Taming Of The Beast - 4. Chapter 4

The walk deeper into the woods seemed to have been dragging on somewhat. Whenever he had the chance, Mason would steal glances at Bastian. He watched as he flashed an intoxicating smile towards Hale and Luciana. This man was finding ways of creeping into Mason’s heart every time he looked at him. He wanted, no needed, to make things work with Bastian. He needed to become the person Collin knew he could be. The laugh he heard coming from Bastian made this every bit as hard as Mason imagined it would be. He needed to stop being an idiot and open himself up to Bastian. His wolf approved of the game plan, bringing a sense of ease to Mason. His wolf wanted to claim what was his, before others started to get ideas.

Once they were all deep enough in the woods that they were certain nobody would bother them, the lycans and wolves looked at each other. Bastian walked past everyone followed closely by Luciana. Using his heightened others sense of smell and hearing, he made sure that nobody was going to interrupt them; the last thing he needed was someone witnessing the training. Certain they were alone, he turned and grinned uncontrollably as he locked eyes with Taron, who seemed to know what he was thinking.

“Alright guys, give us some room,” Taron said as he grinned at Hale.

Bastian took off his sweater. “Those of you who want to go for a run, can. Taron and I are going to do our own little training.”

He saw the looks of confusion from the wolves but shook them off.

Mason looked around the group and asked, “What’s going on? I thought we were going to go for a run.”

Hale shook his head. “Sometimes, Bastian and Taron like to get the ball rolling by doing a little warm-up. Now, please no one get too agitated; we are just having fun.” He was obviously worried about the wolves.

Bastian watched as the group gave them more room. This kind of training could be brutal at times, but it helped more than one would have thought.

As he walked toward Luciana, he pulled his cell phone and other devices out of his pocket to hand to her. Bastian watched as Taron stood on the other side waiting for him. He took a deep breath and was ready for anything. Taron was a very calculating individual. His huge body and strength gave him an advantage. However, Bastian knew Taron well and knew what to expect. Bastian noticed when Taron nodded his way.

“Don’t hold back,” Bastian said with a devious grin.

“I never do,” replied Taron with a smirk.

Taron nodded again and positioned himself. He charged towards Bastian with all of his might. He watched as Bastian calmly stood there waiting. As Taron got closer to The Prince, Bastian suddenly ran towards Taron. Before Taron could reach for him, Bastian jumped over Taron’s head and was on Taron’s back in an instant, forcing him to the ground. The attack was just the beginning for both; however, they both knew there would be no winners or losers today. This was about training to better themselves.

They were both in their human forms. Taron recovered quickly and then lunged at Bastian again. This time he held on to Bastian and threw him The Prince, however, landed on his feet. Taron grinned at Bastian.

Bastian shook his head as he ran straight at Taron, who threw a punch at the Prince. Bastian deflected the hit. Bastian managed to get Taron on his back, and grinned down at him. . They heard the approval of the others through their applause and whistles.

When Bastian got distracted momentarily by Luciana’s cheering, Taron flipped him over and threw him towards their cheering fans, landing on Luciana.

Once they were up, she observed, “Your shirt’s torn.”

“Shit.” He ripped it off with one move.

The wounds that he received from the whips and cuts had healed, leaving scars in their place. They were a constant reminder of the hurt he went through. The wolves gasped audibly when Bastian handed his shirt to Luciana. Bastian knew they had questions, which he was not ready to answer just yet.

He walked towards Taron and commanded, “Shift.”

Taron having never been embarrassed of his body, walked towards the guys, stripped, and laid his clothes on the ground. He then shifted. The beast that stood before them was a magnificently beautiful creature. Bastian’s eyes glowed deep blue as his beast was awoke. He was ready to give it his best shot.

Mason watched in awe at what unfolded in front of his eyes. He was amazed at the skill his mate possessed. When Bastian turned his back, Mason was again shocked by the number of scars that covered his back. He didn’t realize at first that he was growling. His wolf was pissed to see this permanent reminder of some past pain.

“What happened to him?” He heard himself ask.

Hale, Drew and Luciana looked at each other. “That happened when they kidnapped him,” Luciana said, saving both Hale and Drew from answering.

“Why haven’t they healed?” Jesse asked.

Hale sighed, “They mixed wolfsbane and silver together and that is the result.”

Drew continued, “He doesn’t’ talk about them the memories are too painful.” The pang of regret was obvious in all of the lycans voices.

Mason watched his mate closely. He at least looked happy. He was smiling and laughing despite landing on his ass a few times. He wondered how long it took for his mate to find that happiness after he returned from enduring so much pain.

A vibrating nose snapped him out of his thoughts. He watched as Luciana looked at Bastian’s phone. “Time out, boys. B, it’s your brother.” Bastian bolted towards her and took his phone. Before he answered, he turned to Drew and said, “Your turn. Give him hell.” Drew nodded before he was standing in front of Taron who still hadn’t shifted back to his human form.

Taking a deep breathe Bastian answered the call, “Hey bro. What’s the word?”

As the conversation progressed, Bastian got angrier and angrier. Finally, he said, “I’m going to rip his throat out.” More was said on the other end before Bastian replied, “I’m always careful, big brother. I never told him I was the Prince. I didn’t want him to try to make me his mate. You send some hunters from your side and we’ll hunt from this side. If he’s still pissed, finding him will be easy. I won’t hesitate to get the answers I want from him if he was involved.”

Bastian noticeably relaxed, until he tensed up before he said, “I wanted to do it face to face. Just don’t tell anyone else yet. If someone out there is after me I need this finished first.”

He heard the worry in his brother’s voice. “I’ll be fine, bro. Send my love to Cam and Dahlia and mom and dad for me. Tell them I’m fine.” A few moments later, the call ended and Bastian called for Taron and Drew to join them.

“There’s no way for me to say this gently so here goes ―” He swallowed hard. “We need to leave for a couple of days. We have a meeting with an Alpha, then a few days hunting for one person and with what he can give us, maybe more.”

“Who are we hunting?” Hale asked.

Bastian sighed “Trevor. We are to keep him alive; we need to get the information he knows. Then he’s fair game.”

“Who is Trevor” Collin asked.

“An asshole ex,” Bastian replied. “More like a one night stand”

“Why are we going after him?” Drew asked.

“He knows something about the pack abductions and about me apparently. He’s been barking so loud that someone took notice. It wasn’t an accident we were at that club while the fight was going on. Someone wanted us to take notice. I want to know why.” Bastian knew he was getting angrier and needed to calm down.

Taron nodded “Somebody needs to do some research on that Stone guy back at the club. I don’t trust him.”

“You need to be able to shift, Bastian. This can turn bad fast” Hale said.

Bastian agreed. “I’ll be able to shift by then. If someone’s trying to get to me, then fuck it. I’m not hiding.” Even though he knew they would help, he couldn’t ask the wolves to go with them. Their world was dangerous. Especially when it came to catching people who committed crimes against their kind.

He turned to the assembled group and smiled a killer smile. “I thought you all were going on a run.”

*****

Mason could feel his wolf’s pain when he thought of Bastian leaving his side. Mason knew that the nightmares would come back the moment his mate left. He wanted Bastian where he could see him and protect him. Bastian was the most precious possession Mason had. He couldn’t lose that; he couldn’t let him leave. He watched as the lycans separated and stripped out of the clothes. Then they all shifted into their animal forms, except for Bastian and himself. He walked over to Bastian. The pride in his eyes as he watched everyone shift was beautiful.

“You miss it?” Mason asked.

Bastian nodded. “Yes, my animal is trying to rip through my skin trying to get out.”

Mason understood all too well, he knew the hell he was in. “Why can’t you stay? Your friends can go in your place?”

Bastian knew what he was asking. However, no matter what kind of pain he was in, he was never one to back away from something. “I push through the pain.” He wanted to laugh but he didn’t . “I can’t let them do this alone. I need to be there too, I would fight till the death for my friends and family and they would do the same for me. I will be fine, I promise.”

Mason snorted. “You can’t promise that. I don’t want you to leave”

“I will be back, Mason. Don’t worry. It’s just a few days and then we’ll fix this,” Bastian said smiling. “It’ll give both of us time to think about us.”

He was right. He looked at his mate and asked, “Have you ever been in love, Bastian?”

Bastian shook his head “No, I’ve always thought love was too damn fickle, so I closed myself off to it. I’ve always told myself instead of love, I would believe in lust at first sight. It seemed better for me. No one has been enough for me to want more.”

Mason chuckled “And now?”

“I’m having second thoughts” Bastian said, smiling at his mate.