Page 82 of Nightshade

“It was super bada—I mean, cool. It was cool.”

There were nervous titters around, and I could imagine that unlike Evie, some of the pack was worried about whether Leo was all there. I looked down at my arms, covered in thick, wolfen fur, my fingers tipped with claws sharper and bigger than anything my wolf self had ever even seen, let alone grown. Further down, my legs . . . well, human legs didn’t bend that way. Gross.

I was completely covered in fur, and my clothes had been shredded in the transformation.

That was how I realized I was . . . big. As Evie’s feet hit the ground and she stood next to me, I realized I was at least seven feet tall. I was used to being the tallest guy in any room, but this was ridiculous.

And half the pack, bar Evie, were staring at me in nervous not-quite-terror.

But all I could think about was what had driven me to this.

Altair.

I spun, my eyes searching until I found him, still on the ground next to my brother, both of them staring at me. There was no fear in either of them, though. Only wonder.

Viktor had let Altair go. Ivan’s hold must have broken, or neither one would be looking at me like they were. Fuck, Altair was even grinning.

My vampire pushed to his feet and came to me, not a drop of hesitation in him, his step light as always, almost a dancer’s gait, and I hated to imagine how I would walk with my weird backward-bent legs, so I simply waited.

He got to me, and instead of shying away from whatever the fuck I was, he reached up and planted his hands on either side of my face. “You killed him. You . . . I’m free. We’re free. Safe.”

He said that last like it was a magical word.

Safe.

Like he’d never imagined such a thing in his entire life.

CHAPTER 44

Altair

The tie binding me to Ivan snapped the second the tendons in his neck gave up. I’d never felt the kind of weightlessness that I did then.

I shuddered, and Viktor scowled at me.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Okay,” I agreed, a smile growing on my face that felt half mad, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was free. Ivan had nothing on me. He was dead, and it felt like a thing worth singing about, if I couldn’t feel the pulsing anxiety radiating off Leo.

That was new. Strange, too. But I didn’t mind. It didn’t feel heavy like an anchor or like any kind of cage. It was just Leo, and I wanted to feel him.

Wanted to be with him more, though it took a moment before Viktor believed I was fully myself again. He eased back, both of us staring at my Leo, who looked like nothing I’d ever seen.

Through the bond we’d forged, I felt his fear and anxiety and, yes, his righteous satisfaction in the aftermath of unleashing all that fury.

When I ran my hands over his face, his fur was so soft. He made a quiet, rumbling sound that I instinctively knew wasn’t a growl, even though a few wolves took a step back when they heard it. I had to push far up on my toes and drag him all the way down before I could press a kiss to the soft part of his muzzle.

“Thank you,” I whispered against his fur.

He blinked at me. His eyes looked enormous like this, with him all big and wolfy. He didn’t look anything like a werewolf I’d ever seen, but it was hard to argue with his results, and the way his emotions swirled through me, I had to assume it was new for him too.

I sighed and pressed into his fuzzy warmth until a growl rumbled in his chest, and I lifted my head.

Another threat?

No, it was just Viktor getting up off the ground, scowling down at the pieces of Ivan. I didn’t know if Leo was upset by the reminder of Ivan, or mad at his brother.

Pulling back from him, I frowned up at Leo. “You know Viktor was only protecting you, right?”