Page 16 of Warrior

Nothing.

The stubborn beast continued to stare back, unblinking and unmoved.

“This is serious business,” I said, trying to reason with her.“I like you, but I don’t have proper clothes for you.I’ll get that taken care of, and then you can come out and play again.Deal?”

Still nothing.

I brought my hand up, carefully scratching my cheek.A fine line of blood appeared where my claw had grazed.

“Dammit,” I muttered.“No need to be difficult.I want the old Marinah back.She has things to do.”

The beast wasn’t cooperating.

A growl of frustration rumbled low in my throat as I debated asking King for help.But I hated the idea.It would be nice to manage something on my own.

Closing my eyes, I focused on King.Not his beast, but his human side.

My mind filled with the image of his broad chest and powerful arms, the ones that always caught my attention and made my mouth water.I pictured the valleys and plains of his stomach, the teasing lines that disappeared below the waist of his pants.

Heat flared through me, and the first sharp ache of shifting stabbed my gut.

I sucked in a lungful of air, my hands trembling in front of my face.

When I opened my eyes, I watched in awe as my body began to mutate.The claws retracted, reforming into fingers, and my jaws reshaped, shrinking back to their human form.

The pain which King said would lessen the more I shifted, receded, replaced by a strange sense of wonder.Watching the shift happen felt surreal, incredible even.

When the change was complete, I examined myself in the mirror again.

My hair was a tangled mess from the run, and I made a mental note to do something about it.Maybe braids, like King’s.

There was no way he did those himself.Someone must help him, probably a woman from the village.

A strange feeling tightened painfully in my chest.

For a moment, I panicked, thinking the shift was starting again.My body tensed, waiting for the telltale signs, but after a few long moments, nothing happened.

Relief washed over me, though an idea lingered.

I should keep track of triggers that caused strong reactions.

Like thinking about women touching King.

The grumble shifted to my lower belly this time, and I smiled faintly.Ms.Beast clearly didn’t like the idea of anyone touching King.Especially women.

After a lukewarm that soothed my frazzled nerves, I stepped into the hallway wearing a T-shirt and jean shorts.The shorts might not survive a shift, but I would deal with that if it happened.

Barefoot, I followed the mouthwatering smell of food through King’s home.

The kitchen opened into a large multi-purpose room with an island and barstool seating between the two spaces.King stood at the oven, pulling out two massive steaks, their aroma filling the room.

“You cook?”I asked, trying to cover the nervousness curling in my stomach.

It wasn’t like we hadn’t been alone before, but this felt different, more intimate.There were no guards outside the door, no one stationed a room or two away.

It was just the two of us.

His eyes flashed a lighter shade of blue, and a slow grin spread across his face, lighting up his features.

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