Page 14

I stood again, letting the sheet fall away.None of them had been shy about looking at my naked body last night, and I refused to be shy now.Their animal eyes tracked me with unmistakable hunger as I moved across the room to retrieve my nightdress from where Kade had tossed it.

The thin cotton slid over my skin, offering little protection from their heated stares.I felt the weight of their attention, the same as when they were men, but now tinged with frustration.With regret.

It would be a long day.Might as well start it with some tea.I poured some water into a kettle and slid it into the hearth over the fire.

Garrett pawed at the window from outside, leaving muddy streaks on the glass.Even in bear form, his authority was clear.He was telling me something, but I couldn't understand.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him, pressing my palm to the glass opposite his massive paw."We'll figure something out tonight."

Cassian made a small yipping sound that might have been agreement.Leif ruffled his feathers restlessly.

I moved to throw another log on the fire, conscious of seven sets of eyes following my every move.My body still hummed with the memory of their touch, the places they'd kissed and claimed still sensitive.The bond we'd forged pulsed between us like a living thing, stronger now despite the curse remaining intact.

I didn't regret giving myself to them.How could I?From the moment I'd stumbled into their forest, lost and afraid, they'd protected me.Revealed themselves to me.Shown me a world of magic and curses and destiny I'd never dreamed existed.

"We'll figure this out," I promised, looking around at my strange, beautiful beasts."The curse didn't break, but something changed.I can feel it."

Kade moved silently to my side, his massive head butting gently against my hip.Though he couldn't speak, his intent was clear.Support.Solidarity.

Evander dipped his antlered head in agreement.

Ronan continued his agitated pacing, but his eyes never left mine.

Leif swooped down to perch closer on the back of a chair.

Nikolai slithered toward the bed, as if indicating we should return there.

And outside, Garrett watched through the window with fierce determination.

Only Cassian seemed relaxed, stretching lazily by the fire as if to say we had all the time in the world.

But we didn't.With each day, the huntsmen my step-mother had sent to drag me back to my death came closer to finding me.Then there would be no salvation for my beasts.

I refused to let that happen.Somehow, I would break this curse.I would free the men who had claimed me so completely last night.The men who, even now, watched over me in their beast forms.

The voice in my head wasn't my own.It rumbled, deep and commanding, unmistakably Garrett's even without the physical vibration in his chest."Careful, little mate."

I froze, the kettle half-lifted from the fire, my eyes darting to the bear still stationed outside the window.His dark eyes met mine, intent and unmistakably human despite his animal form.I wasn't imagining it.Somehow, I could hear him in my mind.

"She can hear us."This voice was different.Sharper, edged with sarcasm.Ronan.The wolf paused in his pacing, ears perked forward as he stared at me.

"Of course she can.The thread is woven, even if the knot has not yet unraveled."Nikolai's voice was a whisper through my thoughts, cool and measured as it had been against my ear while he'd taken me from behind last night.

I set the kettle down with a clatter, turning to face the room full of beasts."I can hear all of you."

"That's new."Cassian's voice was light with forced cheer."Now you get the pleasure of my wit even in daylight hours."

"Is this normal?"I asked, addressing the room at large."Part of the curse?"

"No one knows what's normal."Kade's deep voice startled me, rare even when he was in human form."You're the first mate we've found in three centuries."

The word 'mate' sent a flash of heat through me.

"We thought it would break the curse."Evander's gentle voice filled my mind."The legends said when we found our mate, our souls would be made whole again."

"But it didn't work."I wasn't asking a question.The evidence stood before me, seven beasts instead of seven men.

"Not entirely."Leif's voice was restless even in my head."But something changed.This connection...we've never had this before."