"Leave," he said. The single word carried the weight of a command. "Or join your friend."
They didn't argue. They ran. Branches snapped as they crashed through the undergrowth, fleeing back toward the resort lights.
Egon watched them disappear. His body still trembled slightly, the beast clearly fighting for control beneath the surface. Then he turned to me. The fury vanished from his face instantly, replaced by something sharp and searching.
"Tori." He closed the distance between us in two strides. "Are you well?"
I shook my head, but my voice wouldn't come. The adrenaline hit me all at once. My hands were shaking. My heart hammered wildly in my chest. They could have shot him. Hurt him. Killed him.
Egon pulled me into his arms. Hard. Crushing me against the solid heat of his chest. I could feel his heart pounding beneath the thin cotton of his shirt, fast and powerful. His skin radiated warmth, and beneath my hands his muscles still trembled faintly with leftover fury.
"I will kill him," Egon whispered into my hair. The promise was quiet. Deadly. "I will find Derek and I will tear him apart for this."
"No." The word came out rough. I pulled back just enough to look up at him. "We need to tell Chet. We need to call the police. We need to?—"
"First I need to take care of you." His hands moved over me, careful but thorough. Checking. My shoulders. My arms. My waist. His fingers brushed down my sides, his expression tightening as he searched for injuries. "I need to see you," he murmured. "Touch you. Know that you are whole."
“What about dinner?”
“We will order room service.”
That made me smile. “Okay.” He swept me into his arms and carried me back to our suite. Once we arrived, I saw a cut on his palm. From the bat, no doubt.
Who could break a baseball bat in half like a toothpick?
My beast. That’s who.
"Sit," I said, pointing to the kitchen counter. "Let me see your hands."
"The scratches are nothing," he said automatically.
"They’re not nothing to me. Sit."
He sat. Something about the quiet authority in my voice must have surprised him, because he obeyed without another argument.
I moved quickly through the small kitchenette, opening cabinets until I found the standard resort first aid kit beneath the sink. When I returned, Egon was watching me with that same intense focus that always made my pulse skip. I stepped between his knees. Up close, the damage was clearer. The scratches were already fading, his Atlan biology—or the nanotechnology put in his body from the Hive—healing them faster than a human would. I soaked a cloth with antiseptic and gently wiped the blood from his palm.
"You were amazing," I murmured, dabbing carefully at the cut. "I’m sorry. I can’t believe Derek would—" Would what? Send thugs to beat us up? What a cowardly, spoiled asshole thing to do. Of course he would. God forbid the man did any of his own dirty work.
"I will kill him for threatening you. I protect what is mine."
I paused, meeting his eyes. The faint amber glow still lingered there, reflecting the warm kitchen light. The beast was close. Very close. He meant it.
"Does the beast always react like that?" I asked softly. "To threats?"
His hand lifted suddenly, wrapping around my wrist. Not hurting. Just holding me there.
"If the threat is to you.” The words vibrated with quiet intensity. "You are my weakness, Tori. My strength. The reason the beast exists." His thumb brushed slowly across the inside of my wrist. "Without you…" He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. I understood.
Something inside my chest tightened. Slowly, I set the antiseptic cloth aside. Then I stepped closer until I was standing fully between his knees, my body nearly touching his. The heat of his skin radiated toward me like a living furnace.
"Egon," I whispered. His breathing changed immediately.
"I will ask once," he said. His voice was rough now. Barely controlled. "If you say yes, I will not hold back. I will make you scream my name. The beast will claim you so completely that you will never question who you belong to." His golden eyes burned into mine. "If you say no," he continued, quieter now, "I will let you go. Either you stay. Or you go. There is no in between for me, mate. I can deny him no longer."
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it might break through my ribs. Every nerve in my body felt alive. Raw lust hummed in the air between us, undeniable and electric.
"Yes," I breathed. “I want you.”
