Page 53 of Once Upon an Enchanted Castle

She was now plunged into darkness once again with a useless candleholder in her hand. She tossed it aside and hurried back to the desk to grab the other one. A quick glance down to see the ink on the page was bleeding, moving, forming a symbol on the page. Swirling now and then lifting, moving, rising. Up and up and up.

Bella stumbled backward, tripping over the hem of her nightgown. As the dark mist rose, it formed another creature. Another shadow thing, for she had no other word to call it. It turned its faceless head toward her and then lunged.

A faint shriek ripped from her throat as ghostly hands wrapped around her neck, pressing into her skin and trying to snuff out her breath, as she snuffed out the candle. She gasped, trying to force air into her lungs, but the sharp fingers were crushing her throat, stealing her life. A burning sensation erupted through her, flaring behind her eyes.

The sound of breaking glass and other noises shattered the moment. The apparition released her and reared back, turned and suddenly the beast was there. It had knocked over the writing desk, the book tumbling to the floor, as it leapt through the broken window.

Bella stumbled backward, her back smacking against the cold marble of the fireplace, her hand on her throat as she gulped in air.

A deep, guttural snarl as it attacked the shadow, swiping massive claws through it. A high-pitched cry and then it was gone. But another quickly replaced it as it surged from the darkness of the hallway through the open library door.

The beast took this one out as well.

Then there was silence. She huddled there, against the hearth, her pulse pounding hard and fast. The beast turned its head and met her gaze. She gasped as she looked into its eyes—its pale brown eyes. Familiar, yet feral. His name whispered through her mind.

But it could not be. Could it?

Shock stabbed her to the core as she got a good look at him.

He was massive. Taller than any man she’d ever seen. He was sinew and shadow. Coarse, thick black fur coated him, the color or charred ash. His limbs were too long, too lean. His hands were still vaguely human, but not, ending in terrifying claws that looked as though they could tear through the hardest stone.

But it was those eyes that stopped her. Not savage. Not mindless. Those pale brown eyes burned beneath a dark brow. Bright and haunted. Terrible and terrifying. Yet unmistakably his.Leopold.

His lips peeled back, showing long sharp, teeth. But he didn’t howl. He emitted a labored breath as though the fight had taken something out of him. He shifted toward her, and she saw it then—the rose-shaped scar twisted beneath the fur on his forearm. The curse banded into his flesh, even in his beastly form.

Though he stood with the brute power of a predator, he did not move to attack her. He had protected her from the shadows. Deep in his eyes she saw he hadn’t lost himself to the best completely.

Not yet.

And that, at least, gave her hope.

She took a tentative step toward him but suddenly another apparition appeared in the doorway.

“Behind you!” she managed.

He spun as the shadow thing attacked. The dark claw ripped across Leopold’s chest, shredding flesh and fur. He cried out in agony, a deep guttural moan that sent shivers skipping through her. The attack angered him, and he surged forward, swiping a paw down the length of the apparition, cutting it in two. That high-pitched whine and then it disappeared in a puff of dark mist.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs and Gerald’s voice rang out followed by Emmaline’s. She sucked in a breath. The beast’s pointed ears perked as he placed himself between the doorway and her. He emitted a low, guttural growl of warning, ready to fight once again.

“No, Leopold,” she said, her voice calm and sure.

He turned his head, his eyes meeting hers once again.

“Go,” she breathed. “Before they find you.”

“Bella!” Gerald called. He was steps away from the library.

“Please,” she begged. Then, she called, “I’m fine!”

She was spurred into action as she hurried toward the door, desperate to put herself between him and the butler. She caught a whiff of his feral scent as she skirted around him, unafraid of him.

“Don’t let them see you,” she said as she passed by him.

He hurried to the window and leapt through the broken glass, disappearing into the night.

Chapter 23

Themomenthewasgone through the window, Gerald was in the doorway. Emmaline held a candle, the flickering glow highlighting the alarm and concern on her face. Edith peered over her shoulder, trying to see what was happening.

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