Page 71 of Dark Wolf Soul
She studies me for a beat and then sighs. “Okay. Come on. You can see better from the bedroom.”
She hesitates until all the generals follow Vincenzo out. Then she leads me down the hall and into the first bedroom on the left. It faces the back of the house and, true to her word, offers a large window view of the grassy area where Grey stands.
Vincenzo stalks after him, but it’s Grey I stare at, wide-eyed, as he removes his clothing and tosses it aside. First, his shirt, revealing a toned chest and rippled abs, and then his pants, revealing—
Damn.
I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry as I take in the sight of him on full display. Tattoos wrap his arms, ending at his shoulder and highlighting how darkly dangerous he can be. A danger that turns me on more than it should. Some part of me is aware of how thirsty I must look, but I can’t quite bring myself to care. Grey is breathtaking, and I can’t do anything but admire the sight of him so unconcerned with how exposed he is.
If I hadn’t been staring like a stalker, I might have missed the first small ripple beneath his skin. But the second and third ones are unmistakable.
My eyes go wide, and now I can’t look away for entirely different reasons as his arms and legs begin to stretch and move. Fur sprouts along his skin. His brow furrows in what looks like concentration or intensity. A second later, he falls to his knees, but by the time his hands land, they’re giant paws.
Grey is gone, and in his place stands a giant, charcoal-colored wolf. I’d only seen him in this form once, and I’d been so panicked at the time that I’d secretly begun to convince myself I’d imagined the entire thing.
But there’s no imagining this.
And to make it more surreal, I watch as Vincenzo shifts too. He doesn’t bother removing his clothes first and instead just shreds them as he shifts mid-stride. His wolf is so dark brown he’s nearly black, and his lips are already pulled back in an angry snarl. He stalks over to where Grey stands and leans over him until Grey’s wolf lowers his head.
“What’s happening?” I ask Mia.
She stands a couple of feet away, also watching the two wolves. Her forehead is creased with some internal effort. She doesn’t look away from them as she tells me, “Vincenzo is using his alpha power to make Grey submit.”
“Why?” I ask.
“So he can’t fight back.”
Her words are punctuated by a snarl loud enough to hear through the window. I swing my gaze back to the two wolves just in time to see Vincenzo ripping a chunk out of Grey’s shoulder. Blood leaks from the open wound, and I gasp.
“We have to help him.” I dart out of the room and am halfway down the hall when Ramsey appears, blocking my way. His expression is pinched.
“Move,” I say, “Vincenzo’s hurting him.”
“I know,” he says quietly, but he doesn’t move.
“We have to help,” I say, trying to shove him, but the guy’s like a brick wall.
“We can’t go out there,” Ramsey says sadly.
I stare at him as another yelp sounds from outside. My heart squeezes as I think of Grey being hurt because of what we did. No, because of what I asked him to do.
“What is wrong with you?” I demand, my panic building to a breaking point. “We can’t just let him be attacked by his own father.”
“He chose it,” Mia says tightly.
“What difference does that make if he’s hurting?” I demand.
“He’s not the only one,” Ramsey says, wincing as a third yelp sounds.
The sound of it nearly breaks me. All I can think is how this is all my fault. His pain is on my shoulders. It makes me desperate to do something. Anything but stand here and watch helplessly.
I turn and shove her aside, racing back to the bedroom in time to see Vincenzo biting Grey’s flank and ripping a wound wide open. My breath catches. It’s horrific—the blood and flesh being exposed is awful, but the fact that all four generals are standing and watching in calm silence is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed before. Not to mention the ones here in the house with me.
Grey’sfriends.
Mia and Ramsey hover in the doorway behind me, probably to make sure I don’t leave this room again.
Ugh.
