Free Beastly Desires by Nikki Winter

standing still was impossible. Swallowing to regain moisture in her mouth had become a chore. Every draw of air did nothing but send her into a tailspin because all she could smell, all she could taste was him. If she didn’t leave now…
    “What’re you doing?”
    Kamali cringed at the accusatory tone floating from the doorway of Callum’s room. He’d moved down the hall, preferring to have his own bed because he’d apparently outgrown sleeping next to her.
    Turning, she met his stare, a few of his shirts in her grasp, his suitcase open in the middle of the floor. “Packing, love.”
    His eye narrowed. “Why?”
    She sighed. “Because we have to leave.”
    “No.” Callum shook his head. “I don’t want to leave. I want—”
    “Callum, we have to—”
    “What about Kaisal?” His small hand fisted at his sides. “He promised we’d be safe here, that we could stay here. I want to stay.”
    Dropping his things, she crouched to eye level. “That’s not a promise he can keep, if ¹ , and I won’t risk you. So we have to leave.” Kamali reached out and ran her fingertips down his temple. “We can’t hide away here forever.”
    “I want to say good-bye.”
    “Callum—”
    “No!” He jerked away. “I want to say good-bye to Kaisal!”
    Kamali reached for him but came away wanting. He moved faster than she could anticipate and was down the hall in minutes. She charged after him and heard the front door swing open. “Callum!”
    Shooting through the cabin, she cleared the couch and went straight toward the entrance. She hit the front steps and caught sight of a bright green shirt amongst the droves of white-covered earth just outside. Kamali called his name. By the time she hit the pavement, her feet came out from under her, ice now controlling her movements. Every ounce of air previously stored in her lungs left the moment her back connected with the ground. She tried to draw in a breath and almost choked. Her chest felt as if would cave in at any moment. Kamali lay there, blinking back the moisture in her eyes until the pain dissipated and she was able to inhale again.
    Sitting up slowly, she got to her feet and carefully stepped her way through the snow, tracking Callum’s steps as she went along. Frustration mounted the longer she walked. Frustration with herself, with Kaisal, with the shitstorm that was her life. She should’ve known he’d want to attach himself to the only male who’d ever shown him something other than tolerance. In just a few hours of time, the tiger had provided everything her son had been missing in Alfre, in Enilo, and in her—a healthy, testosterone-laden influence. He’d been kind and gentle with an infinite amount of patience, almost as if he needed to be around Callum as much as Callum needed to be around him. But they couldn’t stay. Kaisal wasn’t theirs to keep and vice versa. He had his own life, his own family, and his own issues. To bring Nico down on his head after all the inexplicable decency he’d shown her would be selfish. Kamali wouldn’t do that to him; she wouldn’t do that to his pride.
    She kept her eyes on the ground, no longer aware of the freezing temperatures surrounding her or the iciness seeping into her limbs. As always, Callum was her priority. Kamali needed to explain to him that leaving was best for everyone, no matter how hard it may be.

***
    “Kaisal!”
    Basanti and Naresh’s confused eyes met his just across the kitchen island where’d they’d been seated for the last hour, debating the newest mock-up for personalized security systems.
    Basanti’s head tilted. “Is that…?”
    “Kaisal!”
    He rose from his position and headed for the back door. A quick glance through the windowpane gave him a glimpse of riotous hair, a bright green shirt, and fast legs. Without hesitation, Kaisal swung the door open and started down the deck. “Cal?”
    The cub’s movements never ceased; he powered forward, leaping from the bottom step