This Dark Wolf (Soul Bitten Shifter #1) - Everly Frost Page 0,65

House, I flick off the light, allow my night vision to adjust, and then I place the cushion on the floor beside the window.

I sit cross-legged facing the city lights, close my eyes, and allow my wolf’s energy to rise and separate from me, taking in the world from her point of view.

She pads to the glass, turning back to me for a second, and her lips curl in a snarl of delight. My delight.

She backsteps through the glass, her color changing to pure raven black, the same as the darkness of the night sky. I can’t stop the smile growing on my lips while my eyes are closed. I’m not sure what Helen would think about my ability to drain the light from my wolf’s energy.

It’s time to test how far into the shadows I can go.

She is my dark wolf now.

Chapter Seventeen

City sounds billow across my wolf’s hearing, blowing through my own senses. Car horns, people speaking, walking by.

At my command, my wolf disintegrates into specks of dark light that swirl for a second before her energy plummets to the footpath far below.

The drop is dizzying, leaving my stomach behind me as I fully integrate with her energy.

She is me and I am her.

I may as well not be in Tristan’s penthouse anymore, but here, on the street, my paws padding across the wet pavement as I quickly back away from the streetlights and into the shadows at the side of the building to assess which way I should go. It must have rained at some point this evening, although I don’t remember the sound—maybe a quick rain shower while we were in the elevator.

I’m facing a wide open square that takes up the whole block opposite the Tower. White pillars are situated along each side and the courtyard is paved with red stones. It’s far too exposed for my wolf to go that way.

I’m about to turn away from it when I catch the elusive fiery notes of Tristan’s scent. He appears on the corner at my left, stops by a man who gives him a quick nod—a guard maybe? Definitely another wolf, judging by the musky smell of him—before Tristan crosses the street toward the square.

I follow Tristan’s line of sight to where Jace waits, leaning against one of the pillars.

A streetcar approaches on my right, and I lose sight of Tristan for a few seconds. Once the streetcar passes, I follow his scent across the street, keeping away from the light cast by the tall, gray lampposts. There are far too many passersby here for my comfort, but I’m counting on my darkness to make me blend in to the night, to become a mere dark spot in their human vision. As long as I stay out of the light, they shouldn’t be able to see me.

Finding shelter behind one of the pillars at the side of the square, I’m only ten paces away from Tristan and Jace and feeling very pleased that they haven’t sensed me.

Helen taught me to conceal my power well.

I ignore the other input around me and focus only on them, listening for their conversation. Now that I’m experiencing the world solely from my wolf’s point of view, all of the sensory input is much easier to distinguish and process.

Jace pulls away from the pillar he was leaning against. “Where’s Tessa?” he asks, as if he expected to see me.

Tristan pulls to a stop. “Safe and sound on the twelfth floor back at the tower.”

Jace shakes his head at Tristan, his lips drawing back in a snarl. “You’re a fucking coward, Tristan.”

Tristan narrows his eyes with a growl. “I can’t be near her tonight, Jace. She’s too—” He snaps his mouth shut. His jaw clenches. He casts an angry glance around the courtyard without continuing.

Jace barrels into him, bumping shoulders like he would if he were in wolf form. “Too what, Tristan?”

“She’s too fucking beautiful.” Tristan shoves Jace away. “Too fucking vulnerable to be around an asshole like me tonight.”

I freeze at his descriptions of me, wary of how brutally honest he seems right now. At the same time, an unexpected heat builds in my chest, a shiver of warmth but also confusion, as I don’t know what to make of what he said about me.

“So you left her all alone?” Jace paces around Tristan, circling him like an alpha would circle prey. “Without her friends?”

Tristan barely reacts to Jace’s circling. “Helen told me Tessa wouldn’t be able to handle a