Beasts Within (BBW Shifters) Page 5

  She liked him, that much was obvious, but after the story he had told her about his mother, she knew she had to get out of his life as soon as possible. Her pride would find her if she stayed, it was only a matter of how soon they would do it, and there was no way she was going to drag him into that. Not when he had already lost so much because of group dynamics. It would have been a terrible way to pay him back for all he had done for her so far.

  Once they had gone back to the house and put all the groceries away, there had been just enough time for Karic to hop in the shower and change into his scrubs before they had to leave for the doctor’s office. Karic filled her in about the ladies he worked with as they drove, already warning her that they were going to be unnaturally interested to see that he had brought a girl with him.

  “You can tell them as much or as little about how I met you as you want,” he’d told her. “In fact, you can pretend to be someone I know from back home, if you’d like. They’re all really sweet women, but they’re nosy and very mother hen-ish. And I’m sure as soon as I walk in with you, they’re going to be hearing wedding bells. It’s just how they are.”

  Camilla had to laugh at that description. Karic said it like it was a common thing, women who were nosy and wanted young men to settle down, and yeah, in some of the books she had read and the shows she’d watched on television they were, but it was sort of amazing to her that people were actually like that. Man, she really needed to get out more, it seemed. People were all so varied and diverse, and Camilla wanted to submerge herself in that and find out what kind of person she was finally. Twenty-one years old and all she knew was what Paul had made her.

  The doctor’s office was smaller than Camilla had expected, but it seemed large enough to suit the needs of the town. It was nearing twilight when she and Karic walked in, and instantly Karic was swept into a hug by an older woman wearing pink scrubs.

  “Carmen!” Karic certainly did look happy to see her. “When did you get back from vacation?”

  “Vacation?” the woman scoffed. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

  “Well, you did get to go to Florida. That’s a vacation spot.”

  “If you’re a child or someone on the way to the grave, maybe,” Carmen said back. “And my daughter is neither, so I don’t know why she chose there to settle down. Hot as all hell and so damned wet.”

  Karic laughed delightedly. “Oh, it’s good to have you back. How’s the new baby?”

  “Cute as anything. My family has good genes, and the man my daughter married, he’s a looker if there ever was one.”

  “I think I’m offended.”

  Carmen cackled and patted his cheek. “You’re a looker, too, doll, never worry. And one day some…” she trailed off when she seemed to finally catch sight of Camilla. “Oh, excuse me. Did you need something, dear?”

  “No, I…” Camilla flushed and looked at Karic who grinned at her.

  “She’s with me, Carmen. Camilla this is Carmen Greene, she’s one of the nurses here. Carmen, this is my friend Camilla. She’s staying with me for a couple of days.”

  “Oh, really?” Carmen said, and her dark eyes seemed to light up. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Camilla. And what a lovely name that is. Certainly suits as you’re a lovely young lady.”

  “And here we go,” Karic sighed.

  Camilla flushed at the sudden attention, not at all sure how to take it, even though she had been warned beforehand that this could and probably would happen. “Oh, um. Thank you very much. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise, likewise. So you’re a friend of our dear Karic, hm? That’s good. We were beginning to wonder if he had any friends at all. Spends all his time around us old ladies, and that’s not good for a man that handsome,” Carmen said, grinning and moving closer to her. “Don’t you think he’s handsome, dear?”

  “Um…I…”

  “Carmen,” Karic said sharply, saving Camilla from having to answer and make an even bigger idiot of herself than she probably already was. “Leave her alone. She’s not here to get wrapped up in your matchmaking game. Come on, Camilla. Let’s get you to an exam room, and we’ll take a look at that ankle, okay?”

  Camilla nodded eagerly, uncomfortable and embarrassed. The truth was she did think Karic was handsome. She had seen plenty of men, the ones in her pride and the ones who came to do business with Paul, and some of them had been attractive. But there was just something about Karic that made her like him. Something about the way he smiled at her and the way those green eyes sparkled when he was actually happy. She hadn’t known him for long at all, but the more time she spent with him, the more the things she had seen when she touched his hand made sense to her.

  The exam room was just down the hall, and her ankle had been feeling better all day, so she didn’t have to limp much before they got there. Karic closed the door behind them and motioned for her to get up on the table, which she did, boosting herself up easily.

  “I’m really sorry about that,” he said softly. “I didn’t know Carmen was going to be here today, and she’s the worst of the lot. Her daughter got married to this rich, handsome dude that she introduced her to, so now she thinks she’s the consummate matchmaker. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Camilla replied with a little smile. “It seemed like that’s just…how she is.” Of course, her cheeks were still burning from the way the woman had scrutinized her and put her on the spot, but she wasn’t going to make a fuss about it.

  Karic sighed and drug over a machine that Camilla assumed was for the x-ray. “Yeah, it is. And right now she’s probably telling Allie and Pat all about you. We’ll just make it clear that there’s nothing like that going on between us and hopefully they’ll get the message. I mean, it’s really silly for them to assume we’re together anyway.”

  “Right,” Camilla said, lowering her eyes and watching Karic fiddle with the machine. She couldn’t decide if that hurt or not. It was hard not having a good idea of whether or not she was attractive. No one had ever really complimented her appearance before, and Paul called her pretty but Camilla had always known that he meant it in that way that people called their boats or cars pretty. She was something to use, not something to admire. To her knowledge, no one had ever been interested in her that way anyway, so she supposed it didn’t really matter. Maybe wherever she ended up at the end of this, she would get asked out or something. That would be nice.

  When she looked back up, Karic was gazing at her with something she couldn’t decipher in his eyes. “What?”

  “I…didn’t mean it like that, you know,” he answered.

  “Um…like what?”

  “Like it would be ridiculous for me to be with you. I meant that it was ridiculous for them to jump to that conclusion based on no other evidence than the fact that I’m a guy and you’re a lady and we walked in together. But that doesn’t mean that you’re not…that I don’t think you’re…” he trailed off, cheeks going pink. “You’re beautiful, so that’s not the issue at all.”

  For some reason, that boosted her mood instantly. That was as good as him saying that he did think he was attractive, and she shot him a smile. “You’re kind of silly,” she said, wanting to reach out and pat his hand, but refraining for obvious reasons. She didn’t need to pry any more than she already had. “But thank you for that. No one’s ever…said things like that to me.”

  Karic frowned. “Really? That’s dumb. People should tell you stuff like that all the time because it’s true.” He gave her a smile and then turned his attention back to the machine, firing it up. “Prop your ankle up for me?”

  “Huh?” Camilla had gotten stuck on the first part of his words and had to shake herself when he gave his instruction. “Oh. Right. Sorry.” She pulled her leg up onto the table, and held still while Karic worked the machine over it. She couldn’t help but watch the way he worked, how intense his focus was as he moved part of the machine over her ankle
and tapped keys on the computer part. It wasn’t hard to see why all the ladies thought that he should have a girlfriend or something. Karic was unlike anyone she had ever met, and he seemed like he would definitely make someone happy one day.

  Out of nowhere there was a pang in her chest when she remembered that it wouldn’t be her. She had to leave, and even if he did think she was attractive, there was no guarantee that…

  No. It was silly to think about it anyway.

  She’d had enough disappointment in her life, and now it was time to look forward to bigger and better things. And to get out of here before she got attached and found it even harder to leave.

  “Well,” Karic said, squinting at the monitor on the machine. “Everything looks good. Definitely nothing broken and the swelling’s way down, so I’d say you’ll be good as new in a day or so. We probably should have iced it last night, but I didn’t even think about that.”

  “It was really late,” Camilla pointed out. “And it’s fine, really. I was walking on it today and everything. Just a little sore.”

  He smiled at her. “That’s good. Just to be safe, I’ll give you a wrap for it, and you can stay off of it tonight for the most part. We’ll see what it looks like tomorrow and how it feels, and then I can probably declare you fully healed.”

  Camilla grinned, her face lighting up. “That sounds really good. Thank you.” And she tried to make sure that he knew that she wasn’t just saying thank you for this, but for everything he had done for her so far. There was no way she could ever repay him for all of this.

  “Don’t mention it. It’s my job, you know?”

  “Really?” she teased. “Is that why you wanna be a doctor? To help girls you think are pretty?”

  His eyes widened, and she flushed lightly. She hadn’t meant for that to come out sounding as flirty as it had. “No,” Karic answered slowly. “I mean, to help people, yeah, but the pretty girls are just a perk. And not one I get to enjoy all that often. I mean, most of the ladies who come in here to be treated are old enough to be my mother.”

  “Some people are into that sort of thing. Cougars, you know.” She had seen a lot of that on television when she’d been able to watch it.

  Karic snorted and shook his head. “I think I much prefer lions.”

  Their eyes met when he said that, both seeming shocked that those words had come out of his mouth. Camilla opened hers to say something and then closed it again, unsure. Because that was definitely flirting, wasn’t it? And it felt right to want to respond, but it was also wrong because she was leaving, and… It was all so complicated.

  Before she could figure out what to say, Karic was clearing his throat and getting up, wheeling the x-ray machine away. “Um…yes. Well. You’re all done here, and I’ll just…go get the wrap for your ankle and get that in place and then I need to go check in with the doctor. So. Yes. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay,” Camilla replied, voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll just wait here, then.” Her heart was racing, and it was good that Karic had left the small room because she was pretty sure that he would have been able to hear it had he stayed. It was so random and so…dumb to be feeling like this about someone she had known for less than twenty four hours. He was nice and kind and handsome, yes, but that shouldn’t have been enough to have her acting like a teenager around him. But it didn’t help at all that she had seen inside his head a bit and knew what kind of person he was. That sort of derailed a lot of the mental arguments she wanted to have with herself.

  She tried anyway, though. When he came back in the room and took her ankle, wrapping it up with the utmost care, she tried to convince herself that he would have done the same for any patient, that she was the same as he old women he treated. But the look in those green eyes when he finished and patted her knee definitely said that she was wrong about that.

  He helped her to her feet and down the hall to the office in the back. “This is where I usually hide out when I’m on my breaks,” he said. “There’s stuff in the mini-fridge and a little cot back there if you want to take a nap or something. I’m gonna be here until at least midnight, but let me know if you want to get out of here before that, and I’ll take you back to my place when I go on break, okay?”

  The office did seem stocked with things she could use to entertain herself; there was even a small television on top of the bookshelf. “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m probably just going to sleep anyway. I’m still worn out from yesterday. You go take care of sick people.”

  His smile was bright. “Will do. I’ll come back and check on you when I can.” And then he was gone, heading off in the direction of the other rooms in the building.

  Camilla let out a sigh of relief and went to sit on the cot. She wasn’t used to spending her days like this, and she hoped that wherever she ended up, she found a place like this one with people she could call her friends and places she could hang out in without being worried. Habit had her looking around, making sure the place was secure. Of course, Paul or whoever he sent would have to get through the rest of the building to get to her, and she’d hear the commotion and be able to…well, probably not hide, but do something.

  She had already made up in her mind that she wasn’t going back with him or anyone else for that matter, and she wasn’t going to be swayed or taken or anything like that.

  “So there,” she muttered under her breath and could barely stifle a yawn when she stretched and leaned back on the cot. She really was still drained from her escape the night before, and a nap sounded amazing. With a quiet sigh, she made herself comfortable and then closed her eyes.

  Chapter 6: Interlude

  Paul Westin was very, very unhappy. In fact, unhappy was putting it mildly to an absurd degree. It would have been more accurate to say that he was livid, anxious, and downright pissed off. He did so hate it when things that belonged to him went missing. It was bad when they got stolen, but it was even worse when they got up and walked away. Or fled in the middle of the night like the little rat the she was.

  He took a deep breath and made himself focus. Getting angrier wasn’t going to fix anything. It wasn’t going to get the traitorous little bitch found any faster, for certain, and that was the only thing that mattered right then. Later, of course, there would be the matter of punishing his wayward charge. Making sure that she knew better than to ever try to leave his side again. He would put a collar around that pretty neck of hers and keep her chained to him at all times if he had to, but she would learn.

  The door to the spacious room he has designated for his audiences banged open, and Paul looked up impatiently. “Well?”

  Thomas and Adam, two of the older members of the pride exchanged wary glances. “There’s no sign of her, sir,” Adam said. “We followed her scent out of the house, but then…”

  “But then what?”

  No one liked giving him bad news when he used that tone of voice. It was the same tone that he used on people who weren’t going to be living much longer, and it was clear that neither of the two wanted to answer that question. Paul was not above having one of them killed to make the other work harder if it would send the right message. They were the best trackers in the pride, and if they hadn’t been able to find her then they were going to have to come up with a different plan.

  “…but her scent disappears just short of the woods, sir. It rained heavily last night, so that makes sense,” Thomas continued. “We searched the area, but there weren’t any footprints or anything close by.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is that she has disappeared?” Paul asked, voice deceptively calm. “How could that happen? Someone is always supposed to be watching her! She’s not supposed to be able to slip out and run off like this!” And alright, maybe he was losing his calm just a little, but things like this were not supposed to happen. Camilla knew too much to be allowed to roam lose in the world. She had seen too many of his dealings, had been witness to too many of the less than legal tra
des that kept the pride going and living in this manor. If she went to the police, there would be no stopping them from coming to investigate, especially since all crimes involving shifters were taken very seriously.

  He hoped that he had instilled enough fear in her over the years that she wouldn’t talk to anyone about the pride and instead go straight for trying to get as far away as possible. Eventually, he would find her, but if he had to deal with a police investigation first, then it would take longer for him to be able to search for her.

  “We don’t know what happened, sir!” Thomas insisted. “She was here for dinner, but then she was just…gone.”

  “She was not just gone. People do not just vanish, Thomas. They sneak and hide like rats, and then they are found and caged. And we will find her, do you hear me?”

  They both nodded immediately.

  “Good. Search the entirety of the woods. Leave nothing unchecked. More than likely she went across the bridge into the town proper, and we can only hope that the rain delayed her escape. She is likely still there, and I want her found and dragged back here, is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” the said in unison and then turned to leave quickly. Good. They should be afraid. If Camilla got away, then there would be hell to pay. It had been annoying when Chris, one of the former members of the pride had gotten a strange woman pregnant and then run off with her, but when he’d turned up three years later with a toddler with amber eyes and a strange power, it had been a blessing.

  Of course, he’d had to be killed. Paul had known that Chris wouldn’t have allowed them to use his daughter like a tool, but with him gone, Camilla had then had no one but the pride to look after her, and Paul had been able to manipulate her into all sorts of things from a young age. She knew nothing else but them and the things he made her do, and he was going to get her back before she could get any more ridiculous ideas about freedom in her head. He needed her, and he was going to have her back no matter what it took to make sure that happened.