Content To Be Claimed (Beauty And The Beast #1)

Chapter 15

Warren led me into the forest behind my house. He was silent at first, his gaze intently on the ground. I was comfortable in the silence, stealing glances at him and trying to get my stomach to settle. That was a lost cause since his warm hand sent sparks flying in that direction.

"There is much I must let you know," he finally said slowly. "Much you cannot guess." He glanced at me, then sighed. "However, I fear you will not stay if I reveal all."

"You basically told me you kill people yesterday and I didn't run," I pointed out. Saying it sent a little chill through me, but I knew I would be okay as long as I didn't think about it. He would never hurt me, after all.

He stopped and turned to me, studying me curiously. "You would stay with me, knowing I'm a murderer?"

"As long as we don't talk about it," I mumbled, but I winced. "It does bother me a little though." Okay, a lot. I will not think about it, I chanted in my head.

He brought my hand to his lips, his soft eyes on me, and a different kind of shiver coursed through me. "My love, I do not harm humans. It is not what I was designed for, why I exist."

It took me a second to process his words, then I frowned. "Yesterday you said you were a killer. You threatened to kill me."

"I hoped to frighten you from the truth, from me. I do hunt the odd wildlife on occasion to satisfy the bloodlust, but my true prey is the undead. And that is a lesson for another time," he added as I opened my mouth to ask.

I pouted, making him smile. "What's today's lesson, then?"

He started us walking again. "Let us begin with my...abilities."

"Oh, like that insane speed?"

He laughed. "What you experienced was a mere tip of the iceberg. I can reach much greater speeds, Belle, and this intensifies when I phase."

I looked up at him. He was still cautious, still afraid to scare me off. With the way just being next to him was affecting me, though, I knew that wasn't a possibility. So I smiled inwardly and asked, "What exactly do you turn into, anyway?"

"Panther."

I stopped and looked up at him. "Does it hurt?" I asked softly. "When you phase?"

He half smiled as he said, "Your eyes... They erode my ability to keep a sound mind. No, it comes naturally, at times against my will. There was pain at first..." he whispered, looking away, then turned to me and smiled wryly. "However, that is another matter entirely."

He didn't want to talk about it, so I returned to safer ground. "Tell me more about your abilities."

He started walking. "Which species rules the food chain?"

"People, of course."

"You say rightly. However, the learned men who devised it were pitifully blinded. There are freaks of nature quite superior to man, and they rule the food chain." He stopped and captured me in his emerald gaze. The burning intensity of his eyes added weight to his words. "You must understand, Belle. I am what I am, and the danger I pose to humanity were I to lose control would be beyond mortal reasoning. My senses and power are only rivaled by the undead, and I am still growing, so to speak. I am even able to hear thoughts and manipulate them."

I stared. "Thoughts? Ow!" Something soft hit my head and dropped to the ground. I rubbed my head as I stared at it. The little bird was wriggling as it tried to get upright. Touched, I cradled it in my hands and stood up. When I looked up, Warren's face was inches from mine. I stepped back, blushing, right into a tree. He moved with me, placing his hand on the tree near my head, smiling wickedly.