“There are rules?” I gape at him this time, and he nods. “What sort of rules?”
“No intentionally hurting humans. No changing humans without express written consent.” He cocks his head, studying me. “Did you think we could do whatever the fuck we wanted?”
“Pretty much, yeah.” I rub a hand over my stomach. The stitches might be out, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget what it felt like.
Lynx snarls, stepping closer until I feel his warm breath on my lips. I freeze, not out of fear this time, but in anticipation. I want him to touch me, so badly it hurts. “They should be punished for what they did,” he hisses.
It takes effort to focus on something other than his mouth, but I force the words out. “Why didn’t you report them to the hunters, then?”
A flash ofsomethingflares in his eyes. Regret, maybe?
He doesn’t look away as he says, “Because doing that would’ve drawn the hunter’s attention to us as well, and we can’t have that. Not doing what we do.”
“You mean with the fight rings.”
“Yes.” He sighs and takes a step back. “I’m sorry if it’s put you in more danger, but we’ve killed humans to rescue shifters from those fucking rings. Doesn’t matter that what they’re doing is wrong on so many levels. It’s still against hunter rules and we’ll be punished for it.”
I let that sink in.
I should be pissed off that he’s effectively ruined my life, but I’m just... not. I’m not thrilled, far from it, and maybe I wouldn’t feel this way if I hadn’t spoken to Nico. Hadn’t seen him thrashing about in absolute fuckingterrorfrom a nightmare brought on by being in one of those fight rings.
But I did.
I sat there and held his hand as he sobbed and told me a fraction of what it was like, because I’m pretty sure he didn’t tell me the worst parts.
How can I blame them, blame Lynx, for wanting to keep saving shifters like Nico? “It’s okay,” I murmur, and I mean it. “I’d want to save them too.”
His expression softens, blue eyes darkening to almost black as he watches me. My heart stutters, warmth spreading out in a gentle wave as a slow smile curves his lips. He’s so beautiful in that moment, I can’t look away.
It’s almost a surprise when he takes my hand and tugs me forward. I didn’t even see him move.
“Come on,” he says leading me towards the woods. “Let me show you.”
I follow him past a small clearing with a huge old tree in the middle. I open my mouth to ask about it, but he shakes his head. “Later.”
We take a few more steps into the trees before he stops and faces me. I glance around, forehead scrunching. At this point, I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’s not thinking about killing meanymore, but I’m confused as to what we’re doing here. “What am I looking at?”
“Me,” he whispers, then pulls his T-shirt over his head.
Oh.
Tattoos cover his skin—some dark, others bright flashes of colour—but before I get chance to study what they are, Lynx reaches for his belt and my breath catches. It’s like all other sound is sucked out of the air, the clank of his buckle seems so loud it’s all I can hear.
I don’t move a muscle as he undoes the button on his jeans and slides the zip down. Inch by inch, he reveals every part of him, and when he eases them down over muscled thighs dusted with dark hair, I almost swallow my tongue.
He’s not wearing underwear.
His jeans pool around his ankles and he kicks them off, along with his boots and socks.
His cock is right there, heavy and thick against his thigh, and my mouth waters. I have no idea why we couldn’t have done this back in my room, but I’m not about to complain.
“Don’t be scared,” he says softly.
“What?” I have about two seconds to wonder what the hell he means by that, then the air around him shimmers, a metallic tang coats the back of my tongue, and in the blink of an eye, I’m staring at a huge black wolf instead of Lynx.
“Fuck!” My heart leaps up into my throat and I stumble back against the nearest tree. “A little warning would’ve been nice.”
Wolf Lynx cocks his head and huffs.
