“Well, certain places are feeling certain things right now, if that’s what you are asking.”
His smile turned dangerous, but he didn’t make a move on me.
Rude.
Returning the sexy smile, I stepped closer, placing my hand on his chest. Only, the instant my fingers touched him, fur burst out of him, his body transforming from human tonot-so-humanbefore my eyes.
A gasp escaped my lips when I stepped back, seeing ripples of fur overtake his body like waves, his entire form changing. His height increased by at least another foot, his broad chest and arms becoming even larger until sharp obsidian claws protruded from his fingers. His legs bent in the oddest way, just as his head elongated into that of a…
“Werewolf!” I gasped, my heart slamming against my chest from the start.
“Sexy ass Wolf Shifter…”Star hummed.
Wow…
“Damn it, Hannes!” André hissed. “You scared her. Did you really have to turn into the Beast right now?”
The Beast… His words echoed in my mind while I looked at the full Werewolf towering over me. I’d seen him before, I knew him.
Hannes… The name jabbed at the intruding darkness that swayed in the place Natasha occupied, almost capturing her. Fierce guilt and worry seemed to break through the fog, reaching me with the memory of his name.
“Are you okay?” I reached for him again but stopped myself before I could touch him.
I had triggered his shift. I mean, it was a breathtaking, formidable, and shockingly enticing shift, but still. The mere possibility of my touch had done this to him.
“I’m sorry.” I had no idea why it felt like this, why I said that to him, but the light changed in his eyes, and he bowed his head.
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t hurt me on purpose.” His voice transformed too, becoming deeper, raspier, and animalistic, yet it was still sexy and delicious.
I’d never met anyone like him…
Blinking, I tried to understand his words, but the fog strengthened in my mind. What wasn’t my fault?
“Hannes only shifted because his Beast is the only form of his that can fully withstand your fire,” Dante explained. “And we are still unsure whether or not you are in full control of it right now.”
“But he is fine,” André assured. “Vanessa helped him heal after the boathouse?—"
“The boathouse?!” I whirled to glance at them, anxiously searching for the part of my mind I was now certain had been blocked from me.
A wave of scorching pain seemed to stir behind the darkness, but the fog kept it restrained. I instantly knew it wasn’t mine. It was Natasha’s… Something horrible had happened to her there.
“What happened in the boathouse?” I asked them, seeing Dante, André, and Hannes suddenly exchange a dreadful glance.
“I can’t remember either…”Star murmured.
“Did I hurt you with my fire?” I turned to Hannes, focusing on him.
“You truly can’t remember?”
When I shook my head at him, their dread deepened.
Whatever was happening, I didn’t like it one bit.
Taking a steadying breath, I straightened my spine. “Maybe you should call the Vampiri Mother again,” I told André, forcing myself not to show the battle within me. “Surely, she will know what’s going on.”
Tension spread along the corridor while our steps echoed against the tense silence; we were on our way to the dining room. Apparently, everyone was gathered there, including our Vampiri Mother.
My gaze roamed Hannes’s majestic werewolf form as he walked before me, becoming a living, breathing barricade for anyone who attempted to approach me—my shield.Dante and André each took their place at either side of me… presumably to protect me, even though the biggest threat here appeared to be me and my fire.
