I couldn’t breathe, felt dizzy, and was thankful I was sitting down. I knew I would’ve passed out if I’d been standing. Because with a pop, a growl, grunts, and an almost thundering noise filling the small bedroom, I watched a man turn into a Clydesdale-sized wolf.
It was the most terrifyingly beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
And as fast as it had all happened, it was just done. Gone was the flesh-and-bone, human male who called himself Caelan, and in his place was this monstrous wolf, this beast with fur as dark as night, eyes as piercing as the moon, and fangs that looked like they could tear my body in half with just a snap of its clearly powerful jaw.
I felt wetness on my face and actually lifted my hands to touch my cheeks, realizing I was crying, although I wasn’t sad, and strangely enough, I didn’t fear the creature in front of me. Although I sure as hell should.
It didn’t lunge at me, didn’t snarl in warning. It watched me with intelligent eyes, neither of us moving, maybe not even breathing. My emotions were waging war inside me, uncertain of what exactly I was seeing, my mind trying to wrap around exactly what was in front of me. I knew it was real, could see it, smell the wild scent that surrounded him, and I knew if I reached out, I would run my fingers through his thick coat.
But the logical side of me said this couldn’t possibly be real. It can’t be. Werewolves weren’t a thing. Was that what he was, what they were called in the real world? I closed my eyes for only a second to calm the dizziness. Werewolf. God, that sounds ridiculous, even in my own head.
I looked over at that pile of clothes, seeing the knife he had kept that lay beside them. My heart was racing, and survival instincts told me to try to go for it. But I wasn’t a killer. Despite him having taken me against my will and chained me up, the very thought of plunging that weapon into his body had my stomach clenching and horror filling me.
And then just as fast as he’d turned into that massive beast, everything was happening in reverse, as if a movie were playing backward. Pressure surrounded me, static covered my body, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment as I heard the crack, pop, and sound of breaking bones. Gone was the wild scent of this beast, and standing completely naked in its place, smelling like that dark, spicy aroma that made me feel uncomfortably aroused, was Caelan.
I realized one of my hands covered my mouth, my eyes still feeling so wide, errant tears running down my cheeks. I was shaking my head, but I didn’t know what I was saying no to.
“Now you know what I am.” He looked at me for a moment before he started getting dressed again.
I glanced away, replaying everything that had just happened. It seemed like it had taken forever, yet it also seemed like in the snap of the fingers, this entire situation had spun out of control. Even more than I thought it had been.
“And now you know what you are.” His words had me whipping my head back in his direction. “Well, half of you, anyway.”
I pulled my shoulders back to straighten my body. “W-What did you just say?” I’d always felt different… but that different? I shook my head again. “What are you trying to say?” I whispered, more tears of shock sliding down my cheeks. I wanted to get to the bottom of… whatever all of this was.
The most important part—the one I had been searching for seemingly forever--told me finding out what this man would reveal even further would lead me closer to finding out who I was.
But then the cold, hard truth was there too, the one that said this was waters I may not want to try navigating. May not? Try never.
He was putting his pants on now, and I eyed the door, my ankle throbbing as if reminding me I wouldn’t get far.
But I have to try, because this situation is all kinds of fucked up.
“Okay,” I said softly and brushed away one last tear that sneaked out the corner of my eye.
I may not know a lot of stuff and would probably forever be making heads and tails of what was around me, but what I did know was making trouble for myself wasn’t going to help. It didn’t matter what kind of chemistry I felt running between Caelan and me. It didn’t matter that I felt arousal for the first time in my life, being around him. I had to be smart. I had to get home. By now Evelyn would be freaking out.
What I had to do was figure out a way to escape.