Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,94

other voices under her own, a demonic choir that hissed and sang just over Eric’s shoulder. “You’re my mate and she is tearing us apart!”

“Ah!” Eric cried out as his hands grasped Lydia’s neck. She gasped, clutching at him, but his grip was tight. “I-I...can’t…” He was crying even as he choked the life from her and Lydia felt herself slipping away. It was too much, between Michelle draining her of her strength and Eric choking her of her breath.

Lydia shut her eyes and felt herself go deathly weak, limp under Eric’s terrible hold.

Please don’t blame yourself, she thought. She used the last of her strength to speak into his mind. A last attempt at sending him her love. I’ll always be yours. Because I always have been. Your soulmate. Since we found each other in the woods, two little bears…

He could hear her. She felt it. Somewhere under the iron fist of Michelle’s magic, Eric was hearing her. Even if he couldn’t listen and believe her now, perhaps he would someday. And far off when he passed to whatever afterlife there was for bear shifters, they’d find each other.

She suddenly felt very peaceful and content, her soul beginning to slip from her body just as she felt Eric’s grip on her throat loosen and she heard his voice ring out. Michelle was screaming, power pouring from her as she fought to keep control. It was making the furniture tumble around the room. Someone was pounding on the door of the suite, having heard the ruckus.

Yet Eric’s voice was a thunder in Lydia’s ears over all the chaos. “Lydia? What have I done…”

It will all be over soon, Lydia thought.

“You wore a blue dress,” Eric cried. His fingers caressed her cheeks and his words were full of love. “I remember… We met at the river. We fought over a fish… Lydia!” His voice quaked and she slumped over just as he moved to cradle her in his arms. “Lydia, don’t die. My love, please! I’m here! I know you! I love you, Liddy, please, please…”

The door burst open and the Strauss brothers ran into the suite, quickly shifting into bears and running straight for Michelle who howled as the force of her magic shifted away from Eric and Lydia to the enemies rocketing toward her - three large and very angry bears on the attack.

It was all a blur to Lydia as she lay cradled in Eric’s arms. She was dimly aware of it all, but the suite was still shaking around her from the magic that had been tossed around. A table had stuck to the ceiling and two chairs crashed through a window.

But it was all fading around Lydia as everything encompassed itself in a peaceful white light.

“Liddy,” Eric said tearfully, shaking her a little as if trying to wake her from a deep sleep. “Liddy, it’s almost over. Liddy!”

Behind them, the brothers attacked the witch as she threw spell after spell, having completely lost her hold on Eric.

I hope she doesn’t kill them, Lydia thought idly.

“I don’t know how this works,” Eric said, his voice cracking. “Okay…”

He held her more tightly and Lydia heard him in her mind. His arms were warm and strong around her.

Draw on my strength, he said in her head. If Michelle can do it to you, you can do it to me. I know you can. Our connection is so strong, I know it…

I don’t want to hurt you, Lydia thought.

“You won’t!” Eric cried, sounding as desperate as she’d ever heard him. “I promise, you won’t. Just feel my strength. We’re mates.”

“We’re mates,” Lydia whispered.

She wasn’t quite aware of what she was doing either way, but with what embers of life she had left in her, she held onto Eric as he held her.

33

Eric

Eric wanted to kill Michelle so badly, his entire body shook with the need to do it. Her control of him was severed. Behind him and Lydia, she was still putting up a fight against Eric’s brothers. There were already burned holes in the walls of the suite from powerful spells she’d thrown and they’d dodged. There was no sign of Michelle’s apparent partner in crime, James. He assumed his brothers had dispatched him quickly enough and that was something anyway.

It was taking all his concentration to send his strength into Lydia’s body. It was all a hunch really. Telepathic links between mates were rare; a fluke of genetic matching among shifters. But he’d heard enough about it. Such