Page 2 of His Temptation

Three Days Later

The night was thick with the scent of damp earth and the promise of adventure as Siobhan slipped down the hallway of the dormitory, silent as a whisper. The old wood beneath her bare feet groaned softly, but she knew where to step, avoiding the spots that would betray her escape.

The other girls slept soundly behind their doors, blissfully unaware that one among them was not entirely human.

Her entire body hummed with anticipation as she pushed open the side exit, stepping into the cool midnight air. The boarding school grounds stretched before her, quiet and still, the manicured hedges and stone pathways a stark contrast to the untamed wilderness that lay beyond. But she had no intention of lingering here.

A car sat waiting near the administrative building, the sleek black sedan belonging to one of the school’s administrators—a man too predictable for his own good. She had lifted his keys earlier that evening, palming them easily when he had set them down on his desk without thought.

She slid behind the wheel, the leather seat cool beneath her and turned the ignition. The engine purred to life, the sound barely audible over the night’s stillness. She guided the car down the winding drive, easing through the wrought-iron gates that separated the school from the world beyond.

Once she hit the open road, she let herself breathe.

Minutes later, she pulled off onto a forgotten stretch of countryside, a place where trees grew wild, and the stars burned fierce above the horizon. She killed the engine, stepping into thevast quiet, the air thick with pine and the distant rush of water from a nearby stream.

This was where freedom was to be found.

She unbuttoned her blouse, slipping it from her shoulders. Her skirt followed, then her underthings, until the night kissed her bare skin. The wind carried the scent of damp leaves and cold stone, wrapping around her like a lover’s embrace.

Then she felt the familiar pull deep inside her, the part of herself she had been forced to hide, to deny... and she allowed it to take over.

Mist curled up from the earth, swirling around her in ribbons of light and color. A static charge filled the air, crackling with unseen energy. For a breathless moment, she stood on the edge of both worlds—one foot in her human skin, the other in something far wilder.

And then the change took hold.

The mist enveloped her, her body flowing seamlessly into her panther form. No pain. No cracking bones or tearing flesh. Just a moment of shimmering energy before she was something else entirely.

Her paws sank into the cool earth, claws flexing, muscles coiling with the intoxicating rush of power. Her tail flicked once, adjusting to the sleek, effortless grace of her true self.

She was the night.

She bolted into the forest; the wind rushing past her fur; the world sharpening into brilliant detail. Every scent, every sound was heightened—the rustling of a rabbit in the underbrush, the distant hoot of an owl. She leapt over fallen logs, her body moving with liquid precision, faster than any human could ever dream.

This was where she belonged.

For a few stolen hours, she was not Siobhan Harrington; the girl burdened with secrets; the girl trapped within walls built to tame her. She was wild. She was untouchable.

But dawn was creeping closer, and the world of men did not allow her to stay in this form forever. She circled back to the car, shifting once more as the mist wrapped around her, leaving her human again. Naked, vulnerable, but alive in a way she could never be within the confines of that school.

She donned the hated school uniform and slid into the driver’s seat. She started the car and took the long road back, the thrill still thrumming through her veins.

By the time she eased the sedan into its rightful parking spot and stepped out, the first streaks of gold had begun to paint the sky. She had nearly made it to the dormitory when a sharp voice cut through the morning quiet.

“Miss Harrington.”

Siobhan stilled, her heart slamming against her ribs. Slowly she turned to face the music—although there was nothing lyrical in the way Headmistress Wright looked. Scowling down from the top of the steps, arms crossed over her rigid frame, lips pinched with disapproval, she looked Siobhan up and down. Her sharp gaze took in Siobhan’s ruffled uniform, her tangled hair, the hints of damp earth clinging to her skin.

“Do tell me,” the older woman said, her voice a blade honed on propriety, “where exactly have you been all night to be returning at this disgraceful hour?”

Siobhan forced herself to school her features, slipping into the practiced indifference she had perfected over the years. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said smoothly. “I went for a drive.”

The headmistress scoffed. “A drive? Through the countryside? Alone? In the middle of the night?” She descended the steps, heels clicking against the stone. “What kind of fool do you take me for, Miss Harrington?”

“I’m going to assume that’s a rhetorical question.”

The older woman peered down at her, face etched with something close to contempt. “Do you have any idea what kind of scandal would fall upon this school if word got out that one of our young ladies was sneaking off in the dead of night to fornicate with boys?”

Siobhan stifled her laughter.If you only knew.She’d probably die not only of outrage but shock. Siobhan smiled as she imagined not so much telling the old bat but shifting in front of her and giving her a closeup look at Siobhan’s true nature.

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