Read Online Burden to Bear by Amira Rain - Free Book Online Page B

harmed.  He rebuked himself for not crashing through that door and stopping the snake demon earlier. 
    He would have to wait until he was able to shift back to human form before he could attend to her.  Somehow, despite the crazed trepidation he was feeling over the welfare of the woman he loved, he had to calm himself down, so that he could shift back.  There was no way he could exit this building until he appeared normal again.
    He trudged through the condominium, routing through cabinets and knocking down dishes.  Before it struck, he detected a whiff of another snake creature.
    He leaped into the air, just missing the sharp fangs of another snake demon in his back. Wilson must have been living with a friend.
    Wilson’s friend struck his fangs into a wooden bookcase instead.  He wriggled desperately, trying to extract himself.  Douglas crept behind him and grabbed both his legs.  The snake demon hissed savagely but was still unable to free himself.
    Douglas jerked the demon’s legs in opposite directions, and tore the creature to pieces.  Snarling, he quickly backed away from the glistening gray puddle of demon juices that gathered on the floor.  This snake demon was much older than the other.  Possibly it was an ancestor of the other.  He gagged.  The odor from this one was abhorrent.
    After carefully checking the remainder of the rooms for any more snake demons, he resumed his search for Wilson’s liquor stash.  He found it in one of the kitchen cabinets.  Wilson had been such a snob, it appeared he had only drank wine.  Wine was not Douglas’ favorite, but for the purposes of relaxing his body to unshift from were-bear form, it would suffice.
    His first attempt to open a bottle was a disaster.  There was no way he could pull out a corkscrew with clumsy paws and long claws.  He decided to do this the lazy way. He pushed the stopper into the bottom of the kitchen sink and lodged it in as far as it would go.  Then he smashed all the bottles of wine into the sink, shoved away all the glass he could, and lapped up as the remaining wine.
    When he finished licking up every drop of wine, he felt slightly buzzed.  He crashed onto Wilson’s couch in the living room.  A few minutes later, he felt his limbs shrinking and his skin tightening.
    Tufts of hair and immense bloody teeth were scattered on the floor around him.  He ran to the bathroom and peered into the mirror.  He was back in his human form.
    He raced to Sarah and crouched over her. She was very pale, and her breathing was shallow.  She needed help immediately.
    He grabbed a pair of workout shorts and a t-shirt from Wilson’s top dresser drawer.  They were too small, but it was better he was clothed, no matter how ridiculously, than have someone see him strut outdoors naked carrying an unconscious woman.  He foraged around the far end of the room until he found Wilson’s pants.  He delved into the pockets and removed the Ferrari keys.
    He easily hoisted Sarah in his arms and went to the hallway.  Thankfully, no one was about.  He went to the back stairway and jogged down it, cradling Sarah carefully in his arms.
    Once outside, he quickly sidled to the front of the building and unlocked Wilson’s car with the key fob.   Then he positioned Sarah upright in the passenger’s side of Wilson’s car, cursing the fact that the tiny Ferrari had no back seat.  He jumped inside and quickly drove away.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 9
     
    Douglas left the city behind and drove at top speed for the country.  His grandfather lived on a small estate, about two hours from the university.  Grandfather had a few tenants on his estate, and one of them was a healer.  Douglas hoped with all his heart that the healer could help Sarah.
    From time to time, he could hear Sarah moaning in the back seat.  Once she even called his name.  His heart warmed that she remembered him even in her critical condition.  He pressed his foot on the gas even