The Beast

26

RONAN

I jump across the room, hugging Hazel by the waist and lifting her. I bury my face between her breasts and inhale deeply. There's a faint chemical smell clinging to her clothes, and her heart rages in her chest.

"I came as soon as I could," I blurt, lowering her to her feet.

She scans my face, looking worried. I keep our chests together to hide my bleeding gunshot wound. In my rush to find her, a few stitches pulled.

"Your hoodie, Ronan," she whispers.

I already forgot. Forgot that I haven't been wearing my hood, revealing my face to the world. I was so focused on searching for Hazel that I blocked our every stare, frown and gasp.

"Fuck the hoodie. Are you injured?"

She shakes her head quickly, but I run my hands down her sides just to be sure. She's still Hazel. Small, soft, and beautiful.

I glance down and see her dirty, bloody feet. Unacceptable.

"Doctor!" I shout.

The bug-eyed man peeks his head into the room. Terrified in his own establishment.

"Take care of her wounds immediately," I demand, stepping away from Hazel. "As a matter of fact, why did you let her suffer in this condition for so long?" I reach for him, my hand bloodthirsty.

Hazel's smaller hand grips my wrist. She moved quietly and swiftly, as if she could predict my violence. As if she knows me better than anyone.

The doctor scrambles, and Hazel pulls my hood apart, discovering my bleeding wound. I let her. I'm bleeding so much it was only a matter of time before she noticed it.

"I'll take care of my feet. The doctor should check out your injury."

"No. I—"

She sighs and stares at me with exhaustion. Like she can't take any more. I can't imagine what she's been through.

"Fine, I'll give you this. But you're going straight back to the estate while I handle business out here. Tell me who took you," I order as I remove my hood.

"It was two guys. Two idiots. Their plan wasn't premeditated. They saw an opening and..." she sighs. "They wanted to keep me. Wait to see if your seed took root."

Those sons of bitches. They wanted to breed her? Like livestock?

I'll slaughter them like pigs.

"I think I killed one of them, Ronan," she says, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I poured chemicals all over him."

"What! Why did you fight!"

She sniffles. "Because I couldn't sit around and wait for you. I had to save myself."

The words strike me. Terrorize me. My gunshot wound aches as if a few more stitches ripped.

She felt like she couldn't rely on me? Risked her own skin to save herself, because she wasn't sure that I would come?

Shame seeps into my pores, and I look away from her.

I've been a provider to hundreds of souls at the estate for years but I've failed the most important one. The woman who the estate calls their mistress. The woman who I'm in a fake engagement with, but I'm fixing on changing that. I've had enough pretending and hiding.

"Tell me everything. I need to find these men and make them pay. Don't worry about my...seed. I'll have the doctor prescribe you something."

She glances at her stomach, as if realizing there's a ticking clock inside her. I stare at it, too, and become overwhelmed with...sadness?

"Alright," she whispers, crossing her arms over her abdomen. "Let's do this and go home."

— —

The doctor patches me up and mumbles a warning. I've strained my body too far, but it will have to take a few more hours of labor. I have two graves to dig, and two bodies to bury.

Hazel was handed a white pill. Some sort of strong contraception. She stared at it for a while, and then met my eyes. I can't read her thoughts, but I sense hesitation as her hand trembles.

I walk out of the room, giving her space and privacy to make a choice. I'll support whatever she chooses. She could drink the pill or trash it, playing Russian roulette with her womb. She could make me a father and I wouldn't run.

I don't need to tell her these things. She will be in my life for as long as I exist. She has become my heart, my estate, my life.

She walks out of the room slowly, her tender feet slowing her down. She no longer holds the pill in her palm, and I don't ask what she did with it.

"Transportaction is ready for you outside. They'll take you directly to the estate."

She purses her lips, looking troubled. "But what about you?"

I set my hands on her shoulders. "I need you at the estate to ensure everything is running smoothly. You have complete authority over everyone there. Besides, I heard your mother is worried."

Hazel has done enough out here. She even saved herself because I didn't make it in time. There's nothing else for her to do but relax and be doted on.

She nods, her worried expression replaced with determination.

I peck her lips. "We'll be together soon."

She draws me a map, explaining where she was kept. Most importantly, she describes her kidnappers appearance.

With a whisper, she asked me what I planned on doing to them. She's still innocent even after what she went through. Still hopeful for my soul which left my body the second she was kidnapped. I kiss her again, refusing to say that I'm going to annihilate them. But maybe she already knows that.

Parting with her feels like I've lost her again. I send her off with five of my men, giving them strict instructions to return her safely.

And then I go hunting.

I exit the clinic, leaving behind a satisfied, well-paid doctor who yells, "thank you! Come again!"

I glare over my shoulder, not appreciating the invitation. Hazel will not be stepping into any more clinics. She will not be stepping off the estate grounds. I cannot risk losing her again. I got too close this time, and almost got burned.

I follow her map closely and arrive in front of a run-down building. It seems to have been a motel at one point. My men and I split up and look around. My boots fall loudly on the rotten floorboards and two rats scramble away. I don't care to hide my approach from the men. I want them to fear me like a death reaper.

"Lord!" one of my men shouts from across the building. I follow his voice and find him crouched over a man cowering in the corner. He reeks of chemicals. Just like Hazel did. His mark is all over her.

I thought my life was over when I lost her. Thankfully it was a false alarm.

"I can't say the same for you," I mutter to the wide-eyed, coughing, weak coward.

I scowl at him with my ugly, ruined face. By the end of the night, his face will match mine.

I will claim his life and with my tainted hands, I will return to Hazel and embrace her.

"You should pray now," I tell the man. "Your mouth won't be working in a few more minutes."

I land the first punch on his jaw. He recoils, screaming. My knuckles ache, but I relish in the pain. I punch him in the face and gut with all my strength—defensive moves Hazel couldn't manage. I didn't find her, but I'm here now, and I'll avenge her.

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