Odin's eyes—gone pure green with his anxiety—said that he wasn't so sure. Then he winced as Trevor howled again; a sound so mournful, so heartbreaking, that I began to cry as soon as I heard it. Tears seeped from my eyes as I watched my husband rend every bit of fabric and furniture that Katila had touched through him. When he'd finally worn himself out, I thought he'd collapse, and then I could comfort him. But Trevor turned burning eyes in my direction and snarled.
I flinched in shock. “Trevor?”
“Shift back to human, Vervain,” Odin said softly. “Show him who you are. I don't think he recognizes you.”
I shifted; standing there naked among the men. But I didn't care about that. It was only my husbands and my lions there. No; this wasn't the shameful part of the evening.
Trevor took a long look at me, lifted his head, and howled again; this time it was full of fury and it sent shivers down my spine. His head whipped around, and he glared at me, but I realized that he was staring behind me, not at me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Kirill standing there; staring warily back at Trevor.
“Back up to me, Vervain,” Kirill said. “Ze volf has taken over. Move slowly.”
“Trevor is the wolf,” I said even though I knew it was only partially true.
I had a piece of Trevor's wolf inside me, along with his soul. I had always equated them—bound them together—but as a shifter, I knew the truth; the beast lived inside the soul, but it wasn't the soul, just an aspect of it. Except now, Trevor's beast had surmounted him.
“The wolf has sensed Trevor's pain and taken over to protect him,” Odin said. “Fenrir calls it the Eclipse. You must move away from him, Vervain. This moment is confusing for him and dangerous for you. He needs time to adjust to being in this form without Trevor in control.”
Trevor narrowed his eyes on Odin and took a deep breath. Then his head swiveled back to me and his whole body shook violently. He howled again; back to the painful lament. It cut me deep; the sound of his agony. The wolf inside me lifted her head and responded; a howl bursting from my throat to join in sympathy with our mate's. Trevor jerked his head toward me. He moved too swiftly for anyone to track; one minute he was standing in the wreckage of the bed and the next he had me clutched to his chest and was swiping at anyone who came to close.
“You're hurting her!”Azrael cried. “Is that what you want?”
Trevor snarled at Azrael and clutched me tighter. I wrapped my arms around Trevor's neck and held him just as tightly. My heart was breaking and it felt as if I were holding the pieces together with my bare hands; trying to will them to heal. But they weren't healing; they were just bleeding all over me. No, wait; I really was bleeding. Trevor's claws were digging deep into my thigh and my shoulder; rivulets of blood running down my body. But I didn't care. Inside, I was broken too. I'd put on a brave front for Trevor, but this invasion had opened old wounds and made me feel dirty in ways that soap couldn't clean. I wanted to bleed the taint away. I wanted to feel the pain, and I wanted it to come from Trevor. Some twisted part of me welcomed it was an absolution.
Because I knew it was my fault.
I had known something was wrong; I had sensed it. But I was distracted by shame over Blue instead of focusing on my husband. If I had only taken the time to truly look at Trevor, I might have seen what Kirill had in three seconds; that it wasn't Trevor. I might have stopped Katila before he hurt us. Why hadn't I listened when Trevor told me to run? The painful truth was that I had enjoyed it. My Lust had risen for Katila, and I couldn't see past it. I had let another man touch me, and I had loved it. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to beg Trevor for forgiveness. But for now, I'd take the pain.
Kirill roared, and we went still. Trevor's body was taut with muscles that were waiting for him to decide what direction he should move them in. But he didn't move; he waited for the other predator in the room to make his threat clear.
“She is not only yours!” Kirill snarled. “I love you, but I vill rip your arms from your body before I let you hurt her any further.”
Trevor looked down, saw the blood coating my body, and drew back his claws in horror. He whimpered and dropped to his knees to lick at my wounds. I cried as I bent over him; holding him to me.
“It's okay, Honey-Eyes,” I whispered. “It's not your fault; it's mine. I didn't listen to you. Please forgive me. Come back to me.”
Trevor let out a moaning cry and dropped to the floor. Before I could kneel beside him, he shifted again; his body compressing until he was fully wolf. Those beautiful, honey eyes stared out at me balefully from his wolf face. Trevor gave one last howl and then ran out the door.
“Trevor!” I shouted and ran after him.
The hallway was full of Intare. Trevor slipped between their legs easily, but even though they tried to get out of my way, it wasn't fast enough. By the time I got past them, Trevor was already to the tracing room.
“Trevor!” I shouted again.
He was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I tried to follow Trevor; I searched for him through our link. But I couldn't sense him; not with our enchanted wedding bands—made to survive his shifts—or through our
