Chapter 11 - Sienna

Ever since our kiss the night before, I had been avoiding Franco. It wasn’t that I had ignored him because I was upset. Quite the opposite.

Something had changed when I opened myself up to him, and I’d felt a kind of excitement that I hadn’t experienced since I felt the first touches of magic coursing through my veins as a child. That kiss had been more powerful than I had anticipated. Something about touching him had unleashed more magic within me. Not much, but enough to make me feel more like myself. I was more alive. More free.

I had thought it was a one-time occurrence, but now I knew better. When he kissed my mark, it happened again—a spark of electricity had ignited inside me. It was a kind of magic I wasn’t familiar with, and I needed to find out if there was a way to unleash more of it. This could be the key.

With Franco busy dealing with the pack, I had some free time, so I hurried to the library to research my hunch. He had been telling me all along that I had the power necessary to break the curse that had been put on them. What if he was right? Now that I had a lead, I could figure out if there was more I could be doing to help the Forsaken Shadows pack.

“Hello, dear,” Muriel said when I opened the door to the library. “Back for some more research?”

“Yes,” I said. “I think I’ve got a lead.”

“Anything I can help you find?”

“I think I saw it a few days ago. Conexio Mysticum ?” I asked.

She led me to a familiar shelf and pulled the book from its place on the bottom row. It was a thick tome, easily 2,000 pages of densely compacted text. I thanked her profusely and headed to my usual spot to search through the book. Although I had learned Latin as a child, my comprehension was a little rusty.

This is going to take ages .

I pulled my lapis lazuli crystal from my pouch and performed a three-turned circle over the text.

“Please, increase my understanding,” I asked the stone quietly. “Help me to locate that which I seek.”

My intentions manifested at once, and the words became clear to me as I combed through the pages. After an hour of searching, I found what I was looking for.

“‘To unleash hidden powers within oneself, the magical practitioner can draw energy from a direct ancestor,” I read. “‘Alternately, powers may manifest fully when the witch reaches maturity. In such cases, the enchanter must mate fully with her life partner to access the hidden reserves of her being.’”

My heart fluttered and sank simultaneously as I read which avenues were open to me. Either I could go back to Sparkle Hollow and seek help from my father—my only living ancestor—or I could give in to the mate bond between Franco and me. The first option seemed far more practical as a surefire way to break the curse.

I reread the passage a few times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It would make my task so much easier if I could link with my siblings instead, but the mystical text was clear. Assistance would only be useful if it came from a spellcaster’s magical lineage. Even if I could call on them, though, I wasn’t sure we would have enough magic to break the curse. My older brothers would be hesitant to use their magic to help an evil werewolf clan, and even though my little sisters would answer my call in a heartbeat their magic wasn’t as strong as the rest of ours yet.

Without bothering to put the book away, I hurried back to the cabins to find Franco and tell him what I had found.

The pack was still gathered when I arrived, and I could tell that their bloodlust had become heightened once more. With a pang, I realized their reprieve had been even shorter than usual. It wasn’t clear whether their violence hadn’t been fully satiated by the encounter with the rival pack or whether the curse was growing stronger. Either way, I was glad to have found a potential solution to the problem. As I watched their bickering intensify, it was obvious that a solution was urgent.

“Franco, you got a minute?” I asked. “I think I found a way to break the curse.”

His expression turned from curiosity to excitement, and I could practically feel the buzz of anticipation coming from him.

“How?” he asked.

“The library had a book about the connection spells. It’s old magic, something I’ve never tried before, but I think it could work,” I said. “You said I was the key to breaking the curse, but I don’t have the kind of power you described. This book said that I could unlock my potential by tapping into my ancestral power. If I can access my father’s magic, I could break the curse.”

Franco’s face fell into disbelief as he realized what I was saying. “You aren’t going back to Sparkle Hollow,” he stated. “That is completely out of the question.”

“Even if that’s what it takes to unlock my magic? I thought you wanted to fix this,” I said, disappointment coloring my tone.

“You know there’s nothing I want more,” Franco sighed. “But there must be another way.”

“There isn’t,” I replied.

I was lying, but it didn’t feel like I had a choice. There was no way for me to be sure that either option listed in the mystical book would work, and going back to my father for help made the most sense. It was the less drastic of the two options—for me at least.

“So you say,” he growled. I felt his anger wafting toward me in spite of his attempt to keep it at bay. I shivered, knowing that the monster he kept hidden could resurface at the drop of a hat. “Find another way to break the curse, Sienna, before things get worse.”

“There isn’t another way,” I whispered.

I was unwilling to discuss the other option with him. Especially when he was in this state. As much as I enjoyed kissing Franco, kissing alone wouldn’t be enough to awaken the kind of power I needed to break such a powerful and long-lasting curse. Mating fully wasn’t something I was prepared to do right now. It was too personal, especially when I wasn’t sure I could fully trust Franco. He was still my captor, in spite of the progress we had made toward understanding each other. I wasn’t ready to open myself up to him like that. Not for this.

Franco opened his mouth to argue with me again when a fight broke out among the pack. He turned to look at them, sighing in disappointment as the bloodlust took hold of everyone once more. As always, he didn’t interfere. There was no point in trying to dissuade them from satiating their needs. To do so would only postpone the inevitable.

As we watched brother turn against brother, friend against friend, I knew there was no choice. If Franco wouldn’t let me seek help from my dad, there was only one other option left to me.

“Come with me,” I said, grabbing his hand.

He looked at me questioningly but obeyed. By now, he would know that I didn’t want to watch the bloodlust unfold. All I needed to do was seduce him without arousing his suspicion about why I was doing it. Men needed to feel wanted, after all.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I thought we could use some space from everyone,” I said. “I’d rather be alone with you.”

As I spoke the words, I realized they weren’t a lie. I did want to be alone with him. The realization alarmed me, and I stumbled slightly over the uneven ground.

“Easy,” Franco cautioned, catching me in his arms. “Have you been using magic today?”

“Only a little, in the library,” I admitted. I didn’t want him to think he was making me nervous, but now that I was alone with him and beginning to carry out my plan, I could feel my heart beating faster.

“Hmmm,” he replied, delicately fingering a loose strand of hair and twirling it between his fingers. I hadn’t realized that my high ponytail had been loosened by our make-out session earlier today. I removed the elastic band and shook my hair out, doing my best to be sultry and seductive as I did so.

“You told me earlier that I was yours,” I said quietly.

“And I meant it,” he replied.

“You also said I wasn’t off the hook.”

I looked down to the ground and back up into his eyes, utilizing a technique I had seen other women use countless times. The line I was walking was a fine one. I needed to seduce him to get what I wanted, but I couldn’t make my plan too obvious.

To my delight, it worked.

Franco cupped my cheek with one hand delicately. I inhaled softly at the contact as he leaned toward me. His hand traveled down my face, neck, breast, and side until it joined his other hand on my waist. Each point of contact felt electrified, and my eyesight narrowed until I felt like I was falling into his blue eyes. He moved closer to me, and I felt myself melting into him as our lips touched.

I wanted more of him. Needed more, to access my power.

My hands inched under his shirt, caressing the hard muscles of his abdomen. I grasped his waistband and searched for the button that would undo his burgeoning erection. This was hardly romantic or special for our first time, but there was no time like the present.

“Sienna,” he chuckled. “Stop that.”

“I don’t want to stop,” I breathed.

“Let’s just take this slow. We have time.”

“Not enough time,” I pointed out.

His hands stilled my exploration, and he eyed me with suspicion. “What do you mean?” he asked.

I realized I had started to give myself away, and I tried to backtrack. “I just meant that there’s no reason to wait,” I said. “We’re mates. You said I’m yours, so make me yours.”

My attempts were unsuccessful. Somehow, Franco guessed at my ulterior motives.

“This is about the curse, isn’t it?” he accused. “Of course it is. When I said there must be another way, you snapped that there wasn’t. But there is. This is the other way of unlocking your power, isn’t it?”

He tossed my hands away from him in anger and turned his back on me without a word.

“Franco, wait!” I cried. “I can explain.”

“No need,” he said over his shoulder. “I understand everything just fine.”

I struggled to compose myself at his rejection as he disappeared out of sight. I wasn’t sure where he was heading, but wherever it was, he didn’t want me to accompany him.

I needed a distraction, and with my final plan going up in smoke in front of my eyes, there was only one place I could get it.

“Back to the library,” I muttered.

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