“He won’t hurt me.You won’t hurt me.”Macy didn’t budge, then she tilted her head as her eyes softened, and her voice did as well.“Please.”
Kaelen cursed, knowing that he was going to cave to her demand.The pleading look in her eyes and the softness of her voice were all it fucking took for him to change his mind.“Go outside.”He all but growled.
Her brows furrowed.“Why?”
“Because right now these are the only clothes I have,” Kaelen informed her with a pointed look.“Unless you want me walking around naked, I need to strip before I shift.”
“Oh,” Macy said, then her eyes popped open wide.“Oh!”
Even with the trepidation that he felt about what he was about to do, Kaelen couldn’t help but grin when she quickly turned and hurried out the door.Staring at the closed door, his smile faded as he turned toward the bathroom.Walking inside, he began to undress.Looking up, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.Focusing on his eyes, he saw glimpses of his Werewolf staring back at him.
“If you hurt her in any way, I will take us both out.”He told his reflection, his voice low and full of promise.Deep inside, he felt his Werewolf become restless with a growl echoing in his mind.
Stepping back from the mirror, he let the shift happen and prayed he didn’t regret what he was about to do.
CHAPTER9
Macy stood outside waiting for Kaelen.She wasn’t waiting for his Werewolf because to her, they were one and the same.She didn’t see Kaelen as a monster and hoped to steer him in the direction of seeing that also.
All Shifters had issues when they first began to shift, but most Shifters had someone to talk them through it.She had her parents.From what she had learned, Kaelen had no one.
It angered her, the way the world had twisted the image of his kind.Hollyweird, her mocking name for Hollywood, had portrayed werewolves as feral beasts, bloodthirsty, cursed creatures that prowled in shadows.It wasn’t true.Not to her.Shifters were still human, flesh and blood, with hearts that broke and healed the same as anyone else.The only difference was their ability to become something more.To her, that wasn’t frightening.It was extraordinary.It made them rare, powerful, and special.
Kaelen was a huge man, which could be pretty intimidating.His face, handsome with its rugged lines, carried an expression that warned strangers to keep their distance.That permanent scowl, that hard-set jaw… it gave him the look of a man not to be messed with.But Macy had seen past it.She’d seen the flashes of humor, the gentleness he didn’t think anyone noticed.She had definitely noticed when he carried her to safety.What hurt her heart the most was the quiet pain she knew he tried to bury.
In the short time she had been around him, when his guard slipped, she saw not a monster, but a man who deserved to believe he was more than what others saw him as...a monster, but a man worthy of respect and love.Everyone deserved that.
The door opening took her away from her thoughts.Kaelen’s Werewolf stopped staring down at her.As she stared at him, Macy saw none of the horror stories Hollyweird spun.He was massive and powerful, with a presence that could be terrifying, but instead of fear, it sparked awe in her.His fur was thick, dark, and untamed, catching the moonlight like shadows woven into silk.His golden eyes glowed fiercely, intelligently, and heartbreakingly lonely.The same eyes she knew so well when he was in human form.The world might have called him dangerous, but to her, he was...a lost soul like her.
“Are you going to stand on the porch all night?”Macy asked with a half grin as she held her hand out to him.“Come here.”
Even in that formidable shape, with teeth sharp enough to end her in a heartbeat, she didn’t flinch.She never would because she didn’t see claws and fangs.She saw beyond that.She saw Kaelen.A man who had survived so much, shouldered too much, and still stood.
Kaelen loomed before her, his massive frame blocking out half the night sky.Broad shoulders hunched, claws flexing at his sides, golden eyes burning down at her.Anyone else would have bolted.But Macy didn’t see a monster; she saw him.
She tilted her head, studying the tension carved into his features.“Do you want to hurt me?”Her voice was calm and straightforward.
His chest rumbled with a low growl, but he shook his head slowly, like the movement weighed a ton.His gaze never left hers.
“That’s good,” she whispered, taking a step closer.
When she lifted her hand toward him, Kaelen jerked back, the ground shuddering under his retreat.Macy frowned, undeterred, and closed the space again.He stepped away once more, and her lips pressed into a stubborn line.
“Kaelen,” she said firmly, “youhaveto trust him.You are in control, not him.”
Before he could retreat again, Macy lunged forward, catching his enormous hand in hers.His claws dwarfed her fingers, sharp and dangerous, but she only squeezed tighter and tugged him toward the picnic table as if dragging a reluctant man instead of a hulking Werewolf.
She climbed up onto the tabletop, boots thudding against the wood, and stood facing him.Now their eyes were level, and she grinned, playful and defiant.“It’s killing my neck looking up at you.”
For a beat, he just stared at her, chest heaving with confusion etched into his sharp, inhuman features.Macy held that gaze without flinching, her hand still wrapped around his.
She held his gaze and really looked at him.Then her eyes shifted to the ridges of his sharpened cheekbones, the long line of his jaw now framed in thick fur, the twitch of ears that lay flat against his head.His chest was broad and barrel-like, but it rose and fell in the same rhythm she’d felt when he’d carried her.And his eyes—God, his eyes—still held the same stormy depth, the same flicker of doubt...the same Kaelen she knew.
“I’m going to touch you,” She warned him softly.When he shook his head, she frowned.“Trust him, Kaelen, and trust me.”
After what seemed like forever, Kaelen’s massive head dipped slightly, just enough to let her hand rest on his cheek.He flinched, but didn’t pull away.His eyes, still golden and wild, softened, and Macy felt the faint tremor.She wondered if anyone had ever touched him when he was in his Werewolf form.
She tilted her head, smiling gently as she continued to touch him.His jaw flexed under her fingers, and he became tense.She slowed her exploration, allowing him to get accustomed to her touch.Then, slowly, cautiously, he let his shoulders relax, the rigid lines of his posture softening just a fraction.It was such a small gesture, but to Macy it was a monumental moment.It was a trust not only between her and him, but a trust between Kaelen and his Werewolf.
