I advanced, keeping the light trained on him. His skin blistered where the beam touched. His coat burst into flames. He fell to his knees as he screamed, the sound scaling higher.
It pierced my ears, but I gritted my teeth and kept walking as I let the light engulf his body.
He fell to his stomach. Beck roared and stepped on his back. A sickeningcrunchsplit the air as Dr. Henry’s spine gave way. His scream cut off. Blood bubbled from between his lips.
Beck snorted. Shifted his weight and lifted his paw, only to bring it down on Dr. Henry’s skull.
The crunch was wet and final.
But Beck didn’t stop. He kept going, crushing and grinding until there was nothing left but pulp and bone fragments scattered across the red-stained snow.
Silence fell over the clearing.
The other humans fled into the forest. Bears pursued them. A moment later, roars echoed through the trees.
The disinfection wand slipped from my fingers and plopped in the snow.
Beck shifted in a blaze of blue light. Then he was on me, his strong arms gathering me against his bare chest. Blood slicked my cheek, and I squirmed until he loosened his grip.
“You’re hurt!” I cried, touching a gash on his neck.
“It’s nothing.” His voice was raspy, his shoulder a mangled, bloody mess, but his silver eyes were steady.
He cupped my cheek with a warm hand. “You saved the clan,” he said in a voice rough with emotion. “You are so fucking brave.”
Tears burned my throat. “I’m not. I?—”
“You absolutely are.” Beck’s silver eyes brightened, and I realized he fought back tears. He dragged his thumb over my bottom lip as he pressed his forehead to mine. “You’re everything. More than I deserve. But I’m keeping you.”
A watery laugh burst from me. The clan surrounded us, Cal and Everett in human form. Dmitri and Ilya had also shifted, and they smiled as they wiped blood from their beards. Others joined us, joy shining in their eyes.
The same emotion soared in my mind. We’d won.
Beck beamed down at me, love shining in his eyes. “It’s over,” he said. “You’re safe now.”
A lump formed in my throat, relief and love building in equal measure. I nodded.
“Take me home.”
Chapter
Twenty-Two
CHARLOTTE
Snuggling with Beck was like cozying up to a space heater.
I wasn’t complaining.
Tucked against his side, I rested my head in the space where his arm met his shoulder. He’d propped his iPad on a pillow over his thighs, andLove Islandplayed on the screen.
When he first queued it up, I’d laughed.“You can’t be serious.”
Beck had shrugged.“Dmitri says it’s the best show on TV.”
The series had plenty of episodes to choose from, and we’d spent hours watching attractive people make questionable life choices. Beck hadn’t complained when I left the bed to take two showers back to back, scrubbing my skin and hair to get rid of the lingering scent of scorched vampire. He’d simply waited with a towel, patted me dry, and tucked me back into bed. Then he’d disappeared downstairs and returned with a tray laden with homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on thick slices of artisan bread.
After we ate, he kissed the top of my head and hit theplaybutton as if nothing had happened.
