Saving the Beast Read Online Free PDF

off a litany of what if’s in her mind. The most pressing one was what if she was Zane’s mate? What if she really was?
    The panther rested in the tree. While it slept, the man struggled to hold on. There was something he needed to do, someone he needed. To protect? To find? To claim? It was all so jumbled in his head. He was sick. He knew that just as he knew the beast was growing stronger as he grew weaker. Soon, the connection between them would cease to exist, and the animal would take full control of the body they shared.
    He couldn’t let that happen. It was the one thing he was certain of. He pictured blonde hair and hazel eyes, and the name Diane floated in and out of his thoughts. Briefly, he swore he felt her touch, a phantom caress that wasn’t nearly enough.
    As the animal continued to rest, the man found strength by repeating three words over and over.
    Diane. Mate. Mine.

 
    Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Diane barely slept, and when she did, her dreams were filled with Zane. His golden gaze haunted her, begging her to come find him. In the dreams, he would hold out his hand to her, an engaging smile on his lips as he bid her to join him. But as she drew closer, fog rose up from the ground and obscured him from her sight. No matter how fast she ran or how loud she called, she couldn’t find him.
    She finally rose with grim determination. She was going after Zane. Mate or not, she knew she wanted to help him, to save him from the beast taking over. She knew Tah would question her. He might even tell her no. The only thing that might persuade him to give her a chance was if she told him she was Zane’s mate. She still wasn’t sure if she believed it or not. She wanted to. She really wanted to believe Clara was right. Surely, Clara would back her up and go with her to find Zane.
    She headed toward the office as soon as she’d showered and dressed. It was the first time she hadn’t gone straight to the labs since she’d arrived, and with each step, she grew more certain, more confident. The door was closed, which meant Tah was there—he only closed it when he was talking with someone. Part of her wanted to walk away, to not interrupt, but another part urged her it was now or never. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and waited.
    The door opened, and Reno stood there.
    “Hey, Diane,” he greeted, opening the door wide and waving her in. “Come on in.”
    She faltered when she stepped beyond the door and saw the group in the room. Tah and Abby, the Professor, Reno, Murphy and Vic. The entire council Tah had put together minus one—Logan. He was probably on patrol with Clara. Diane remembered the couple usually took the early shift.
    “Am I interrupting a meeting?” she asked. “I can come back.”
    “No, not at all,” Abby said. “In fact, it’s a good thing you joined us.”
    “Oh?” Diane asked, feeling uncertain with everyone’s focus on her.
    “The Professor stayed up most of the night searching for people who might be interested in coming here to help us out, to give you a hand in the labs with testing and medical care. We’ve managed to narrow it down to four possibilities. We’ll dig a little deeper to see if they’d be able to handle who and what we are without running for the hills,” Tah said, rising and coming toward her.
    His gaze took her in from head to toe, and she realized just how much her outburst the day before must have worried him.
    “We’ve been remiss in getting you more help. I’m sorry about that. We’ll do everything we can to get it taken care of as soon as possible. We can’t afford to lose you. No one knows us as well as you. We don’t want you to leave,” he finished, letting her know he knew what she’d told the Professor.
    “I…” She wasn’t comfortable discussing what she had planned in front of everyone. “I promised Abby I would think about it.”
    “And you promised to stay until after the baby was born, regardless,” the Professor reminded