Beauty in Winter (Beauty #4)

When shifters come of age, their inner wolf takes over and they learn to shift. Right at the time in my life when that should have happened, my father was killed by a man in the woods, and I went after him to avenge his death. I went to seek revenge before my body was ready, but I could feel the alpha trying to push through. I was young and stupid. The pack council members warned me not to, but I couldn’t be stopped. The pack and I followed him, and when we caught the man who had killed my father, he cast a curse on me.

I was the only male there who was still in human form. I didn’t know what happened at the time. One moment I was trying to hunt down my father’s killer and the next I was waking up surrounded by the pack.

At first I thought everything was okay. I didn’t feel any different, but people backed away from me. When I looked in the mirror I saw that my face had taken on some of the traits of a wolf. Our kind don’t look like animals unless they’re fully shifted, so it was unheard of for someone to retain their wolf features while in their human form. My hair had grown out black and shaggy, and a dark beard had formed. My canine teeth had lengthened a little, and my eyes had turned a nearly solid black. I looked menacing and not quite human.

Everyone thought it would pass when I learned how to shift, but the more time went on, the more I realized I was stuck this way. Forever in between and never able to lead my people. How could I be an alpha and be unable to shift? It was impossible.

So I locked myself away and shut out the pack. My father was gone, and I didn’t have any brothers or sisters. My mother never took to me after I was born, so when my father died, she left to find another mate.

Mate. That’s a word I hate thinking. I watched as everyone around me paired off. Years went by and I had to witness the joining of wolves. The sight made me cold and bitter inside, knowing that I’d never be able to have that. The curse prevented me from ever being able to have one. And how could a mate want me like this? Never human, never animal, unable to lead his own pack.

I’m neither a man nor a wolf, and I’m damned to hell for what I’ve become. I’ve made do with it and lived my life — half a life — but one phone call and all that I’ve locked away has been threatened.

“I’ve hired someone to come stay with you and help around the house.” Ron’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

“No. The answer is no.” I grind my teeth, thinking about how he keeps trying to meddle in my life.

“It’s already done, Reid. There’s no undoing it. She’s signed a contract, and I think this will be good for you.”

“She? You’re sending a woman?” I nearly shout into the phone.

“Calm down. She needed a job, and your estate acquired something she’s looking to get back.”

“Give it back and send her away.”

He sighs on the phone like I’m being an asshole, which I probably am. “It’s not that simple.” There’s a pause, and then I hear him rustle some papers. “Take her on for a night and see if the arrangement works. If not, then maybe we can redistribute her to another pack family. Either way, it’s my job as financier of your assets to look out for you. What she wants is very valuable, and she is required to compensate you for it in some way.”

I hear the sound of a small hand knocking on the door. I’m on the other side of the castle, but my hearing is heightened. I look out the window and see it’s dark and snowing. I can’t let a woman stay out in that.

I grind my teeth again before giving in. “Fine. One night,” I say before ending the call and tossing the cell on my desk.

Storming down the hallway, I make my way to the front door and open it wide while staying hidden behind it. I’ve gotten good at hiding my face and keeping it in shadows so I don’t scare people.

I wait a moment, and she speaks.

“Hello?”

“Come in,” I say, and step out just a little from behind the door, remaining mostly hidden.

“I’m Fiona Lamb. Mr. Blackden sent me.” Her voice is soft and melodic.

I peer around the door, keeping my chin down, and look at her. I’m frozen in place as I see the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Her dark honey-brown hair falls in waves down her back, She pulls off a raincoat to reveal she’s wearing a white cotton dress tied with a yellow ribbon that makes her look so innocent and sweet. She looks around, trying to see where I am, shaking out her raincoat.

As she does, a breeze drifts over to me, and suddenly everything goes dark.





Chapter 3





Fiona





I gasp as the man, half shielded by the door, falls to the floor. I rush over to try to push the door open, but his body is in the way.

“Here, let me,” a familiar voice says from behind me, making me scream.

Jumping, I turn to see the lawyer, Mr. Blackden, standing there. I put my hand on my chest in a feeble attempt to calm my heart. The snowstorm that’s swirling around him makes him look ominous.

“I think he’s hurt.”

I push away all thoughts of how odd this situation is. I just arrived at a castle in the middle of nowhere. At one point the cab driver thought he was going to have to turn around because the snowstorm was growing fiercer by the second.

Mr. Blackden steps forward, and I move out of his way as he pushes the door open. I reach into my bag, trying to find my cell phone to call 911. I don’t even know if I have service out here.

I follow him into the house and notice the room is in darkness. I glance around, looking for a light switch, but when I flip it, the light doesn’t come on. I don’t know if the snowstorm knocked it out or the light just isn’t working. Suddenly Mr. Blackden grabs the phone from my hand smacking it against the wall and making me scream.

“Oh my God, what is wrong with you?” I yell at him. It was only one of those $50 pre-paid phones, but still. This guy is crazy. The man on the floor makes a sound that sounds like a growl, but Mr. Blackden doesn’t move toward him. Instead he walks over to the front door and shuts it, blocking out the cold storm. I hear the lock click. He leans up against it as if a man isn’t passed out on the floor in front of us.

Not knowing what to do, I drop to the floor next to the man and try to roll him over, but his body is too big. I’m not strong enough to move him even a little.

“Don’t just stand there. Help me, you lunatic!” I shout at Mr. Blackden.

“Oh, I think you’ve got it.” Something in his voice makes me turn to look back at him.

I scream when I see what looks like a gun in his hand. He doesn’t have it pointed at me though; he holds it lowered by his side.

A loud growl fills the room, and the man under my hands starts to jerk. Then he does it again, only deeper. But for some reason the noises are not scary. I watch as he pulls himself up to his hands and knees, his head hanging low. The growls grow louder and are anything but human.

I glance over at Mr. Blackden, but he just stands there, a smile pulling at his lips. “Yes, I think you’ve definitely got it.”