AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They rewarded me with only frowns, and it hurt. I still looked like Bee, so where was their sexual hunger? “Oh, you shifters are partypoopers.”
“Just because you control our bodies doesn’t mean we’re on your side,” Levengrowled.
Strolling forward, I swung my hips on purpose, noticing Ash’s gaze dipping to my chest. I lifted my skirt to my knees and crawled up onto his lap, straddling him. “Tell me how beautiful Iam.”
His lips thinned as he pulled away from me. “You may look like Bee, but you’re nother.”
“Kiss me,” I said. “Maybe we can squeeze in some action before we head off, bigboy.”
His grimace turned to revulsion. Fine by me. I reached over and yanked him closer by hishair.
Despite the shock in his eyes, I grabbed the sides of his head and kissed him, tasting him. Salty and musky.Yum.
A shock jolted up between us so hard, an invisible hand yanked me backward and the corners of my vision blackened at once. “No!” I yelled and the moment I hit the ground, my worlddisappeared.
* * *
“Bee! Bee!”
Someone shook me, and I flipped open my eyes to four men staring down at me. “Lilita!” I spat the word I’d avoided saying for years. There was a reason I never thought or spoke her name—to avoid giving her power. Little good that haddone.
“Is that you, Bee?” Levenasked.
“Well, duh.” Raze nudged closer. “She’s no longer controlling our movements. It’s ourBee.”
I lay there trembling as fear quietly tore through me, starting with my aching stomach, leaving me gasping for air and every inch of me clammy with sweat. “Lilita was here.” It wasn’t a question. Ice encased me, throttling me at the core, and deep inside I was terrified she’d now own me for eternity. Allow me to be possessed by demons, ravaging and raping my mind and body. And the longer she shoved me aside, using her magic from the underworld, the easier it would be for her to lock me into a box forever. The less power I had, the harder it would be for me to keep her imprisoned in mymind.
Talin swept me off the ground and set me on the bed. “It’ll be okay,” hesaid.
My voice vanished. Nothing would ever be okay again. I recalled what Lilita had said and done as if I watched it on replay in my head. She hadn’t come out since I was thirteen, and even then, she’d taken me over, insisting we needed to kill. And now… she had her sights set on WhitePeak?
The world tilted. Tears fell, and I sobbed into my hands. A rise of sickness hit my throat. I curled in on myself and couldn’t stop crying at how horribly I’d failed with breaking the spell. Saving my mom. And now… The darkness in me had been released. And it wasn'tfinished.
“Bee.” Ash called my name again. I didn’t want them to see me, not like this. They had every right to hate me for what Iwas.
“It’ll be okay, sugarplum.” Leven pulled the hair off my face, while another prince rubbed my back in gentle circles. The bed shifted as four of them surrounded me. But I didn’t deserve their sympathy or theirkindness.
“Lilita?” Talin asked. “I think you need to explain what happened.” And there it was, the fear and anger I’dexpected.
I stayed still a while and wiped my tears as heaviness sat on my mind. She’d been awakened, and now she lingered close, waiting for her chance to emergeagain.
When I drew myself to a sitting position, I hugged my knees. Leven drew me into his arms without a slither of hesitation. “You’ll be okay,” he kept saying, but I wasn’t so sureanymore.
And the men deserved the truth, to be aware of the danger to which I’d now exposed them. I pulled free from Leven and forced a smile, but it felt empty andfake.
Four sets of eyes strained onme.
“I’m a bloodborne witch.” And I explained about my two sides and Lilita. I lowered my gaze to my fingers, lacing them together. With a deep inhale, I told them how I’d kept Lilita at bay for years, the side effects of her using dark magic, and how if I didn’t completely imprison her once more, after a few months, my energy would fade, making her stronger, unbalancing the strength in herfavor.
I chanced a glance up, but no one was scowling or giving me death glares. Raze touched my shoulder while Leven took my hand in his. Ash leaned closer too, rubbing my knee, and Talin… he didn’t look at me with disgust. But rather an expression I knew too well. Grief andsympathy.
“So how do we help you control her?” he asked with kindness in his voice. I’d never expected them to show such compassion andunderstanding.
“I don’t know.” And that was the truth. “I’m guessing your curse had a trap for anyone trying to break it. And it backfired big time, affecting us all differently. It must have tapped into Lilita since I wasn’t a shifter.” I could only assume it didn’t affect me as quickly because of how long Lilita had been lockedaway.
“I can still feel the forcefulness of the partial shift,” Leven said. “As if being ripped in half still stays with me. Does this mean I’m now cursedtoo?”
“I feel the same,” Ash said, and Razenodded.
