Chapter Twenty-Nine
Two days later, Anabelle sat curled into the corner of the couch in their suite, three neat stacks of papers spread out on the low table in front of her, one for each class.
Ether theory. Governance hierarchies. Laws and regulations.
The pages were highlighted, dog-eared, annotated in the margins with her handwriting growing progressively messier the further she’d gotten into the material.
She stared at them without really seeing them. Her mind refused to stay still.
The last two days had felt unreal, like she’d stepped into someone else’s life and forgotten how to step back out. Everything was new, overwhelming, and threaded through it all were them.
Rian’s quiet presence beside her in class, the way he leaned back in his chair with one arm draped along the back of hers, always close, always just shy of touching her shoulder.
Except that first day, when his hand had rested on her thigh, grounding her when panic threatened to swallow her whole.
She could still remember the weight of it, the warmth, the certainty.
Cameron, forever at her side in the halls, guiding her with a hand at the small of her back, murmuring something dry or teasing that made her laugh despite herself.
Every smile he pulled from her loosened the tight knot she’d been carrying in her chest since the fair, since the crash, since her entire world had tipped on its axis.
And Joshua. Gods. Every time she shifted in her seat, every time she glanced up from her notes, there he was, watching her. Not staring. Not leering. Just… present. That quiet intensity in his eyes made her squirm in a way she refused to examine too closely. It was too much. All of it was too much.
It had only been a few days. Yet it felt like a lifetime.
Her thoughts drifted, unbidden, to what Kat had told her about Zaninsk.
The years they’d spent there. The weight of that place, the kind of things they must have seen, must have endured.
She couldn’t reconcile those stories with the males she knew now, the ones who hovered, who checked in, who offered help without expectation. Her chest tightened.
“You’re distracted.”
Dominik’s voice cut through her thoughts, low and calm.
She nearly jumped. Right. Study session.
She turned her head slightly. Dominik was seated to her left, relaxed but attentive, one arm stretched along the back of the couch, the other resting on his knee.
The others had gone to grab food, because she’d begged off going to the cafeteria.
She didn’t have the energy for Polly and Agatha’s eager friendliness right now, or the unfortunate likelihood of running into Tyson and his middle-school antics.
She was twenty-five, not fourteen. She refused to rise to the bait.
Her brain caught up.
“Oh...uh....” She blinked. “Sorry. I might be… in my head a bit.”
“That’s alright,” Dominik said easily. “This is a lot to take in. I get it.” He tilted his head, studying her. “Do you want to talk about it? Or would you rather distract yourself with more notes?”
She let out a quiet breath and rubbed her temple.
“Honestly, Dom, there’s nothing specific to talk about.
It’s just...” she tapped her finger against her temple, a small, frustrated smile tugging at her lips, “...there’s so much going on in here.
I just need to suck it up and focus on passing these exams.”
He nodded slowly. “Okay… if you’re sure.” Then, more softly, “But please...come to us. Any of us. If you need a break, or space, or anything.” His gaze held hers, steady and sincere. “You’re not just a job to us, Anabelle. We care about you.”
Her heart slammed into her ribs. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
He said that. He actually said that. She stared at him, unblinking, terrified that if she spoke her voice would crack, or worse...
give her away entirely. The warmth in his expression, the gentleness there, made something inside her ache in a way she wasn’t prepared for.
She forced herself to nod. “That… means a lot,” she managed, quietly.
Dominik smiled.
It was slow and devastating and entirely unfair. Her stomach flipped, heat pooling low, and she was suddenly very aware of the sensation trailing along her jean shorts. She immediately clenched her legs.
Dominik groaned and leaned back against the couch, one hand dragging down his face. His voice dropped into a rough, gravelly register. “Okay. Okay.” He straightened, reaching for the top stack of papers. “Laws and regulations.”
She let out a shaky laugh, grateful for the shift, even as her pulse continued to race. Yeah. She was definitely distracted.
The door flew open without warning, the quiet hum of the suite shattering as Joshua, Cameron, and Rian piled inside at once, bags in hand, voices overlapping for half a second before all three of them froze.
Their heads snapped in unison toward Anabelle as they inhaled. And then, three simultaneous groans.
She blinked at them from where she stood near the couch. “What?” she demanded. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Rian and Joshua both shook their heads, like they were actively trying not to think about something. Cameron, traitor that he was, just smiled, soft, amused, and entirely too knowing.
“No reason,” Cam said lightly. “You just… look cosy.”
She snorted. “Yeah, cosy on mental overload.” She glanced down at the papers scattered across the table, then back at them. “Maybe I do need a break.”
“Well,” Rian said, lifting the bag he was holding, “we got food, if you’re hungry.”
Her eyes lit instantly. “Oh gods, yes. Starving.”
She stood, crossed the space between them, and plucked the bag right out of Rian’s hands before he could react, turning toward the kitchenette like it was the most natural thing in the world.
All four of them watched her walk away. Watched the sway of her hips. Watched the tiny black denim shorts she’d apparently decided were a perfectly reasonable choice. Watched her like their survival depended on it.
“Gods,” Joshua muttered under his breath, jaw tight, “she’s going to kill us. Those should be illegal.”
“Did you say something?” Anabelle asked casually, glancing back over her shoulder.
She caught them like statues: rigid, eyes locked on her with a focus that made her stomach flip. Predatory. Not threatening. Just… intense.
Joshua jerked into motion immediately. “Nope. Didn’t say a word.” He grabbed plates and utensils with far more force than necessary and fled to the counter like it was safer territory.
Anabelle paused, watching them all for a moment. Her mind whirred, hesitant, curious, debating. Do it, she told herself.
Before she could lose her nerve, she turned back. “Actually… could you...”
All movement stopped.
Dominik rose from the couch, attention sharpening instantly as he approached her. “What is it?”
She took a breath. “Could you show me… what you look like.” She hesitated, then clarified softly, “You know. In your other forms?”
The room went utterly still.
Cameron was the first to speak. “You want to see them shift?”
“Kind of,” she admitted. “I mean...I’ve never seen a shifter. And I’ve seen demons, but they were angry. Terrifying. I didn’t really get to look.” She rushed on, suddenly self-conscious. “I just thought...if you didn’t mind. You don’t have to though. I’m just curious and—”
“It’s alright, Ani,” Cameron said gently. “We’d love to show you. We just didn’t want to push. We want you to take all of this at your pace.”
Her shoulders loosened at that.
Rian stepped forward, stopping directly in front of her. Joshua joined him a heartbeat later, flanking his other side.
Then their bones cracked. The sound was sharp, visceral. Clothes tore, fabric hitting the floor as two bodies shifted, stretched, reformed. Power rolled through the room, heavy and unmistakable. And then it was over.
Anabelle’s breath caught.
In front of her stood two massive wolves, their shoulders brushing just beneath her chest, bodies wide and powerful, huge paws softly hitting the floor. They were enormous, solid, real, breathtaking.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Wow…”
Rian was a stunning grey, his coat shot through with darker specks of black, unmistakably wolf, unmistakably him.
Joshua stood beside him, identical in size and build, but his fur was pure matte black.
No sheen. No highlights. Just darkness, deep and absolute.
Their eyes, once hazel and dark, were now both a striking green.
She looked from one to the other, awe written plainly across her face. “Gods,” she said softly, reverently, “you’re gorgeous.”
She lifted her hand instinctively, then hesitated, letting it drop.
Rian whimpered, a soft, pleading sound, tail thumping against the floor.
She laughed, breathless, and reached out again, resting her hand on the top of his head. His tail went wild as he leaned into her touch, a deep, rumbling purr vibrating through him.
A nudge pressed against her other side. She turned, smiling, and lifted her free hand to Joshua’s head. He purred instantly, just as loud, just as pleased.
She laughed again, full and unrestrained. “This is amazing. You’re so soft.”
She sank down onto the floor to hug them, but they moved before she could: pressing their bodies in close on either side of her, brushing their coat alongside her, warm and solid, tails flicking dangerously close to her face.
She laughed harder. “Gods, you two...”
They settled then, lowering themselves until both massive heads rested in her lap. Instinctively, she buried her hands in their fur, petting their heads and necks, fingers sinking deep into thick coats.
She looked down at them, overwhelmed, then up at the others.
“This is…” She shook her head, smiling wide, eyes bright. “incredible. I never thought I’d see something like this. It feels like I stepped into a movie.”