Page 35 of Wolf's Prize

Each one he undid parted the material further, with only her thin chemise a barrier between his hands and her bare skin. His knuckles brushed against her near naked back, and he gritted his teeth on the groan threatening to spill from his lips. His fingers stalled halfway down her back, and he shut his eyes against temptation.

“Aimon? Is something wrong?”

There were more than half of the cursed things still to undo, and he could not undo them with his eyes closed.

“No.” Did his voice sound as hoarse to her as it did to him?

Opening his eyes, he continued, focusing on the tiny buttons, not the slender patch of barely covered skin that grew larger with each one he undid. By the time he had them all undone, his body was flushed, the cool air of the training room doing nothing to diminish his ardor.

He stepped back, and turned to face the wall, grateful her enticing body no longer filled his vision. His mind’s eye saw it clear enough. Material rustled and fell to the floor. His mouth went dry. Knowing she stood mere steps away, wearing nothing but the skin she was born in, her coppery locks spilling over her naked shoulders, set his heart pounding. He wrapped the scratchy blanket around his own nakedness and calmed his ragged breathing. Hanging on to the threads of his control, he clung to his principles. He had told her he would not look. He would keep his word.

“Do not turn around, but I am ready to shift to my wolf now,” she called out.

Oh, thank the Lord. He could not bear it much longer.

“Let us begin.” His words came out a little choked, and he cleared his throat. “The first thing you need to do is find your center. If you are not secure within it, when you change, your wolf may take control.”

“What?”

He caught the note of panic in her voice.

“I will not let anything happen to you, Kathryn. Now, once you have found your center, encourage your wolf to the surface and let it take over your body, but only your body, not your mind, and it will do the rest. Stay in your center. That is the most important thing. All I want from you right now is for you to shift form and keep command of your wolf. Do not panic if you do not succeed at first. If you do,whenyou do, sit down on your haunches facing me, so I know. Do you understand what I am asking you to do?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. When you are ready, Kathryn. Take your time. There is no rush.”

Kathryn inhaled several unsteady breaths, and Aimon listened for the telltale signs of transformation. Cracking and popping sounds broke the silence as bones melded and rearranged. He clenched his fists in the blanket. In a few moments, she would no longer be naked. He offered a silent prayer of thanks.

Before she had completed her transformation, he turned around. He could not risk having his back to an untrained wolf. To do so risked damage to them both.

Kathryn was almost all wolf. There was little visible of her human form, but his pulse pounded at the hint of bare skin and his cock responded. The damn thing had a mind of its own, refusing to respond to the entreaties of his conscience.

“Stay in your center, Kathryn. You are nearly there.” He tried to keep his voice steady—think of the forest—but it cracked and wavered.

Kathryn paid him no heed. Her wolf roared to the surface, a force not to be denied. Too long kept at bay, it knocked her out of her center. She spun around, no hint of Kathryn in the eyes of the large auburn wolf, banishing his desire in a beat of his heart. He tensed, preparing to shift. She snarled at him—her canines bared.

“Take control, Kathryn. Get back into your center. Find that quiet place and show your wolf who is in charge.”

With a toss of her large head, she turned away from him and threw herself at the door, hitting it hard. It did not budge. She snarled at it and raked it with her claws, biting down on the cold metal bolts.

“You can do this, Kathryn. You are in charge. Go to your quiet place. Feel secure in it. Feel your wolf around you, but do not let it control you. Only from there can you guide it, master it, and be both Kathryn and your wolf at the same time. Do it. Now.”

Her wolf abandoned the door and crouched, preparing to launch at him. He stood his ground. Aimon believed she could do this. He must give her the chance.

“Kathryn. Master. Your. Wolf.”

Her ears pricked forward, and she hesitated. Shadows flickered in her eyes, and her snarl wavered. The battle for dominance had begun—wolf against Kathryn. Hazel wolf’s eyes fixed on him. With a slow easing of tension in her wolf’s body, her hackles smoothed out, and she sat on her haunches.

Aimon let out his breath. Kathryn had won. She had done it. On the first try.

“Well done, Kathryn.” He grabbed another blanket from the cot and deposited it next to her. “Now turn around and reverse the change.” He averted his gaze as she shifted back.

She wrapped the blanket around her naked body and beamed at him. “I did it?”

He smiled at her astonishment.

“I did it,” she said again. Firmer this time.

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