Page 49 of Broken Wolf Heart
She lets out a strangled cry—half pleasure, half something more desperate—and clutches me tighter.
The world narrows to this.
Her. Me. The rhythm of our bodies. The sound of skin on skin. The way my name sounds as she moans it against my throat. I want to memorize every piece of her all over again. I want to feel her come undone around me, and then put her back together with my hands, my mouth, my body.
She moves faster, rocking into me like she can’t get close enough.
And then—she freezes.
Her breath catches.
Her body tightens in a way that has nothing to do with pleasure.
“Lexi?”
She doesn’t answer.
She jerks beneath me, her back arching off the mattress,her mouth open in a silent scream. Her nails rake down my back?—
Only they’re not nails anymore.
They’re claws.
My skin burns as it’s peeled open.
“Lex—fuck—I need you to stop, you’re?—”
With a groan, she shoves me off her with more strength than she’s ever had before. I land hard on the mattress beside her and scramble up just in time to see her glowing. Her eyes. Her fingertips. Her entire body pulsing with barely leashed power. She’s not shifting completely, but she’s close. Her fingers are elongating again. Her teeth have sharpened. Her chest rises and falls like she can’t get enough air.
She clutches the sheets to her chest, panicked. “No, no, oh my God—I didn’t mean to?—”
“It’s okay,” I say, hands up. “You’re okay.”
“I could’ve hurt you.”
“You didn’t.”
She looks at my back. At the blood I can feel trickling down my spine.
She shakes her head, eyes wild. “I did.”
“You stopped,” I say. “That’s what matters.”
“I almost couldn’t stop it.” She chokes on the words. “I didn’t even feel it coming—just this… pressure. And then I was gone, andshewas in control.”
I climb onto the bed and sit beside her, reaching for her hand. Her claws have retracted, but her skin is still flushed and hot, like the magic hasn’t fully faded.
“I’m losing myself,” she whispers.
“No,” I say, and this time I grab her chin and make her look at me. “You’re waking up. And yeah—it’s messy. But we can figure this out.”
Her eyes search mine. “How?”
“We find Franco’s lab and go look for answers.”
A beat of silence.
Then she nods. “Okay,” she whispers.
