Page 99 of Court of Beasts

I do the same to him. He isn’t as far along, but it’s clear he’s in agony. I wish there were something more I could do, but I sit back, resigning myself to watch. Every now and again, I smear my blood on their lips and push more healing magic into them, trying not to drain myself at the same time.

“Don’t overdo it, you are going pale,” Jai comments. “Don’t kill yourself. You need to be able to fight.”

“I’ll heal quickly, don’t worry. I’m more concerned about these two,” I tell him, guilt and resolution warring inside me. They made their choice, and we had no other way out. I keep telling myself that.

“For all your bravado, you care if they live,” he remarks, and I jerk my head up, meeting his eyes. “Just stating a fact.” I growl, and he smirks. “Just saying, she-wolf, you might have changed them for your own reasons, but you still want them to be okay. Maybe you don’t hate us as much as you used to.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, not examining the truth in his words. “I need to hold onto my hatred right now.”

“And when you don’t need to, when the hate is gone, then what will be left, she-wolf? Just your desire for them, for us, andyou’re not ready for that, but you will be one day, and we can speak then.”

“I liked you better when you were an asshole.”

“So you keep saying.” He chuckles. “I think you just like me a little crazy.”

“Maybe,” I admit, and then there’s a groan. Both of our eyes snap to Vale. He shudders, gripping the floor, and as we watch, claws burst from his nails, dragging along the concrete.

“It’s happening,” I murmur.

Their scents slowly change from hunter and human to something deeper, muskier . . .

Wolf.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Iwatch as Vale’s back bows, his mouth open on a silent howl. His teeth drop from his mouth, and in their places, huge fangs start to grow, making his mouth open almost impossibly wide. Deep black hair sprouts on his arms, continuing to grow, and his trousers start to burst at the seams. Even Quinn seems entranced by what’s transpiring.

“Don’t fight it,” she calls. “Embrace it, Vale. Embrace the wolf. I know you crave control, but give it up. Let it fill you. Embrace the wildness and the power it holds,” she commands, and she growls when he thrashes again. “He’s fighting it.”

Heading his way, she grips his thrashing arms and leans down, her eyes flashing so brightly, they almost blind me. “Accept it, stop fighting,” she orders, her voice filled with so much power, I want to give into her command and it’s not even aimed at me.

His mouth opens wider, and she slides backwards as he bursts out of his clothing with a bar-rattling roar.

A wolf now stands where Vale once was.

He’s huge, bigger than any wolf I’ve seen, and when he lifts his head groggily, he opens his eyes, revealing bright blue orbs that match Quinn’s.

She’s grinning widely at him. “Good boy.” Her hand drags along his back, and he purrs happily, leaning into her. “That’s it, rest. When you wake, you will change back, and I’ll teach you.” She strokes him as the wolf slumbers, the change no doubt draining him.

For a moment, jealousy fills me before I tamp it down.

There’s a groan, and we jerk our heads to Lucien.

He seems to be going through the same process, and Quinn moves to him. Unlike Vale, who fought it, Lucien seems to embrace it. His clothes tear as his teeth fall out, and his hands change to claws and then paws as hair sprouts across his body, covering him as I hear bones snap and his yell turns into a howl.

The big wolf shakes off the tatters of his clothes, trying to stand on shaky paws before collapsing.

I thought Vale was big, but I was wrong. Lucien is enormous, easily the size of a minivan. His eyes open. One is bright blue, and the other is almost black, as if Quinn’s magic is infused in one and the other is his. He’s a deep black, almost like a shadow, and the only colour on him is a blue circle on his forehead as if reflecting Quinn.

“Beautiful,” she murmurs, stroking him. “You did so good, baby. Now rest, I have you.”

His tail flickers and then he wraps himself around her protectively, growling at nothing, but the sound turns to a purr when she giggles and pets him. He partially covers her human body like a giant boa constrictor, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

Finally able to relax now that they are both through the worst, I turn my back to their cage to hide the jealousy in my eyes. I have a wolf trapped inside me, and it’s still there, baying and wanting out with his brothers.

I’m still an outsider, even now.

There’s movement behind me, but I don’t look, not until a gasp is dragged from my lips as a hand tightens on my hair andtugs. It’s dragged back until I’m peering up at bright blue eyes. She smirks down at me, her fangs still hanging over her bloodred lips.

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