KERES POV
Samael stepped into the clearing slowly.
Paw by paw.
Richard backed away.
His hind legs hit a fallen log.
Trapped.
His body shook so hard the brown fur along his spine rippled.
Then he shifted.
It was not graceful this time. The shift tore through him unevenly, panic making the change ugly. Fur receded in patches. Bones snapped back. He landed on his knees, naked and muddy and bleeding, both hands raised as if that meant anything.
“Keres,” he panted. “Wait.”
I shifted too.
Slowly.
Let him watch.
Let him see teeth become smile, claws become fingers, wolf become man without losing a single drop of hunger.
When my feet hit the grass, I was still grinning.
Richard crawled backward.
Pathetic.
“Please,” he said.
I made a face. “Already?”
His breath hitched.
“You don
