Chapter 51

Ruby

Before I have time to run back to the castle, I shift back into my human form against my will. I assume that it will take some time to learn how to control when I shift, but there are more important things to deal with right now.

I run as fast as I can through the forest and back toward the castle, where all is quiet still. However, I can now see a light on in Atwood’s study. Did he sense that I shifted?

There’s no time to sneak around the guards, so I run right past them. They all look confused, and one tries to stop me.

“Princess, is that you?” the guard calls out. “What are you doing out here?”

I don’t stop despite his calls, but instead shout “Bear!” over my shoulder as I run, which causes the nearby guards to fly into a frenzy. There is only one thing on my mind: getting to Atwood and telling him about the Bear. My wolf seems to want to get closer to him as well, which makes me worried that she might mark him before I have a chance to stop her, but I’ll deal with that later. What’s most important right now is warning Atwood in case there are other Bears on the castle grounds.

“Atwood!” I shout as I run up the stairs. Now that I’ve shifted, my body feels clumsy and slow, and I trip on the stairs. When I trip, I whack my shin on the marble, which makes my head ring with pain. That’s going to leave a bruise.

I pick myself up and climb the rest of the stairs despite the pain in my leg and the pain in my shoulder from where the Bear clawed me, sprinting down the hallway past confused, sleepy servants who have been woken by my screams.

The door to Atwood’s study is open as I approach. As I come closer, yelling his name, Atwood comes bursting out. His shirt is off and he looks dazed, as though he just woke up.

“What? What’s happening?” he says, running toward me and grabbing my shoulders. As soon as he touches me, his eyes spark as though he suddenly knows that I’ve shifted, but he doesn’t say anything yet. I take a moment to catch my breath, placing my hands on my knees and doubling over, before I can speak.

“Oh my god,” Atwood says as he notices my injury. “Your shoulder. You’re bleeding. What happened?”

I straighten, still out of breath, and attempt to explain the situation.

“Th-There was a Bear,” I say breathlessly. “In the woods.”

“A Bear?!” Atwood says, his eyes wide.

I nod vehemently. “He’s dead,” I say. “I killed him. But there might be more.”

Atwood’s eyes widen even further, but he doesn’t immediately comment on my news about killing the Bear.

We can both hear the clamoring of the guards now. Atwood runs to the landing above the main entrance to the castle and shouts down to the guards.

“Bring everyone inside!” he shouts. “Bar the doors. I want two guards at every entrance. Clement, you’re the fastest. Run to the front gate and warn the others. Noah, take three strong men and patrol the forest.”

The guard named Clement nods and sprints out the door toward the front gate. Atwood turns back to me. Now that I’m safely inside, my adrenaline starts wearing off and the pain of my wound sets in. I groan and start to fall to the floor. Atwood catches me just in time, cradling me in his arms, and carries me quickly to his study, where he lays me down on the couch.

Is this our mate? My wolf’s voice echoes in my ears. I like him.

Not yet, I reply. She snarls softly, curling up into herself and resting.

Atwood calls for the medics. While we wait, he places his hands on my wound and tries to heal me.

He’s weak, my wolf says suddenly, sounding disappointed. There’s a dark cloud inside of him. His wolf is weak, too. What’s wrong with him?

I don’t know, I answer as I watch Atwood strain to heal my wounds. The pain fades slightly, but the bleeding doesn’t stop. Atwood curses to himself and pushes harder on my wound, which causes me to whimper in pain. When he hears my whimper, he pulls away and puts his head in his hands, cursing again as the medics rush in.

“It’s not too deep,” the medic says, inspecting my wound. She calls for her assistant to hand her gauze and alcohol.

“This is gonna hurt, honey,” she says, dumping the alcohol on the gauze and pressing it into my wound. It stings like a thousand wasps. I can’t help but cry out in agony as tears squeeze out of my shut eyes.

The medic then injects something into my shoulder near the wound, which quickly makes the gash go numb. She rolls me over onto my belly and I assume she starts stitching up the gash, although I can’t see her or feel anything.

Atwood reaches out to take my hand. When he touches me, my wolf stirs again. Let me mark him, she says. He’ll be stronger if I mark him.

I pull my hand away from Atwood’s, causing him to give me a pained look. No, I tell my wolf. He’s cursed. We can’t.

Cursed? My wolf says with a growl.

We’ll die if we mark him, I answer.

My wolf doesn’t say anything else. I can feel her retreat within me.

The medic finishes her work and wraps a bandage around my shoulder.

“Your healing abilities are strong,” she says with a smile. “You’ve already begun healing a bit. You should be right as rain in a couple of days at the most.”

I sit up, my head still reeling from what has happened. All around me, the castle is quiet with the anticipation of more Bears showing up.

Atwood orders the medics to leave. When we’re alone, his face darkens. It’s difficult to read his expression, but I sense that he knows about my wolf and is angry that I didn’t tell him.

“You shifted,” he says quietly.

In the flickering firelight, he looks more handsome than ever despite the dark circles under his eyes from an obvious lack of sleep. His shirtless body turns me on, and makes my wolf excited despite her knowledge of the curse.

“Yes,” I answer, looking down at my lap. “In the woods.”

“That’s how you were able to kill him.”

I nod, too exhausted to elaborate further. Now that Atwood knows I’ve shifted, will he expect me to mark him? This only enhances my fear of the curse. What if I can’t make it until my escape? What if my wolf marks him anyway?

Before we can talk anymore, Noah bursts into the room. He looks first to me, then Atwood, and averts his gaze.

“Sorry for intruding,” he says, “but we found the corpse. There are no others on the castle grounds right now, but we’ll set up a patrol through the night. I suspect this Bear was working alone.”

Atwood stands, walking toward Noah. “I’ll join the patrol,” he says, pulling on his shirt that was draped over the back of a chair.

“Sir?” Noah says.

“You heard me,” Atwood replies. “I won’t sit idly by while my home is in danger.”

Without a second look at me, Atwood leaves the room with Noah on his heels, leaving me alone in front of the fireplace. I’m so exhausted that I simply lay down on the couch and fall asleep right there.

As I drift off, my wolf howls solemnly. She wants to mark Atwood.