Beasts Within by Lexi Lewis Read Free Book Online Page B

alone.”
                  “What’s that supposed to mean? And how do you know? I could have a pack.” Way to sound like a petulant child there, Karic. He sighed. What was it about this woman that turned him into a babbling idiot?
                  “Nothing bad,” she said quickly, holding her hands up. “Just that you don’t seem like you would get along with other shifters very well. Most of them have the same views as you family from what I’ve seen. And I can tell because you only smell like you. Pack bonding leaves a different scent.”
                  “Well, you only smell like you, too. But you have a pride,” he pointed out.
                  Camilla smiled sadly. “There isn’t really a bond there. Which is why I had to leave.” And then she was abruptly changing the subject. “Is your mother a human?”
                  “She was,” Karic replied. “She was killed when I was really young. My father got on the wrong side of another pack, and… They knew what his weakness was.”
                  “Oh. I’m…so sorry. That’s terrible.”
                  “Yeah, it was. I think…well. She was the only human my dad really respected. And when she was killed, he tried to blame it on her fragile human nature instead of himself for getting mixed up in stuff he shouldn’t have been messing with. I don’t think I’ve ever really forgiven him for that, and it’s just another reason why I don’t want to get mixed up with packs and pack dynamics.”
                  Camilla nodded. “I think you’re smart for that. But…you shouldn’t isolate yourself because none of that was your fault.” She laughed bitterly. “I know how it feels to be singled out for special powers and how it feels to want so badly to be normal and to belong at the same time. Being along doesn’t make it any better.”
                  Her words were gentle, but they hit Karic somewhere deep. He had never really bothered to think about how alone he really was, filling his hours with work and sleeping for the most part. He told himself that he spent his time helping people, which was more worthwhile than anything else he could be doing. But sometimes, coming home to an empty, dark house was more depressing than he liked to admit to himself.
                  “I’m fine,” he said softly, tossing her a smile. “Being alone has never really bothered me, and I’m usually too busy to notice anyway.”
                  Before Camilla could reply, the drier buzzed, and Karic was pushing off from where he had been leaning against the wall. “Your clothes are dry. I’m just going to go…get them. So you can change. And yeah.”
                  It was disconcerting how well Camilla could read him, and he found himself wondering if he was really that transparent or if she was just observant. Allie and the other nurses were always telling him that he needed a nice young lady (“or young man if you prefer, Karic, dear”) to look after him, that he was getting closer to thirty and needed to settle down, but he’d always brushed that off because he could take care of himself, and he usually was the one who did the looking after anyway. But there was a part of him that really did want companionship, and he warned himself not to get too attached to the strange lion girl who he’d found. She would be leaving as soon as she could, and he would be alone again. Which was fine. Yes. Perfectly fine with him. The way he preferred it, really.
                  When he returned with her clothes, Camilla looked regretful. “I’m sorry if I said too much,” she said as soon as he walked back in. “I’m bad sometimes at knowing when to stop talking, and I didn’t mean to upset you. Or imply that your life isn’t good enough. What do I know, right?”
                  Karic