Chapter 70
~ NYSSA
I couldn’t help but marvel at how his hand completely dwarfed mine.
Where his hands were large and callused, mine was small and soft. The stark whiteness of his skin against mine was obvious and I couldn’t help but marvel at how different we both were.
He led me out through a door at the side of the palace. There were no guards manning that spot and thankfully, we didn’t pass by anyone on our way towards the woods.
The closer we got to the dense trees, the more nervous I got. My heart raced in my chest and my skin thrummed with anticipation. I was excited to get out of my own skin, but underneath all that was nervousness.
I’d never shifted in front of anyone. I’d practiced for months, willing my body to make the change because of Henry.
It was ironic how I’d done it all for him and he wasn’t even in the picture anymore.
“You can strip behind those trees,” Rowan said, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.
I hadn’t even realized we’d come to a stop.
The trees were so thick that I could barely see the sky through them. It formed a dark cover above us, drowning us in pitch black darkness with only a sliver of moonlight in a few places.
“Okay,” I mumbled, hiding behind the trees.
I slid my dress down my shoulders slowly, peering over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being watched. I couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes all over my skin despite the darkness.
I was down to nothing but my panties despite the cool air, I could feel warmth all over my body. I couldn’t tell if it was nervousness or anticipation.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, willing my body to relax as I gave up control to my wolf.
The familiar sound of bones snapping filled the air and pain shot up my spine… a pain so indescribable that a gargle of agony left my lips.
I fell to the ground, spine snapping as my bones rearranged themselves, fur growing out of my skin.
My vision blurred. Stars danced across my front.
My muscles felt like they were on fire but I willed myself to keep going until finally, everything ceased.
I lay there, breath coming out in pants as I tried to regroup and take in my surroundings.
My vision was sharper, allowing me to see through the dark. My hearing came next; the sound of a rushing stream up ahead filling me with renewed vigor.
I tried to pull myself up, but my bones felt heavy. I still wasn’t used to this form.
The sound of a twig snapping behind me caused the fur on my back to stand on edge. I let out a warning growl, turning as best as I could to face the threat but when I did, my sounds died instantly.
Standing behind me was the largest creature I’d ever seen.
He was almost twice his size as a human, standing on two feet and not four. His skin was covered in short dark fur and he had claws easily the size of my palms. Over his face and arms were dark blue veins that stood out against his skin.
He was fucking terrifying and yet, I didn’t feel terror. I felt a wave of arousal so feral crash over me that a pained whine left my lips.
His nostrils flared, his eyes darkening considerably as he made his way over to him. My body urged me to stay, pushed me towards him in fact all the while my mind was reeling.
I hadn’t stopped to think about the implications of being in this form before agreeing and right now, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to stop myself if he tried to touch me.
He sniffed the air around me, a low rumble erupting from his chest.
We looked so different standing side by side; me with my light fur and on all fours, and him all black and menacing.
I braced myself for the worst but to my surprise, he nudged me with his nose, gently pushing me to my feet.
I whined, my bones protesting from the weight. It’d been a while and I was unprepared.
To my surprise, he didn’t fight, didn’t growl at me, he just gently nudged me forward, standing close as if waiting to catch me if I were to fall.
“Move, little wolf p>
I gasped at his voice in my head.
We weren’t mated, so he should have been able to. There was no way.
“How?” I asked.
“It’s a gift lycans have. I can only do it in this form,” he explained. “Your wolf is weak p>
Embarrassment filled me and my legs gave out immediately, but he was right there, holding me up carefully with those same clawed hands.
His touch was surprisingly gentle.
“It wasn’t meant to be an insult,” he murmured. I could have sworn I heard something akin to regret in his voice. “You need practice p>
What I needed was for him to stop fucking touching me.
My skin was alight with a flame that only he could feed and the longer I felt his hands on me, the more I felt like I was going to fucking combust.
“You’re not helping, Nyssa,” he growled low. “I have considerably less control like this and your scent is… stronger this way p>
“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose p>
“Trust me, I know,” he ground out, annoyed. “It’s just the mating bond. It’s nothing p>
I should have been happy that he wasn’t blaming me, but the callous way with which he said ’nothing’ had a bitter feeling crawling up my spine.
He didn’t smell aroused and he clearly didn’t have any issues touching me. It was obvious I was more affected by this bond than he was.
“Let’s focus on the run.” I snapped, slamming my wall down between us.
It was just for a while… how hard could it be?
The answer… very hard.