“And,” I said, walking back to the drawer that had held the chains. I grabbed a palm-sized purple bag from the corner. “You’ll need this. It’s a small bag of wolfsbane and vervain, ground down into a powder. It’s a were’s only weakness. If I’m acting too unruly, then throw this down at my feet. The dust will knock me out.”
He took the bag in the same hand that held the key. “Holy shit. Is it safe?”
“Yes, it is. The mixture can’t kill a were by itself, only weakens us enough for someone to come in and finish the job.” I gave him a wink. “But I don’t think that’s the job you’re interested in with me.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, no it’s not.”
“And you’re sure you want to stay tonight?” I asked him again.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I do.”
“Okay then.” I went over to the chains hanging on the wall. I bent down and clasped the ones around my ankles first. I wore a cheap pair of paint-stained gym shorts that were about to be ripped to shreds. “Can you help with my hands?”
Eli gave a little jump and hurried over to my side. He gently grabbed my arm and lifted it. I looked at him, the soft light of a lamp painting his throat in shadow. His pulse beat just under the skin. I leaned in and kissed him where I saw the twitching of his vein. He dropped his head back and gave a little groan.
My cock became instantly rigid. He noticed it as he crossed me to lock up my other hand, his thigh brushing against the dripping head. I sucked in a breath.
“We’ll have to handle that once the sun comes up,” he said, licking his lips.
“Yes. Yes, we will.”
Fuck. I wanted him to handle it now, but the clock on the wall said we were five minutes out from the shift. I didn’t even need the clock to know that. I could feel the influx of power and instincts that started to seep into me, my body drawing on all the natural energy that thrummed through this world, unseen and unheard of by almost the entire human population. The same way the moon drew the tides of the ocean, it also concentrated the powers of this earth. It was as if Mother Nature herself glided into the room and wrapped me up in a viny shawl, whispering to me that it was okay.
That I could release my inner wolf.
That I could shed my human skin.
That I could howl at the full moon.
My vision blurred, and my head drooped so that my chin rested on my chest.
The transformation began.
For me, it happened in a quick haze. My body kept its human silhouette while elongating, expanding, morphing, and shifting. Hair began growing all over my body in the same browns and whites and the same pattern as my wolf form. My fingers and toes elongated into lethal, razor-sharp claws. A tail grew out of my lower back and fell down between my legs. My senses sharpened, my thoughts slowed, and my instincts honed.
Minutes later, it was over. I looked up at my clawed hands in chains.
I scented the room.
My lungs caught on fire. My heart beat like a drum banging wildly between them.
Elijah. He was standing there, feet away from me. His jaw was agape, pupils blown wide. I cocked my head. I could see the individual beauty marks that dotted his face, the three that trailed down his neck, underneath the collar of his shirt.
I inhaled him again. A long, drawn-out howl pushed out of my chest.
It carried with it my desire.
“Gabe? Can you understand me?”
I could. I couldn’t speak back, could only howl, hoping desperately that it would get my yearning across to him.
Another inhale. My mind reeled as my body tensed.
The scent was undeniably potent. And it carried with it an unquestionable declaration.
He’s mine. Elijah.The man standing in front of me, looking at me with a mix of awe and fear, that man wasmine. My very atoms vibrated and buzzed with confirmation. Blood pounded in my head, beating to the rhythm of Eli’s heartbeat. I had synced with him somehow. I knew because I could hear his pounding heart, the “whoosh” of blood pumping out through his arteries, back in through his veins. It matched mine.
Mine.
