Black Beast Read Online Free Page B
Author: Nenia Campbell
Tags: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, Paranormal & Urban, witch, shape shifter, witch clan, shapechanger, witches and magic, shapechange, shiftershaper, shapeshifter paranormal, shape change, shape changers, witches and vampires, shape changing, shape shift, witch council, shape changer
something?” She asked him.
Out the door, perhaps?
“Nah.” He seemed to completely overlook her frigid expression. “I'm just, uh, browsing.”
Great
.
Some of the shades had followed him into the building. Through the glass wall she could see the majority of them drifting in the corridor like dogs awaiting the return of a beloved master.
One of the creatures happened to glance in her direction as she looked. Quick, accidental coincidence. Its reaction, however, was not.
The shade went rigid, raising its head. Catherine caught a glimpse of a shadowy mass in profile that might have been a nose. Her breathing halted. It seemed to be—no, she wasn't mistaken—
sniffing
the air, scenting her.
Drunkenly, it swayed forward and glided closer.
No
.
Her hands moved from her lap to the desk as she readied herself to push from the seat. Her nails had sharpened, forming the beginnings of claws. She barely noticed. All her muscles were melting, melding, becoming liquid steel. Her weight shifted from her core to her legs as she prepared to spring and then—
And then what? You can't fight it. Not with Chase in the room. That would be breaking the First Rule, exposing yourself to a human.
Exceptions were made for self-defense, though.
Not for you, a delinquent shape-shifter.
Catherine was painfully aware of her throbbing pulse and how it made her feel like Prey. The only things in the room that had any meaning were the shades and her own frantically beating heart.
Would the Council grant her self-defense?
Probably not. They shamelessly discriminated against her kind. Her fingers dug into the wood hard enough to leave marks.
Fuck
, she thought.
What am I going to do?
From behind the stacks she heard Chase's disembodied voice say, “Did you, uh, watch that science-fiction movie that was on last night?”
If push came to shove, she could knock him unconscious. She had never killed a human, never had to. But death ran in her veins, and at times it was all she could do to contain it.
Catherine let her shields slip a little. Not a lot. Just enough that her aura whipped out and crackled, snapping out at the shade that had challenged her.
Rising to the threat.
I am deadly
, said Predator.
I'll tear out your heart and eat it, still dripping, while you watch. Fuck with me, and you die.
Like most defense mechanisms, this was merely a well-constructed lie. A bluff. But it worked.
The shade turned away. Losing interest. Saving face.
Catherine relaxed a hair, still tense and waiting just in case it was a feint intended to cause her to let her guard down. It might have been her imagination, since the shades didn't have faces or auras she could read, but she got the impression that the creature was…disappointed.
She would not let herself think about why. Without taking her golden eyes from the creature she said, “I'm not into science-fiction.”
My life
is
science-fiction.
Chase popped back into sight from the corner of the romance section—by far, the largest section in the store.
“What are you into?”
“Life,” she said shortly.
“Oh.” There was a long pause. He looked at her, up and down. “I like your, uh, bracelet,” he offered lamely.
She ran her fingers over the charms automatically. Her parents had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday; it had all twelve animals from the Chinese zodiac. She had been in the mind of each, at one time or another. Shape-shifters did not often give gifts—they didn't celebrate holidays in the same way humans did, preferring feasts to festivals—so the gesture was touching.
Red veins of annoyance infected her aura as a Predator silently bared her teeth. She did not appreciate Chase speaking of her prized possession so lightly. It conveyed a terrible lack of respect. The proprietary way he regarded her did not help matters. She wanted him to
Out the door, perhaps?
“Nah.” He seemed to completely overlook her frigid expression. “I'm just, uh, browsing.”
Great
.
Some of the shades had followed him into the building. Through the glass wall she could see the majority of them drifting in the corridor like dogs awaiting the return of a beloved master.
One of the creatures happened to glance in her direction as she looked. Quick, accidental coincidence. Its reaction, however, was not.
The shade went rigid, raising its head. Catherine caught a glimpse of a shadowy mass in profile that might have been a nose. Her breathing halted. It seemed to be—no, she wasn't mistaken—
sniffing
the air, scenting her.
Drunkenly, it swayed forward and glided closer.
No
.
Her hands moved from her lap to the desk as she readied herself to push from the seat. Her nails had sharpened, forming the beginnings of claws. She barely noticed. All her muscles were melting, melding, becoming liquid steel. Her weight shifted from her core to her legs as she prepared to spring and then—
And then what? You can't fight it. Not with Chase in the room. That would be breaking the First Rule, exposing yourself to a human.
Exceptions were made for self-defense, though.
Not for you, a delinquent shape-shifter.
Catherine was painfully aware of her throbbing pulse and how it made her feel like Prey. The only things in the room that had any meaning were the shades and her own frantically beating heart.
Would the Council grant her self-defense?
Probably not. They shamelessly discriminated against her kind. Her fingers dug into the wood hard enough to leave marks.
Fuck
, she thought.
What am I going to do?
From behind the stacks she heard Chase's disembodied voice say, “Did you, uh, watch that science-fiction movie that was on last night?”
If push came to shove, she could knock him unconscious. She had never killed a human, never had to. But death ran in her veins, and at times it was all she could do to contain it.
Catherine let her shields slip a little. Not a lot. Just enough that her aura whipped out and crackled, snapping out at the shade that had challenged her.
Rising to the threat.
I am deadly
, said Predator.
I'll tear out your heart and eat it, still dripping, while you watch. Fuck with me, and you die.
Like most defense mechanisms, this was merely a well-constructed lie. A bluff. But it worked.
The shade turned away. Losing interest. Saving face.
Catherine relaxed a hair, still tense and waiting just in case it was a feint intended to cause her to let her guard down. It might have been her imagination, since the shades didn't have faces or auras she could read, but she got the impression that the creature was…disappointed.
She would not let herself think about why. Without taking her golden eyes from the creature she said, “I'm not into science-fiction.”
My life
is
science-fiction.
Chase popped back into sight from the corner of the romance section—by far, the largest section in the store.
“What are you into?”
“Life,” she said shortly.
“Oh.” There was a long pause. He looked at her, up and down. “I like your, uh, bracelet,” he offered lamely.
She ran her fingers over the charms automatically. Her parents had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday; it had all twelve animals from the Chinese zodiac. She had been in the mind of each, at one time or another. Shape-shifters did not often give gifts—they didn't celebrate holidays in the same way humans did, preferring feasts to festivals—so the gesture was touching.
Red veins of annoyance infected her aura as a Predator silently bared her teeth. She did not appreciate Chase speaking of her prized possession so lightly. It conveyed a terrible lack of respect. The proprietary way he regarded her did not help matters. She wanted him to
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