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I glanced at Mal, but he was having problems of his own, curled into a ball, clutching his stomach as if in agony. Writhing, twisting, fighting the change. I didn't know how long he could keep that up, but I doubted it would be long enough.
When I returned my gaze to Sabina, a silvery glow outlined her body, undulating, changing, re-forming human into animal. Between one blink and the next, a black wolf rose from the ground where the woman had been. The sleek beast stared at me with human eyes. Then Sabina slipped out the open door, leaving me alone with my fate.
Chapter 37
I turned to check on Malachi and reared back with a cry. He was right next to me, and I hadn't even heard him move. His fingers crushed my wrist as he yanked me to him.
Bones shifted beneath the surface; his nose and mouth merged outward. But it wasn't the physical changes that frightened me so badly I couldn't think, let alone breathe; it was the change in his eyes. Looking into them, I saw an entirely different being from the one who'd been there before.
"I've waited aeons for this," he murmured, his voice much lower, a growl that rumbled from his chest like an earthquake, skating across my skin like ice.
Leaning over, he pressed his nose to my hair and inhaled. "It's you," he said, and then he licked my neck.
I began to struggle, but that only made him laugh. "The more you fight, the faster your blood rushes through your veins. You flush. I can smell the fear. "
He traced his teeth where his tongue had been. Then he ran a fingertip, which seemed to have sprouted a claw, from my jaw to my collarbone and with a downward slice, cut my shirt wide open. My bra lay in two identical halves, my breasts spilling upward like a sacrifice. There wasn't a scratch on me. I got the feeling he'd done this before.
His breath warmed my icy skin. He brushed his lips just above my heart, gently, almost reverently, and then he whispered, "Claire," in a voice so broken my heart seemed to thump once and then stop. "You have to run. " He pressed his cheek to my skin. "I want to do such terrible things. "
He'd released my wrist to wrap his arms around my waist, and I couldn't help but run my hand over his hair. "Shh," I murmured. "I'm here. "
"You can't stay. " He shoved me away, skittered into the shadowy corner of the cage. I glanced at the doorway as a shadow slid toward the moon.
"I'm trapped," I said. "Just like you. "
"Oh, God. " His voice wavered between man and beast. "It's coming. I'll kill you, Claire. I'll drink your blood as your life fades. I'd rather be dead, but I won't be able to stop myself. "
"That won't be you. " I swallowed, pushing aside the images his words conjured. "You can't blame yourself. I won't blame you. I won't hate you. " I'd be dead, but that was beside the point.
For whatever reason he'd done what he'd done, he'd healed me. He'd given me back myself. What I'd begun to feel for him over the past few days had been more than I'd ever felt for anyone. If I was going to die soon, I wanted him to know the truth.
"I love you, Mal. "
"What?" His voice sounded more human than animal.
"I love you; I know you love me. "
I "I - " He broke off, shoving a misshapen hand through his seemingly longer hair.
I inched closer. "You were willing to curse yourself to an eternity as a monster, and all of your people, too, for me. "
"I couldn't - I can't - " He moaned, a growl of pain from his soul. "But I will. "
"Focus on me, not the moon, not that thing whispering inside of you. "
"Claire," he snarled. "You have to stay away. "
"No. " I suddenly knew with a clarity I'd never felt before what I had to do to save him and therefore myself. "I have to be near you. "
"The smell of your blood makes me want you. "
"I want you, too. " I let my fingers trail over his hand. There was fur there; his nails had lengthened even more.
"I'll hurt you. "
"Love is stronger than hate. Hate made you like this. She didn't love you. "
"I couldn't love her. I couldn't love anyone. She said I wasn't capable of it, and that made me a beast. "
