Chapter 35 CHAPTER 35

Chapter 35 CHAPTER 35
I carefully picked up the book from the small wooden table.

The leather cover was old and worn, and the edges soft from years of being handled. Whoever owned it had opened it countless times.

I slowly flipped it, noticing that the handwriting was neat, much neater than I expected.

For some reason, I had imagined someone with claws the size of daggers scratching words onto paper.

Instead, every letter was carefully written.

My eyes drifted to the first page.

Day 43

The curse claimed another guard today.
He begged me to end it before he forgot his own name.

I frowned. That wasn't what I expected, and turned to another page.

Day 71

The failed curses grow more aggressive every winter. They no longer recognize friend from enemy. I fear for the day I stop recognizing myself.

My chest tightened. These weren't battle plans, nore were they spells. They were...his thoughts.His fears.

Slowly, I turned another page.

There were drawings, sketches of the creatures I'd seen roaming the castle with notes written beside them.

Stage One, Heightened senses, Increased strength, Loss of sleep.

Another page.

Stage Two, Loss of emotional control. Aggression. Memory begins fading.
Another.

Stage Three.

The curse consumes what remains. No return.

I swallowed hard, my fingers trembled slightly as I traced one of the drawings.

"So... you've been trying to understand it."

I turned another page.

The words became harder to read.

I frowned, sounding them out quietly beneath my breath.

"Tran... trans..."

"No."

I jumped so hard the book nearly slipped from my hands.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I spun around

The beast was awake.

He hadn't moved from the bed.

He was still lying on his side, one arm beneath his head, watching me with one golden eye half open.

His voice was rough with sleep.

"It's pronounced transformation."

Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I... I wasn't snooping."

His brow lifted.

"You were holding my journal."

"...Okay." I looked down at the book. "Maybe I was snooping a little."

The corner of his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but close.

"I was curious," I admitted quietly. "You keep giving me half answers."

He let out a slow breath before looking toward the ceiling.

"I know."

The room fell quiet again.

I looked back down at the page. "There are drawings... and notes."

"I've spent years studying it."

My eyes lifted.

"Years?"

"I searched every library in this kingdom."

His voice was calm.

"I questioned every healer."

Another pause.

"I tried every herb."

His golden eyes drifted toward the fire burning across the room.

"I buried every person I failed."

The words hit me like a punch to the chest.

I slowly closed the journal.

For the first time since I'd met him...He didn't sound like a monster.

He sounded tired, tired of fighting. Tired of losing. Tired of hoping.

I quietly walked back toward the bed.

He didn't look at me.

His eyes remained fixed on the fire dancing across the room.

Without thinking...

I reached down and gently placed my hand over his.

The moment our skin touched, his entire body froze.

His claws stopped moving.

Even his breathing seemed to catch for a second.

I froze too.

What was I doing?

I should pull away. I knew I should. But I couldn't.

His hand was enormous beneath mine.
Warm, and rough. Scarred.

Yet he didn't pull away either.

Neither of us spoke.

The silence wasn't awkward, it was... different.
The crackling fire was the only sound in the room.

After a long moment, he slowly turned his head and looked at me.

Those golden eyes met mine again, and once again there was no walls. No beast.

For just a heartbeat... I could almost swear I was looking into the eyes of a lonely man who had carried the weight of an entire kingdom for far too long.

And for reasons I couldn't begin to understand... I didn't want him to carry it alone anymore.

I looked into the Beast’s eyes, and I didn't see the monster anymore.

My hand on top of his huge, paw-like hand seemed so small.

He stayed frozen. His golden eyes just widened in shock as I closed the distance between us even more.

My lips hovered inches away from his. The thick fur from his jaw grazed against my lip. The friction sent a sharp jolt of heat straight down my spine.

I couldn't help but bite my own lower lip.

The movement drew his gaze downward. He stared at my mouth.

Suddenly, all the restraint he had kept vanished. It was as if he completely forgot about the injuries on his back.

In one fast movement, he pulled me on top of him. I didn't even startle from the sudden shift.

One moment I was standing on the stone floor in front of him, and the next, he had me straddling his lap.

"What spell did you place on me, my little hunter?" he whispered. His voice was a raw, rough rumble.

His huge hands clamped firmly around my hips. He pinned me to his chest.

"I could ask you the same," I said.

I flung my arms around his neck and crashed my lips down on his.

The collision was pure fire. He groaned deep in his chest. The sound vibrated right through my own ribs. He didn't kiss back gently; he devoured.

His large hands gripped my hips tighter. He hauled my body against his massive, burning frame.

The thick fur of his face scratched pleasantly against my cheeks. It only added to the wild, intoxicating rush.

I tangled my fingers into the thick mane at his neck. I pulled him closer. I drank in the taste of him—dark, stormy, and fiercely alive.

He tilted his head to angle his mouth better against mine. His tongue parted my lips with a needy, dominant stroke.

My breath caught. The sheer size and heat of him overwhelmed my senses. We were a tangle of desperate limbs and heavy panting in the shadows.

He possessed my mouth completely. He wiped away every bad thought I ever had of him.