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“It’s not as if we have any other options. We stay close, and the moment I feel the change coming on, well, I would be honored to receive yourkiss.”
The air grew thick, and I felt tipsy on Talin’s presence. I could watch him all day, listen to his raspy words, imagine his arms around me, never letting go. His bright eyes wandered across my face, and I flushed hot from a simplesmile.
“Okay. Well, then we go visit your cousin today. But what about the rebelsoutside?”
Talin’s brow furrowed. “The last few times we tried to visit Rek, we snuck out at early dawn, and there weren’t many out that time of the day.” He combed his fingers through his hair. “So agree, we leave as soon aspossible.”
Right now, I felt as if I was spinning inside a tornado, grasping for solutions, unsure where to turn to next. The book on the table stole my attention, and I pulled it closer. Flicking through the pages, it had no spells but was more of a text on what properties different herbs offered. But it was what I’d searched foryesterday.
Talin was on his feet, and a few moment later brought me a cup of tea. Its peppermint infusion calmed me. “Fill up on food. We should leave once the other comeinside.”
And just like that, the reality of me meeting another bear family, a royal one that had tried to kill Talin, churned in my gut. What if they attempted to murder him again? Andme?
“Before we leave, I’ll create a protection spell over both of us. Something to ease the impact of any magicalattacks.”
Talin reached over and placed his hand on mine. His skin burned where we touched, and the idea of him so upset bugged the hell out of me. Why had no other family members or friends come to their aid in such atime?
“You’ve been a goddess-send, and I don’t think just saying ‘thank you’ is enough for placing you in harm’s way. It’s selfish of me to keep you here, so I want you to know that if you choose to return home, I will assure your safe journey. I’ll pay you in full for your time.” His eyes skimmed my face, then lowered to his food, and I hated seeing such a strong shifter low-spirited. His despair hung in the air between us—it killedme.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promised to help, and that’s what I’ll do.” Lost for words, something inside me shifted toward Talin. He’d sacrifice his and his brother’s potential chance of survival for my safety? How could I live with myself if I ran from here and chose the easy route? Back home, my life would struggle, but it would be no comparison to what these princes wouldendure.
This simple job had morphed into a storm. Yet the princes had touched me on a level I’d never expected. Leaving wasn’t even an option, not now that I’d gotten to know them, each of them striving for life after already losing somuch.
Besides, how would that impact our connection? Would our distance set off the transformations? And what if I returned home and Lilita took me over? Then what? She’d probably attempt to take over the priestess and get Dadkilled.
In truth, I relied on the princes as much as they did me, and in a strange way, I embraced not facing this alone. Having them by my side lifted my confidence to not give up because it was toohard.
Talin smiled, and he pulled me into a strong hug, his sweet musky scent filling my senses. His sudden show of emotion surprised me, but then again the prince had been fighting his own demons. For once, I saw the real man, scared yet willing to put others first. That I appreciated more thananything.
“We do this together.” I pulled back, and we locked gazes for those few moments. I let myself fall deep into his eyes, believing the world could be wonderful for all of us onceagain.
Anxiety danced down my spine. I had no idea what to expect. Another part of me didn’t want to leave the castle, as I’d gotten used to theplace.
Talin’s words were muffled by the three other shifters entering the kitchen, each one carrying armfuls of logs andchatting.
“Morning, Bee,” Leven said as he set the wood on the dwindling pile near thefireplace.
“Hey, Bee. Sleep well?” Raze waggled his eyebrows, smirking, without a hint of jealousy. That earlier heat crawled up my neck. What details exactly had Ash given them? Men loved to talk about sex, but did they indulge in the finer details aswell?
Ash slid in beside me and kissed my cheek, his hand on my back. “Hi,beautiful.”
Okay, so did this mean we were officially together? Because in all honesty, I was beaming on the inside. Just having him next to me had my insidesbuzzing.
“You didn’t wake me.” I sidled up againstAsh.
“Couldn’t. You were so peaceful. Plus, I had to check on mybrothers.”
I reached over and patted down a wild strand of hair above his ear. He took my hand and kissed myfingers.
“God, you two,” Leven said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed himself a bowl ofporridge.
Talin cleared his throat, and we all turned toward him. “Bee and I discussed going to Rek’s manor today.” Talin went on to detail what I’d told him earlier about the cursed object and how this could solve our problem with thecurse.”
“I’m coming,” Ash piped up, and I stared his way, but he smiled my way. “I want to keep you safe,” headded.
“Me too,” the other two said inunison.
“So how would this work?” Talin asked. “Let’s do worst case scenario. We all start transforming. Bee could be with one or two of us, as she needs to control Lilita too, remember. That worries me more thananything.”
