Page 52 of Cursed Wolf

“And when the moon is completely full,” Tryn went on. “The shift is forced upon us. Any other time, we can change between human and wolf at will, and the two sides are more or less balanced. But on the full moon, we are fully wolf for one entire night.” He swallowed thickly. “So I left because the shift also gets harder to control near the full moon, and I wasn’t ready to explain the literal wolf in your bed, in case I shifted in my sleep.” He went quiet, and then quickly muttered under his breath, “And also because I didn’t want to bite you without you fully knowing what that entailed.”

“Bite me?” I repeated.

“Not to hurt you,” Tryn said quickly. “But to…claim you. As mine. So that no one else could say you were theirs. The urge to make a claiming bite is usually strongest during sex.” He cringed. “I’m sorry. I know it sounds weird, but it’s a wolf thing.”

I remembered my own urge to bite him, the pressing need for it and the painful ache that he left. At the time, I was convinced the bite would feel like completion, it would enhance my orgasm and make everything right.

It had to be his wolf pheromones or something rubbing off on me, right? I had certainly never changed into a wolf on the full moon before.

“What are you thinking?” Tryn asked after a while of silence.

“I don’t know. A million things.” I propped my elbow on my knee and rested my head in my hand. “Mostly, how is this possible? How come nobody else knows about this?”

“Because we keep it that way,” Tryn said in a low growl. “Most of us don’t venture out of our world, and humans rarely stumble into ours.”

“So why did you?”

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then promptly shut it. “Dunno. I was feeling reckless, I guess,” he muttered.

Funny. I thought my choosing to date him was reckless. Straight-laced, studious Emmaline with a long-haired, muscular biker. Turns out, I didn’t even know the half of what I was getting into.

“So, what now?” I asked.

Tryn pulled in a deep lungful of air. “That depends on how you’re feeling about all this. I would still like to, you know, see where this goes. But that’s contingent on you being okay with what I am.”

He still wanted us to see each other? Could I really date a man who was also a wolf? I guess that was what I’d been doing all along, but knowingly?

I heaved out a sigh. “I…don’t know, Tryn. This has really fucked what I thought I knew about the world. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.”

A small, forced laugh left his mouth. “Yeah, I know it’s a lot. But I couldn’t keep this part of myself hidden from you anymore. It killed me to lie to you. I just…I like you too much.”

He gave me a hopeful look as if waiting for me to return the sentiment. As much as I wanted to reassure him that my feelings hadn’t changed, and they truthfully hadn’t, I was beyond overwhelmed by what he showed me and needed to process it all.

“I’m not saying no,” I told him. “I just need time to think about all this.”

His smile was gentle, reassuring, but the slight droop in his shoulders made my chest ache. “Of course. I understand.” He unfolded his shirt in his lap and pushed his arms through the sleeves. “I’ll get dressed and get out of your hair.”

I stood and at the last second, turned my back to give him privacy. I had already seen him naked, but it didn’t feel proper now.

The room became filled with an awkward silence, only the rustling of Tryn’s clothes making any sound. Was it only a few days ago that I wanted to get those pants off myself? That we were in bed together and it felt so natural and right?

Now? We felt like strangers.

“I’m decent,” Tryn said. When I turned to face him, his expression was grave. “It probably goes without saying, but I will anyway. Don’t tell anyone what you saw here. I don’t believe you’d lead anyone to Vargmore, but no one from this world will find it even if you try.”

“Of course, I won’t,” I said with a fervent shake of my head. “I would never.”

He gave me a curt nod and started for the door. I hated this distance between us, even if I was the one who put it there.

“Tryn, I—I’ll, um…”

He stopped with his hand on the knob but didn’t turn around.

“I’ll call you. Soon,” I offered lamely. It wasn’t lost on me that I used the same non-committal phrase he’d given me when he left my bed.

The smile he gave over his shoulder, his eyes not meeting mine, was strained, like he didn’t believe me. “Okay,” he said flatly. “Bye, Emmaline.”

And then, he left.

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