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I realized too late he was shaking with silent laugher, his amusement so intense it bypassed the need to create sound. My eyes narrowed on his face as a laugh burst from him and the mesmerizing blue slowly opened. I folded my arms across my chest, but his tail tugged one of my hands free, twining around my fingers and palm like it was trying to hold my hand.

I couldn't deny the strangeness of present circumstances, but something within me melted with the gesture. My eyes closed, embarrassment overtaking me. My ability to concentrate on this conversation was deteriorating just as quickly as my grotesque’s. His dominating aura and magnetism held me captive every time I was remotely close to him.

I ached to feel his skin on mine, to discover if he kissed as passionately as I suspected he would, but I also absolutely did not need the distraction of a relationship, especially with dark witches hunting creatures in the library I worked for. Nothing would deter me from earning my master’s degree.

My heart swelled as I thought about my dad and the smile plastered to his face whenever he caught me snooping around his drafting desk, looking for the latest of his brilliant architecture designs for work.

I refuse to fail him. It’s past time I steered this conversation back on course.

“How are the coven able to do this if they can't be on the premises?

“Hmm, I never confirmed that.” Bane ran a hand over his face, and I winced as his claws dragged over his eyelids. “While they’ve never physically shown themselves, the Heechus have warded the place. They can, and do test the wards though. It’s one of the main reasons they keep abducting me. But,” he lowered his voice, “I’m not confident that it would keep them out if they attempted a physical attack. The HHC has absorbed centuries worth of Heechu magic, their power is essentially limitless. While the library itself is steeped in magic, but its natural wards have traditionally been boosted through the librarian.”

I nodded. “Someone with powers of their own.”

“Usually, a witch, but on occasion, some kind of obscure type of supernatural has held the position. However, about two months ago…”

I couldn’t stop myself from finishing his sentence, Dean Asshat’s words echoing inside my skull. “When the librarian went missing.” His head tilted. “The dean mentioned it.”

Bane’s eyes darkened. “They must have abducted them somewhere away from the library or I would’ve noticed. The other horrifying possibility is that the wards are much weaker than we thought they were.” He shook his head, the blue of his irises brightening. “We believe the librarian was the first to be trapped inside a fairytale. No idea which one, but it’s not as though we’re able to snoop in any story we want.”

A sigh left me, rounding my shoulders. “Oh,” I grumbled, “that complicates things.”

My grotesque laughed, rubbing a hand down my spine, and I stiffened as I noticed just how massive his hand truly was, its size so massive it spanned the whole width of my lower back. I rolled my shoulders, arching away from his touch, but he just followed my movements, the press of his palm consistently applying light pressure. Rolling my eyes internally, I tried, and failed, not to lean into his soothing ministrations as his thumb drew small circles on the small of my back.

The most obvious, though definitely pertinent, question flared in my thoughts. “Why me?”

“That, My Sweet Honeybee, is a good question.” Bane’s breath tickled the shell of my ear, his hand sliding around my waist, and I swore I’d felt the press of his lips brush the top of my head. “I'd wager it's because you've moved into the previous librarian's apartment and have been spending a lot of time in these walls. Shite, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had spies within the university staff.”

I raised a brow, folding my arms across my chest. “I’ve only been here a day,” I paused, lips turning downward. “No, three days now. They work that quickly?”

He shrugged and squeezed me into him. I planted my palms on his chest and shoved myself away until I could look into his eyes without breaking my own neck.

Bane smiled, flashing both upper and lower sets of fangs, yet his eyes crinkled with sympathy. “Yes, the Heechu Hunters have never been a coven to quibble over threats to their power.”

My stare hardened on him, disgust dripping from my words. “If all of what you said is true, what can we possibly do to stop them?” I loathed not being able to sort through an issue quickly, solving them independently.

Bane’s hand flexed on the plush armrest, thick claws pricking the fabric. “I don’t know.”

“Shit.”

“Well said.” He laughed humorlessly, then nudged my chin with a knuckle until my stare met his. “I will figure something out. I must. There is no other way forward.”

My insides knotted at his serious tone, his words sinking in. I yanked my hand away from his tail, realizing belatedly that I remained clutching it. “We will work with the Heechus. This bullshit doesn’t affect just you anymore. They’ve already made it onto my shitlist.”

Bane grinned. “My fierce, lassie,” he teased, slipping seamlessly back into his happier personality. “We'll just have to find a way to stop them together.”

I followed the direction of his stare to the bookcase, an intriguing mixture of gurgling growls and squeaking, and what must be the Heechu language, issuing from the pile Bane placed Huff in earlier.

My grotesque rolled his eyes, then scoffed. “Of course we won’t leave you fluffballs out.”

“What did he say? Is that their language?”

Bane returned his attention to me, gently sliding my glasses back into place. “Yes, that's the spoken version of their runic language.”

My belly swooped, a small smile spreading across my face. “Runes. That must’ve been what I saw on that paper taped to the wall.” Twinges pulled at my cheek muscles, making my smile grow as the Heechus let out a chorus of the most adorable giggles.

Bane winked. “They like to hang up those notices for fun to fuck with the students and faculty. It’s too bad that not many of them utilize this library anymore since they built that new one across campus. We rarely see more than one person, if that, a day come through those doors.” He laughed deeply, then he titled his head as he leveled me with his stare. “You should’ve seen the look on their faces every time someone stared at their fliers. If you would like, maybe I could teach you how to read it sometime?” His eyes widened, then his gaze hardened and he looked away, his lips moving like he was speaking to someone, but no sound formed; none that I could hear, anyway.