Page 122 of Chaos At Second Sight

“Ruby,” the voice, slightly pleased and feminine, answered. “That’s my name, human Yvaine.”

A memory surfaced in this overwhelming new me.

Grandma’s stories about the lycan prince. How I had always wished to be him, not the princess.

Ah, Logan had been right. Be careful what you wish for…

“Let’s find our mate.” Ruby’s voice deepened into a growl.

And somehow, I knew she was me. And me her. Two ends, two poles that joined in a single heart. A single mate.

My hand drifted unconsciously to the swollen mark on my neck. “Mark mate.”

And I knew exactly how to find him to do exactly that.

LACHLAN

As I watched my twin shift, her hospital gown ripping, amber fur threading with reddish sparks, I forgot I was supposed to breathe.

I was mesmerized. She was magical, and not in the fragile way humans used the word. Magical like wildfire and lightning. A creature from another realm. Fierce, but with a feminine touch. Way more than any she-wolf.

Long lashes framed impossibly blue eyes that shimmered like polished sapphires. Her amber coat glowed under the moonlight, each strand a star catcher. And her pearly claws and dark palms reminded me of those of an oversized wolf—her body was slim, nothing like Lucien’s hulking form, but there was strength coiled beneath that graceful frame.

“Twin,” she said, tilting her lupine head in a look full of curiosity. Her hand reached out to me and I pressed my own palm there. “Twin.”

I smiled, a tear running down my cheek.

Just as she’d appeared, she vanished into the night with that effortless grace, almost dancing instead of running, leaving only swaying grass under the moon and stars that seemed just as amazed as I was.

A female lycan. Probably the first in a long time.

“Well, Masturbator,” I mumbled, glancing at the stillness out there, the curtains billowing against my shoulder, “you are in for one hell of a surprise.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

YVAINE

Normally, my mind was orderly, all my thoughts arranged into small drawers with labels. I thought I was tidy, on the inside and out. There was a reason I’d chosen neurology over cardiology. A master of my own cerebrum matter, I could control my emotions, my heart.

Imagine my shock when my animal instinct took over; that primal part of me surged, erasing every rational thought. Now, I just had one thing on my mind: Find him. Mark him. Claim my territory.

And how dreamlike was the picture of Logan—the territory in question. And that was just what I remembered with my werewolf memories.

I needed to see him with lycan eyes to better gauge him. I needed to smell him with my lycan nose to better scent him. I needed to touch him with lycan hands to better feel him. And finally, I had to bite him with my lycan fangs to better mark him.

Logan seeing me, us, as a lycan made me want to laugh and run faster.

And I did.

My confidence in my new body only grew with my pace. My strides stretched longer and soon I was flowing through the woods. I feared that the dense trees would hit me, but they just brushed around me, almost parting like curtains to let me through.

It was a giddy, electrifying feeling to move like that, instead of running on all fours. I’d expected two legs and a larger body to feel awkward, but instead, it felt surprisingly easy.

A natural thing, really.

Ruby and I were in complete harmony, as though we had spent years learning each other’s rhythm.

Was it because I knew myself on a deeper level? Or because I had accepted myself, making this evolution smoother?