Liam Black holds a dark secret inside of him. This secret is cold, merciless, and as dark as the night. It flows through his veins and teases his skin, threatening to reveal itself every second he breathes.
It is taking everything for Liam to keep...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The morning dew has already coated the fallen leaves on the ground and a cold onset breeze mixed in the air. Liam and I headed back to the pack and sat side by side on the steps to the main entrance. I knew I should return to Ellie's room before she wakes up but I couldn't pull away from him even if I wanted to.
"Sage, I—"
"I know about your beast," I interrupted.
I leaned my head against his shoulder and slipped my hand through his. Secretly glad that he didn't pull away from me. These past few days, I have been avoiding him but he has also been avoiding me too. For him to return, it must have taken a lot.
"You are afraid of me, Kitten. I can feel your fear inside of you," he replied.
Lifting our intertwined hands to look at, I sighed and scooted closer to his body.
"I won't lie to you. Your beast scares me but you don't," I told him.
He was silent and I worried that I had offended him but he pulled our hands towards his chest and held it over his beating heart.
"Katya shouldn't have told you. I should have been the one that explained everything."
"It doesn't matter," I responded, tilting my head to look up at his face.
He was already looking down at me with a frustrated look. He leaned down and kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes; savoring the warm tingles that spread from that intimate contact.
It truly doesn't matter who told what. My opinion of him doesn't change. This man was still my mate. Fate gave him to me for a reason.
"I am dangerous, Sage. When I shift into my beast, I can't remember anything that it does. Being around the people I love is risking everyone's safety. I can't be here. The other night, it was a perfect example. You're my destined mate and I hurt you. If I am capable of that than it is best that I am not around you at all. I don't want to hurt you, Sage."
I sat up a little straighter and turned to face him.
"You won't hurt me," I told him and knew right away that it was the truth. He did hurt me but only because I got in the way. His fears were taking over his senses. He didn't know what he was doing.
"You don't know that." Liam released me and stood up suddenly. His stiff body took a few steps away from me. He was becoming agitated. I stood up and followed him.
"I know! I do know!" I protested.
"No, Kitten, you don't. You don't know how dangerous I am. You don't know the things that my beast wants to do to you. He is a part of me. I can feel how strong he is." He turned around and grabbed onto my arms, shaking me.
"You won't hurt me," I repeated.
His jaw ticked and he released me to pace in front of me. I watched him mutter incoherent words. His eyes were glowing now. He looked wild and menacing with his obsidian colored hair flying in the wind of the night.
