Hidden Gem - Beasts of Beauty Series - Book 4

Chapter 12

"Are we almost there?" Amethyst asks in a purposefully annoying tone. Zakreus rolls his eyes at her antics but nods his large, wolf head.

After fleeing our family and leaving the territory, we made a plan to seek refuge with the wolves instead. Personally, I think meeting Zakreus and Damascus's parents will end just as badly as them meeting ours, if not worse. We don't really have much of a choice, though.

The two men have been running in their wolf forms while we've flown above them and we appear to be making great time.

Without warning, Zakreus dashes away into some foliage and out of sight.

"Wha-zakreus!" I shout after him, unsure if I am more confused or annoyed. After a moment, before I can go searching for him, he steps back out in his natural form wearing a cotton shirt and a loose pair of shorts.

"You guys just have clothes stashed around?" Amethyst asks amusedly, watching as her soulmate takes his turn to dart off.

"Well, we are naked when we shift back," Zakreus replies as if it explains everything. I suppose it would make sense to have clothes lying around for that purpose.

Damascus appears a moment later, glancing around as he says, "We're getting close to the heart of the pack."

"I should warn you that our parents don't know that you two are fairies," Zakreus says. My eyes widen and my eyes dart to Amethyst who is staring at Damascus as if she would love nothing more than to strangle him.

"Are you kidding me?" she seethes. "You saw how well that shit went with our parents!"

"Everything is going to be fine," Damascus says dismissively, apparently not worried about his family killing us.

I turn towards Zakreus and narrow my eyes. "What is your plan exactly?"

"They don't have one!" Amethyst shouts. Damascus shushes her, glancing around again as if looking for something, but gets too distracted by my sister waving her hands in the air. Noticing my irritation, Zakreus steps closer to me, looking about ready to beg my forgiveness. "We're absolutely fucked. You told us your parents were okay with us being fairies!"

"They will be," Damascus corrects her. "I said they will be."

She stares at him blankly for a moment before smacking him upside the head.

"That was-"

My sister's voice is cut off by a loud growl and before any of us can react, a large white wolf tackles her to the ground.

"Amethyst!" I scream as she hits the dirt. Without a second thought, I reach my hand out and grow a nearby tree branch until it is wrapped tightly around the wolf's belly. In one swift motion, the beast is thrown away from my sister and rolls a few times after it hits the ground.

Damascus is on the wolf in seconds, his chest heaving in anger as he wraps his hand around the wolf's throat. I pay him no mind as I run to my sister.

"Amethyst, are you okay?" I wheeze, my hands clumsily brushing over every part of her body as I search for any sign of injury.

"Move, Mal!" she shouts, slapping at my hands as she tries to stand. Her attention is focused solely on the wolves behind me. I am about to question her when I notice the grunts and my curiosity gets the best of me.

A strangled yelp escapes me and I jerk back when I see Zakreus barely holding Damascus from a full-blown murder. Amethyst scrambles to her feet and rushes over to her soulmate, forcing herself between him and the idiotic wolf that attacked her.