Slowly, my fingers lengthened and transformed into four toes and a dew claw. Thick brown fur burst from my skin and spread down my arm. When the partial shift was complete, I flexed my claws.
Metal clanked as Caleb scrambled backward, his face the color of the sheets. If I’d had any neighbors, they probably would have heard his heart trying to pound from his chest. He blinked hard, opening and shutting his eyes like he was trying to convince himself he was dreaming.
“It’s real,” I said, keeping my tone calm and matter-of-fact. “I’m not trying to trick you. I’m not using any prosthetics or special effects. I didn’t drug you.”
Blue eyes darted from my paw to my face. “You… You’re a…” He licked his lips, wetting the plump lower one, and I had to clench my jaw against another surge of lust.
Right. Because this situation wasn’t already fucking complicated enough.
“I’m a werewolf,” I said, holding his stare. “And so are you.” When he opened his mouth, I talked over him. “Before you deny it or try to rationalize this away, remember what you did to that cyclist tonight. And think hard about the changes you’ve experienced recently.” As the denials in his eyes wilted, I nodded. “You got stronger, right? Put on muscle even though you didn’t change up your workouts?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “How do you know that?” He swallowed hard, and the burnt tire scent of fear overpowered the smoke of desire. “Do you know about the jogging trail?”
“Only that you tried to chew through that guy’s leg tonight.” I pulled back my beast slightly as my suspicions solidified into resignation. “What else happened on the trail? Were you attacked there?”
“I don’t know. I went for a run this August, and I passed out or something.” His shoulders tightened as he flicked another look at my paw. Despite his obvious fear, anger leaked into his voice. “I lost four hours on my back next to a park bench. That’s what happened. Then my life fell apart.”
“No,” I said, “your life began anew.” Again, it was impossible to blunt the truth. Not with this. “You were bitten, Caleb. Humans have to die before they can turn. The wolf killed you. Four hours later, the lycanthropy virus in your body healed your wounds and revived you as a werewolf. An immortal.” I waited a beat. “Your wolf is strong. Stronger than it should be for someone this new.”
His heart thumped faster. Then he gave his head a single, hard shake. “No. This is too fucking weird.”
“Language,” I said softly.
That stubborn jaw of his went up a notch, and the hint of golden stubble on his cheeks sparkled in the light. “You were just fine dropping an F-bomb a second ago. I take it the no-swearing rule doesn’t apply to you?”
Damn, he was cute. And I was in so much trouble. I raised a brow. “In addition to being gay a hell of a lot longer than you, I’ve been a werewolf a long time, too. So it’s like I told you, sweetheart, I’m in charge.” As pink dusted his cheekbones, I fought the urge to climb onto the bed and find out if his lips were as soft as they looked. “You were brought up in a religious household,” I said. “I’m surprised you’re comfortable with profanity.”
His fingers twitched above the cuffs, and his heartbeat became a pounding drum in my ears. “Have you been stalking me?”
I forced my wolf to recede. A second later, the change rolled through my arm. My skin tingled as fur disappeared and my claws receded into blunt fingernails. When the transformation was fully reversed, I lowered my hand. “Stalking, no. Until recently, you were a student athlete. And your father is the vice president of an insurance company. It’s not hard to find information about you on the internet.”
He appeared to think this over. Then he narrowed his eyes. “Why would you look me up in the first place?”
“With a few exceptions, our kind can always sense each other. I’m better at it than most. Your scent is faint because you’re so new, but I caught it. And once I scented another werewolf in the area, I had to find out who you were. New wolves don’t thrive on their own.” It was close enough to the truth to slip under his senses, which he almost certainly hadn’t learned to use.
“How long have you been watching me?” he demanded.
“Not long.” His heart rate was spiking again. “Take deep breaths,” I said. “Your fear is making your blood pressure skyrocket.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“That’s a lie. I’ll teach you how to scent them. Once you’ve practiced, it’ll be very difficult for people to lie to you.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it, a hint of curiosity forming in his sky-blue irises.
“Better,” I said. “If I wanted to hurt you, don’t you think I would have done it by now?”
Anger replaced the curiosity in his eyes. He rattled his cuffs, then made a valiant effort to hide his wince. “Could have fooled me, because these feel like shi— Garbage.” He frowned, almost as if he was angry with himself for moderating his speech. Then he rotated his wrists in the cuffs, wincing again when his skin sizzled against the metal. “These hurt,” he said finally.
My chest twinged, and it was an effort not to rub at the ache that tried to blossom under my sternum. My wolf grew agitated. The beast didn’t communicate with words, but it had ways of making its displeasure known. It shoved at me now, urging me to shoulder Caleb’s pain. If I let it shove hard enough, it would break through the mental block I’d placed on the new connection in my chest. Caleb’s pain and vulnerability wouldflood my mind, allowing me to feel everything he was feeling and, given enough time, take the burden from him.
I held Caleb’s gaze and made my voice firm. “The cuffs can come off, but I need your word that you won’t try anything. If you do, you’ll suffer the consequences.”
Caleb tensed, but I didn’t miss the husky note that entered his voice as he asked, “What are the consequences?”
More lust crackled through my veins. I hadn’t believed in god for…a while. But I had an inkling the universe possessed a dark sense of humor. As I held Caleb Lawson’s blue gaze, that inkling turned into full-blown certainty.
I had a twenty-three-year-old newly turned werewolf with an angel’s face and a body built for sin lying half-naked in my bed. Unless I was mistaken, he possessed a submissive streak almost as wide as his pretty eyes. And his wolf had just claimed mine as a mate.
