Page 55 of Wolf's Redemption

“Were you…born that way, or did someone turn you, like Gaharet turned Erin?”

“I was born a werewolf.”

“Huh.”

An owl hooted, and something scurried through the underbrush. She barely missed a beat. Ulrik would’ve reacted ifit posed a problem—tilted his head to the side, nostrils flaring with that uncanny stillness settling over him. He kept walking.

“Field mouse,” he said. “The owl is hunting her.”

Damn. The man was good.

They stepped from the forest and stood at the edge of the pond. The serene water glimmered with reflected moonlight. The chirp of night insects and the gentle splash from the small waterfall broke the silence and the stillness of the night forest. Beautiful. Magical. But all her awareness centered on him. The man, the warrior, the supernatural being. She had to see it with her own eyes.

She dropped her hand from his. “I want to see you. What you look like in your wolf form.”

He stiffened beside her.

“I want to see you shift.”

He rubbed his hand across his face. Would he refuse? Claim some pack law dictated he couldn’t? It wasn’t as if he turned into some monstrous half-man, half-beast. The two wolves at the pond, Kathryn and Aimon, had looked no different to real wolves, though somewhat bigger.

“Are you certain?”

For a moment, the brash, overtly sexual man she’d come to know disappeared, and a streak of vulnerability flashed across his face. Did he expect her to run from him, screaming? He should know her better than that by now.

She fisted her hands on her hips and stared him down. “Yeah. I am.”

He grinned. “You never fail to confront a challenge, do you?”

There was an element of pride in his voice. It warmed her and had her standing taller.

“Very well.” He brushed a hand across her cheek. “No matter what form I am in, know I would never hurt you, Rebekah.”

She cupped his hand against her face. “I know.”

And she did. Deep down in the marrow of her bones, the certainty of it burned. Something shifted in her chest, a loosening of her control and a letting go of fear. In between one heartbeat and the next, Bek knew exactly what she wanted. Him.Allof him.

She stepped away, giving him room. He unbuckled his sword and set it aside. His tunic followed. Every other time he’d been naked before her, he had taunted her, daring her to look. Not this time. With business-like efficiency, he shucked his boots and stripped away his breeches. Naked, he stood tall, shaking out his limbs, like a competitive swimmer waiting for their cue to step up to the blocks.

Bek waited, her hands clutched in the folds of her dress to hide her nervousness. He gave her a brief nod, then in one fluid movement and a crack and pop of bones, he shifted. For barely a second, she glimpsed his face, his body, as it contorted from human to wolf. Then it was gone. He was gone. In his place, a big sandy-colored wolf.

Fuck me.

Rebekah gaped, her eyes wide and her mouth open. She took a step backward. “Holy shit, that was fast.” She raked her hands through her hair and clasped them at her neck. “One minute you were…wellyou, and now… Wow. Just. Wow.”

She took a hesitant step toward him. “I mean… I knew what you were going to do. What you would look like, but…” She shoved her hands against her mouth to stop her babbling and tried to get her racing heart under control. “Can you… I mean… Oh, man, this is so freaky. Can you even understand what I’m saying?”

The wolf, Ulrik, sat on his haunches and nodded his shaggy head.

“Huh.” She almost couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d been expecting it, but the reality… “This is… This is soawesome.”

Ulrik tilted his head to the side, his ears pricked forward.

“You’re huge and…magnificent.”

He chuffed at her. She curled her fingers into her palm, then uncurled them.

“Can I…” She took another step forward. “Can I touch you?”

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