HANNES
Eerie silence danced around us with every step we took into theOrigin Forestbehind our castle.
As they sensed me coming, animals scurried away, and birds flew off from the highest peaks because although everything in these lands had seen me grow, their instincts recognized the danger I brought as the Beast.
Tension also spread between Natalia, Dante, André, and I, though for many different reasons. The Beast’s muscles tensed and released with the sounds of her heartbeats, crystal-sharp claws protruding with the acceleration of her breaths. My body was coiled for action in case it was needed, which only pissed me, the man, the fuck off.
Who the hell did my beast think he was? We were not fighting against our mate; I didn’t care how many times she roasted me alive.
Did you hear that?
A growl ignited in my throat, calling the others’ attention, but I ignored them.
I felt like an idiot for trying to communicate with that side of me as Natasha did with Natalia and Starlight, but at this point, I would try anything. I couldn’t let the Beast’s concern for my safety get between my mate and me.
I will sooner get rid of your fucking ass than hers, do you understand? No idea how that is even possible, but I assure you I will find out.
A deeper growl escaped me, but something told me it was his and not mine, he didn’t like being challenged.
“You okay there, fur boy?”Dante questioned, giving me a side glance.
Do not fuck this up, Beast. I meant it. Natalia doesn’t mean us any harm. We are here to help her and protect her, not treat her as a threat…
Remarkably, the tension throughout my back relaxed and the claws receded again, letting me breathe easy.
Natalia was right about one thing. I needed to get my shit together.
For the first time in my life, I felt like the Beast and I were different entities. Even my wolf had gone rogue last night, and I had no idea why it was happening.
Unlike Natasha’s situation, the other sides of me were one. It had been that way since we discovered that I had inherited the Beast ability from my father. As well as his Iron Knight invincibility.
I’d been able to shift into the Beast since I was a child, so it was natural for me even when it wasn’t normal for our race. Everyone was like my mom, shifting from human to wolf and back with ease, enjoying the enhanced abilities that might provide.
Not my father.
Not me.
His situation was different, of course. His beast was the result of a curse set on him by the most powerful of evil Witches, in order to attack our kingdom.
The black magic had caused his human form and his wolf to separate. The Beast took form to protect him from the attack, which would have otherwise killed him. Because he was an Eisen Ritter, his powers had somehow transferred to it, and in a way, his split personality began.
After he was healed, he thought it was in all the past, but the Beast remained a part of him. So much so, that I inherited it.
My wolf, my Beast, and I had always been one, perfectly in sync, until Natasha came into our lives.
Her ability to switch between the facets of her being seemed to have triggered something in me, and now, like it once did for my father, the Beast took over me. Granted, he did it to protect me from herEternal Blaze, with him being the only part of me that could withstand it. It still unnerved me how I could be just me at one moment and transform into him the next, without wanting it.
I didn’t want to admit it, but meeting Natasha had brought chaos into my existence, and that chaos was causing the strangest reactions in me.
Worse, I feared the Beast had sensed her power,her danger,ever since I arrived at Heart Island because the urge to shift into him became palpable when Natasha was near, forcing me to leave her side every single time.
The one thing I wanted was to be with her, yet my own, motherfucking defense mechanism was pulling me away from her.
Make that make sense.
Dante and André walked between Natalia and me, providing a buffer in order to calm this side of me before finally stoppingat the clearing I’d chosen for her training. André, Dante, and I stood side by side while she took her place farther across from us.
“What now?” Natalia’s gaze roamed each of us expectantly.
