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Something moved behind the window.

A shadow.

Jasmine.

It had to be. She was in there. I knew it with everything in me.

The bond between us bloomed then, so big and bright and beautiful.

I ran around to the side of the house, searching for a way to get up there. I couldn’t go inside and risk him trapping me as well, or finding her. These old Victorians usually had a way to escape in case of fire.

Around the back, there was a narrow steel ladder attached to the side of the house above the porch. Jumping, I grabbed the edge of the porch roof and swung up, then walked as quietly as I could across the roof. The ladder was rusted, neglected. I gave it a strong tug and, thankfully, it held. I scrambled up the next three stories as fast and as quietly as I could, not wanting to linger on the old thing.

My fox retreated, not a fan of heights, but he didn’t go too far. He was as desperate to get to our female as I was. Everything inside screamed for me to run to her, but I couldn’t. I had to balance carefully on the ridge to make my way to the front of the house.

When I finally reached it, I crouched down, gripped the edge of the roof and dropped over the side, planting my feet on the window ledge.

The window opened, and I swung into the room, landing with a thud on the wooden floor. My hand went to my knife as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Then I saw her.

Jasmine stood several feet away, staring back at me, eyes wide. “You found me,” she rasped, her lips quivering.

Then she ran at me.

Jasmine

* * *

My body collided with Ren. One of his arms locked around my waist, and the other went to the back of my head. He dropped his face to the side of my throat and breathed deep, scenting me, his fox rumbling in his chest when he exhaled.

“Thank fuck,” he growled, his muscles trembling.

I fisted his shirt, holding him to me, afraid to let him go, afraid this wasn’t real and he wasn’t actually here. Tears stung my eyes, then spilled over.

Ren slid his fingers under my chin, tilting my head back. His gaze searched mine, then a shuddering breath fell from between his lips and I knew he saw the truth of what I felt for him shining back. He saw my love for him burning bright.

“Butterfly,” he said hoarsely, then his mouth was on mine, kissing me with a hunger and desperation, so sweet and fierce that my heart ached. His big hands held my face, breath puffing from his nose, our lips fused. He dug his fingers into my hair, kissing across my cheek, along my jaw. “You’re okay,” he rasped. “You’re okay, baby.” He said it over and over, I knew to reassure himself as much as me. Finally, he lifted his head. “We need to leave.”

Taking my hand, he started toward the window. Rain tapped against the roof. I tried to limp after him as another gush of blood trickled down my leg, a cry falling from my lips.

“You’re bleeding,” he said and crouched beside me before carefully taking my foot in his hands. He hissed as he studied my sliced-up feet and ankles, the gouges along my calves. Fury rolled off him. “Xavier did this?”

I shook my head and motioned to the trapdoor. “No, his monsters.”

“Demons? There are demons in this house?”

As if I’d called to them, their roars echoed from below, the trunk lifting an inch off the ground before crashing back down. I jumped, my nerves shot from an entire day and night of listening to them.

Ren pulled his knife free, growling.

“Not demons. Creations of Xavier’s mind. They’ve been here since he was a child. His mother’s spirit came to me, she showed me everything. This was where she put him when he did…” I shuddered. “Terrible things. He’s a sadistic monster, Ren, and his mother was afraid of him. Eventually, she made him lock away that part of himself. This house, at least the alternate reality he created within it, is exactly how he’s compartmentalized his emotions. All the rooms on the top floor are where he’s locked away the things he doesn’t want to deal with. It’s all up here, and up until a couple days ago, so was his bloodlust and desire to inflict pain.”

“He released it?”

“Yes. That’s why he had me here, to help him heal the wound left when he dropped each internal wall. When I wasn’t healing him, he threw me into the realm he’d manifested as a child, a duplicate of his house.”

Ren frowned. “But Xavier’s raging downstairs looking for you. Why can’t he find you up here?”