Chapter 30 - Losing Control (Damian’s POV)
As much as she thought she had it all under control, she was just an ounce away from being dead. And the only thing that kept her breathing…
Was me…
Because I was still holding back my wolf.
A red haze clouded my vision as I staggered on all fours, blood gushing from the wound in my neck. White-hot agony pulsed with every heartbeat, and my fingers came away slick and crimson when I pressed them to the hairpin buried in my flesh.
Ivy had actually stabbed me.
The realization sent a furious snarl ripping from my chest even as weakness threatened to drag me under. I struggled to focus, to force air into my lungs. Across from me, Ivy’s form was a blur as she collapsed against the table, but rage eclipsed any concern I might have had. The scent of my own blood filled my nostrils, mingling with the sweet undertone of hers—a scent that only stoked my fury more.
How dare she. How dare she.
Kill her!
My vision flickered, tunnelling in and out as I fought to stay conscious.
No, I shouldn’t!
The metallic tang of silver hit my tongue, and I realized with a sickening lurch that the blade she’d plunged into me must have been coated in it. The burning sensation radiating from the wound confirmed my fear. Silver—poison to beasts like me.
If I didn’t get it out, I was finished.
A wave of dizziness crashed over me. I braced a hand on the blood-slick floor, teeth gritted.
No. I would not die here, not by her hand.
A growl rattled in my throat as I tried to rise. My legs quivered with effort. Across the room, Ivy was slumped on the ground, blinking dazedly, blood matting her hair where she’d hit the table. She looked frail in that moment, barely moving. Seeing her like that should have satisfied my vengeance, but instead a jolt of alarm speared through me. My wolf howled within, enraged at the sight of our mate injured— even if I was the one who had hurt her.
My chest heaved. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog.
Focus.
I needed to control the shift coursing through my body. The wolf inside was clawing at me, furious and bloodthirsty. It wanted out. It wanted to rip apart the threat—rip apart Ivy for her betrayal. My human mind recoiled at that thought. I couldn’t let it happen. If I let the wolf seize control fully, I might tear her to pieces without thought. And despite everything—despite my hatred and rage—some part of me balked at the idea of Ivy’s lifeless eyes staring back at me.
Pain throttled that hesitation. My hand slipped in the puddle of blood beneath me and I collapsed onto my side with a gasp. The pin shifted in my neck, and a white-hot bolt of agony nearly made me black out.
Can’t…die…
The thought was primal, instinctual. Self-preservation above all. If I had to unleash the wolf to survive, then so be it. My vision blurred, and I felt the beast surging upward, unfurling from the depths of my soul where I kept it caged.
I clung to the shreds of my control with desperation. My muscles spasmed, bones beginning to crack under my skin.
Not yet…just a little longer.
If I could remove the dagger—if I could stop the bleeding, maybe I wouldn’t have to shift fully. With shaking fingers, I grasped the slick handle protruding from my neck. A strangled groan escaped me as I pulled. The blade slid out partway, sending a fresh gout of blood down my chest and a wave of crippling weakness through my limbs.
The wolf sensed my faltering and seized its chance.
No!
I tried to scream, but it was too late. A violent tremor wrecked my body, contorting my muscles. My spine arched of its own accord. I felt my bones begin to reform, lengthening, reshaping—a sensation that was as excruciating as it was familiar. A guttural snarl tore from my lips as fangs punched out from my gums, and my fingernails extended into claws that scraped against the floor.
Through the red haze of agony and fury, I made out Ivy’s form stirring on the ground. She was watching me now, her eyes wide with horror as my transformation continued. I could only imagine the sight I made—half man, half beast, covered in blood. My heart thumped wildly as I fought the change, fought the primal urge to pounce on her.
She had hurt us, the wolf raged. She needed to pay.
The beast’s lust for retribution thundered through my veins, drowning out my feeble attempts at restraint. I felt my skin rippling, dark fur sprouting along my arms and across my chest where blood wasn’t already smeared. My jaw elongated with a sickening crunch; a roar of pain and wrath thundered from deep inside me.
I managed a final, fleeting moment of lucidity—a last plea directed at myself.
Don’t kill her… I begged internally, unsure if I was even capable of mercy now. My wolf answered with a savage snarl, unconvinced. I could feel its hunger, its anger poisoning my mind.
As my ribs cracked and expanded to accommodate the creature within, a sudden clarity cut through the haze:
I was dying.
The silver was in my bloodstream, weakening me rapidly. Unless I fully shifted to heal, my heart would stop within minutes.
There was no choice left.
A low growl rumbled in my chest as I surrendered to the inevitable. The human part of me retreated, giving way to raw, unbridled instinct. Heat blazed through my body as tendons and sinew snapped into new forms. The pain receded, replaced by surging power and a singular fury.
In the dim candlelight of that blood-soaked room, I threw back my head and let out an earth-shaking howl. The transformation overtook me completely, mending flesh and bone even as it liberated the predator inside.
I was no longer trying to hold back. I was the wolf now.
And Ivy—my mate or not—was about to face my wrath.