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“I can’t,” I whisper, hating the hurt that flashes across his face. “Please understand. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but…”

Soren sighs, his brow furrowing. “I respect your privacy, Bree. But I hope one day you’ll feel safe enough to share everything with me.”

I nod, grateful for his understanding. Desperate to change the subject, I ask “Are you prepared for the backlash of being with a werewolf?”

His jaw tightens. “It won’t be easy. There are those in council who will see it as a weakness, a betrayal of Lycan purity. I’ve never cared much for their outdated prejudices.”

I bite my lip, my mind racing. “Your parents… they seemed so accepting when we met. I thought maybe—”

Soren’s expression softens, but there’s a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Bree,” he says gently, his fingers tracing my cheek, “my parents didn’t react negatively because they expect me to change you afterward.”

My breath catches in my throat. “Change me? You mean…”

“Turn you into a Lycan,” he confirms, his voice low. “It’s what they assume will happen. In their minds, it solves the ‘problem’ of our relationship.”

I pull back slightly, my heart pounding. The idea of losing my werewolf nature, of becoming something else entirely… “And you? Is that what you want?”

Soren seems to consider his words before speaking. “If I do want to change you?”

I close my eyes, feeling the pull between us—magnetic, undeniable. When I open them again, Soren is watching me with an intensity that makes my knees weak despite laying down.

I take a deep breath. ”If... if I was to be changed, would it hurt?”

Chapter 5

• Aubrey •

His hand finds mine, intertwining our fingers. I can feel the slight tremble in his touch. “I won’t lie to you, Bree,” he says, his eyes holding mine steadily. “The process is intense and has risks. It’s why I never marked my late wife. Had I, she would still be here, her Lycan wouldn’t have been so vulnerable. I don’t want to make that same mistake with you. Once I mark you, I also change you.”

“With this ritual,” Soren begins, his voice steady and measured. “We will exchange blood and essence, meaning I’d mark you. The process is ancient, as old as our kind itself.”

Icy tendrils of fear wrap around my heart that beats a little faster.

“So you give me your blood, mark me and that’s it?” I ask.

“I don’t want to scare you,” he admits. “But I also won’t lie to you.” He grabs my hand and presses my fingertips against his neck next to his Adam’s apple before moving to the other side of it and doing the same. “Those small pockets will fill with venom when I mark you, I won’t just be marking you, I will be poisoning you.”

“I don’t understand?” I admit.

“Lycan’s are venomous, my venom will enter your bloodstream, it will hurt. But my blood will counteract the poison stopping it from killing you, instead it will change you.”

I jerk my fingertips away when he growls, letting them fill with venom. My eyes widen watching his neck balloon slightly.

“Don’t be scared, Bree, I would never force this on you. I would never hurt you. Your human form will be reshaped by what we call the Lycan essence, my venom and blood mingling together creates an elixir that enters your bloodstream. It’s akin to a rebirth; you’ll lose a part of yourself to gain another.”

A shudder runs through me. Lose a part of myself? I swallow hard, my mouth now dry.

“But it’s not without pain,” he warns me with an apologetic look in his eyes. “The transformation can be excruciating - your body will break down before it rebuilds itself and I will have to remain by your side pumping you full of my blood so the venom doesn’t burn it out of your system.”

His description echoes in my mind, my breath hitches in my throat as I imagine the agony that awaits me.

“Are you… are you certain you can do this?”

“I am.” He pauses, his gaze serious as he locks eyes with me. “But there is always risk involved.”

My heart thunders painfully against my ribs at his admission. Risk? What kind of risk?

“The risk,” he explains slowly, each word heavy with significance, “is that if something goes wrong during the transformation… it could kill you.”