Chapter 4

Rolling in the bed, not able to even blink, Monica waited till the clock hit four a.m. and there was no sound from the other occupied room. She carefully got out of bed, stepping on her toes, and reached the frame of her door. Not having to think about opening it and causing unnecessary noise turned out to be relieving. Now, only if she could sneak past the hall and the stairs, and reach the main entrance of the house...

Quietly tiptoeing through the hall, Monica mentally cheered herself when she reached the stairs. She glanced back and listened. There was no noise. She lifted her foot and took the first step. Then the second, then the third.

Her heart started racing in her chest, and she tried to calm it down. She couldn't risk Beast hearing it. Reaching the last step, Monica glanced at the entrance door and the key hanging from the hole shone in her eyes. Realizing she had almost reached her target, her brain revved up in overdrive, and she quickly tiptoed to it, grabbing it and turning it over. Scared she might wake the monster up, Monica glanced at the stairs to see them empty and swiftly opened the door, exiting it.

Freedom! She wanted to scream, but her desire to survive made her stop, and she sprinted in the mud. It was still pouring, the cold rain was quickly soaking into her clothes and red hair. But she was running! She was escaping to her safe haven!

When Monica reached Ms. Carrera's house, she was going to grab her, push her into her car, and drive them to the city. And then... Then she was going to call the police and say she had escaped from a man that had tried to kidnap her. She wasn't going to say he was a werewolf. Nobody would believe her.

When the police came to the house, and still found the grumpy blond man inside, then if he gave himself away, they were going to find out. Monica was not telling. She didn't want to sound crazy.

Reaching the trees on the side of her house, a big shadow passed in front of her eyes. She yelped in surprise and almost fell in the dirt. Her naked feet were so dirty that the mud almost reached her knees.

Did she just see things? Monica couldn't hear anything else besides the rain and thunders. The shadow was gone. She frowned. Of course, there were other creatures in the forest, and they were as lethal as the werewolf. Maybe she just stood a bigger chance in escaping them. She knew if the wolfman caught her, there would be no way out for her.

Monica fisted her hands, preparing to fight if she had to. Please, let this be a squirrel, she begged. A squirrel bigger than a human but whatever. She sprinted again, and her skin prickled when the wind brought a distant growl in her ear. He was here! He was! She was certain of that.

Running in the mud with her heart racing times faster than her, she slipped and scratched her whole left leg on the root of a tree. She tumbled on the ground, hitting her arm in the process, and quickly rolled over, sitting on her but.

“Fuck me!” she swore under her nose, holding her arm close to her chest. Judging by the pain, she wasn't going to get surprised if her bone was broken.

“Do you think someone would do it when you're so stupid?” A male voice made her look up, and Monica saw Beast, standing in front of her, his jeans on. So what, the shadow she had seen was just a trick of her mind? Or had he shifted so quickly?

Beast knelt in front of her, his eyes traveling around her wounds. Monica quickly put her hand over the blood on her leg, hoping that smelling and seeing it wouldn't trigger him somehow.

Beast sighed and stepped closer to her. He snaked his arms around her and effortlessly lifted her. Monica yelped, taking a sharp breath in, and started fighting his embrace.

A small growl escaped his lips, and she froze.

“Why would you even try to escape from a werewolf? Haven't you done your research? I can hear everything around me, even in my sleep,” he coldly said.

Monica grunted, her sassy side not satisfied she was being insulted again.

“Maybe I'm just braver than you think?”

He looked at her, and her sassiness jumped into the river. “Brave enough to break your arm?”

Monica swallowed. She had probably done it. Her arm was probably really broken. She glanced at it.

“I need a doctor,” she mumbled, hoping Beast would agree.

A quiet exhale was her only answer.

...

After Beast had let her soak in the shower, Monica gently sneaked her arm through the towel and sighed. A knock on the door startled her.

“Get out.” His gruff voice rumbled through the wood, and limping, Monica exited the bathroom.

When she entered the hall, she saw Beast had found one of her hair ties and had tied his blond hair in it. There were some locks falling out of it, but otherwise, his face looked cleaner and more open without all the hair sticking to it.

Beast jerked his head to her bedroom, and Monica obediently headed to it. He made her sit on her bed, and she noticed he had taken her medical kit from under her bed. When he opened it, the redhead gasped.

“I need a doctor,” she stubbornly repeated, her cheeks flushing.

“That's what you're getting!” Beast snapped, and Monica gulped in fear.

However, watching him carefully, she could see he really knew what he was doing. He was wrapping her arm in a bandage, careful not to inflict her more pain.

“I am a professional veterinarian and I saved your life, and that's what I get?” she grumbled under her breath, a bit annoyed.

“And who said I wasn't?” Beast grumbled and gave her a pointed look.

“Well—”

“Just because I'm a werewolf, you think I'm a caveman and know nothing? You're quite narrow-minded,” he commented.

Monica pulled her arm away, stubbornly ignoring the pain.

“Maybe it's because I know nothing about you, your kind, your past or even your name!” She scoffed, now mad.

“You don't need to. I'll stay here for at most a month, and after that, I'll disappear from your life as if I've never even been here!” he said, not even looking at her. He took her arm and continued bandaging it.

“If you say so...” Monica narrowed her eyes, still stuck on his face. Not knowing what took over her, she added, “Beast.”

Beast lifted his gaze from her arm, and his brows furrowed just a tiny bit.

“I am not a beast!” he grunted. “You know nothing about the beasts roaming around in the human world!” He stood up, his nostrils flaring.

“Those treacherous, disgusting humans!” he screamed and waved with his hand, but when Monica flinched, afraid he'd hit her, he halted.

“You saved my life,” Beast continued in a grim tone. “I owe it to you. I'd never hurt you, but stop calling me beast when you don't even know me.”

“T-then what?” she stumbled, glancing up at him.

“A.,” he murmured a few seconds later. “That's enough. It's better if you don't know my name.” A. turned around, exiting the room.

Monica let out a breath. A. What could A. equal to?