“Except, I needyouto use your powers against me,” Natalia declared.
“No!” the Beast roared through me before I could breathe.
His thunderous voice carried through the entire clearing and into theOrigin Forestwhile it rumbled through my body. The force silenced every living being in the forest, leaving everyone around me shaken. Even my sister.
The ripples of power had been palpable.
A few seconds passed as everyone still looked at me, rooted in place. The Beast’s roar was still clicking in the back of mythroat, echoing around us while it asserted its dominance and made its will known.
Glancing down, I realized I was no longer the man, and I was evidently not in control either. Shaken by what had just happened to me too, I swallowed, trying to regain control.
What the hell had just happened to me?
“Mine…”The word thundered in my mind, disconcerting me.“Protect.”
Okay… That was a first.
When had the Beast switched from needing to protect me from Natalia to ripping out of me to protect her?
Sure, I had used my beast side to protect her, the Beast however, hadn’t been too keen on the idea from the start.
His behavior just confirmed that every single side of me was hers now. Natalia had won over the Beast, although we hadn’t yet claimed each other.
“Are you okay, Bruderherz?”Alyce asked through our family pack link.
I didn’t have an answer.
When my attention returned to the others, Natalia’s gaze was firmly pinned on me, but there was nooh hell no, he didn’t just tell me what to doair in her expression, she appeared to be realizing something.
“We’ll be okay, Beast, I promise,”she whispered sweetly into my mind… knowingly.
“We are very resilient,”Starlight assured.
My gaze roamed the faces of our other mates, Vanessa, my older brother,andmy aunt who still glanced at me expectantly. Growling, I just crossed my arms over my chest and straightened to my full height… never mind that my heart thundered in my chest. “I have spoken.”
Natalia smirked a little, as though it was endearing, then faced the others. “Anyway…”
“I know you are a capable woman,Cuore mio,but I’m starting to question your mental clarity.”
She rolled her eyes at Dante. “I don’t see why. This is the next logical step.”
“You are not serious, Natalia,” André added, trying to play it cool but he appeared to be as disturbed as my beast.
Oh, shitwas the sentiment they all shared.
“Um, I love you girl, but I’m not going to do that.” Vanessa shook her head adamantly, her brown curls bouncing. “I’m not taking that chance.”
Sighing, Natalia stepped closer, her gaze understanding. “Vane, I need your help.”
“Not this way you don’t!” Vanessa squealed, anxiousness gripping her. “I almost killed you once when I was trying to defend you, Tasha. I mean, Natalia.” She corrected herself but our mate didn’t appear to care. “Can you even imagine how bad is going to be when I actually aim to attack?”
“Okay, first of all, you all really need to stop treating me like a fragile little thing.I am arguably more dangerous than any of you.” Natalia added air quotes to that part. “Remember when you told me that?”
Vanessa paled when her own words were thrown in her face, and I grunted because I already knew how this was going to end. I might as well see the future too.
Natalia got what she wanted, always.
“Second, those monsters that took my mom are somehow recreating Vampiri powers, which means I need to be prepared for anything. This rescue missionwillbe an ambush.” She glanced at André, Dante, and me, throwing our own words in our faces too. “Theywillbe waiting for me, so please, stop being over-protecting assholes and help me prepare for this!”
