Page 92 of His Curse

“Was he planning to shift before that? Did he have any indication at all that he might not shift to his actual wolf?”

Zan very obviously hits whatever it is he’s smoking and exhales. “He intended to shift, yes. He had vowed to protect my darling girl while I was away since so many of those disgusting little reapers were creeping around.”

I have a feeling I’m about to get exactly what I need to confirm my theory. “And when that happened, what didthe otherdo?”

“Well… it just stood there, come to think of it. Growled, bared its teeth, and looked like the rather terrifying creature it is, but it just stood there and protected my mate all the same.”

“And you were the one to command that it protect Frankie?”

“I was… “ He pauses for a second and it’s almost as if I can hear his wheels turning. “What happened just now when our wolf shifted tothe other?”

“Lark stopped it from attacking us,” Cora says as she shoots me a smile. “She literally told it to stop and it did.”

“Smashing! And then what?”

“And then she told it to give Colt back.”

“Did it?”

I nod. “It did. It was almost like I… like I forced it to shift.”

“Gods…”

“Right. And I’m thinking that maybe since I didn’t die whenthe otherattacked me all those years ago—”

“You’ve been touched by that evil as well!” Cora squeals way too excitedly, all considering.

Zan chuckles. “Very good, my gem. I am also inclined to believe that perhaps it listened to you now because you still carry that evil within you.”

Which really answers so many questions.

Something the demon voices for me. “I’d put money on that being what Kentworth saw in your blood, an anomaly in your genetic makeup that set you apart from the others, but since he has no experience with demons, he couldn’t figure it out.”

“And the eyes,” Vok says. “Colt’s eyes changed after you mated, stuck as his wolf’s eyes just like yours, Lark.”

I lift my hand and touch my cheek underneath my more gold than grey eye.I’ll be damned. “So, like, it’s a protective thing then? His eyes changed in order to help protect him fromthe otheror something?”

“Thevampyris onto something there, Luna. Colt has been able to get a better sense of whenthe othermay come after his exposure to so much evil, and I have a feeling that his eyes have remained wolf as possibly another way to ward off, or at the very least, predict a most unwelcome visit.” Zan chuckles. “I do believe your pussy is quite magical, Lark. When we return, I will have to test—”

“Zan!” Cora scolds. “Put a lid on it for now! Gods!”

His laughter rumbles down the line but I frown. “Except, Cora said Colton had no idea that he was going to shift tonight. It came out of left field. How can that be true if something like that still happened?”

“He has not shifted tothe othersince before you came to us, Luna. I believe our wolf was overdue for a visit.”

“Or maybe… “ Vok leans forward a little. “Maybe mating you activated the ability, so to speak, but because you were in heat, it almost canceled it out in the beginning? Colt never had the opportunity to see if his skills were sharper and we’ve been so damn busy with all of this Kentworth stuff that eventhe otherwas too tired to come out? So maybe… maybe it was just a glitch in the system and this shift was how he had to reset?”

I nod and run my fingers through my mate’s hair. “Maybe. It kind of makes sense. Colton explained it as a completely different being living inside him, dormant most of the time, nothing like our wolves or anything like that, but maybe since they share a body,the otherneeded time to recoup too?”

“Which might explain why it happened so fast,” Cora sighs. “We literally had just laid the twins down and closed their door when Colt dropped. He took maybe two steps, went down to his knees, and before I knew it, I was staring at that gigantic silver monster. I couldn’t even understand it the way I do everyone else when they shift.”

I blink at her. “What?”

She nods. “It’s not a mind link thing, but whenever one of the shifters change, I can understand their other half. Like, when the dragons shift, I know what the hisses and clicks and shit mean. It’s like they’re speaking English to me.”

“Well, that’s cool, and also a little scary.”

Cora giggles. “Right? Being fae brings on a lot of stuff like that, and while it can be helpful if their mates aren’t around or whatever, it’s also annoying because now I can get in trouble in multiple languages and… whatever you call the way animals talk.” She laughs at herself again, then sighs. “But I couldn’t understandthe other.I heard it, but I couldn’t understand it.”

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