Chapter Twenty-One
Duron
The stolen car he’d hot-wired sat in the driveway as Duron brushed off the Putney brothers who crowded them. His only thought was to get Beaumont alone and to figure out how to help rid him of the seething, anger burning not only Beaumont’s brain but Duron’s too. It was the power behind what he’d witnessed as his mate had shown no mercy to those who’d flooded the room to attack them and protect their leader.
His mind did not think about who had helped Devil escape, that was for later, much later.
“Don’t brush me off, you fucker. What did you find?” Kylo snarled, his teeth snapping together as he got into Duron’s face.
Duron barely paid him any attention as he kept hold of his bleeding mate. They both needed food to help them heal, and to shift once more for Beaumont and a lot more for Duron. He’d used every damned animal inside him to protect his mate. He was suffering for it now, yet he shoved his own pain aside like he’d done many times before. “We need food, lots of food.”
“I’ll fry up some steaks for you,” Nori replied before Kylo could speak, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. “Then they can fill us in,” Nori said firmly, but Duron had no plans to fill them in. He’d give them the addressed envelope he’d had the foresight to collect and put in the car.
There was some huffing and nose curling when they sat at the table and wolfed down every bit of food Nori plated for them. Blood oozed from the steak. Food they needed to help with healing. Duron shut his mind off the fact that they were naked and covered in dried blood and possible body bits. Right now, all Duron wanted was to eat, and figure out the next steps. He remained clueless about how to help the silent man sat at his side eating like he’d never seen food before. A hugger, Duron was not. And after spending time with Beaumont, he sensed that was not what Beaumont wanted, or he needed from him.
The second the third plate of food became empty, Kylo was back to talking. “Fucksake, come on. What happened?” His gaze dropped to their visible torsos. “It looks like you bathed in blood.”
“The answers are in the car we took.” Duron stood and took hold of Beaumont’s arm, not sure he wouldn’t unleash his anger on the persistent fucker. “There’s an envelope with the address of where we went. You’re gonna need a lot of techs to gather all the evidence.” He eyed Kylo’s clothes. “And maybe hazmat suits.”
He didn’t wait for a reply and steered Beaumont towards the door. His body was tense enough that he vibrated with enough energy to power an electrical grid. It rolled off him, and Duron wanted him out of the way of the brothers when Beaumont let go of it.
“Where are you going?” Kylo called out as they reached the door.
Duron glared at the dick who was so work focused, he’d lost sight of the fact they needed a fucking minute alone. “To heal. Find your fucking answers at the house and leave us be.”
In the bedroom, he guided Beaumont into the bathroom, glad it was big enough for what was about to happen. With the shower on, he pulled Beaumont under the spray and efficiently washed off the blood and sticky bites. Checking each wound, satisfied that one more shift with the food would heal the remaining cuts.
Beaumont didn’t seem capable of speaking, and that was fine. Duron didn’t have fancy words to fix this situation. Beaumont took the soap from him when he’d deemed him clean, his movements automatic but present. Water sluiced their bodies, pooling red at their feet before it disappeared down the drain.
Out of the shower, Duron dried his mate, before rubbing the towel over himself quickly, avoiding the bites, cuts, and slashes. His body would require more than one shift to heal fully. The teeth brushing after eating was a little late, but Duron wanted no taste of those he’d bitten in his mouth for whatever came next.
When Beaumont did no more than stare at him when they’d finished, Duron took a deep breath. “Shift. You need to heal,” he demanded.
Beaumont blinked ever so slowly, like he was in a trance. Only his brain wasn’t. It rubbed abrasively against Duron’s animals. They squawked, growled, roared, and trumpeted their displeasure. They were injured, some more than others. His mate was his priority, his animals would get their turn when Beaumont had had his.
When Beaumont did nothing but stare at him with eyes that held wild fury, Duron’s bear pushed, and all his animals merged. “Shift,” he snarled, using the full power of his animals. No animal could resist his authority. None.
Beaumont’s body rippled, and his shift was fast. Duron hummed in approval at how much his mate’s alligator had healed. He watched closely as the remaining slashes from claws knitted together.
Minutes later, Beaumont shifted back. His body was now free of marks. He admired the rippling muscles as Beaumont stretched and rolled his shoulders, making them pop. His cock thickened when Duron’s scent alerted Beaumont to his pursual of his mate’s body.
When Beaumont met his gaze, a hunger, raw and formidable, washed through Duron, giving him the answer to how to allow Beaumont to release the fury roiling inside him. Sex. Sex he could do, but he needed to fully heal first if he was going to get Beaumont out of his head.
He took a step back and judged the space. “Whatever you do, don’t touch me while I’m going between shifts.”
Beaumont’s brows arched, and for the first time since the shit show, he felt something more than fury.
Duron mentally took a step back and allowed his animals to fight amongst themselves to get free first. It was a fight. His bear the winner to start.
Beaumont’s gaze never wavered as the bear checked its fur and only when happy, did it recede, his elephant was next, nearly dislodging the sink from the wall. His eagle was crafty and pecked and squawked enough to get out next. On and on, his body shifted, as each animal form checked itself over.
His raccoon, who was playful—it turned out—was the one with the leg injury that Duron had been feeling since the vampire chomped on him. It took a little longer for his raccoon to heal, then let one of the others out. He was wilier than his coyote.
The scent of arousal in the bathroom became pungent by the time he’d finished. The house was silent when Duron shifted back into human form. He cast a wicked grin at Beaumont, tempting the other man to do something with the large erection dripping onto the tiled floor.
“You are truly magnificent.” Prepared for when Beaumont lunged for him, Duron wrestled him up against the tiled wall.
He slammed his mouth on Beaumont’s who feasted like a crazed beast. They crashed into the sink. Duron heard a cracking sound. In the back of his mind, it registered, and he figured it was why his feet were getting wet. It didn’t stop him as they fought for dominance. Their animal spirits close to the surface.
