Page 8

CHAPTER 8

I woke up drowning in their scent, my body humming with remembered pleasure. The sheets twisted around my naked limbs still held their warmth, but the spaces beside me lay empty. My skin tingled with the memory of their hands, their mouths, the overwhelming sensation of belonging to them all at once. I stretched, wincing at the delicious ache between my thighs and the marks from their bites, proof that last night hadn't been a dream.

Light filtered through the curtains, casting the cabin in a hazy glow that didn't match my mood. Where were they? After what we'd shared, I hadn't expected to wake alone. After the awful realization that the bond hadn't worked, I'd been too exhausted to do more than move to the bed and pass out.

I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket to cover my breasts even though there was no one to see. The fire in the hearth had dwindled to glowing embers. The silence pressed in around me, heavy and wrong after a night filled with growls, moans, and whispered promises.

"Garrett?" My voice sounded small against the emptiness.

No answer.

"Ronan? Cassian?"

Nothing.

The floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I stood, wrapping the sheet around me like armor. My discarded nightdress lay abandoned on the floor. I still didn't know where they'd gotten it from, and I didn't plan on asking.

They'd been here. All seven of them tangled with me, and we'd claimed each other. We'd been desperate, all of us. The curse that bound them to their animal forms for most daylight hours had been weakening over the weeks since I'd found them. Last night, with the moon high and their human forms stable longer than ever before, we'd surrendered to the pull between us.

They'd told me the legends. A woman would come who could break their curse. A woman bound to all seven of them, her soul split seven ways.

Me.

I thought we'd succeeded. The way the cabin had practically vibrated with power as we'd come together, the way the bond between us had flared like wildfire... I'd fallen asleep too exhausted to think more about it. I'd hoped that morning would bring their final freedom.

I moved to the window, the sheet trailing behind me. Where were they? Had they gone hunting? What did they even do in their animal forms? Since I'd arrived here, I'd only ever seen them guard me.

A movement caught my eye. A massive shadow shifting near the tree line. Garrett. Even in bear form, I recognized him instantly, his dark eyes finding mine through the glass. His massive head lowered in what looked like shame.

My heart dropped. The curse hadn't broken. Maybe I could hope it would tonight when they turned back into humans.

I pressed my hand against the window, watching as he paced back and forth. The powerful bear moved with the same controlled strength as the man, but he couldn't speak to me. Afraid to hold me.

A flash of orange fur drew my attention to the hearth. Cassian's fox form lay curled in the shadows by the hearth, his sharp eyes regarding me with a mixture of sorrow and mischief that was uniquely his. When he saw me looking, his bushy tail twitched once in acknowledgment.

Movement from above made me glance up. Leif perched on the rafters, his hawk wings half-spread as if caught between landing and taking flight. Even as a bird, there was something defiant in the way he held himself, something restless and wild.

I turned slowly, suddenly aware that I wasn't as alone as I'd thought.

Kade crouched in the darkest corner of the room, his panther form nearly invisible until he blinked. Those impossibly dark eyes tracked my every movement, protective and wary.

Near the bed, Nikolai's serpent body coiled in a tight spiral, his scales gleaming in the dim light. Unlike the others, he seemed perfectly still, waiting with inhuman patience. The only sign of life was the occasional flicker of his forked tongue.

A low growl drew my attention to Ronan, who paced into the room in his wolf form. His gray fur bristled each time I moved toward the door, as if warning me not to leave his sight. The fierce protectiveness I'd felt from him last night hadn't faded with the change.

And finally, I spotted Evander by the window. The stag stood tall and proud, his antlers nearly brushing the ceiling beams. There was something regal in his stance, even as his soft brown eyes reflected a deep sadness. How could I have missed them before?

Seven beasts. Seven men trapped between forms.

"It didn't work," I whispered, more to myself than to them.

Ronan growled again, softer this time. Almost apologetic.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching the sheet tighter around me. Last night they'd worshipped every inch of my body with human hands and mouths. This morning, they couldn't even speak to me.

We'd thought physical joining would complete the bond. That somehow my body would be the key to breaking their curse. It had felt right, vital, necessary. The way they'd touched me, claimed me, filled me... it had felt like salvation. Like destiny. I'd given each of them my heart and soul.

But here we were, the morning after, and nothing had changed. Except now I knew exactly what I was missing. Now I'd felt them, all of them, branded myself with their touch. Now the loss cut deeper.

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."

I nodded slowly, trying to process what this meant. The bond hummed between us, a tangle of connections that pulsed with their emotions as much as their thoughts. I could feel Garrett's frustration. Ronan's bitter disappointment. Kade's quiet resolve. Each distinct, yet somehow harmonized into a chord that resonated through my body.

"What do we do now?" I asked, moving toward the hearth. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since before... well, before they'd taken me to bed last night.

"We wait for sunset." Garrett's mental voice carried the same authority as when he'd ordered his brothers to take turns with me, each claiming a different part of my body while I writhed between them. "Then we try again. The alternative is not an option."

My cheeks flushed at the memory, and I felt their collective response through the bond, a surge of heat and possessiveness that made my knees weak. Then his second sentence hit me. Because they needed my heart. I'd hoped like they had it was figurative, but Garrett had his doubts.

"Focus, little mate." Ronan's sarcastic voice cut through the haze. "Feed yourself first. We can't exactly help you in these forms."

Right. I needed to take care of basic needs. Food. Water. Warmth. I moved to the kettle again, determined to make tea at least. It has helped with the headaches I'd had constantly since I'd arrived in the forest.

"Left side of the handle." Evander's gentle warning came too late. I grabbed the hot metal, pain searing through my palm.

"Fuck!" I yanked my hand back, cradling it against my chest.

The mental space exploded with reaction. Garrett roared, the sound echoing in my head while the bear outside pawed frantically at the window. Ronan cursed vividly. Cassian whimpered in sympathy. Kade's presence darkened dangerously, as if searching for something to attack. Leif's energy flared like lightning. Nikolai hissed, a cold fury flowing through the bond.

Evander's calm voice cut through the chaos. "Cold water, Lunara. Then the blue jar on the shelf."

I nodded, moving to the basin of water I'd collected yesterday. The cool liquid soothed the angry red skin of my palm, but tears still stung my eyes. Not just from the pain, but from the overwhelming wave of their concern flooding through me.

"We should be able to help her." Garrett's frustration pounded in my temples.

"If the fucking curse had broken, we could." Ronan's anger lashed through the bond like a whip.

"Enough." Evander's voice silenced them both. "Lunara, the blue jar. It contains a salve for burns."

I found the jar where he'd indicated, awkwardly opening it one-handed. The salve smelled of mint and something earthier. As I applied it to my burn, instant relief spread through my palm.

"Thank you," I said softly, looking toward the stag by the window.

Evander dipped his majestic head. "It would be better if I could apply it myself, but..."

I understood the unspoken. If he were human, he'd be tending my wound with the same gentle thoroughness he'd shown my body last night. If the curse were broken, none of them would let me suffer a moment's discomfort alone.

"I'm okay." I straightened my shoulders, looking around at my worried beasts. "Really. I've had worse."

That was the wrong thing to say. The bond vibrated with their collective displeasure, memories of my confessions from the time we'd been together surfacing. How I'd told them about my lonely childhood, the series of women my father had paraded through my life before my evil step-mother, and the accidents that came from neglect rather than malice.

"No one will ever hurt you again." Garrett's voice was a solemn vow in my mind.

"Not while shadows cling to our bones. She is ours, and death must take us first." Nikolai's addition carried a deadly promise. I was almost used to his cryptic way of talking.

The intensity of their protection should have frightened me. Seven predators, each powerful in their own way, all fixated on me. Instead, it felt like coming home after a lifetime of wandering.