Pack Justice (Nature of the Beast Book 1) by RJ Blain Read Free Book Online Page A

into it and stretched.
    My back creaked and my muscles were sore, but the exercise had done me good. I was in better shape than the lawyers who didn’t go to the gym, but my cheetah was responsible for that.
    Maybe he was incorporeal, but I was convinced he kept my body lean no matter what I ate. Magic worked in mysterious ways; I didn’t exactly have anyone I could ask about how—and why—I had a ghostly feline haunting me all the time, or what sort of things he did to me as a result of his presence. At least the runs we took kept me fit enough.
    Idette smiled, and the tenderness of her expression reminded me of the woman I had fallen in love with so many years ago. “It’s quiet out here.”
    “I tried to find somewhere you’d like.”
    “What do you think is in the woods?” She spun around, staring into the dark trees. If we wanted to go into the forest, we’d have to break a trail. My cheetah purred at the idea, striding to the tree line to wait.
    “I suppose we’ll have to find out,” I replied. A blast of warmth from my spirit beast filled my chest, strong enough I was torn between wincing from the discomfort and smiling at his enthusiasm.
    “You’re not scared?” Idette smirked at me before heading for the trees.
    “Should I be?”
    “There might be wolves,” she taunted.
      “In a resort area? I really doubt it, Idette.”
    “If we meet one, you’ll have an interesting story to tell your lawyer friends.”
    “True.” The last thing I wanted was an interesting story to tell anyone once I returned to Los Angeles. With a stalker waiting for me at home and a divorce looming on the horizon, dull and boring meant safe; I doubted I’d be able to enjoy the illusion of security anytime soon.
    To pretend I was a normal human, I had to fumble around in the dark despite my cheetah granting me good night vision. I didn’t need to take his shape, either. As long as I had at least a little light, as long as he remained near me, I had no trouble making out the detail of the few leaves still clinging to their branches, the rocks half-buried under decaying foliage, and the skittering of small animals fleeing our presence in their woods.
    Idette slid through the trees and brush, leaving no evidence of her passage. Growling his discontent, my cheetah bumped against my legs, his fur standing on end. I soothed him with a few strokes of my hand, and narrowing my eyes, I followed after my wife.
    A hunting feline’s instinct was to prowl in silence, stalking after prey. My cheetah wanted to rid us both of Idette, and his desire for violence stirred my blood, tempting me to free myself in a very permanent way.
    He encouraged me to act, and in his urgings, I was aware of something else, a promise of freedom in the wild. Once we were released from Idette, we could run and avoid the human world, leaving it behind for the hunt.
    His body wouldn’t age, and he would share with me until no one remembered Sean Scott had ever existed. The idea of becoming an unsolved mystery intrigued me.
    It would solve so many things for everyone, especially for me. Cats didn’t care about the world of men; they were above it, outside of it, and flitted in and out of it at their discretion, and my cheetah offered it all to me.
    I couldn’t sense any hesitation from my spirit beast, only the hope of remaining with me until the end of days.
    “Sean?” Idette called, and I was so focused on my cheetah’s wishes, I hadn’t realized I had come to a halt.
    “Coming. You’re quite a bit better at this than me.” While I lied, it was also the truth; as long as I pretended to be human, she would always be better at skulking through the woods at night.
      “Don’t fall behind!” Her voice sounded farther away, and her mocking laughter filled the quiet forest.
    My cheetah growled, and I echoed him. Together, we hunted Idette. The beast in me wanted to end the chase in bloodshed.
    The human in me didn’t care, and that worried me most