The Beast of Fox Hill

Twenty Five

My mind contorted with the words that had slipped from Cassander's mouth. Everything was a bit too much for me. The whole mating thing and the possibility of me dying during a pregnancy was all too dark for my mind. I was a horror author, yes, but those were stories and now I was being thrown into my own personal thriller novel. 

"Are you okay?" Cassander asks, his face showing concern.

"I don't know," I say honestly. "It's all too much right now," I admit. 

"It is fine to feel that way, Jasper. I would never push you to do anything you were not comfortable with. My only fear is that my wolf side will want more than you are comfortable to offer, and he may try to take over," he says trying to say it softly. 

"You have a split personality?" I ask, raising an eye brow at the tall man. 

"Of sorts, yes, but we can communicate to one another. It is like having two souls who can speak to each other and collaborate," he explains. I just give him a simple nod, not fully understanding the whole wolf side thing still. Honestly, it was far passed the point where my brain was mush and wanting to rest its cells. 

Silence washes over us and I look down to my fingers in my lap. I sigh out and close my eyes, trying to soothe my aching brain. 

"Jasper," Cassander's deep, smooth voice fills my ears once again and I hum in response, turning my gaze off of my fingers and to his deep emerald eyes. 

"Would you like to go on a date?" Cassander asks. His face seems to blush slightly and I can not help the small smile that finds its way onto my lips. 

"Sure. I would like that," I say, my soft smile remaining on my mouth. Cassander's face brightens with a smile of his own. 

"Great! I'm thinking maybe two days from now? I can pick you up," he says confidently. 

"Perfect," I respond, thinking of what sort of date Cassander would plan. 

In all honesty, there was clearly much to learn about the alpha wolf of Fox Hill, and I was fully ready to take it all in. I was not fully ready to step into this position of his mate and be someone who was at his side all the time, but I was willing to get to know the man better. 

"What should I wear?" I question as well as trying to get a hint at what sort of date Cassander may plan. 

"A dress, most likely. Nothing super fancy, but something nice," he states after thinking a moment. 

I feel my head begin to fog and become drowsy. Cassander took little time to notice my tiring body, and he stood from the bed. 

"You should rest. I can take you back to your place later," he says with a small smile. I feel comfortable around him though I know some of his darkest secrets and I know perhaps one day I will know them all. As though it were instinct, I grab onto his arm as he begins to walk away. 

"Stay?" I say not wanting to be alone, or more specifically away from Cassander at this point. 

He does not hesitate to turn the light off and return to the bed next to me. I feel the bed dip, and then a strong arm drape over my middle. I let out a sigh of relief and comfort as I snuggle my back to Cassander's large frame. As though I had been drugged, I find myself growing ever more comfortable and falling asleep quickly in Cassander's arms. 

Visions flash through my mind, ones filled with blood and pain. They settle to a vision of myself, my belly swollen and large due to a growing fetus inside of me. Cassander stands tall and proud by my side. 

Suddenly, the belly on me stretches with a claw like print through my skin as I begin to scream. Cassander's face grows happier as he watches my belly being mutilated from the inside. I scream more as I can feel my insides being torn through as the creature growing within me tears its way out. Blood finally splatters out of me as a small claw pushes its way out of my womb.