If I were smart, I’d try to complete the spell on the next cycle. The timeline was tight, between creating the poultice for the magic enhancing artifact, and then crafting the artifact itself before two. I might not be successful on the first try, and I almost definitely needed the men’s help. Or, at least their cooperation with my pleas to not kill me.
That was my other mental block with the idea of finally getting the fuck out of here.
The men.
What as I supposed to do about them?
I’d grown so attached to them over the time I’d spent in the house that I didn’t want to leave them here, but I hadn’t figured out if the spell would allow them to walk out with me before the seal snapped back into place. There was also the issue of them no knowing who I was at the start of every cycle. If I let them follow me out, would they want me?
I wanted them to want me.
Fuck, I was in so much trouble.
Not to mention, I wasn’t aware of why they were locked up. Abraxas had killed his parents and Waylon was born here. Why was Kirin here? And Zan? Most importantly… how dangerous was Bennett on the full moon?
I couldn’t release a feral being, no matter how much I was beginning to enjoy his company. His rational thought processes. His ability to command a room. Every positive quality went out the window if he desperately needed to maim and kill during the height of the full moon.
Closing the book I’d been staring blankly at for the past twenty minutes, I stood and stretched. Going over the spell book had taken all day. The moon was floating high in the sky, now, visible through the skylights. Bennett would begin his transformation soon. He wouldn’t be at the peak of his violence yet, if he was violent at all, but showing signs.
I doubted he’d tell the truth about what happened to him if I asked him, so that left one option if I wanted to ensure I could release the guys and keep the populace safe at the same time. All I had to do was ignore Waylon’s warning and visit Bennett in his room. I’d see what he became.
What was the worst that could happen?
He’d kill me?
Laughing quietly, I abandoned the piles of books in disarray. They’d all be back where they originally were by the time I woke up in the morning. I tried to stay quiet as I made my way down to the second floor, not wanting Waylon to try to stop me this time, or to have to explain myself. When I came up to Bennett’s heavy wood door, I didn’t knock. I simply turned the knob and slid inside, closing it behind me.
Grunts and groans echoed through the space, sounding both pleasured and pained. Slowly, I turned away from the door to face the interior of the room. It was the same as the last time I’d seen it, except for the cage in the corner having an occupant. Bennett was sitting in it, his back against the strong iron bars, but he didn’t look completely human anymore.
His thick hair had grown out further, becoming a layer of fur covering most of his body. The usual bulk of his frame was further expanded, muscles bulging. They may be rippling, too, but I couldn’t quite tell from across the room. His feet were bigger, shaped more like paws with sharp claws and matching his distinctly inhuman hands.
The most prominent change was his face, which wasn’t human in the slightest.
Canines poked down from his mouth, enlarged and protruding, and his face was covered in fur. The shape of his nose had shifted to resemble a snout, but not as pronounced as an actual wolf. And his eyes… well, the look in them was feral, and they glowed the familiar yellow-green of a wolf.
“Get out,” he snarled, baring his teeth.
I didn’t move, scanning him top to bottom one more time. There wasn’t a lick of clothing on him, but his knees were pulled up far enough that I couldn’t see his cock. It would have a swollen knot at the bottom, I was sure.
“Why?”
“I’ll hurt you.”
Every word sounded like it took effort. When the transformation was complete and he was taken in by the full moon’s lure, would he be able to speak? Or did he only have access to his animalistic side? “You’re in a cage,” I said.
A glance confirmed there was a hefty lock in place, closing him into the cage. There were visible scratches in the iron where he’d tried to get himself out in the past, so I knew his containment was solid. I took a few steps forward, and his growl echoed. Hopefully, the other residents of the house were used to hearing this, and wouldn’t come running. I was staying through this transformation, and I didn’t need them physically removing me.
“I’ll get out.”
“It doesn’t look like you’ve ever gotten out before.”
“Don’t be stupid, birdie. I’ve never had a breedable, mateable female in my room before.”
My heart pounded faster, and I stopped moving closer. He hadn’t called me birdie at all since the library orgy. This was the first time. Did the pet name only pop up when he was aroused? “I doubt my presence changes the strength of the cage.”
He scoffed, but it sounded more like the snuffle of a wolf nosing through a pile of leaves. “The strength of the cage doesn’t change, but my strength does. You have about a minute to leave before I can’t stop myself from giving into the moon.”
I took one step backward. The urge to leave was there, but it was a remnant of the old Hadley. The version of me who didn’t take a single risk except for one: to come to this damn house. Hadley House had moulded me into someone different. Knowing the consequences of my actions wouldn’t last long helped. Current me wanted to stay. Find out what he meant by giving into the moon. Watch and see if his strength would truly increase enough to free him from those bonds.
