Heart of a Beast

Chapter 6 | Part 1 - Tiberius

Song: "Farewell" by Apocalyptica

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Tiberius couldn't face her. Self-loathing ate away within him like a parasite.

He'd done this to her. To them. He'd taken away her wolf with his curse. He waited too long to find her to be able to communicate with her and get her to understand him. Moreover, he kept hurting her and scaring her. How could she give him a chance? How could she possibly accept him now?

She didn't feel anything for him. She saw him as a monster. Tiberius the Rogue.

He was a beast, and he didn't know how to fix this.

He turned his back to her, giving her space while guilt gnawed away within him.

Fear and nervousness tainted her delicate scent. It hit him hardest when he felt her gaze on his back. Her heartbeat would skip. She'd take a step toward him before changing her mind and holding back.

He stayed by the water's edge for hours until long shadows cast across the land. The sky grew darker, red and orange peeking between the leaves in the trees.

It was time to move on, but where?

A howl in the distance, too faint for human ears to decipher, had him rising to his paws, hackles raised.

They had to keep moving. His scent had been picked up along with the remains of the vampire he'd destroyed but didn't have time to dispose of the torn body parts.

Looking over his shoulder, he beheld his mate sitting next to the fire. Sadness gripped her features as she dug the tip of a stick into the dirt. The low flames danced in the reflection of her eyes, a faraway look in them. The bones of the rabbit were in a heap next to her, the meat picked away.

She had eaten the food he'd provided for her and he was more than happy to eat her scraps. The sight and smell of it made his mouth water.

He hadn't eaten in nearly twenty-four hours and now the need for nourishment twisted his stomach.

She looked up as he neared and froze. Her heartbeat sped up and he realized he was salivating and probably looked like a terrifying predator.

Licking his lips and wiping his chin with the back of his arm, he pointed to the bones.

Her wide eyes shifted slowly from him to where he pointed. She blinked for a moment as it registered what he wanted.

"Hungry?" she asked, scooping up the bones into her hands and holding them out to him.

Nodding, he shifted his weight to his hind legs and reached up with both hands for her to drop the bones into. He rose up and debated eating in front of her, but turned his back and moved a few yards away. She wouldn't want to see him chewing and crunching on bones like some kind of carnivorous animal.

He was gnawing on the spine when she asked, "Will you take me home?"

His ears flicking back to her as he paused. Her voice was soft and sad, tugging on his heart.

Take her home? She belonged with him. He was a lycan, not a werewolf. She should follow him back to his pack.

But how could he force her to travel a thousand miles to Arizona? It wasn't like he could fit in a car. He stood eight feet tall. They would need a truck to conceal and transport him across the country.

But would she accept him if he forced her to leave her pack?

He needed to break the curse more than anything. He needed her to fall in love with him to do that. Forcing her into something she didn't want to do wouldn't help. It would only hinder progress in obtaining her affections.