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Chapter 16
Ash shoved the couch across the room, the legs scraping on the marble floor. He pushed it up against the only set of doors leading into the library, locking us inside. All I could do was stand there, hugging myself as another roar burst from somewhere in the castle. The other shifters had turned and probably ran amuck. How long before they tracked us down and made a feast of us? My brain had shut down, and I broke out in a coldsweat.
Despite just having the most amazing sex in the world, a terror-ridden straitjacket tightened around me. I fumbled with my gown, dragging it over my head and down my body. My hands shook as I tried to tie the laced cord across mybust.
Ash was at my side in seconds, his face pale and eyes enlarged. “We need to move upstairs.” He collected the cords from me and tied up the front of my dress. And all I could do was fight the terror building in my mind from being hunted down by three famished bearshifters.
“We should have locked everyone up instead of fooling around.” Regret burned a hole through my chest as I chewed mycheek.
“Then what?” Ash met my gaze and climbed into his pants. “Lilita would have emerged and controlled us, making us do unspeakable things. What happened between us was a miracle.” He lifted my knuckles to his mouth, then drew me toward the steps. “And not just because you were the sweetest little thing I could ever have, but now we know how to control thetransformations.”
Of course he had a point, but that didn’t ease the trepidation chewing on my confidence. Hand in hand, we raced upstairs and my brain yanked me in a dozen different directions as I tried to make sense of what to do next. What I needed was two seconds of peace to sort through my mind. Instead, I climbed the circular stairs, my thighs aching, and the apex between my legs still wet. Goddess, what I wouldn’t have done for a quick toilet break right then. I supposed not having to worry about that only happened in stories, while in reality, things were so muchmessier.
On the fifth level, I struggled for air, and Ash dragged me into a secret compartment between two bookshelves and bolted us inside the pitch-darkspace.
“Where are we?” A funky stink assaulted my senses, and I covered mynose.
Ash shuffled about and pulled open window slats. Brilliant light flooded the small room. A double bed on one side and an empty bookshelf on the other, with a narrow passage down the middle leading to the window. Snow cascaded outside, and in the distance an ocean of trees and mountains spread over the terrain. It was all so gorgeous, and yet we remained trapped amidst its beauty. Before long, the sun would sink behind the horizon, bringing with it the coldtemperatures.
“This was Vivienne’s hideout,” Ash said. His voice lowered, and I caught the hitch in his breath. “Vivienne used to bunker here with her favorite books and read for hours about knights saving a heroine from dragons or going on pirate adventures.” He laughed, but he sounded almostsorrowful.
"She must have had a wonderfulimagination."
"Wildwould be the better word." Hesmiled.
“So she loved romances!” I slapped Ash on the hand. “That’s what Iwrite.”
“Come on. Raze told us what you wrote, and that’s full-on erotica.” He rolled hiseyes.
“Whatever. There’s a plot that’s more than just falling in love and sex.” I plonked down on a bed covered in throw rugs and cushions. The area had been gutted of any personal artifacts—no photos or knickknacks. “What now? We wait to get mauled todeath?”
“The library door is locked, as is this one. Our scents are all over the downstairs floor, so if they do break inside, that will distract them long enough before they discover us and morning arrives. And we’re in a small space, meaning I could take on one at a time if they find us.” He winked my way. “Then once I hold them, you do your thing. I don’t intend to hurt mybrothers.”
I pulled my knees up to my chest. “What’s my thing? Put a spell onthem?”
“Kiss them so they snap out of theirtransformation.”
“Are you crazy? You want me to kiss a bear shifter in kill-mode?” I stared at the door, my hair standing on end. We were easytargets.
He paced to the window, only wearing his pants—I wondered if he was cold since there was no fireplace in this room. I studied the way his muscles shifted beneath his skin, remembering how amazing he’d made me feel. How much I wanted to crawl into his arms and hide from theworld.
“What did you read in that book you found before?” I asked to distract my thoughts and ignore the fear weighing on myribs.
Ash stood there with his hands by his sides, towering over me like a protector. How I’d love to be home, safe and secure. What was Dad doing right now? Hopefully keeping warm and not forgetting to water thegarden.
“It was a book about potions and there was a section that talked about how when some spells affect multiple people, it’s because the spell bound them together. Think about it—Lilita’s dark magic suppressed the curse temporarily. And you did the same with me, but in your ownway.”
That made sense, and while I didn’t understand the full dynamics of how this worked, what if the solution to break the hex was somewhere inside me? “That explains why the enchantment affects us at the same time. But did you notice that the change came during the day, not at night?” I breathed in the cold air, hugging my knees. “The curse has morphed into something else. The rules have changed.” I felt every beat of my heart pounding, drowning the noise in myhead.
He nodded. “With us having sex, maybe our energies have merged and are counteracting the curse, so that might be the reason for the changes in the hex and also why we stopped ourtransformations.”
“Probably. I’ve always had a stronger handle over my magic after I wrote my erotic scenes—and sometimes it would be even easier to control after I’d pleasure myself.” I glanced outside and wished I had wings to flyaway.
“Please elaborate in precise details,” Ash teased, and I loved that he held on to his sense of humor, even in the face of so muchdanger.
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him before sitting back down, as there wasn’t much space to move about in with Ash standing there. He ducked, and the cushion hit the bookshelf behindhim.
“Just so I get this right,” he continued. “The release of your sexual pleasure helps you control Lilita too,right?”
