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The rhythm of his steady breaths lulled me deeper into the murky waters of sleep. “So many times I’ve debated telling him my reasons for everything. They all think it’s just my hatred for Guin that motivates me—that I’m some kind of monster. They don’t know,” I murmured. “No one does. I would tell Merlin and ask for his help, but I know what his answer would be, and I can’t accept that. He would stop me. The uprising, the attacks, none of it was truly about Guin. Don’t get me wrong, I would gladly see the b***h dead, but…” My heavy eyelids dropped shut. “The cauldron is the real reason for it all. I must … get my hands … on the cauldron.” I snuggled closer to the warmth beside me and fell into a peaceful sleep where my mind drifted from one pleasant dream to the next. When I found myself in strong masculine arms, I held firmly to the comforting sensation. I lay strewn across a broad chest, encircled in protective warmth. The man’s breath ghosted on my forehead, and I lifted my face so that my lips could seek out the firm lips of the man beneath me. The fog of sleep slowly dissipated as our lips touched, and I became aware that the man in my bed was not a dream. I jerked back with a gasp and scuttled off the bed, arms and legs flailing animatedly. When no pursuer followed, I halted my retreat. Stopping at the bedroom door, I flipped on the light to reveal a primitivelooking man in my bed. He sat upright, long hair and beard covering most of his face, but I could see his rounded eyes clearly. Amber eyes. “It can’t be,” I whispered. “Was this some kind of joke between you and Merlin?” The tirade forming on my lips fell short as I took in his stunned expression. Through his unguarded, vibrant eyes, I could clearly read his astonished disbelief. He was just as shocked at his transformation as I was, probably more so. He ignored me completely as his eyes darted around the room before scanning his own shaking hands held out before him. His skin was youthful —smooth and taut over rippling muscle. Yet his dark hair bore streaks of white, something normally foreign to the ageless Fae. He had retained a touch of his wolf. The white strands of hair through his dark mane were striking. A single barked laugh burst from his chest, and our eyes were drawn together again. He bound from the bed in my direction, and I held out my hands to keep him away, but my effort was futile. He lifted me up against his chest, swinging me around in circles with a delighted rumble of masculine laughter. It occurred to me I could fight him. After all, I was well trained in many forms of combat. However, his boyish exuberance was disarming, and I allowed myself to be swept up in his arms. “Too tight, I can’t breathe,” I groaned as the room spun around me. He instantly stopped and set me back on my feet. “Sorry,” he coughed, clearing the gravel from his neglected vocal cords. “I got a little carried away.” His golden eyes shone down with a joyous excitement that was foreign to me. The reality of his truth struck me. “It wasn’t a trick. You really have been stuck as a wolf—only now you’ve been freed. How? Why now?” I asked breathlessly. His eyes flashed at the reminder of his suffering, and guilt settled over me for mentioning his torment in the long-awaited moment of his freedom. “The Red Caps,” his raspy voice offered. He cleared his throat again, his voice nearly gone from lack of use. “They placed a curse upon me. I thought there was no undoing it. I had given up hope of ever being a man again.” His mouth lifted in a smirk, which was somewhat hard to see under the heavy beard. “But I’m free now.” He lowered his face, and before I could stop him, he licked the length of my right cheek. “Ugh! Stop that!” I wiped at my wet cheek and stepped back out of his reach. The man looked at me with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, again—I’m just so excited. I’ve been a wolf for so long. It’s going to take time to adjust.” I nodded, my thoughts coming back to me enough to realize that the man standing next to me was naked—breathtakingly, magnificently naked. As a Fae woman who needed s*x to charge her magic, nudity and i*********e were everyday facets of life. Sexuality didn’t embarrass me, which was why it was so surprising that my cheeks flushed at the sight of him. Agitated at myself more than uncomfortable with his appearance, I spun around to face the window, but his naked form reflected back at me off the glass. “You need to put some clothes on. Surely, you haven’t forgotten that much. Then you need to leave.” With soundless steps, he closed the distance between us until I could feel the heat from his body against my back. He leaned down until his lips were near my ear. “You’re just upset I know your secret.” My entire body went rigid. When I slowly turned around, my eyes were shards of cut glass. “How dare you? You filthy mutt, I’ll kill you.” My verbal attack would have brought most men to their knees, but the bearded Neanderthal wasn’t affected in the slightest. A wide grin spread across his face. “And how will you do that? With your impressive magic, or perhaps that tiny knife you wielded in the forest?” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been treated with such insolence. Rage and indignation bubbled to a boiling fury in my veins as my hands gripped into fists so tight my nails sliced into the soft skin of my palms. “Get out. Go tell your master everything you’ve learned and leave me alone.” My treacherous companion stepped closer until he was a breath away from me and lowered his face toward mine. “The name is Knight, and I’m not going anywhere.”
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