Page 62 of His Mate

I was a wolf.

Rowan’s chains rattled, and I turned my head toward him. His eyes were soft, filled with pride and relief. “You did it,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “You’re okay.”

I took a shaky step toward him, still adjusting to this new body, still overwhelmed by the power and instincts surging through me. But even in the chaos, I could feel a sense of control, a new strength that I hadn’t known before.

Rowan smiled, though there was a flicker of sadness in his eyes. “I wish I could shift with you,” he murmured, the chains rattling softly as he tugged at them again. “But for now, I’llguide you through it. And when we get out of here, I’ll teach you everything.”

I nodded, the human part of me still intact, but now woven into something more. Something primal. Something powerful.

Something definitely not human…

CHAPTER 20

Rowan

I watched her—no,felther—transform before my eyes. The first wave of the change hit her hard, but she was strong, stronger than I’d expected. Her body contorted, muscles snapping and bones realigning with a grace and power that I recognized all too well, but this was different.

She was magnificent.

As the last shudder of her shift rippled through her, she collapsed onto the concrete floor, breathing hard, her smooth black coat shimmering in the soft overhead light. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. She was glorious.

Her fur was pitch black, darker than the shadows that clung to the corners of the warehouse. Her sleek coat shimmered with an almost ethereal quality, and as she lifted her head, I saw her eyes—those same piercing light green eyes she’d had in her human form, only now they gleamed with an untamed fire, yet still undeniably her.

A rush of desire surged through me, fierce and uncontrollable, straight to my cock.

She was my wolf, my mate, and she was breathtaking.

There was something about the way her new form moved, the way her muscles coiled beneath that black fur, like a force of nature that was barely contained. It made every instinct inside of me scream with the urge to drive into her and remind her what it meant to be mine.

I wanted her. More than I ever had before. I wanted to take her right there on the concrete floor, bite her scruff and sink my cock deep into her over and over again until her howls echoed all around me.

Even though I couldn’t shift—my body locked down by the suppressants coursing through my veins—I felt the wolf inside me stir, reacting to her presence. She was pure power, pure beauty, standing there with her head held high. The light from above caught in her fur, making it shimmer, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how perfect she was.

She was everything I’d imagined she would be, and so much more.

Her emerald green eyes met mine, and there was a moment, just a heartbeat, where the bond between us pulsed so intensely that I swore I could feel her thoughts. The hunger in her gaze mirrored my own, and it took everything I had not to pull against the chains, to reach for her, to touch her, to be close to her.

“Magnificent,” I whispered, barely aware that I had spoken aloud.

She took a step toward me, hesitant but steady, her new form adjusting, the wolf in her still settling. But I could see the confidence growing in her with each passing second, the raw strength that came with the shift filling her with a new sense of control. She was everything a wolf should be—majestic, untamed, and fierce.

And gods, how I wanted her.

The desire coursed through me like fire, my blood pounding in my veins as my cock hardened despite the drugs still trying to keep me weak, trying to hold me down. But seeing her like this—seeing Kendra as the wolf she was now—awakened something in me.

“Kendra,” I murmured, my voice hoarse with desire. “You’re incredible.”

She moved closer, and I could see the way her muscles shifted beneath that sleek black coat, the way her eyes glowed with a newfound strength. She was adjusting to her new form quickly, her instincts guiding her just as I’d hoped they would. But there was still that hesitation in her gaze, that question of whether she was truly in control.

I wanted to reach for her, to pull her close, but the chains around my wrists bit into my skin, holding me back. For now.

But I knew one thing for certain: once we got out of here—once I was free—nothing would stop me from claiming her all over again.

And together, we would be unstoppable.

A low, distant howl broke the silence, cutting through the stillness of the warehouse like a knife. Kendra’s ears perked upimmediately, her head snapping toward the sound. The howling was followed by another, closer this time, and then another, until the night outside was alive with the chilling sound of wolves.

My heart pounded, not from fear, but from the adrenaline surging through my veins.

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