bsa /bbpov /b

bMy /bbeyes /bnearly popped out of their bsockets /bbas /bI bstared /bat the man before me, my gaze wide with disbeliefb, /bhoping bI /bbhad /bmisheard him bor /bthat he wouldugh and bcall /bit a joke. But then again, Darius wasn’t a bman /bwhoughed or joked. He was being deadly serious.

I bknew /bthat because bhe /btilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes at me with ba /bcold expression, silently waiting for me to strip and shift in front of him.

What the hell.

“What?!” I blurted in shock, making Darius frown as he repeated hismand, as if convinced I hadn’t bheard /bhim the first time.

“Strip for me and shift.”

A dry scoff escaped me at his choice of words. Strip for him? Absolutely not. But I also knew I couldn’t afford to be rude to Darius right now.

“W–what are you saying, my king?b” /bbI /bstammered, my hands instinctively reaching up to cover my chest as I stared at him like he was a pervert. “I’m an unmated she–wolf, I can’t just strip in front of you. I mean no disrespect, but my dignity won’t

allow it.”

I lowered my eyes and spoke softly, even though I remembered clearly how he had seen me naked back in the woods. Still, I kept up the act.

It wasn’t that I had a problem stripping in front of him… but I knew I couldn’t cause a scene right now.

When Darius said nothing, I looked up to find him staring at me with a nk, unimpressed expression. And without hesitation, he spoke again.

“Then shift. Turn into a white wolf.”

For a second, my eye twitched. If he didn’t care whether I got naked or not, then why the hell had he told me to strip in the first ce?

He could have just said that from the start.

Clicking my tongue, I rose from the bed and lowered my head.

“Since I don’t want to rip these clothes, I’ll shift in the bathroom. Is that okay, Lycan King?”

He didn’t even spare me a nce. He just waved a hand in the air, silently giving me permission to do whatever I wanted.

I snarled and opened my mouth, silently cursing him as I stormed into the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind me. Once I did, I stepped in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection, my eyes trailing over my features before I let out a deep breath and began undressing, still cursing my luck under my breath.

“If I hadn’t shifted and gone into the woods, then I wouldn’t have met him there… and he wouldn’t have known I was a white wolf,” bI /bgrumbled, slipping out of my dress and underwear with a scowl.

“But if you hadn’t met him in the woods, he wouldn’t have known you were a white wolf and decided not to reject you instead,” She chimed in, and I scoffed.

Just admit you’re bhappy /bbhe /bgets to see how beautiful your fur is up closeb,/b” I shot backb, /brolling my eyes.

She let out a dramatic bgasp/bb. /b“Of course not! But… how did you know that’s what I was thinking?”

I chuckled with ba /bshrug. “Not sure. Just seems like something you’d do.”

She huffed as bI /bclosed my eyes, just like she’d taught me, preparing to shift. I took a deep breath and exhaled, repeating the motion again and again until I felt the familiar connection between us.

A brief moment passed.

Then I opened my eyes… and found myself looking up at the mirror that now towered slightly above me. I lifted my hand into my line of vision and saw a paw. A small smile curved my lips as I nodded in approval, I was getting better at this. I’d even shifted faster than thest time.

“That’s because once you start getting used to it, you’ll be faster!” She echoed in my head, her voice filled with excitement.

I couldn’t help but smile too as I walked to the door and raised my paw, intending to push it open, only to frown when I realized I had locked it when I came in.

Shit.

I smacked my paw against my head and rolled my eyes internally, ncing up at the door to see the key dangling from the doorknob.

How could I have forgotten I’d need to unlock itter? I couldn’t even reach the height of the key, and even if bI /bstood on my back paws, there was no way I could turn the lock with just paws.

Goddess, I was an idiot.

“Maybe you should send a mind–link to the king to open the door for us,” She suggested.

And that’s when I realized, I didn’t just have a dumb moment, I had a dumb wolf too.

If the door was locked from the inside, Darius couldn’t unlock it unless he broke it down. So really, the only option was to shift back to human form, unlock the door, and shift again.

Sigh. I really needed to think ahead next time.

I bwas /babout to close my eyes to shift back when She interrupted.

“You know you don’t have to close your eyes every time you shift, right? Just imagine shifting–and there you go.”

I did as she said. I envisioned myself changing back to human form, and within seconds, I found myself standing on legs instead of paws.

I nced down and nodded in approval. I had shifted much faster this time. That was good progress.

“Now let’s get this over with,” I murmured under my breath, reached out, and unlocked the door.

But the next second, I froze as I heard the sound of footsteps just outside my room, followed by Serena’s voice as she murmured,

“I should check on thedy again to make sure she’s okay.”

My eyes widened, and I gasped. I wasn’t sure if I was hearing things or if my hearing had sharpened because of my wolf but hehure my brain could fully process, my body moved on instinct.

I drew the door open, suddenly remembering that Darius was still in my room.

The moment the door opened, a shiver crawled down my spine and time seemed to freeze.

There he was, Darine standing right in front of my bathroom door, his usual indifferent expression in ce.

His eyes dropped from my face to my body, and for a brief second, they shed a sharp shade of silver.

But I had no time to dwell on that because the door to my room began to creak open.

1 cursed my luck for the third time that day, lunged forward, grabbed Darius by the arm, yanked him inside, and mmed

the door shui

Oh. My. Goddess.