AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Acid crawls up my throat, and I swallow it before my gag reflex makes me lose the bile that sloshes around in my gut all over the inside of my car.
Breathe.
In. Out.
Repeat.
Time ticks by slowly, the digital clock on the dashboard clicking over minute by minute as I continue to ascend through skeletal reaching branches that scrape along the roof and sides of the car. Even they seem intent on holding me back, preventing anyone from getting to the peak—a warning from Mother Nature that even she knows not to fuck with The Beast.
The sun disappears fully behind the mountain, darkening my drive even more. Only my high beams pointed in front of me make anything visible—two streams of light in the pitch blackness.
But I can feel it…
Something watches me from just beyond the reach of the light.
Eyes follow me from the trees.
Black bears, wolves, mountain lions…
All the above and more prowl this forest and share the mountain with The Beast—the only breathing things dumb enough to do so.
Except me, apparently.
Though, I’m not dumb, just desperate to save the man who has given his life for me. Who raised me on his own. Who’s never been anything but generous and loving and giving. Who time and again put aside his needs for mine. A man who made a mistake that I won’t allow to cost him his life.
This has to work.
And there’s no turning back now.
Even if I wanted to, there isn’t any physical way to turn around on this road until I reach the top.
Which seems to be taking an eternity.
Each passing second eats away at my resolve.
By the time the moon starts to come out almost an hour into my ascent, barely filtering through the canopy, my whole body shakes violently, the pent-up tension and fear ready to shatter me completely. But the forest starts to thin in front of me, and it suddenly opens into a clearing with a circular gravel drive that leads up to a house that makes my jaw drop.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I brake and lean forward to stare up at it through the windshield.
The huge cabin-style mansion stands in the dead center of the glade. Completely out of place here, tucked away on the mountain, the almost regal structure bears the evidence of its age.
Dark, worn stone.
Ancient hand-hewn beams that look wider than the damn car.
Towering three stories, with beautiful windows that must hold stunning views of the mountains and valleys that surround this place.
How the hell did they build this up here?
The treacherous road I just drove up would have made it impossible to bring up building materials and all the workers it would require for a mansion like this, especially back then, without the technology we have today.
But if anyone could do it, it would be the Barkers.
The Beast’s ancestors likely built it, but now, this is his domain—his throne room, where he controls the entire Barker empire.
What the hell are you doing, Cal?
