Chapter 31 - Facing the Beast (Ivy's POV)
I was trapped with a beast!
A monstrous silhouette loomed over me as I struggled to focus my swimming vision. Damian was no longer human—he had become something else.
Now, I knew something monstrous existed within him. Goodness, he said he was a werewolf but I couldn’t have imagined something this…
Real!
His body warped into a massive, wolfen form, dark fur matted with blood. His eyes burned a hellish gold, locked onto me with predatory intent. I sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively crawled backward. This can’t be real, my mind whimpered, even though I knew all too well it was.
My weapon… where was it? I scanned the floor frantically. There—just a few feet away, glinting crimson in the candlelight was the hairpin he’d dropped. The transformation had expelled it from his flesh; even now the wound knitted itself together with inhuman speed. Horror and despair twisted inside me. My one chance to stop him had slipped away. Once he was fully healed and fully shifted, I might already be dead.
A feral growl snapped my attention back to the beast that wore Damian’s skin. He stalked toward me, claws scraping against the floorboards. He was enormous, far taller and bulkier than any man.
I was paralyzed; terror rooted me in place a second too long. With a snarl, he lunged.
I threw myself aside just as a gigantic clawed hand smashed down where I’d been, splintering the wood. A cry strangled in my throat—if that blow had landed, it would have crushed me. Heart pounding, I staggered to my feet and dove toward the fallen pin. My fingers had almost closed around the hilt when an immense weight slammed into my back, driving me hard to the floor. The impact knocked the air from my lungs in a painful whoosh.
Before I could even scream, a powerful arm locked around my waist and hauled me up against a broad, furred chest. I writhed and kicked, but struggling was like fighting a steel trap. Hot breath fanned against my neck a moment before a rough, wet tongue dragged along the side of my throat. I cried out in revulsion and terror, my entire body bucking in protest. His only response was a rumbling growl, and his grip around my middle tightened, claws pricking through my clothing into my flesh.
In one swift motion, he hurled me down onto my back. I hit the floor with a jarring thud and the room spun. Before I could recover, he was on top of me, straddling my hips. Large, clawed hands pinned my wrists to the floor above my head. His weight pressed me down, making each breath a struggle.
“Damian,” I gasped out, barely able to form the word. Was he still in there at all? The creature’s answer was a snarl that bared sharp fangs inches from my face. His jaws snapped closed just shy of my throat, a warning that made me flinch and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Please…don’t do this,” I begged, voice trembling.
My plea was answered by a vicious growl. I felt the slash of claws and heard the sickening rip of fabric as my dress was torn open. A scream tore from me and I thrashed beneath him, desperate to cover my exposed skin. The cool air on my bare flesh collided with the searing heat radiating from his body pressed against me. He shifted his hold, trapping both my wrists in one of his massive hands to free the other.
I sobbed as his free claw trailed deliberately down between my breasts and over my belly, leaving a stinging line of blood in its wake. Not deep, but enough to make me yelp in pain and terror.
“Damian, please!” I cried out, voice cracking. He only chuffed in dark amusement. His hand clamped around my thigh, claws dimpling the soft flesh as he yanked my legs further apart. I was utterly helpless—pinned like a butterfly under a cruel collector’s thumb.
He lowered his snout to my chest and inhaled deeply, a depraved sound of satisfaction rumbling from him. Through my haze of panic, I realized with horror what he intended. He’s going to force me... oh God...
“No…no, no!” I sobbed, thrashing with renewed frenzy. My struggles only seemed to excite the beast. A guttural, almost mocking laugh rumbled from his throat. He shifted, positioning himself between my thighs. I felt something hot and hard brushing against my inner thigh and fresh fear lanced through me. His crotch was twice as large as it would have been if he was human… Screw that, it was three times as large, thick and dark like a rod of steel but still bouncy and fleshy, laced with a slurpy track of his pre-cum.
“Please!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “Stop! You’ll kill me!”
At that, his ears flicked upward and his feral motions hesitated. A flicker of recognition lit those golden eyes. His muzzle hovered close to my face, and from deep within his chest came a distorted snarl of words.
“Kill… you…?” the creature rasped, a grotesque mimicry of speech through sharp teeth. “If… I mate… like this… you die.”
The crude, halting words sent ice through my veins. I stared up in terror. He knew what he was doing—and he was right. In this monstrous form, if he took me, I wouldn’t survive it.
A strangled sob caught in my throat. “Please… no…” I whispered, barely audible.
His hot breath seared my cheek. “Then… calm me,” he demanded in a gravelly growl, pressing a clawed hand to my throat in warning. Even amid my fear, I understood his ghastly ultimatum. “You have to silence the monster to bring the human, Ivy… You must submit.” It was almost like he was pleading; like this was a battle he was fighting within himself.
If I wanted to live, I had to reach the man inside the beast—had to soothe the savage fury somehow.
Heart pounding, I realized what I needed to do. Swallowing hard, I gazed up into those wild, merciless eyes and mustered every ounce of courage I had left.
I would tame this monster… or die trying.