B2/03. Watchful Eye…

The Beast POV

He watches as she climbs out of the neighbour's car.

Her smile is like a small lantern in my dark existence. It gave me a little hope for our future. If only she had known that she would be selected to be his. He's wanted only her since he first laid eyes upon her.

"Thanks for the lift home, Dean Wilks and Mrs Wilks. I appreciated the intervention."

"Oh, I'll have none of that, young lady. It is Martha. We're neighbours, after all." The older woman waved off the formal title. He watched the women hug each other before Becca turned and headed down the street with one final wave to the couple. She only lived three doors down from where the older couple were. She was completely unaware that he was following her. He was always following her, always watching her.

He didn't initially select her as his. Like all the founding families, he got the selection listing before the school season started, and Becca wasn't among the options for mating. He thought she had declined the scholarship, and he had missed his chance. He had initially selected a different female from the program, but she came in as a later entry, and he could feel his heart stop with panic. Could he still remove his interest claim from the other girl? After all, she was always to be his.

She was enjoying life with her family when he spotted her during his travels three years ago. Something about her drew him in, and that was before he realized who she was. She wasn't meeting the criteria, though. She needed to be separated from her family to be accepted. The committee wouldn't take her application into the program if she had them in her life. They seemed too close for her to go missing from society. He had no choice but to take fate into his own hands. The car accident was easy enough, but it hurt him to watch her suffer the loss all alone. She had no one else to offer her any emotional comfort, which is what he wanted, but it hurt to watch her suffer from a distance. He only wanted to hold her and promise never to leave her alone.

She was the one best suited for him. His family was right. 'When you find your female, you know it.'

She was his. No one would take her from him. He didn't care how many others had shown interest in selecting her; she would only belong to him. Unlike the others, he wanted her before he realized the power she held. She would break this curse, but she would also raise you to power through mating.

It wasn't until he petitioned for her admittance into the program that his Grandfather realized precisely who she was. Grandfather pulled every string he had to get here. The odds of finding a female unmated and unprotected by the Royal family were rare. They had no idea, at first, why they were so far away from the Royal Courts or affiliated packs. Why were they living their lives like boring humans? Then, Grandfather did his research. The banished son, as he dubbed my precious mate's father. He forfeited his Lycan and now lives an unguarded existence with an expiration date. His role was to remove the threat of her family's interference. It would make it easier to claim her if she was alone. Killing the family was easy; her father was human now, but tracking her down afterward was not. She was relocated to a flat in a city metropolis. It seemed the Royal family only supported the female financially. What a curious thing to discover, but it made sense-they weren't Lycan shifters. That wasn't their world. Grandfather only saw Becca as a means to climb the ladder to ultimate power over this territory. What he saw was someone who would only be mine. Unfortunately, another family discovered her origins due to her Grandfather's string-pulling and wanted the same reward. Information has been leaked, and now they all seek to claim the top wolf status she offers. I will not share. I'll kill them all.

He watched as she counted the sidewalk panels and slowly drifted back to her residence. He knew the family who rented their home to her. They were part of the program, as well, but they had no more sons in need of selection. So, they entered their home into the program to utilize it as a lure. It worked. She was the best of the candidates.

Her hair always looked soft and full of life and bounce. Those blonde waves always reminded him of silk. He wanted to reach out and touch them.

He listens to the tune she hums as she continues her steps. He recognizes the song as a classic childhood nursery song. He wondered if it were a song her parents would sing her as a child. Would she forgive him if she found out that he was the reason her family was ripped away from her? It didn't matter anyway; what was done had to be done. He wouldn't live without her much longer.

She was seconds from her front yard. He moved in closer. He could breathe in her refreshing scent, which he had committed to memory. Her scent had never changed for three years, and it was his favourite. With enough time, she would learn to love his scent, too. Her scent was the only thing that calmed him now—the constant reminder that it would always be around him—just a little more waiting.

The sound of her jingling keys fills the air. He was about to be separated from her yet again. He watches as she unlocks the door and enters her home. The door closes, and shortly after he hears the deadbolt click into place, the front step lights are turned off. This signifies to anyone who knows her routine that she is in for the rest of the night.

Moving closer, hiding within the cover of the night, he watches her walk around the house through the windows. She hadn't drawn the blinds yet, so he could still get his visual fill of her. He knew he was obsessed, but that meant they were connected. They were meant to be together forever.

His black fur bristled against the side of the house as he walked to the next window, following her trail. He wondered if she'd run her slender fingers through his fur with the same enthusiasm he felt to run his larger hands through her bouncing waves of blonde silk.

His beast was becoming more demanding. They need to claim her soon. Too many males were taking notice. He saw it at the game tonight. While he sat there, forced to watch from afar, males were itemizing her features mere benches away. They knew not to touch her, but it was still starting to erk him. She was his. He had to pick up the pace in claiming her.

He wouldn't risk losing her, and his family would not accept his failure to secure their place in town. She was the key; he knew it and could feel it.

As he continued to watch, too much time had passed, and she looked ready for bed. Perhaps he could find his way in again and watch her for a little longer.

He looked around the side of the house for a quick way in, but a movement caught his attention in the bushes along her property line. Sniffing the air, he knew he wasn't the only animal walking along her property. His lips pulled back, and he snarled toward the intruder.

The three dogs emerged from the bushes and growled, accepting the challenge.

Foolish dogs! He thinks to himself and gives complete control to his beast. Tear them to pieces, he says in wait.

The three dogs fan out, all in an attack stance. They think they have him where they want him. Three against one doesn't mean you'll be the victor; it just means you're too much of a coward to stand alone. He wasn't, though. There was nothing weak about him, and his father ensured it.

He was the most dominant male in the program this year. He downplayed his strength, waiting to rise above the others, but he planned to show it, starting with these three pathetic domesticated mutts.

The first lunged at him. He dodged the attack quickly and wasted no time tearing out its throat.

No mercy! His beast roared within them.

The second dog was just as easy. The yelping started to draw lights from the neighbouring houses, but he did not attempt to hide. These dogs would not survive their foolish insult.

After realizing he was alone, the third dog tried to run away, but the beast didn't allow any of that to happen. He made it to Becca's front yard. The beast assumed he was attempting to return to his owners, but he was too slow for such a primal predator.

Catching him by his hind legs, the beast swung him around like a ragdoll. He was shaking the fight out of the dog. His teeth ripped through the warm and welcoming belly of the defeated animal. His snot coated in the blood of his enemies, the beast turned to Becca's home only to realize that she stood in the doorway bearing witness to the gory sight. She couldn't see the extent of his c*****e, but she would know that animals were fighting viciously because of the sounds.

Her mouth gaped open in startled fear. No words came, but there was this pinched squeak of a sound that came.

"What's going on out there?" Someone next door called out. More lights around the house turned on, and the beast knew he needed to leave. There were strict rules for them to follow, and humans could never discover what happened in the shadows of this town. Otherwise, the program would be at risk.

It wasn't alarming if a few university girls dropped out and went missing. It was expected, considering how challenging a post-secondary can be, especially a prestigious one like theirs. That was why they had specific recruitment criteria for candidates: to ensure that no one would take notice. The occasional animal attack was also acceptable, being this centralized in the forest, but witnesses could not see a beast's proper form. It would unravel a hundred years of secrecy and selection process.

Taking one final look back at his stunned female, he turns and runs into the dark forest, leaving the neighbourhood to clear the torn pups in the morning. They would cover it up; after all, they wouldn't want a startled candidate this early in the season.

He wondered how she would react in the morning if she saw the extent of his hunt. He was protecting her territory, and if she only knew the truth, she would favour his actions. Someday, she'd thank him. Women love a protective male, after all.