Page 7 of Howl For A Kiss
His eyes held hers with magnetic intensity as he moved closer, his hands raised in a non-threatening gesture that somehow conveyed absolute control.
"Breathe," he instructed, his gentle tone making something inside her respond instinctively. "Deep, slow breaths. Don't fight it—let it flow through you."
"I don't know how," she whispered, tears streaming down her face as white fur continued sprouting along her arms in beautiful, terrifying patches.
"You're shifting," Damon said simply, his analytical gaze taking in her partial transformation. "But you're only partially manifesting, which is... unusual."
He frowned, clearly puzzled by something about her condition that she couldn't comprehend through the haze of pain and panic.
"Focus on my voice," he continued, stepping closer until his imposing presence filled her entire field of vision. "Feel the change, don't resist it. Your body knows what to do."
Elena tried to follow his guidance, letting the sensations wash over her instead of fighting them. Gradually, the claws retracted into normal fingernails, the canine teeth receded into human proportions, and the white fur disappeared beneath her skin like snow melting in spring sunshine.
She collapsed against the cavern wall, shaken and troubled by what had just occurred.
"My wolf," Elena whispered, staring at her now-human hands with wonder and fear. "It's finally manifesting. The rare medical condition my father told me I have—he said I'd shift between ages twenty-five and twenty-eight."
Damon's expression darkened with something that looked like concern mixed with skepticism. His green eyes sharpened as he studied her with the intensity of a predator analyzing prey.
"Elena, what exactly did your father tell you?"
"That I'd manifest later than normal shifters due to some rare genetic anomaly," she replied, her mind racing as she tried to process what had just happened. The electricity that had sparked between them at her base still hummed around them, a constant distraction she couldn't shake. "I'm twenty-eight now. It must have been triggered by the stress of recent events."
Damon frowned, his analytical gaze never leaving her face. "I'm just confused by all of this. Lena briefed me this morning that you were a full wolf shifter."
"I am a full wolf shifter," Elena insisted, rising to her feet with fluid grace. Her tactical vest pulled taut across her breasts as she straightened, and she noticed how Damon's eyes tracked the movement before snapping back to her face. "When I was in puberty and wasn't shifting like my friends, I asked my father why. That's when he told me I had this rare genetic disorder."
She crossed her arms, inadvertently emphasizing the curves of her body beneath the black thermal top. "My father discovered my condition from local healers when I was a young child and really sick with fevers. That's when they told him I'd shift later than normal."
Damon's imposing frame blocked most of the cavern entrance as he stepped closer, his presence filling the space with masculine energy that made Elena's pulse quicken in ways that had nothing to do with fear.
"Elena," he said, his deep voice carrying absolute authority, "no such condition exists."
His words hit her with physical force. "Excuse me?"
"Late manifestation only occurs if one parent is human," he continued relentlessly, his green eyes boring into hers with devastating intensity. "Which would make you a hybrid."
Elena's world tilted on its axis. "That's impossible. My father wouldn't lie to me about something that fundamental."
Damon moved closer still, close enough that she could smell his masculine scent—pine, leather, and something uniquely him that made her wolf stir restlessly beneath her skin. "My grandmother was a healer. She taught me everything she knew about full wolf shifters, healing, and genetics. Nothing in that knowledge suggests any rare genetic disorders in full shifters."
"You're wrong," Elena snapped, primal fury rising in her chest. How dare this man who didn't know her think he could tell her about her own biology? "My father is a full shifter fromthe Tidewater pack. My mother was also a full shifter. She died giving birth to me."
"Your manifestation timeline suggests otherwise," Damon replied with infuriating calm, his analytical mind dissecting her protests with surgical precision. "Hybrids typically manifest between twenty-five and twenty-eight. Full shifters manifest during puberty without exception."
Elena's hands clenched tight into fists as her rage grew. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know more about shifter genetics than most," he countered, stepping even closer until she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. His impressive height and broad shoulders created an almost overwhelming masculine presence that should have intimidated her. Instead, it sent heat racing through her veins in a way that both thrilled and infuriated her.
"My grandmother documented every known shifter condition for sixty years," he continued, his voice dropping to a husky rumble that made something deep in her clench with unexpected arousal. "There are no late-manifesting full shifters, Elena. Only hybrids."
"Stop," she hissed, as anger and something far more dangerous warred within her. "You don't get to waltz into my life and tear apart everything I've believed about myself."
"Sometimes the truth hurts," Damon replied, his green eyes flashing with something that looked suspiciously like protective concern. "But denying it won't change what you are."
Elena stepped forward until they stood toe to toe, her light blue eyes blazing with defiant fire. The gold rings around her pupils seemed to glow with inner light as she tilted her chin up in challenge. "What I am is a full wolf shifter with a rare condition. What you are is an arrogant stranger who thinks he knows better than my own father."
The air between them crackled with electric tension, primal chemistry sparking between their bodies. Damon's masculine scent wrapped around her like an invisible embrace, making her wolf whine with confused longing.
