbled out into the hallway. She was about to yell for Willa, when Nathan caught her arm. “You can’t leave, Erin. Not until—”

“Get away from me.” Again, she shook off his hold and staggered toward the door, barely managing to snatch up her keys on the way.

“The weather’s closed in,” he said firmly from behind her. “You won’t make it from my place back onto the main road.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Erin refused to think. She refused to allow the ridiculous and monstrous thoughts that nudged at the periphery of her mind to take hold. She wanted to laugh at the lunacy of them. Was she losing her mind? Having some kind of breakdown? Had she slipped into some parallel universe where…

No. She shook her head. She just wouldn’t think.

At the entrance door, Nathan moved in front of her. “Erin. I need to explain.”

Her head was pounding, and, clutching her keys, she pressed her fingers to her temples. “If you knew what I’m trying not to think right now, you’d likely have me certified.”

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t refute her words. “Please, just listen to me.”

Erin squeezed her eyes shut, willing her heart to stop racing, her mind to think clearly. “I don’t know that I want to hear.”

When Nathan touched her elbow, she opened her eyes but refused to look at him. She didn’t want her preposterous thoughts confirmed. Instead, she stared at his damp chest, at the smattering of dark hair slick against his skin, the sculpted muscle, the breadth of his shoulders and powerful arms. He was a flesh and blood man, so outrageously masculine, potently male, that she started to question her sanity. How could she even begin to think, to believe that he was—

“You’re cold,” he said when she shivered. “Come in and get warm. I’ll make you some tea.”

Tea?
Was he kidding? Didn’t he realize that she was having the most bizarre and insane thoughts about him, and he was trying to act normal? He acted as if the situation they were involved in was par for the bloody course. An everyday happening.

She shook her head, fearing that at least one of them was experiencing a breakdown of some sort and deep in the throes of eschewing reality.

Erin realized she wanted answers. She wanted to hear what he had to say. If only to preserve her own sanity. She couldn’t leave without knowing…for sure. But that didn’t mean she’d let him draw her farther inside. She was staying here, right by the front door until she’d gotten those answers. “Okay,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Tell me what you wanted me to know.”

“I’ll tell you everything, Erin. I swear it. Just come inside and get warm. Please.”

It was the
please
that did it. The pleading and sincerity in the tone of that one word. And, along with her growing need to know, her latent trust in Nathan was trying to reassert itself in her brain.

She hesitated, then, still clutching her keys, let him lead her to the living room, where he encouraged her to sit. Watching her closely, Nathan picked up the sweater she’d placed on a nearby chair, slipped it on and then settled opposite.

The heat from the fire did nothing to warm her chilled body, and Erin hugged her arms around her chest again. She still found it hard to meet his gaze. As long as she didn’t, it would be easier to persuade herself that she’d been seeing things. Easier to disregard the nonsensical notions bombarding her senses.

“Remember the other night?” Nathan said, shuffling the chair closer to her. “Before I left for Paris? I told you to remember how we were together. That what we had was real and the only thing that mattered.”

She dropped the keys in her lap and clasped her hands together, keeping her gaze on the white of her knuckles.

“I have an ability, Erin. It’s something I was born with. It makes me…different.”

Erin shook her head. She didn’t want to listen. Maybe she didn’t want to know after all. This whole thing was making her head swim.

“Whatever you decide to make of what I am, know that I’d never hurt you. Never.”

His tone was so heartfelt that she looked up and experienced a moment of sheer relief when she saw that his eyes were still that intense and vivid green. “I know that.”

It was true. She didn’t know much else right then, she was so bloody confused, but she knew that. He would never hurt her.

“I have the ability to change form,” Nathan said, in the same manner in which he might have conveyed his age or occupation. “At will.”

When the room tilted a little, Erin snatched in a breath. She rubbed her hand over her collarbone. “You mean when your eyes changed color? That time when we made love, is that what you mean about changing form?”

He let out a long sigh and smiled a little. “That’s part of it.” He reached out his hand but quickly withdrew it. “What you saw tonight? Outside? That’s the whole of it.”

This time the entire room swam. Colors, shapes and objects simply spun around her in a maelstrom of confusion. For a moment, the world tilted from its axis, and Erin felt hopelessly adrift in strange and bizarre territory. Her mind tried to shut down, and nausea pushed from her stomach to her throat as she held tight to her whirling head.

“This is… I can’t… It’s…”

In an instant, her head was between her knees, and Nathan’s hand lay lightly on her shoulder, rubbing in a soothing motion. “Breathe, sweetheart. Please, just breathe.”

It took several tries, but eventually Erin managed to do just that. She was aware of Nathan walking out of the room, and without him there, she was able to slow her breathing down a little. She sat up slowly, her head clearing, and the room settling around her again. The only downside of that was she could now think more coherently, and what Nathan had told her loomed large and unbelievable.

He said he was able to change form. That his eyes changing color was only part of that. That the whole of it was what she’d seen outside?

What did that mean? That he could change…into a…
panther
?

The room went spinning again, and suddenly a glass of water was pushed into her hand. She trembled so badly that Nathan held the glass for her, touching it to her lips while she sipped.

Her face burned, her body trembled. But something akin to anger pushed its way through the incredulity, through the fear and confusion.

“You…you really want me to believe that you can…can change into some wild beast?”

Face grim, he nodded.

Erin shook her head. “For God’s sake. It’s impossible. Insane.”

“I know it sounds that way, but it’s the truth of it.”

She searched his face, looking for even a flicker of laughter or a wry grin that would bring about an end to this nonsense. But his expression didn’t change. Did he really
believe
he was capable of doing that? His earnest expression said he did.