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The sight had awed and frightened me but I had woken the next morning, sure it was just a strange dream. Now Gabriel was telling me it was true—that I hadn’t just dreamed all the men in the Compound turning into wolves under the full moon.
“You’re saying…you really turn into wolves?” I shook my head. “That can’t be real.”
“It’s real all right, little mouse,” he said grimly. “You and your mom are Weres too.”
“But…I’ve never turned into a wolf!” I protested.
“And you won’t. Females don’t Shift—males do,” he said shortly. “But you still carry the Were genes—and you and your mom have the rarest Were genes there are—the Royal genes.”
“I still don’t understand.” I shook my head.
“Look—most Weres when they think of the Royals, they’re talking about the ones who are supposed to rule us all. Not that they bother—they all ran off to Europe. Fucking cabrons,” he growled. “But before they left, the Royal Weres liked to sow their wild oats among us commoners, so there are still Royal by-blows—that means bastards from unsanctioned matings. That’s what you and your mom are.”
“How do you know all this?” I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea that werewolves were a real thing.
“You can tell by the True Gold eyes.” Gabriel pointed at my eyes. “And I guess your hair color might come from Royal DNA too—don’t know about that. But the eyes give it away every time.”
“What does it mean though—that I have, uh, Royal DNA?” I asked. I was betting it didn’t mean I was suddenly going to be treated like a princess. That wasn’t how things went at the Compound.
“It means you’re a very valuable commodity and your status has gone way up.” Gabriel’s face twisted, as though the words tasted bitter in his mouth. “Much good it’ll fucking do you, little mouse.”
Then he turned on his heel and left me there, wondering what my fate was going to be now that I looked so completely different.
FOUR
In the weeks that followed, my body continued to change. My hair and eyes stayed the color they had turned, but my breasts got even bigger—much too big for my liking, since I was used to being so underdeveloped. My nipples went from flat, colorless disks to wide pink bands and their tips got incredibly sensitive. My hips got curvier too, and my waist got smaller. I didn’t grow any taller though—I was still five foot four and not an inch more, much to my chagrin.
The men in the Compound started to take notice of me in a way I didn’t like. Their eyes were hooded as they watched me and I saw a hungry lust in their gaze I wasn’t used to seeing.
In the past, most men had simply looked right through me—I had been too plain and flat for them to care. But things were different now. All my clothes were too tight because of my newly curvy figure and my hair was the same sleek, silver blonde as my mom’s.
I was suddenly pretty—and it wasn’t a good thing.
The Alphas of the Compound stared at the way my blouses bulged over my newly developed breasts. None of my bras fit anymore so I had to go without—my large breasts swaying with every step I took. Even worse, my nipples poked out against the fabric of even my largest shirts. Their tender tips seemed to be constantly tight, almost as though they were trying to draw attention to themselves.
I started keeping strictly to the Mansion and then strictly to my room—I didn’t like the way the Alphas looked at me. But I had to eat sometime so I tried to sneak down to the kitchen late at night when no one was up and around.
That was my errand—just to get a little food for supper because my newly developed body got hungry so much more often—the night Manuel grabbed me.
The big Alpha was still at the Compound despite trying to get at me during my First Blood and apparently he had never given up his determination to have me. He waited until I was walking through the mansion’s grand living area with its central fireplace and marble floors. My stepfather had bought himself a palace in the desert and I hated it. Despite the luxury I would much rather be back in our modest ranch house with my father still alive.
That’s what I was thinking as I crossed the living room area and I wasn’t watching where I was going. When I got close enough to where Manuel was hiding, he reached out from the shadows and grabbed me by the arm.
“Hey, let me go! Let go!” I shouted at once, struggling to get away.
“Now why would I want to do that, pretty little Zoe?” he snarled and there was a hungry light in his piggy little eyes I didn’t like one bit. His breath was heavy with the yeasty stench of stale beer.
