Free Immortal Craving (Dark Dynasties) by Kendra Leigh Castle

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    “Don’t touch me!” Tasmin roared, his voice utterly inhuman. Everything was too much, the light, the sound, the mere presence of other people. The desire to rip into them, to see their blood spray across the walls and floor while he sank his teeth into them, was so strong he was almost choking on it. He needed space, needed to be able to breathe, to make this go away.
    Ty put up his hands, but he didn’t back off. The look he shared with Eric said it all. They thought he was insane, dangerous.
    Tasmin had a horrible feeling they were right.
    He had to get out of here.
    Eric watched him steadily with his wolf’s eyes. “Take it easy. You’re safe.”
    But he wasn’t, and he knew it. He was never safe, not when he carried these awful impulses within himself. There was only one way he might find some relief. He needed the night air. He needed to shed this skin and run.
    For all these months, letting the lion emerge had been his last refuge, the only way to keep from losing himself.
    “You want me gone?
Fine
. With pleasure.”
    “Tasmin, wait,” Ty began. But it was too late for that. Tasmin shoved through Eric and Ty, feeling a brief, welcome instant of relief that they let him go without a fight. He had the vaguest impression of Eric stepping after him, of Ty holding Eric back, but then there was only the blessed release of his body’s shifting form, lengthening, stretching. The lion roared through him like fire as he picked up speed, springing into a run. He hit the top of the stairs on foot.
    He hit the bottom on four massive paws.
    Tasmin’s perception changed, became simpler. His senses sharpened, and all of his pain and fury and fear receded just enough to focus on the single most important task at hand.
    Getting out.
    There was a startled yelp from someone who had spotted him. He ignored it, all his attention on the front door. It slammed open as though there was a strong wind, and Tasmin bounded through it, paws hitting the cold, hard ground outside. He rushed into the dark, into the cold night air that was far less brutal now that he wore his fur, hot breath rising as steam in the dark. All he wanted was to run until he dropped… until he could finally escape the one who had become his biggest enemy.
    Himself.
    Ty and Eric appeared in the open doorway, watching him vanish.
    “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Eric said.
    Ty tracked the last, faint flash of golden fur before Tasmin rounded the corner, then shook his head. A lion’s roar, one of the most anguished sounds Ty thought he had ever heard, echoed to the cold stars above.
    “You’re telling me.”

chapter
FIVE
    B AY STOOD AT THE WINDOW , watching the snow begin to drift down from the sky in fat, lazy flakes, illuminated by the soft glow of the streetlights. She smiled and took a sip from the warm mug she held in both hands, savoring the taste of chocolate and cream as it hit her tongue. Hot cocoa had definitely been the right choice for tonight. In a couple of months, once the holidays had passed, she knew she’d groan at the sight of a single snowflake. But tonight, this first snowfall was magical.
    Grimm sat beside her, gazing regally out onto his domain. Bay reached a hand down and stroked his head. There was nothing better than watching the snow inside a warm house with cocoa and a dog. She already had the fire going. Maybe she’d put on something classic, like Sinatra, and curl up on the couch. It should have been movie night, but Lily, not surprisingly, had canceled.
    Bay tried not to hold it against her. Lily’s new duties took a lot out of her, and last night had been… tough.Their brief conversation earlier had been way too polite, doing a lousy job of covering up hurt feelings on both sides. It was so frustrating. Why couldn’t they just
talk
anymore without all of this crazy vampire stuff getting in the way? Of course, it wasn’t like Lily needed to lean on Bay as much, now that she had such a well-matched