A subtle crack. A soft grind. The internal architecture of her body attempting to rewrite itself.
The first shift was never gentle. It was a rebellion against the body's original blueprint. Ligaments stretched. Bones fractured and reformed. Muscles tore and rebuilt. Even for strong werewolves, it was harrowing. A violent recalibration. Everything your body thought it understood about itself was ripped apart and forced into alignment with something wilder.
After the first shift, it became beautiful. Effortless. Exhilarating.
But the first time?
It demanded everything.
Sera was already fighting a difficult pregnancy. Her strength had been taxed for weeks. She couldn't survive a full transformation.
Another crack.
She cried out, her head falling back briefly against his shoulder.
Eric closed his eyes for a split second.
He had executed a man, a man like a father to him for poisoning her with wolfsbane and now he was about to suggest exactly that.
