Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,92

to Lydia.

But he never got the chance.

Michelle had taken him to mean he was resisting her and that had pushed her right over the edge, causing her to lose her grip.

Michelle reared back and her jaw clenched as she reached her hand out to him. She was about to throw a spell in his direction, Eric thought. Just like she had with that man, James. In that tiny moment of clarity, her hold on him was broken. Or, that’s what it felt like. Suddenly, Eric was lucid.

He heard Lydia in his head, as clear as a bell.

Eric, I can hear you! I’m in the closet! Help me! Eric!

Eric didn’t think, he just shifted immediately, his bear breaking through the morass of confusion and tackling Michelle to the ground before she could throw anymore unwanted magic at him.

He felt much stronger as his bear. He was blind with rage, as the realization hit him that Michelle had been controlling his mind, forcing him into being with her.

She had asked him to kill Lydia…

One massive claw took a swipe at Michelle’s neck. He missed, but she screamed, her eyes blazing as she muttered some spell under her breath. The same red light that had taken down James engulfed Eric and that pain he’d felt before returned one-hundred fold. He felt as if his soul was leaving his body, it hurt so badly.

Yet, his bear fought through it.

He was bleeding from his gums, his eyes blurring with pink tears as he struggled to maintain control, wrestling Michelle and trying to stop her from cursing him any further. She grunted, crushed beneath the great weight of his bear and all at once she shifted.

That was good, Eric thought. He could easily take her if she was in her bear form. She likely couldn’t do magic that way.

All his memories were rushing back at once as if he were waking up from a deep sleep. Lydia was his mate and his true love.

Michelle was apparently trying to kill him.

They charged each other right there in the middle of the suite’s spacious living room. Eric didn’t wait for Michelle to reach him. He leapt, slamming her into a wall with every bit of strength in him. He heard the thunk of her head hitting the wall and her body went limp under his. Eric growled under his breath, stumbling back and watching Michelle’s bear slump to the floor. She was alive, but unconscious.

That was good enough.

Michelle was down.

The suite was quiet and Eric’s mind was clear again.

All at once Lydia’s distinctive scent hit his nose, made more sensitive in his bear form. It was akin to a punch in the face, and as good as seeing her right next to him. He charged at the coat closet and took the locked door off its hinges with one swipe of his giant claws.

There was Lydia. She was tied to a chair, bound and gagged, her eyes red from crying. She blinked blearily at him and he heard her in his head again.

I knew you’d find me, my love.

32

Lydia

It felt odd to walk around in Eric’s mind once she got there, and odder still to be able to feel that he was under Michelle’s control. She heard them fighting outside the closet and all at once she felt the walls of Eric’s mind drop and there he was. Lydia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and a moment later Eric ripped off the door and found her there.

It was awkward to get her freed with Eric in his bear form. He grabbed the leg of her chair carefully to avoid biting her leg and dragged it forward, out of the closet, before working at her binding with his claws. He was impatient as a bear. Stronger, but less agile and delicate. He kept nicking her hands and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out.

She wanted to warn him not to shift back, but she was gagged.

Lydia didn’t know a ton about magic, but she’d heard enough here and there to know that Eric was potentially more resistant to a mind control spell in his bear form and also that as soon as Michelle woke up, that spell would be intact again. It was already impressive that Eric had been able to fight it off at all. Michelle would need to break it herself (unlikely) or die for that hold to truly be broken for good. Until then, he was always at risk