Page 70 of Balance

For a second, I was concerned—we were always wary in his presence. But then, as the implications of his words hit me, trepidation was replaced with relief.

Wewouldfind Eric Richards, there was no doubt. Damen in this form could doanything.

Now to see about the others, because unless Julian and Miles were on board, then well, there was no need for them to know.

Bianca had been jumpy since her trip back from the springs. But one look from Julian reassured me that nothing had happened, even though the nervous way she twisted her fingers in her lap pulled at my nerves.

My every instinct screamed at me to make her comfortable, and here she was, so… not. She’d even refused beef jerky. What else was there to do?

But then, before I could offer to make some more coffee, she jumped to her feet. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and her expression severe as she glanced around the fire and declared, “I’m going to go look for Miles.”

Julian sighed, reaching up and tugging at her hand. “It’s in the middle of the night, darling. He’ll be fine.”

“But I think he’s close by,” she said, her face flushing. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

Well, she wasn’twrong, and while it had been my original plan to let her meet him in the daylight, so she could witness first-hand the abundance of orange mushrooms in the area in the hopes something hilarious might happen, I wasn’t going to argue with her either.

“Hold on,” I said, standing, taking in her attire—fleece pants, a lined jacket, and Uggs. She should be okay to take a walk. “He is close, but it’s still a bit of a walk. I’ll go with you.”

“I’m right?” She blinked at me, and the flash of hurt was a painful reminder of how much shedidn’tknow.

Sometimes it was so easy to forget.

“Yeah.” I pulled at my jacket’s zipper—if we were going to go out into the woods in the middle of the night, I might as well take the chance to shift. My skin was still itching from earlier, and this was the easiest way to keep away other beasts.

Her guard dropped, and she shot me a questioning glance. For a second, I had no idea what she was confused about now.

Damen stretched his legs out in front of him, leisurely leaning back as he spoke. “Titus needs to stretch his legs,” he explained. “Do youneedto shift?” he added, glancing toward me.

Yes.

But then I caught Bianca’s expression, and a scent I couldn’t quite place. It was actually a bit unnerving, to be honest.

Was she scared?

“Do youwantme to shift?” I asked Bianca instead, ignoring Damen.

She was quiet a moment, lips pursed in thought, and a million unasked questions passed over her face before she settled on, “Does it hurt?”

“No.” I finished, dropping my coat to the ground before I loosened my hair and pushed it back from my face. Already my bones were twitching, waiting for the second I gave in and allowed my second form to take over.

It would hurt, but only for a second, but the aftermath more than made up for it.

“The hyenas didn’t seem to enjoy shifting very much.” She was frowning, wringing her hands again as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “It looked painful. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Hyenas are weak.” I pulled off my shirt without unbuttoning it, making sure to fold it carefully before placing it on top of my jacket. “Don’t pay any attention to them.”

“What do you mean?” The scent of her anxiety was growing stronger, and her eyes were fixated on my every movement. It was a strange sensation, but also somewhat addicting, to have her full attention.

I wasn’t an idiot—I knew she was checking me out.

“Titus…” Julian sounded weary.

It wasn’t like I wasmakingher watch me—she was the voyeur. Besides, modesty had never been high on my list of priorities. She didn’t need to look.

And with that thought, I took off my pants.

She squeaked, blushing crimson as she slammed her hands over her eyes.